by Mark959 » Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:55 pm
Thanks!
It is easier to do than I thought originally and experience helps. I am glad I did it and the trailer is a lot nicer now. If you can measure and work with tools, you can do it! Measure repeatedly and take the plunge, I was nervous as all hell on my first cut. I started with the door, I figure it would be a lot easier to fix if I screwed up and it gave me a lot of experience to tackle the next one.
I have one last window to do, it will be on the side and should be the easiest to do. I'm actually excited to do it now.
Then I want to try and build my own cabinets and counter, finish the electrical (run both 12VDC and 120VAC- I have a modified sine wave inverter, will get a pure sine wave inverter soon), buy some solar panels so I don't have to worry about keeping the batteries charged - if my house has the proper meter I will hook up a grid-tie inverter for when its parked to roll the meter back, speaking of which I need a roof rack of some sort, and I want to hook up a fresh water system for an outdoor shower and indoor sink by the front window. I will need some fixture that doesn't block the window in case it's actually needed. I will either mount the faucet to the side or use something like commercial dish washing stations use with the movable hose. Then I might fab up a mount for my new propane BBQ to sit above the hitch.
Plan on spending a day to two days on your first window unless you pump it out. The second window took me a good bit of time, I would estimate 8 hours. Four in the morning laying out, cutting, test fitting, recutting the inside wall and then sanding any parts still too tight, taking the wall off and then taking a break for a good part of the day (Hot day), then doing the framing and putting it all in plus the wall and finishing it with clamping the window down with butyl tape and the trim ring.
Tools you will probably want on hand:
* a nice jigsaw, find one with minimal play!
Mine has lots of play, so I cut the outside hole true and then cut from the inside until the blade touches - verify it matches with a square
* a firm metal jigsaw bit. If the walls are 2" thick or more you will want an extra long blade like a 5" depending on how deep the jigsaw foot retracts.
* drill (I prefer cordless). to drill holes and work with hardware
* a set of drill bits, you only need a couple: one big enough to fit a jig saw blade through and one or two for screws, layout.
* files or sanding stuff - I had a dremel-rotary tool and used my sanding wheels to take off any high spots I may have missed with the jigsaw.
Supplies:
*screws - I used #8, depending on the window/trim ring 5/8 to 3/4, 1" on the front windows' sides because of the rounded nose.
* Butyl tape - enough to make a full circle around the window frame and overlap at least an inch - start at the bottom center and go full circle to make a good seal.
*window, trim ring, screen not installed until done.
*caulk not required, but it can be helpful to have on hand
Honestly I don't see why you couldn't use wood to frame up all of your windows, as long as you use good hardware to join the wood to the framing. That is how every roof vent has been done that I've ever seen... But you might want a table saw to plane off thickness if the 2x wood is too large for your wall.
Levels are useless, you cant trust the trailer to be square to the earth. So measure measure measure. The front was the hardest to do and it was fairly easy, I used a framing square to mark horizontal measurements since the edges are round. I measured between these two and used that for the window width. Then I chose the highest spot I could go without cutting the framing and used a small drill bit along the frame to give me a "top line" by connecting the dots.
Once you have the general layout, tape it off so that the foot of the jigsaw doesn't ruin your paint. 2" masking tape should be perfect. Honestly I drew on the trailer skin - using the window frame for measurements and adding an 1/8" all around. I used the trim ring when drawing to estimate the rounded edges - just make sure it is close to the same as on the window frame. Then I taped it all off by making a box on the outside of my lines, and a diagonal in each corner to get "close enough" to the rounded edges. The frame I used has a 1" lip to hide anything else so it didn't need to be a perfect tape job at the rounded corners.
I then drilled a big hole and went to town with my jigsaw, start at the top middle and go around to finish at the top. That is how I did it, if you start at the bottom it might flop over and bend the skin up when you finish. The radius is so slow that it shouldn't be a problem, I powered it out in only a few minutes. Take a deep breath, see if the window fits. If it is too tight you have options - tin snips, cut off wheels (remember this is aluminum, I prefer the disposable quick-swap dremel blades), maybe even a pass with the jigsaw again. If it fits, hooray! If you cut too much off (measure!) it isn't the end of the world. You can buy this aluminum skin sheeting, or just buy aluminum plate from almost any hardware store and drill then rivet/screw it down, coating underneath and all holes with your choice - silicone for instance...
That is where I pull the inner walls off to frame it up. The trim ring and the window frame sandwich the walls, so you *could* probably just shove 2X material between the walls, screw it down to the wall and slam it in. But I didn't want to take that risk especially since the front window is an emergency exit window. After I framed it up I jumped all over it without any give. As for the door, everyone here slams doors so I welded up square steel tubing that matched what the trailer manufacturer used.
Once you are done with your choice of framing, butyl tape the window frame and slap it in. It is much easier with two people - one squaring the window up on the outside while the other helps hold it from inside, then slamming screws into the trim ring while the outside person holds it in position. It helps a ton if it will be hot later / the next day as the butyl tape is like taffy - hard in the cold and soft in the heat. I tightened the crap out of my trim ring when it was about 97º, after it was already "cold tightened" the night before. To remove butyl that squishes out, find a sharp piece of plastic and cut it. Knives will scratch the paint.