'63 Overlander Rehab....

[tgregory13]

i'm moving along, everything is out and i have removed the lower inner skin panels (i feel the water rising to my chin). I'm getting close to having to make up my mind on how to support the shell when it is off of the frame... i have searched the forum and i cant find any good pictures on how its been done on the bigger models lots of bambis and flying clouds... it will be stored outside so if anybody has pictures of what they did, i would like to check them out.

biggest thing i dont know if the side walls can sit down on saw horses or do you need to build a rig to support the shell from the ceiling so there is no weight on the sides...

Thanks

[markdoane]

I think you need to box in the bottom to keep the thing square, and give you something to anchor to the ground. You support the weight from low on the frames, directly to the wood crossmembers. Brace the inside to keep it from rolling side to side, but you only need to go about halfway up.

Nothing is worse than having the whole shell go rolling down the street in a windstorm.

I used 2×4s in the picture below. If doing it again I would use 2×6s. Make sure the ends of the structure stick out far enough that you can get a barn jack, or something similar, under them to do the lifting.

[tgregory13]

here is a couple of pictures i took this morning.... feels like i'm getting somewhere...

[tgregory13]

Originally Posted by markdoane

I think you need to box in the bottom to keep the thing square, and give you something to anchor to the ground. You support the weight from low on the frames, directly to the wood crossmembers. Brace the inside to keep it from rolling side to side, but you only need to go about halfway up.

Nothing is worse than having the whole shell go rolling down the street in a windstorm.

I used 2×4s in the picture below. If doing it again I would use 2×6s. Make sure the ends of the structure stick out far enough that you can get a barn jack, or something similar, under them to do the lifting.

thanks for the photos!! do by chance have any of the inside of the trailer showing the support crossmembers you added?

I have decided to set four 8' 4x4 posts in my back (easy digging here in NC) instead of using saw horses.. i can then screw 2x6's from side to side to support the shell. this should make it easy to tie the shell down as well so it doesnt end up next door...

thanks again Todd

[malconium]

Your floor looks in a lot better shape than mine was when I decided to go for the full floor replacement. Are you sure it all needs to be replaced rather than fixing some places? How is the condition of the frame/

At any rate the attached photo gives you an idea of what I did to support my body while replacing the floor (with the body still in place). If you do want to take the whole body off you could use a variation of this approach.

The main features of what I did are as follows:

1.) I used 2 x 4 cross members at convenient locations. The max space between them was probably 6'. Notice that I placed mine above the height of the wheel wells. I attached the body frame to the 2 x 4 using two self-drillining screws at each attachement.

2.) The photo shows part of the lengthwise plywood strips I put in place to help keep the body from flexing with the inner skin off. I used 5/8" plywood in 6" strips. This turned out to be a good thickness to use later under the plywood joints where the cross-members are intentionally lower on my age unit (1973 - 31').

3.) The vertical pieces were removable if they were in the way at a particular point. I also put them in place when the plywood floor was still in place. That way I could put small pieces of plywood under them as I removed the plywood.

4.) The luggage tie down strap that you see in the photo was used from time to time to get the body to pull together or sometimes to help pull a piece of the new floor into place.

I did not use any diagonal braces because with the body sitting ontop of the frame I didn't think it would be moving around too much in that direction. If you were going to use something similar you might want a strip of plywood or two on the diagonal.

In general the body can be supported just fine near the bottom. After all that is the way it is supported when it is installed. The key thing I was after accomplishing in my case was to keep the body from spreading outward and keeping it a controlled distance above the frame.

While this may not meet your needs exactly it might give you some food for thought.

Malcolm

[markdoane]

Todd,

The method Malcolm shows works fine. I used a similar method, but the cross members that screw to the frame members were lighter and lower down.

I would recommend putting in crossmembers like above, then you jack the body up with a bottle jack or floor jack until it is high enough to to slide the box framing in underneath. Then you can support and jack from the outside while you pull the frame out.

Next, lower the body and attach it to the 4x4 posts you are putting in. You may want to put a skirt around the bottom to keep any wind gusts from getting underneath and flipping it over.

