Baby Windows - 1966 Aristocrat Lo Liner

Hi Rachel,

Those windows are easy to work on. And yes, that's a clutchhead screw. I had to buy a clutch head three socket drive set to get the right size.

Your window looks like it’s in pretty good shape. You will need to remove the old rubber gaskets called back frame gaskets and replace with new. They are dried and will leak. You can get new gaskets per the foot from Vintage Trailer Gaskets. Look online for them.

You will also need a new glass gasket. It’s grey or black depending on your choice. This is missing from your window. It’s completely gone. It’s used to seal up the window on the outside.

Here is a picture of a larger window with the new gasket installed. Note the grey ovalized rectangle that looks like the edge for the glass. That’s the window gasket. It puts pressure on the glass to stay in place and seal against water intrusion.

IMG_20200418_155941 by

The glass can be removed easily. There are 8 tiny bolts with nuts that hold “keepers” against the glass. Loosen the 8 screws and the glass will come out easily. You can clean up with aluminum wheel cleaner. Those tiny nuts and bolts used to fasten the keepers to the window frame can be replaced if you want shiny new bolts. These are also available at Vintage Trailer Gaskets.

You can find a series of window repair videos by Mobiltec on youtube that will show you how to install new back frame gaskets as well as the glass gaskets. In that series on Hehr windows he shows you how to flip the tab on the hinge to pull out the glass section of the window. This will separate the front part of the window frame from the back frame (That’s what is attached to the trailer and has the dried black gaskets attached on it).

You can decide to replace the screen if you want. That galvanized steel screen material is not available at the hardware store or the big box store. You can buy it from Vintage Trailer Gaskets, too.

To get at the screen remove the two screws that hold on the handle assembly. Then you can pull off the screen if you want to replace it. New screen material looks nice, I can tell you, but it’s your choice to replace. If you do that, then you will need a spline tool to get the new screen material in place.

If you decide to rescreen, I recommend you screw the back frame “upside down” onto a piece of plywood or anything to keep the frame solid. Just seat with about one screw on each side. It makes it easier to install the new screen. Watch out for finger pokes from the screen material. You will need tin snips to cut the new thick screen material.

When installing the window after cleaning in the raw opening on the side of the trailer, use putty tape.

Cheers,
Rod