# Oak Tree Mod



## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Mother Nature Hates Me!









I left our seasonal camping spot/OUTBACK at the lake on Sunday late in the day. When I left, a tornado was dancinâ€™ around the areaâ€¦but missed us/me. (naa naa na naa naaaa Mother Nature!)

Last night another storm rolled through town at bedtime. No biggie. I'm home in my nice warm bed.
I was watching the news tonight, and they show cabins at the lake...damaged, pontoons and boat lifts upside down. Iâ€™m thinkingâ€¦.what the hell??

I come to find out that the Lake area had straight line winds clocked at 80-95 MPH.
Now I know Mother Nature wellâ€¦and I just KNEW something happened to my stuff. I just had that feelingâ€¦

I called the resort owner and asked about possible damage. He said he was just about to call me. There was a tree down on my trailer! He said bring a chainsaw, ladder and a helper. So at 7pm, I buzzed out there... Yepâ€¦Oak Tree on the OUTBACK!

Tree fell on the awning sideâ€¦smashed in the refer vent, and busted the skylight Tree may have bent the awning tubeâ€¦but it works okâ€¦no holes.

Iâ€™m thinking I can fix this stuff myself. Iâ€™m guessing that it should just be screws and the right sealant will fix it up. (along with new parts) Whatcha think? Easy fix? Not sure if anything else is in that fridge vent up thereâ€¦or if itâ€™s just a cover?


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

OUCH! Sorry to hear that Pete.









But I gotta be honest... That is one sorry looking Oak tree! The kind we grow around here would have left your Outback looking like an empty Budwiser can in the parking lot after a NASCAR race!

Hope the fixes are all easy, and this qualifies as your quota of storms for the season.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Ooooh Pete!
Before I scrolled down to see the picture, I thought it was going to resemble BlueWedge









That's probably not what you wanted to see when you got down there, but I have to agree with Doug...I know it caused some damage, but it could have been so much worse...I think you got lucky! Well, maybe luckier...Lucky would have been 2 feet to the right or left avoiding the refer vent and skylight.

I bet you wont have too much trouble replacing the parts yourself. A call to Keystone's C/S department tomorrow will hopefully give you an idea of what you're up against.

Please keep us posted,


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

There were 4 trunks to this tree. All about the same size. One trunk was dead...I cut it down. The base of this one looked pretty hollow. I think the tree has Oak Wilt...which we aren't supposed to cut down until mid July around here. I'll be keeping a close eye on the rest.

This site is loaded with oak trees.


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## redmonaz (Jul 24, 2006)

I changed one out on our old SOB. It was just weathered and broken, no tree damage. I think it had 4 or 6 screws. It just slipped over the part that came out of the trailer, no sealant. It took me longer to get the ladder out of the garage than to change out the cover. I shoped around and the prices varied greatly for the same part. I bought it at a local RV parts store for around $15.

Good luck!

PS tickets still available for Vegas on Oct 20th or 27th! We're skippin it this year







I think


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Pete,
Glad you and yours weren't hurt.....that's the important thing. Sorry about your OB, tho, but, like others said, it could have been much worse. 
Hope you get the parts and get the repairs done without problem!!
Darlene


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

The refridgerator vent is really just a cover. I took part of mine off when I installed my solar panel and there really isn't much to it. Just make sure that nothing on the back of the fridge got bumped by the tree. If your lucky you might only need to replace the upper part of the cover and not the part the mounts to the roof.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

PDX_Doug said:


> OUCH! Sorry to hear that Pete.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Agree with Doug...when I saw the picture I thought that was simply a branch from an oak tree.


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## Crismon4 (Jan 25, 2005)

....Ouch!







and poor Pete having to listen to all of us PNW Outbackers lookin' for big timber...Hey, a tree is a tree when it hits an RV...it's never good







. Looks like you may have escaped with minimal damage and a good picture to boot!

And here I was thinkin' a seasonal site was the way to go! Now I'll never convince DH


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## Brad1 (Jan 21, 2007)

Still haven't been on our roof. But I am glad this was not much worse for you. Good luck on the fixes.


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## Acadia Hiker (May 29, 2007)

Another great reason to move to a TT and out of our pop-up.









Hope things turn out okay.


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## 4ME (Sep 11, 2006)

At least you should have firewood for your next outing.


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## happycamper (Jul 26, 2005)

3ME said:


> At least you should have firewood for your next outing.


I was thinking the exact same thing! Sure is a hard way to get it though. I was expecting the picture to be much worse. Hope the damage isn't any greater than it appears and we are glad you were all at home safe!

' happycamper'


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Pete

Sorry to hear about the damage...but it sounds like you are still in good spirits







Make sure you do use the wood for campfires...think of the stories you will have for years to come.

Thor


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

3ME said:


> At least you should have firewood for your next outing.


Making Lemonade from Lemons...


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## mollyp (Aug 10, 2005)

Pete, So sorry about your mishap, tho I loved your post topic title. I guess it pays to keep a sense of humor about things.


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## RizFam (Feb 25, 2006)

Pete sorry about the OB & very happy no one was injuried. I have to agree w/ the rest. If Mother Nature really hated you .....you & yours would have been in the TT & the Tree would have been bigger.

Just a Big inconvenience & some $$.

Good Luck! 
Tami


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Guess KEYSTONE is where the skylight bubble will come from. Parts guy needs the size....I just figured they were all the same size. Who knew.

Now...I'm driving 2 hrs to go measure...sheesh. Guess I'll try to put on a fridge vent while I'm there. Local yokel says he may have it. Maybe I'll lop off some more trees while I'm there.


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Refer vent mod....complete. (changed out cover) The vent base wasn't damaged bad...so I didn't change it out. Some of the sealant around the base was cracked...and I sealed it up with some lap sealant.

While I was up there measuring the skylight...I sealed all the seams and vent holes. I found a few cracks that needed tending to.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Great job Jolly








Sounds like she's going to be good as new AND you got some preventive maintenance taken care of at the same time


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Glad it all worked out for you Pete....


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Man-o-man!!! I leave the site for a couple days and you ALL get into trouble!!!

So sorry to hear/see what happened, Pete and sooooooo glad to hear it wasn't any worse and  that it hasn't rained since the damage was done...no need to add insult to injury! Keep up the positive outlook - you set a GREAT example for the rest of us


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