Here is a picture of the crossbracing I did, and the method for attaching the crossmembers to the subframe. Most of the wood is 1x2 or 1x4. The 1x2 was too light, go with 1x4 at least.

One more thing. Take careful measurements of all four of the corner frame locations. You'll be glad you did when you put it back together.

[tgregory13]

Originally Posted by malconium

Your floor looks in a lot better shape than mine was when I decided to go for the full floor replacement. Are you sure it all needs to be replaced rather than fixing some places? How is the condition of the frame/

the floor looks better in the photos than it is i have very soft spots where the fresh water tank was, heater location, front door back to the wheel well, and below the J window by the front door, also in the front couple of inches is rotted out from the front window leaking, not to metion the water damage at the rear ...

and since looking at Uwes thread, i want to add a fresh and grey water tank under the floor...

here are some photos of the rear and in front of the wheel weel curb side..

[uwe]

I used steel framing studs to brace the lower part of the shell, and then after loosening it from the frame, I hung it on the ceiling of my shop, suspended 12in above the frame.
It allowed me to pull out the frame from under it, if necessary, and saved a lot of shop space. I drilled a hole large enough for chain to fit through a 2ft section of 2x4, hung the chain from 3 roof rafters, through the 2x4's, then stuck a bolt through a chain link to hold things up.It was easy to adjust theheight of tehshell this way, and 3 supports through the 3 vent openings were plenty.
Of course, this requires having a structure to hang it from.

[tgregory13]

made alot of prgress yesterday! i finished getting the support crossmembers installed.... might have over did it with the 2x4 but i dont think she will move much.... i love triangles.... on to the rest of the rivets around the outside ....

i posted photo's of the framing and one of the tools i used to do it,
another high life please...

[tgregory13]

here are those photos...

[tgregory13]

Well after the rivets were out yesterday i rolled the coach in the back yard and started lifting..... first i just wanted to break it loose from the floor but, after you get going its hard to stop... i ended up building saw horses instead of setting the posts in the ground... tho i wish i would have set the posts it would have been easier to support the shell as i was raising it....

I took the shell of by my self and I tell you what, it's a crazy thing, as your raising it up you really dont know whats going to happen, its pretty intense really gets your blood flowing.....

all in all taking the shell off is not that hard just time consuming...

thinking back it reminds of when i had sex for the first time... it was dark, was scared to death, i didnt know what to do... thank god i was by myself

anyhow here are the photo's

[uwe]

Originally Posted by tgregory13

made alot of prgress yesterday! i finished getting the support crossmembers installed.... might have over did it with the 2x4 but i dont think she will move much.... i love triangles.... on to the rest of the rivets around the outside ....

i posted photo's of the framing and one of the tools i used to do it,
another high life please...

Social lubricant ( aka beer) is also an excellent flow agent for Airstream shells.
Your framing looks substantial. You can save the lumber and build a barn for the Airstream afterwards.

[uwe]

Originally Posted by tgregory13

Well after the rivets were out yesterday i rolled the coach in the back yard and started lifting..... first i just wanted to break it loose from the floor but, after you get going its hard to stop... i ended up building saw horses instead of setting the posts in the ground... tho i wish i would have set the posts it would have been easier to support the shell as i was raising it....

I took the shell of by my self and I tell you what, it's a crazy thing, as your raising it up you really dont know whats going to happen, its pretty intense really gets your blood flowing.....

all in all taking the shell off is not that hard just time consuming...

thinking back it reminds of when i had sex for the first time... it was dark, was scared to death, i didnt know what to do... thank god i was by myself

anyhow here are the photo's

Right on! Looks good, Todd. Now you have unobstructed access to your frame to make the repairs and modifications that you have planned.
You can also install whole sheets of plywood now, instead of half sheets.
What condition is your floor channel in? I had to fabricate all new floor channel, except for the 4 curved pieces.
Are your wheel wells in good condition? I tossed the inner, rectangular fiberglass wheel well covers, just insulated the metal wheel wells under the furniture. The fiberglass ones were heavy and smelly.
Let the fun begin!

[tgregory13]

Originally Posted by uwe

Your framing looks substantial. You can save the lumber and build a barn for the Airstream afterwards.

