Now that my hip replacement surgery is over it’s Kathy’s turn next!
It’s been 13 days now since my surgery and each day continues to be better than the previous one. I’m now able to get in and out of the recliner and the bed without Kathy’s loving assistance. Although I can ambulate around the house using only a cane (I used a walker for the first 7 days) and I can take care of my own personal hygiene needs, I still need her help however in getting my socks on and off especially due to the fact that I have to wear these knee-high “TED” compression socks for another 5 weeks!
I started Physical Therapy this past week, just three visits in so far and it’s amazing how much it’s helped to stretch the muscles and relieve the stiffness. Those girls at the local hospital do a great job. This is my third “opportunity” to utilize their professional services and I’m so appreciative that we have the PT gang here at our local hospital.
It’s time now to have Kathy taken care of. Her left hip has really been bothering her the last few months since she had a fall when carrying some packages up the steps into the house. Initially we thought that she was going to need hip replacement surgery as well, but further investigation discovered that she has a torn Gluteus Medius.
Although this will be an arthroscopic surgery, we’re told that her recovery will very likely be more difficult than mine.
If you know anyone who’s had shoulder rotator cuff repair surgery, this is very similar. Since the muscle has two tears, the surgeon will install a couple of “patches” that will attach at each end of the open tear to hold and pull the muscle back together.
Our hip gets a lot of action. Rotator cuff recovery I’m guessing is easier than this will be because with the shoulder, the patient can carry the weight of the arm and hand in a sling nearly all day and night only removing the sling to shower and get dressed.
With the hip we are not so lucky. This muscle will be used and stretched every time she walks, sits, or rises from a sitting position.
I had already planned to take the month of December off work while I recuperate, but I think it’ll be well into January (or February) before I’ll feel comfortable leaving her on her own. It’s a good thing we’ve had nearly 50 years of getting used to each other, eh?
We bought our Airstream motorhome (2002 model) in late 2015 and shortly afterward we noticed that part of the oak trim down by the floor was stained as if it had been wet at some time in the past.
This is the 6″ wide oak trim that runs the height of the living room slide
This piece of trip runs from floor to ceiling on the slide immediately behind the driver’s seat.
Initially, before we replaced all the carpeting with vinyl plank flooring, we were not really aware of the leak because it was small and “wicked” into the carpeting under the couch in the slide. But when we removed the carpet and padding to prepare for the new vinyl flooring, we could then see the effect the water leak had on the carpet and the padding.
This shows the subfloor and the new vinyl plank flooring being installed – the spot that showed evidence of water was located behind the driver’s seat
Since that time we’ve been watching the floor behind the driver’s seat very closely anytime it rained when we were parked with the living room slide in the out position. We never saw any water when the slide was in, but it seemed anytime it rained – even just a little – produced a small puddle of water on the vinyl floor.
We’ve worked at making sure we carefully leveled the coach anytime we parked at a new location. Using the hydraulic leveling system, we would have the coach tipped slightly to the left so as to allow any water on the top of the slide to run off outboard.
Hydraulic leveling system controls
The boys at West RV in Livingston, TX in Jan ’18 installing our new slide topper
We even replaced the slide “topper” in hopes that this would cure the problem. No luck. So we resigned ourselves to the need to bring the slide in anytime rain was in the forecast. Although this is not a HUGE deal, it is inconvenient for whoever is trying to see the TV while sitting on the couch. And since this person is typically KATHY, it was becoming a thorn in MY side if it was going to rain and I decided it was time to pull in the slide!
The way our coach is designed, the TV is mounted on the left side of the cabin, so if the slide is “in” then the side wall of the slide comes in and partially blocks the TV from view of anyone sitting on the couch
But now that we’ve been basically in one place for a few months, and there’s a shop here at the RV park that has tools we can use , we’ve taken this opportunity to get into some repair and update projects …. and this slide issue is one of them.
I got a step ladder from the shop and started taking a good look at the top of the slide. I also took a good look at the bedroom slide as well since we never get any water in there. “What is it about the bedroom slide that’s different from the living room slide?” I asked myself.
Once I got up on the ladder (knees shaking) I looked closely at the bedroom slide and the top and side gaskets. The picture below shows how the side (vertical) gasket tucks in BEHIND the top (horizontal) gasket. In addition, ALL the gaskets are glued to the body of the coach from the INSIDE, so they had to be installed at the factory first before the slide was installed in to the opening. The light green metal box in the picture below is the frame opening in the body of the coach. With this gasket configuration, any water that might pool on the top of the slide is caught by the top gasket and wind (or pitch of the coach) allows it to run to the front or rear end where it then drips off the edge and onto the ground below or onto the vertical gasket (that takes the water away at the bottom). This is the way ALL the gaskets should be installed in all the slides.
BUT … Look at how I found the gasket on the front of the living room slide!
Living room slide gasket installed incorrectly
Two things are wrong here. First, the vertical slide gasket is installed on the OUTSIDE of the body opening instead of the inside. Was this installed incorrectly from the factory in 2002? Or did someone have the slide out sometime in the past 17 years and replace the gasket (incorrectly) for some reason?
Secondly, the side (vertical) gasket is “outside” of the top horizontal slide gasket. This always then allows any water on the top of the slide to travel toward the front of the coach and immediately run in behind the side gasket and on down the wall of the slide and into our living room!
Since it wasn’t feasible or practical for me to move the vertical gasket to the inside of the body opening (without removing the slide) I found the solution was to trim a little off the top of the vertical gasket so that it could be tucked in under the top gasket. I then put an ample amount of silicone sealant on the lap joint to keep it in that position.
My fix was to trim the vertical gasket and tuck it under the horizontal gasket
Right after I made this change, we hit it lucky and it rained for about 2 solid days here in Arizona. At times the wind was about 25-30 mph. And you know what?
NO WATER ON THE FLOOR!
My Airstream buddy Ed Leland down in Florida has the same make, model, and vintage coach as ours and so I’m anxious to find out how his is put together and if he’s ever had any problem with water infiltration. I know he’ll read this post and I’ll bet he’ll go right outside and take a close look!
Here’s the 100% Silicone Sealant that I used. It’s available from our Amazon Store by clicking on the image below.
Thanks for riding along …. Oh, and by the way … we have a new logo for our brand … whatta ya think?
Our new logo … We’ll use it on our web site, YouTube channel, and more
