The recent spate of messages having to do with mice started me thinking.

You "old heads" will doubtlessly find this uninformative-- feel free to make sure your "delete" function still works.

After concerning yourself with how well the exterior of your Silver Slug shines . . . the interior condition . . . the hitch . . . all of that, may I suggest that you crawl around under the thing and have a look?

Unless your SS is (and always has been) a driveway queen, you will almost certainly find things on the bottom side that you don't like. Some of the things you don't like can be quite costly to repair, if left to deteriorate sufficiently.

The skin itself, exposed as it is to moisture and goodness knows what sort of road chemicals, tends to want to part company with the trailer. Rivet heads pull thru, screws fall out (and the heads also pull thru,) "battle damage" occurs . . . etc., etc,. and more etc. It is much easier to prevent unwanted departure than it is to replace that which has departed--and probably been damaged beyond redemption in the process.

You will also note that the gas plumbing is attached to the skin in numerous places with a sheet metal screw and a clamp. Over time, dissimilar metals and moisture do their dirty work and the screws loosen and fall out, leaving the gas plumbing without support. Tsk!

In such cases I recommend that you seal the old screw holes (with silicon rubber or whatever) and move the clamp a fraction of an inch and "redo" things in "fresh" metal.

While you're looking at the gas plumbing, note where the stuff feeds thru the belly of the trailer and see if the rubber hose/tubing that's intended to protect the gas tubing (and help make the trailer mouse proof, among other things) has migrated downward on the gas tubing. If it has, do something about it.

Another thing to check while you're grubbing around in the dirt and dead things is the wires leading to the brakes. Frequently the splices between the "coach" and the magnets are "done" with a wire nut. Marvelous devices, wire nuts. Not notably waterproof. I suggest you arbitrarily "redo" every one of them (with NEW wire nuts) and WATERPROOF the result with some more silicon rubber.

Skin damage. Any hardware store worthy of the title will have stuff called "flashing aluminum" for sale. It's real good for making skin repairs in those places that cannot be seen--and some places that can.

This routine of having a look at the underside is something that I feel obliged to do every other year, at least. But MY SS is the anthithesis of a "driveway queen" . . .

Clark
WA7GGV
27' '70