Progress on the old SportCam project continued with leak fixing. The loft had two vents. A big hatch that flipped open as an escape hatch. And a fan to circulate fresh air.
Both leaked. After much cogitation I decided to remove both and fiberglass over holes where they used to be. Later, both can be replaced with newer technology and friendlier placement. Meanwhile, big hole patching required internal support while the fiberglass cured to shape.
Layers of cloth and resin were built up. For structural strength the edges were gently beveled. The patch got bigger with successive layers outwards. Lots of filling and sanding along the way. While time consuming at least dust stayed outside the camper. I really appreciated hot daily showers to wash off itchy powder. Shiver.
Turns out the center seam between left and right halves of the shell also leaked in the loft roof. Another good use for water catylized volume expanding gorilla glue to follow and plug hidden passages that leaks had found. The seam itself will be mostly fiberglassed over eventually. Rather than just covered with trim stip glued over the joint. That goes on the growing list of finish body work for later.
Meanwhile, working on the roof the bathroom vent leak was next. Previously the old vent was replaced with a place holder. After more measuring and cogitation I decided to refactor that area as well. The roof opening was enlarged to squoze in a skylight.
The win was gaining several precious inches of headroom inside the shower stall for doing business. A fair trade in my book. If shower moisture turns out to be a problem later, I'll pursue alternative ventilation. Meanwhile, natural light in the bathroom is nice.
That left a couple more seam leaks on the roof to seal both fore and aft of the 14" square hole where the air conditioner was installed. Turns out that problem was exacerbated by over prior tightening of the clamp bolts sandwiching it to the roof and thereby contributing to roof distortion. Distortion "downwards" on each side of that square opening, thereby contributing to leaks.
It's hard to fault the original owner. How could he know? Root cause was hidden and subtle. I suspect the camper started leaking from birth at the factory. Maybe it took a couple seasons to start smelling musty. Water and stain evidence of leaking would've become apparent, eventually. But root cause probably remained hidden all along. If not for gutting down to the shell I may've never wrapped my brain around the problems either.
Anyway, no doubt after his failed attempts to stop leaks, and dissapointment (the company went out of business a year after being built) the camper likely began its slide into neglected deterioration. A sad story. Yet understandable. Yes, slippery scope of work on this project has exceeded worst fears in some ways. No worries. Salvation remains.
While hope floats for the camper overall, the rooftop air conditioner in question was another matter. When I got around to testing, it failed. The compressor apparently seized. Scrapping it at this point in the project offered a few silver linings. This summer up north AC shouldn't really be needed anyway. And it's one less thing in the way during the rebuild. So that'll keep.
Meanwhile, that original 14" square hole was filled with another place holder fan for ventilation. It's a reused Fantastic Fan with rain sensor. For added Murphy insurance, however, a MaxxAir FanMate shroud was installed over the vent.
That's enough roof progress for now. The next post will cover other priorities I've been juggling lately.
