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Fiberglass cap

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:57 am
by kstills
Are the ribs in our top filled with wood?

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:11 pm
by skater
Yes. You can see some pieces I've replaced in a picture in this post.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:50 am
by kstills
skater wrote:
Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:11 pm
Yes. You can see some pieces I've replaced in a picture in this post.
So did yours rot out, is that why you replaced them?

Reason I ask is I'm wondering why Airstream didn't screw the luan into those ribs. Seems the perfect way to support the ceiling.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:09 am
by skater
kstills wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:50 am
skater wrote:
Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:11 pm
Yes. You can see some pieces I've replaced in a picture in this post.
So did yours rot out, is that why you replaced them?

Reason I ask is I'm wondering why Airstream didn't screw the luan into those ribs. Seems the perfect way to support the ceiling.
Yeah, in my case the fan leaked and that wood around it was completely rotted out. I'm trying to remember, but I'm pretty sure they did screw the Luan into them. As I recall, the ceiling panels on the front were supported by the two side panels and were screwed in around the fan (under the trim piece).

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:27 am
by kstills
I just pulled the ceiling panels off from the back to the hump in the middle of the rig, and none of them were screwed into those braces. There were some screws in the fan supports, but that wouldn't have carried the weight across the rig. Anyhow, good to know, it will make putting the new luan up a lot easier.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:44 am
by kstills
Hey, third pic down in the post you linked: the 120v line running in the channel up in the cap obviously ties into the 120v outlets outside. Where does it branch off to get to the outlet on the side of the counter near the flood light switch?

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:32 am
by skater
kstills wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:44 am
Hey, third pic down in the post you linked: the 120v line running in the channel up in the cap obviously ties into the 120v outlets outside. Where does it branch off to get to the outlet on the side of the counter near the flood light switch?
I'm not sure, I haven't had that wall apart. The only 120 volt wire that really goes up into the cap is the one for the air conditioner. I think the one you're reference just kind of bends back and forth in that spot - i.e., it's a bit too much wire, so they just crammed it into the hip (my term for that area at the top of the van/bottom of the fiberglass). The wiring in general runs through that channel.

I'm pretty sure the outlet inside is the end of the line, then it goes to the outdoor outlet, then to the outlet behind the fridge, then to the one on the wall above the fridge (which is GFCI, so all are protected). However I have not checked wiring to confirm that routing, and I also can't recall off the top of my head whether the fridge is on that same circuit or not, but I think it is. I might have recorded that in a sticky in the electrical forum.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:16 am
by kstills
skater wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:32 am
kstills wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:44 am
Hey, third pic down in the post you linked: the 120v line running in the channel up in the cap obviously ties into the 120v outlets outside. Where does it branch off to get to the outlet on the side of the counter near the flood light switch?
I'm not sure, I haven't had that wall apart. The only 120 volt wire that really goes up into the cap is the one for the air conditioner. I think the one you're reference just kind of bends back and forth in that spot - i.e., it's a bit too much wire, so they just crammed it into the hip (my term for that area at the top of the van/bottom of the fiberglass). The wiring in general runs through that channel.

I'm pretty sure the outlet inside is the end of the line, then it goes to the outdoor outlet, then to the outlet behind the fridge, then to the one on the wall above the fridge (which is GFCI, so all are protected). However I have not checked wiring to confirm that routing, and I also can't recall off the top of my head whether the fridge is on that same circuit or not, but I think it is. I might have recorded that in a sticky in the electrical forum.
You have the older model, so your kitchen is opposite mine. I only have those two outlets on that last 120v line, and it just occurred to me I can pull the wires off both and hopefully pull that wire out of the 'hip' and then run it over the ceiling. :wink:

And yeah, they must have had a sale on wire, because they weren't shy about using a ton of it.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 11:42 am
by skater
kstills wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:16 am

You have the older model, so your kitchen is opposite mine. I only have those two outlets on that last 120v line, and it just occurred to me I can pull the wires off both and hopefully pull that wire out of the 'hip' and then run it over the ceiling. :wink:

And yeah, they must have had a sale on wire, because they weren't shy about using a ton of it.
D'oh, right. I was trying to remember what year you had and forgot it's in the sidebar. Now you have me wondering how they got 120 volt power from one side of the van to the other. Oh wait, I know, it's around the back in the bathroom. In mine.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 1:13 pm
by kstills
So in order to really beat this horse to death, in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3316

that guy gluing up those boards probably didn't need to, correct? At least, he could have put glue on them and then screwed them into the ribs. In your case, you had to put all new wood where the ribs rotted out.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:32 pm
by skater
Well glue is probably better given the vibrations it will encounter.

Just for clarity, the only wood is the strips visible in the picture - otherwise it's just the fiberglass top.

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Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2022 12:26 pm
by kstills
skater wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:32 pm
Well glue is probably better given the vibrations it will encounter.

Just for clarity, the only wood is the strips visible in the picture - otherwise it's just the fiberglass top.

Sent from my Lenovo YT-K606F using Tapatalk
Ok, so now I'm confused.

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3316

First pic in that thread, the t shaped ribs right in front of the fan, what are they filled with? Reason I ask is at the back end of my rig, the rib that sits under the vent cap for the tanks has some rot in it, I assumed it was wood. Which made me think those ribs were wooden supports that Okanagon fiberglassed over.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2022 12:53 pm
by skater
Right, in those strips is wood. My point is that aside from those, it's just the fiberglass top - there's nothing else. Maybe I misunderstood your question about the insulation - I thought you were asking about screwing it in, and I was trying to say that it wouldn't work very well - the screws would just go through the fiberglass top.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:17 pm
by kstills
Ah. No, I want to screw the luan to those ribs. Or add some nailers to them and screw the luan to that.

Re: Fiberglass cap

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2022 8:46 pm
by skater
kstills wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:17 pm
Ah. No, I want to screw the luan to those ribs. Or add some nailers to them and screw the luan to that.
Yep, either one of those would work!