Removing the stabilizers was tough..the screws were rusts. Took quite a bit of teeth gritting to get them off....

To get some fresh air, I decided to go back under and get the last belly pan. First, let's geek out and take a look at all of these corroding rivets...woo hoo! Some of them had washers on them...was that original? ...hmmm...wonder what's underneath...can't wait to see!

Okay - I can't figure this one out. The panels go behind the metal door "frame" that looks like it should pop out. I show here where I cut around the door (yes, I was frustrated!) because the rivets for the panel are behind that frame. The other picture (not that great) shows the smaller rivets that I eventually took out - still no luck. Ideas?

It's all down hill from here...(famous last words)... pretty quick to remove. Luckily I didn't find any leaks, wet spots, or mold...

So, with all of these layers - the 1 foot overlap required me to go to the top layer first and remove from there. This is no whimpy vinyl clad aluminum. It was very stiff!

This rainy day picture of "the shop" made the streamer look shiny! Okay...not exactly like some of your fix it jobs out there - but at least I have a glimpse of what it might be at some point in the future!

I'm not sure how others just removed the bottom panels. Mine seem to be layered/overlapped with the top panels by at least a foot (kind of a waste!). And then those are underneath the top/ceiling panels. I can kind of bend them - but can't get to the rivets behind them...So I'm going with the real complete gut and removing all - including the ceiling. And now I've been inspired by some pretty cool renovations I've seen on-line...! Here are some panel pics for your enjoyment - though they probably...

Well - I'm finally getting closer to the bones of this beast. In these pictures you can see the kitchen is gutted - and a picture of the old heater that was disconnected awhile ago. Not sure if it works - or ever worked - but some more critters made good use of it's interior! I unscrewed the vent from the outside and with the gap started leaking water on the interior - highlighting the importance of those seems! ...here's my dog Cinque ("Chinkway") who didn't want to hang outside during...

So, drilling out rivets is actually really simple. What I've learned is that its easier to just let the drill to the work versus pushing hard thinking you need to "get that rivet". Let the drill to the work. Once in a while the rivet will spin (i.e. it's loose) and you simply have to angle the drill to catch an edge of the rivet.

One annoying thing is that the tops of the rivets end up collecting on the drill bit (anyone have any ideas on this?). See left picture. To...

Did anyone see Alien/Aliens? These wasp cocoons were behind the refrigerator and scared the Dickens (or some other author) out of me! I tested one to see if one of those head snappers would pop out... luckily they had migrated to someone else's mother ship already.

And of course, there was the token left overs from years of mouse and rat parties under the refrigerator (I think this is where the teenagers
hung out).

Here are some pics before removing the panels between the bedroom and kitchen and after. Notice that the kitchen shelves were suspended on this panel - but that everything else held up by itself (someone had asked about this). Also the overhead bins are supported by the panel - but could be supported by other means if you wanted a "more open feel".

I was careful to document how the plumbing was done in order to reinstall. However, about now I have fessed up to the nagging Gremlin on my shoulder and am going for the complete gut!

The stink from the mouse and pack rat smell hasn't gone away since the rugs were removed. It is just soaked into the wood. Sanding would probably only be a surficial treatment - and some of the wood is rotten anyway...

Here's the gutted and documentation pics...1) water hosing and pressure...

So back to the grind of getting to the floorboards. The bathroom had to come out as reluctant as I was to go here... meanwhile, there was a little nagging gremlin tapping me on the shoulder ("Come on...just gut the thing! You know that's where you are headed.").

The plastic strips cracked on removal... the key to getting it out was behind these strips. You don't have to remove the "rear ceiling cap" to get everything out luckily. This thing was fragile and...

Okay, so I'm at a point and am understanding better what I am up against. I need some feedback on my floorboard issue. I didn't realize that the C channel is attached to the whole frame of the airstream - such that to get to the floor boards, you have to pull up the entire shell...! I saw this in a few other posts but didn't know that this was a must. So, here are my thoughts on what I can (given my limited resources, tools, money, space etc) do:

1) Cut the floorboards about 3 inches...

So in this quick blog, here is where the slippery slope begins. Remember, I was "just" trying to get to the floor boards! I probably could have read some blog somewhere... but I can be pig headed too!

Anyway, in these pictures, you can see how these panels totally overlap. I have to remove these panels to eventually get to the floorboard. These panels cover the C channel which is above the floorboard.

The Catch: The bathroom panels rest BEHIND the bedroom...