fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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So, u might ask, what exactly does it take to tear apart a motorhome like this? Well, I'm glad u asked. It's time to play show and tell...Lol.
In this first picture all of the tools I used are laying on a small rv table. I'll go into a little more detail with them.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/tools.jpg)
I am going to start in the lower right hand corner.
There is a pair of adjustable wrenches, an 8" and a 10". Those were used for a couple of water fittings, and the lp line fittings that were hooked to the fridge, furnace, water heater, and stove. That's about all they were used for.
Next is a pair of putty knives, or scrapers. One is about an inch wide, and the other is about 3" wide. Used for scraping paneling and plywood off of blue board insulation, and some rust off of steel. Very handy.
Next is the vice grips (or locking pliers, if u prefer). There were several times that screw heads were messed up, usually because the screw threads were rusted fast, and would not loosen. So, I dug out the plywood out around the screw, grabbed it by the head, and loosened it with the locking pliers.
Next we have a #2, and a #1 flat head screw driver. The third screw driver is a phillips head. Or, as one fellow said - one plus, and 2 minus head screw drivers. Lol.
Then we have a pair of wire cutters, and a pair of needle nose pliers. These come in handy for removing staples.
Next in line is a larger screw driver, which is a little better than a foot long. Comes in handy for larger screws, and some prying (oh, gasp).
Then we have a pair of tongue and groove pliers (or water pump pliers, if u prefer).
Next in line are 2 hammers. One is just a basic claw hammer, the other is a mechanics hammer with a ball on one side. Comes in handy for beating trim apart, that was put together as a one way trip only, at the factory.
At the bottom, is a 3' crow bar. Yes, 3 feet long. It's an old one. Can't buy them just any where any more.
At the top left is an 18 volt cordless fan. Hey, the person tearing this thing apart, has to have a little comfort, right?
To the right of that is a cordless 18 volt led light. Comes in handy if u are working after the sun goes down.
Then, we have paper towels. Yup, paper towels. They're great. Come in handy in a lot of different situations.
Now in the center, we have a reciprocating saw, which is also 18 volt cordless. The only thing I used this for was to cut off the black abs pipe that was used for both drain and venting.
Under that is a blue kneeling pad. Yup, call me a wimp. It's nice to have a little comfort.
Sitting on the lower right corner of the kneeling pad, is a star shaped bit that was used for some screws in the impact driver sitting next to it.
Underneath the kneeling pad, is another pry bar. It is about a foot or so in length.
All the way on the right, we have a cordless 18 volt grinder. Comes in handy when screws need to be cut off that are sticking out where they should not be.
Next to the grinder, is a 9/16" deepwell socket with a 3/8th inch square drive. Next to the socket is an adapter, with the one end 3/8" square drive to fit the socket, and the other end fits the impact driver above it.
Then we have a 1/4" square drive adapter on one end, and the other end fits the impact driver above it also.
Finally, the last and most favorite tool of this whole job is the 18 volt cordless 1/4" impact driver, with a magnetic adapter and phillips head screw driver adapter in it. This is without a doubt the greatest time saver for me on this job. What would normally take 20 to 30 seconds to remove a screw, takes less than 2 seconds with the driver.
So, there u have it. All the tools I have used so far.
I am not endorsing any manufacturer of tools, these are just what I have. Almost any brand will work as well or better than what I have.
I could have done with a few less, but these made it a much more pleasant job.
If you want to do something, you will find a way.
If you don't, you will find an excuse.
-------------------------------------------------
Good judgement comes from experience.
A lot of experience, comes from bad judgement.
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Here are 4 larger pictures of the tools. As u can see, they are nothing special.
The grinder does have a cut off wheel in it instead of a grinding wheel though. Works great for cutting off screws and bolts.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/tools1.jpg)
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/tools2.jpg)
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/tools3.jpg)
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/tools4.jpg)
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SCVJeff
Santa Clarita, CA.
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Joined: 07/28/2006
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Wow.. the destruction is amazing, are you sure it wasn't parked in a lake somewhere? How does that kind of damage occur and nobody cares? Love the white paint tho..
Having a 85' 27Y for 17 years, most of what you're doing and where things are, are pretty familiar too.
Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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That's the part that probably amazes me the most. Very little of this devastation was visible from the inside.
Above the drivers door, on the sidewall and ceiling/roof area, I knew was bad looking at it from the inside.
I also knew that under the kitchen window, there was a problem. I had re-sealed the kitchen window, because that's where I thought it was coming from. Turns out, it wasn't.
On the outside, under the stove vent area, was de-laminated, which I incorrectly assumed (never a good idea), that was because of the stove/oven. I just figured the heat from the oven had loosened the glue, and the fiberglass was no longer stuck to the plywood. WRONG....
