Date:         Tue, 29 May 2012 10:44:49 -0500
Reply-To:     Jarrett Anthony Kupcinski <kupcinski@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jarrett Anthony Kupcinski <kupcinski@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Memorial weekend repair report
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

This past weekend saw me in and under the vanagon a lot more than I had hoped for. I decided to remove the Dometic and put in the GoWesty shelf kit, plus replace the water pump. Somehow, this morphed from a few hours fiddling into an entire weekend project.

It began when I pulled the refrigerator and found (unsurprisingly) some galley rust. Plus the insulation was a bit wonky (I'm apparently not the first to have pulled kitchen parts from the van). So, I thought, I'd pull the kitchen, address the rust, and get things cleaned up and reinstalled by Saturday evening. Saturday evening became Sunday. Which became Monday. And there's still a mess of stuff to clean up in the garage on Tuesday.

Time over-budget not withstanding, I got a number of things done: GoWesty shelf kit installed. I second a positive endorsement made a few months ago by another listee regarding the kit. It includes everything you need to make the fridge space into useable storage, and comes with fairly clear instructions.

The water pump is a pain to replace, because working inside the tank is awkward. But now the water flows!

I also resealed the port-side utility receptacles. I used some thick foam rubber weatherstripping I found at Home Depot, and honestly I like it better than the flimsy foam things that are made to fit. Any cracks in the weatherstripping I sealed with black silicone caulk. If you haven't replaced these in a while, I recommend doing it as the foam compresses and hardens, which lets water in. I had replaced one of the seals on the water tank fill inlet about 5 years ago, and it looked no better than the ones I didn't replace around the electrical or city water inlets.

The rust was cleaned up and treated with POR-15. I didn't bother to topcoat any of it because it'll be hidden from view.

I also added some soundproofing tiles to the wall, and replaced all the mangled insulation with some fresh pink stuff. When you tap on the side of the van it no longer sounds like a trash dumpster being hit.

Cleaned up all the cabinets and reinstalled them. Seriously, there was a lot of dirt in some of the corners.

I'll need to replace the city water inlet at some point, as mine is cracked. I'm thinking I may replace the entire line with some PEX tubing, If I decide it's important enough to do. I was looking at the redesigned water inlets from GoWesty, and they seem nice, with the quick-connects.

Glad all these things are done.

-Jarrett
Oly the 89 Westy