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New Owners: 1991 Odyssey Americana... Advice Needed


RS Hinks

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Hi all,

It's so exciting 😃!  My wife and I are completely new Toyota RV Owners since just yesterday I bought a 1991 Odyssey Americana in central Pennsylvania.  It is the Fargo 21.5' configuration and is in fairly good condition overall, low mileage (68K miles) and seems to run fine.  I just drove it about 60 miles yesterday to pay a surprise visit to my parents and tomorrow I'll begin the 800 mile journey home to Wisconsin.  We are very much looking forward to hitting the road with it.  When my grandparents retired in the early 1960s they bought a "Scottie" camper and drove across the country with it.  Now that we're looking at possible retirement, perhaps we'll follow their tire tracks 😎.:smileys-camping-012488:

While good overall condition, I'm reminded that this camper is 28 years old, no spring chicken, and it will need some love and attention.  I figure one "RV-Years" is about 2.5 people years.  So my "28 year old" RV is about what I'll be when I'm 70, which isn't all that far off.

I'm posting some photos and hope to learn from the collective wisdom :first: that I've discovered in this forum.  Here are some observations and questions:

  1. We will probably keep the interior configuration, at least for now, and right now everything works (with possible exception of the water heater).  We do want to rid the camper of the 80's carpet-on-everything theme.  We will probably do laminate on the floor, not sure what to do on the ceiling.  We're not sure what we'll find when we remove the carpeting.  Any suggestions, especially for the ceiling?
  2. We want to give the exterior a major make-over, both functional (leaks????) and cosmetic (looks 28 years old).  The first step I believe is to get remove the original stripes that were adhesive decals, but I want to do this without damaging the fiberglass underneath.  In some areas, as you can see from the photos, the decals are already gone, other areas have a little remaining adhesive, other areas have relatively pristine decals still adhered.  What method/solvents/etc. are recommended for removing these from fiberglass without leaving worse marks / damage?
  3. I was told by the original owner that the front window had leaked, but he repaired it with some super-sticky tape, perhaps Peel & Seal.  Also, the window, which is plastic, is so weathered it's opaque.  Or maybe it was originally that way.  Either way, I'd like to see out of it, clear as glass.  Two questions: (a) Are replacement windows available?  Where?  (b) How can I effectively re-seal this so I can remove the tape and not have leaks?
  4. The roof may have leaked at one point.  I've read that the Americana has a rubber roof, but I can't really tell because a previous owner coated the roof with the type of material used as a truck bed liner, and the recent owner added a couple waterproof panels and some sealing tape.  I don't see any present leaks, but I don't want to keep adding bandaids, I'd like to restore it to an original condition.  Thoughts?  Anyone tackle this on an Odyssey Americana before?
  5. The roof also apparently sagged / bowed in a little and left standing water on top.  The previous owner reduced this by adding an exterior beam brace - you can see it in the middle on the last photo - to pull the roof up in the center to reduce pooling of water.  Does anyone have tips on restoring the correct arch of the roof in a more long-term way, without external bracing?

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts on this little restoration project.  Looking through the Forum archives I see many of you have taken on much bigger tasks.  This is not so daunting, but I'd like to get to a good start, get our new home-on-wheels fixed up, then hit the road.

Scott

 

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Edited by RS Hinks
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hey there and welcome. regarding a few of your questions: i removed the decals, aka graphics from my 1992 winnie warrior, using an "eraser wheel". you can purchase from auto body supply store. it mounts to a drill and will remove the graphics without damage to underlying surface paint. look for past posts on this topic in the forum, there are a few who have done this and posted info, and pics. you can purchase new graphics cut to match from most sign shops that do vinyl type work, or you can buy the vinyl in bulk and diy. your front window looks troublesome. if once the tape is removed, and there is no underlying rot , you can probably have a glass shop cut a new window to fit the frame. i have found these rigs require a lot of work to keep them in good shape. problems ignored or not corrected properly by a po, will result in much more time and money to invest. good luck. joe from dover.

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Hi Joe,

Thanks for the reply and helpful tips.  I just got home to Wisconsin yesterday from picking it up in Pennsylvania.  I'm very glad I got the 6-cylinder engine.  I don't mind sacrificing a few mpg to be able to at least keep up with the bigger trucks going up the mountains!

I'll check out the "eraser wheel", it sounds like a good option.  And I'll also keep going through the archives on this site to find more already-posted information.  I know it will be some work to update and maintain, however it's all the type of work I've done in the past, so it doesn't scare me (maybe it should!).  We have not decided whether to try to restore the original look with the stripes, logos, etc. or perhaps customize it more to our own taste.  As we start going on trips (useable as-is) we'll carefully watch for other vintage campers and gather tips.

Best,

Scott

 

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If you decide to keep it original looking one of the nicest stripe repair I've seen the owner found a guy who just sanded the decals smooth and then used them as a guide to repaint the stripes. Looked amazing and brand new. This one

Linda S

 

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Linda, that sounds like a good possible alternative to getting new decals.  I like the original (vintage) look, might go with it.  You wouldn't happen to have this guy's contact info, would you?  I'd like to ask him some other questions about the restoration including replacing the front window in the over-cab section.  Mine is opaque like one huge cataract, and it has had leaks.  Definitely time to try to redo that area.

Scott

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Sorry He sold his Odyssey after many years and is not active on any groups anymore. Your front window just needs a new piece of plexiglass and a new seal. Lots of boat places can do the work or you can do it yourself. If you show us the seal we can find it in most cases. If the window unscrews from inside it's even easier to get it replaced by auto or boat place. Then we can tell you how to reinstall window. Show us some pics when you get started. In fact a picture of the inside of the window frame now would give me an idea of what your working with. No removal required for that

Linda S

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Linda, thanks for the reply.  I'll start disassembling the interior by the front window, possibly later today, and will post photos of what I find.  I don't really want to take the sealing tape off the outside till I'm ready to do the entire replacement, for fear of leaks.  I happen to have a few motorboat places nearby, I may stop by and get their thoughts.  

Scott

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