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Old 04-30-2012, 06:40 PM   #1
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Dutchman TT Rehab

My wife and I own a 1999 Dutchman Lite. Pretty good travel trailer for the most part and we have no complaints other than the rotten mattresses they send with them but I digress.

We purchased it a three years ago from my wifes parents for what they owed on it, right around $4500 dollars. After using it and living in it, for two months, after starting a new job, it could use some work. I thought I would start a little chronological thread to track my progress and give others a few cheap laughs at my expense. I'll try and get a few pictures of the beast so folks will know were I went wrong and again get a few cheap laughs in.

Here is a sample of the things that need to be done in order to pass my inspection. Number one on the list is new rubber all the way around, it's original from 99' and they go by the brand name 'maypops'. Two would be the leaky sky light in the bath, the rv place they bought it from put a rubber roof on it and went over the top of the skylight instead of sealing under it and reattaching the skylight. Next will be repacking all the wheel bearings and adding new seals, they've never been apart, ever! Nearly every piece of exterior plastic needs to be replaced, especially the oven vent hood thing is very yellow, along with the propane tank cover and the electrical cord encloser. I've also got to give this thing a bath, the guy at the trailer shop said he had a cleaner that works great for taking chlorophyll off of trailers. Oh, and not least of which is replacing the 'pink' marker lights over the back of the trailer, they just look horrible!!

Ok, I'll try and follow up with a few picks of my trailer up on blocks in the morning if weather permitts. It's the same trailer as in my avitar! Thanks for reading
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Old 05-01-2012, 10:16 AM   #2
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Good luck on your rehab project.

My husband and I did a lot of work to our first TT ('96 Mallard), some was functional, other was cosmetic. Here are some of the things we did to give you inspiration.

Cosmetic:
Recovered floor - Allure vinyl plank (there is a thread in the 5th wheel forum on using it), it looked fantastic!
New wall boarder - the pastel pink and blue HAD to go
New curtains - sewed them myself

Functional repairs:
Replaced old, cracking drawer hardware
Replaced bath/bunkhouse doors with fabric accordion doors
Replace awning fabric and much of the hardware
Replaced smoke alarm and LP/CO alarm (this might be the first thing you want to do if it hasn't been replaced in the last 5 years)

After all of that work, we sold it for a profit and traded up to something with a slide .

Enjoy the process, take lots of pictures (I didn't) and you will enjoy your TT so much more afterwards.
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Old 05-03-2012, 11:23 PM   #3
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Well, I finally snapped a few photos this afternoon to give you an idea of what I'm up against.




New tires


Brake and spindle inspection


New seals and bearings repacked with good ol' Kendall Blue ready to be installed.
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Old 05-07-2012, 06:20 PM   #4
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Here's a few more updates.

Before

After


I never knew that this cap had an attachment point



The cover rotted right off of the rest of the enclosure so I replace this too.




This handle was just horrible! This is much better.


I went with the more expensive butyl tape when I installed all of these so now its just a matter of getting every thing washed and calked in. How am I doing?
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Old 05-07-2012, 06:21 PM   #5
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Hope you folks dont mind pictures.
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Old 05-07-2012, 06:35 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fbh31118 View Post
Hope you folks dont mind pictures.
You kidding? We pictures. Keep 'em coming.

You're doing great. If you run into anything that stumps you, just ask. Someone here will know the answer.

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Old 05-08-2012, 12:55 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NLOVNIT View Post
You kidding? We pictures. Keep 'em coming.

You're doing great. If you run into anything that stumps you, just ask. Someone here will know the answer.

Lori-
Thanks! I've got plenty more pic to snap over the coming weeks to make the seasoned veteran grown with despair. j/k. I do have some issues with my bathroom sky-light that needs to be addressed so I'll be looking forward to your input there. Thanks again for every ones kind words.
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Old 05-08-2012, 07:35 AM   #8
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You are making progress! Keep up with the pictures
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Old 05-08-2012, 11:27 AM   #9
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Pictures you want and pictures I've got.

I started in on getting it washed up today. The only thing going on here is just getting most of the rough stuff off. The bad part is that it looks like the awning my very well be shot. The seam seems like it may be dry rotted, I heard a few cracks as I was washing along the seam. Can just the fabric be replaced or do I have to replace the hole drum along with it.





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Old 05-16-2012, 04:28 AM   #10
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Your trailer is a beauty!
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Old 05-16-2012, 07:20 AM   #11
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She has cleaned up beautifully, and to answer your question, yes you can just replace the awning fabric. We replace the fabric last year on our original TT ('96 Mallard). Took 3 people half a day, but we got it done. If the rest of the fabric is solid, you might want to just run awning repair tape along the seam for this year and tackle the awning next year.

Keep the picture coming!

Are you planning any interior projects?
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Old 05-17-2012, 07:11 PM   #12
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I don't have any major interior projects other than maybe a memory foam mattress and a carpet cleaner. Most of the inside is in nearly new shape from lack of use. I might change the stereo if I get a chance maybe something with satellite or some thing.
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Old 05-24-2012, 10:18 AM   #13
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Wow it's looking great!
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Old 05-24-2012, 10:26 AM   #14
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What a difference a little TLC makes!
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