Finally!!!
I have finished the primary exterior renovations I had planned on the 31 foot Sovereign. Over budget and over time, but finished none the less. Considering I rebuilt the house in New Orleans damaged with 2 feet of water during Hurricane Katrina AND constructed a camp shell at TAHI during this same time period I’m OK with the progress on the trailer.
My Aluminitus insanity has been pointed out many times. In my instance, the vintage '78 Sovereign will be on the road while I pull some major maintenance on the '87 345 MoHo (345 Saga), after that it will be parked at a “Villa” at the (Texas Airstream Harbor Inc) campground (TAHI) on Lake Sam Rayburn for use as a mobile lake house. Note – the word “Villa” is used with some serious tongue-in–cheek.
Original "Villa"
View to Lake Through Original "Villa"
Beams Going Up for New Kitchen
Looking Thruogh New Living to 345 Parking
View of Villa and Parking from Lake High Water Level
Since I plan to keep the old girl for a good long while, several “additions” were incorporated to increase the enjoyment, utility, and convenience of the unit. Many of the following individual modifications were accomplished by investing less than one hundred additional dollars each since I already had the work area open:
- Jacking Beams Between the Wheels. A double 2” X 2” X ¼” square tubing beam between the two axles and adjacent to the main frame of the trailer was welded to the axle mounting flanges. Since the Dexter #11’s are more robust than the Henschens they replaced, and the beam contacts the axles right at the flange mount, I am very comfortable jacking at this location. These new jacking beams will provide manifold benefits. These beams allow for an easy and secure area to install jacks to lift the load off of the axles whenever the unit is parked. The elimination of weight from the axles while parked will absolutely add longevity to the axle suspension rubbers and the tires. I can easily raise the wheels off of the ground for brake inspections - no bearing worked needed because of the Dexter Nev-R-Lube bearing 42mm cartridges (Dexter Bearings), another obvious advantage of the lift jacks will be in leveling and stabilizing the trailer for camping. I ran the design numbers on a single 2” square tubing assembly, and they were a bit skinny. Doubling the tubing increased the strength almost four times. A pipe flange was welded dead center between the tires to add a stabilized jacking point.
Jacking Beam Under Axle
Jacking Beam Viewed From Rear
Jacking Beam Centralizer Detail
Jack in Place for Levelling and Storage
- Spare Tire Mounting. Much time was spent under the trailer contemplating the installation of the spare tire nested in the front A-Frame. I thought long and hard about a motorized winch installed under the front Gaucho to raise and lower the tire, also gave quite a bit of thought to a manual boat winch mounted somewhere on the tongue to do the same thing. In the end, I went with a design close to the original factory layout, but reinforcing the rear frame mount with aluminum angle.
Spare Tire Mount
Spare Tire Rear Hanger Detail
Spare Tire Mount Front Hanger Detail
Rear Hanger Assembly
- New Water Heater. A new water heater, as detailed earlier in this thread, was installed as well as a second 20 amp umbilical cord. The additional electrical feeder circuit could also do duty to power a second AC should I find the need for one in the future. I opted for a NON- auto start on the fired section of the WH ("manual light" on the gas burner side) thinking that having to go outside to light the burner I will actually give some thought as to whether or not there is water in the tank to heat up. On the electric availability, the trailer will be parked at a lakeside lot at TAHI most of the time, so, with a 30/20 amp electric hookup there I opted for the electric WH element. Keep in mind that with a single 30 amp connection you cannot run both the AC and the electric WH at the same time.
- Stripping, Polishing, and Painting. Stripping took MUCH longer than anticipated – about 80 man hours - polishing was also a bit more than I originally thought, about 350 man hours. Perfect Polish suggestions and instructions were followed for the polishing execution. Many thanks to HiHoAgRV for the tips on doing the logo up right (Redo Logo). I lucked out and found 35 feet of the narrow red upper belting – the stripping fluid did the original red belting in, didn’t seem to hurt the blue belting. Most of the plastic lenses had to be replaced due to stripping fluid damage (even though they were taped up), and I redid the seams with the Acryl-R applicator I picked up when touring the factory a couple of years ago.
Curb Side Ready for Logo's and Stripes
Driver Side Ready for Road
Depth of Shine
- Belly Pan Support. The belly pan had been removed at least once before, leaving a line of scars and difficult to remove steel rivets…the sheeting is now held up by 1” x 1/8” aluminum flat bar along the edge frame and main cross members. Looks good and gives an excellent seal to the undercarriage.
Belly Pan with New Attachments
Belly Pan at Door
Belly Pan Detail
- Sewer Hose Carrier. Since I raised the undercarriage a couple of inches there is plenty of room for a 4” plastic well casing section (stronger than regular PVC) mounted crossways just behind the black tank. Made mounts out of 1/8” X 1” aluminum strap and secured them to the frame. I used stainless steel hardware. Both end caps are held on with bungees.
Sewer Hose Carrier
Curb Side Detail
Driver Side Detail
I did “hire out” the stripping/polishing job to a local handyman who I paid on an hourly basis. The total time expended on the aluminum stripping was 80 hours and another 350 hours on the polish. The cost of labor was $4300 and the total for all the stripping and polishing supplies (including a new Cyclo) for the exterior shine was $2050. So, total cost on the polish work was $6350 - $205 per foot – well over the cost to take it to a “professional”. There was a fairly steep learning curve on the stripping, and I really think I could half the stripping time should I ever go down this road again....hmmmm – I do have a bunch of supplies left over AND the Cyclo. I brought the exterior to an “almost OK” shine for a bit over 4 grand (about $132 per foot), but when the sun shone on it a “3-D” hologram effect was evident – kind of neat, but not what I was going for. To eliminate this 3-D look required well over $2300 in labor and Nuvite grade S.
Many thanks to all who offered encouragement and criticism – you know who you are.
Luck to anyone else undertaking a rebuild.