There were never any odd smells, other than the normal ones when it was closed up for a period of time without use.
As far as the ants go, we never saw any. Once in a great while if we were in a campground that had some, that was a different story. As soon as we left the campground, that ended, so we thought no more of it.
While working with this, it appears that because of the blue board insulation being glued to plywood or paneling, that MOST of the damage was confined to either the inside, or the outside, but not both at the same place.
There was definitely way more damage to the outside plywood, than the inside paneling.
The area below the kitchen window where the frame has rusted away, I think was leaking when it left the factory.
The reason I say that is because there was black silicone caulk down at the floor in that area, that I didn't put there. That tells me, that it was a problem well before we bought it.
It was also behind the fresh water tank, which I never had out until now. Who removes a 50 gallon water tank inside the motor home just for fun, looking for leaks, that u don't even know are there?
The fact that the water tank was under the kitchen cabinets, up against the wall, made it less likely to be removed just to "check" on things.
Where the unit has the hole to fill the fresh water tank, was the problem.
It looks like someone at the factory ran one screw in at the wrong place, just a little below where it should have been, and upon seeing the mistake, removed it and then correctly placed the 4 screws that hold the plastic in place.
However that 5th, or extra screw hole was at the very bottom left and some of the hole was hidden under the rest of the plastic.
Anyhow, my posts are going to slow down now, because this is where I am in the process of tearing this apart. It's time to start repairing and rebuilding.
But hey, the good news is that now we have the option of starting with a clean slate, floor plan wise, and make some changes that suit our camping/living style. The floor plan will be changed as it goes back together.
* This post was
edited 06/26/17 06:51am by fulltimin *
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Here is a picture of the inside of the fill tube for the fresh water tank. No, the hose wasn't cracked/broken/leaking. That crack/break occurred when I removed the fresh water tank.
However, the outside of the white plastic has an outer lip that is represented by the yellow lines. That's where the screws were to hold that in place in the wall.
At the bottom, the arrow points to a barely visible hole just outside of the lip. It's on the bottom, and partially covered by the lip, so it's impossible to see unless u bend down and get lower than the plastic and look up.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/fillvent.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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I stand corrected. There were 6 screws holding the fill vent plastic on. I blew this pic up, so the quality is not very good, but u can clearly see the ominous extra hole, very near the hole on the bottom right.
It's easy to see with daylight on the outside. When viewed from the outside, the opposite side is dark, and there is a dark blue stripe on the side of the Moho that also helps to hide this hole.
As u can see, it is underneath, and not along the side.
Like I said, I think this was a factory oops, and the results were rotting out part of the frame.
With the overhanging lip outside, it was almost impossible to see.
What u see now, is after the plastic was removed, and it is covered with silver tape, temporarily.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/fillvent1.jpg)
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Bruce Brown
Northern NY
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Joined: 06/01/2001
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This continues to be an interesting thread.
On the structural part, if it were mine I'd be welding in some more supports, both horizontally and vertically. On the verticals I'd go 16" on centers, the horizontal I'd go with whatever I could get. I realize this will add some weight - I think it would be added weight well worth the effort. Make the box stronger and everything else should be easier to work with.
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Bruce Brown wrote:This continues to be an interesting thread.
On the structural part, if it were mine I'd be welding in some more supports, both horizontally and vertically. On the verticals I'd go 16" on centers, the horizontal I'd go with whatever I could get. I realize this will add some weight - I think it would be added weight well worth the effort. Make the box stronger and everything else should be easier to work with.
Yea, I've been considering that. I think a little extra support would be good.
I sat in the motorhome over the weekend just looking at the steel repair that needs to be done. Sometimes its good to just stop and survey the situation.
I think I might have a way to replace the steel that is bad, without exactly duplicating what the factory did, and maybe it won't be as difficult as it first looked.
Weight is always a consideration, as the way this was built, we did not have a huge amount of ccc as it was. Then again, I have the option to lighten some things as I put it back together.
I also like to run with a full fresh water tank as well, so that's another 400 lbs.
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femailyetti
South of Disney World
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some of the blocking to hold cabinets, and such, can be done with aluminum, as it weighs less the wood if used correctly, it does cost more, and you will have to cut threads in to it, adding to cost and time.
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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femailyetti wrote:some of the blocking to hold cabinets, and such, can be done with aluminum, as it weighs less the wood if used correctly, it does cost more, and you will have to cut threads in to it, adding to cost and time.
Well, that's one I had not thought of. I'll put that on my list of possible solutions.
Thanks for the idea.
And, keep up your good work on yours.
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