Barn.... i was thinking more like that wood is going to be the start of a big ol fire for the party when i get this thing done.....

[tgregory13]

Originally Posted by uwe

Right on! Looks good, Todd. Now you have unobstructed access to your frame to make the repairs and modifications that you have planned.
You can also install whole sheets of plywood now, instead of half sheets.
What condition is your floor channel in? I had to fabricate all new floor channel, except for the 4 curved pieces.
Are your wheel wells in good condition? I tossed the inner, rectangular fiberglass wheel well covers, just insulated the metal wheel wells under the furniture. The fiberglass ones were heavy and smelly.
Let the fun begin!

I wasnt going to work on the trailer today...... but you know how that goes....

anyhow, i stripped the frame today of the floor and all of the other junk that remains after you remove the shell.... my floor channel is in good shape, i think i might have to replace about 5'. wanted to check the cost and i might just replace all of the sides and reuse my corners... i like new material to work with no holes. my wheel wells are both rusted up where they bolted to the floor. dont know if i should have them built from scratch or just scab in some metal to make them work. my inners have only a few holes and they could be reused with some easy repair.

well now that i'm all the way down to just the frame i can start planning out the fresh and grey tanks.... i do have a question for you Uwe. are your tanks sloped on the bottom to help drain or are the flat? they appear flat to me but, was thinking that they would need to be sloped on the bottom so you can complety empty the tanks.. am i off base here?

i'm tried and my hands look like i have been in a knife fight.... see ya

[tgregory13]

I'm a long ways from done but just making it to this part feels good.... done tearing everything apart....

[uwe]

Originally Posted by tgregory13

i do have a question for you Uwe. are your tanks sloped on the bottom to help drain or are the flat? they appear flat to me but, was thinking that they would need to be sloped on the bottom so you can complety empty the tanks.. am i off base here?

i'm tried and my hands look like i have been in a knife fight.... see ya

My tanks are flat on the bottom. I tilted the tanks slightly towards the drain outlets during installation by use of sacers on one side. It works fine, unless the dump station pavement slopes away from the sewer port, making the vehicle tilt the wrong way. Under normal use, the draining is great. The last few gallons take a little longer to drain out than on a tank with a big slope.

[uwe]

Originally Posted by tgregory13

I wasnt going to work on the trailer today...... but you know how that goes....

anyhow, i stripped the frame today of the floor and all of the other junk that remains after you remove the shell.... my floor channel is in good shape, i think i might have to replace about 5'. wanted to check the cost and i might just replace all of the sides and reuse my corners... i like new material to work with no holes.

Floor channel is easy to make. You can bend up 040 aluminum in an bench brake. My bench brake had a 40in capacity, and wasn't very expensive. A fabricator can bend up some longerchannel for sure. Just bring them a sample. I used my bench brake on quite a few other jobs around the airstream, like fabricating the a/c ducts, and shaping the metal for wheel wells. this is it: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46508

Originally Posted by tgregory13

My wheel wells are both rusted up where they bolted to the floor. dont know if i should have them built from scratch or just scab in some metal to make them work. my inners have only a few holes and they could be reused with some easy repair.

I tossed the inners. Mine were huge, taking up too much space. I used the outers only, with insulation over them.
The rusted areas can easily be repaired with some galvanized metal sheeting from a home center. ( look in the roofing section.) I riveted new sections in and sealed them with vulkem where they meet the old metal. Then, a coat of POR15 or equivalent, and all is well again.

[tgregory13]

Just wanted to drop in and let everybody know i'm still at it.... the long hard cold winter has finally broke here in NC .... well we are done with the 40 degree weather anyway..... I only had one snow at the house this year, it started at 7:30 am stopped my 8:45 and was melted by 11:00 am.... took a photo of the shell before i de-iced.

today I'm taking the frame over to a friend of mine to get the new crossmembers welded in and the bracing for the grey and fresh water tanks to be put in the floor....

I also landed a contract with a local lumber yard to install a new fire alarm and security system.... l managed to get the plywood for the new floor worked into the deal

I'll keep you posted

[bigeasy63]

Just checked out the thread. Good start it seems. Any progress?