While there are many who would disagree, I believe the ultimate goal of the Airstream restoration should be functionality in a 21st century setting. The classic lines of the aluminimum exterior will always be there, but the inside should reflect the needs and tastes of the user.
Well said
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Bob
'77 Sovereign Intl 31' CB '07 GMC 4x4 2500HD EC 8.1 Allision six | Bedrug | Softopper | Airbags
WBCCI Time's a-changing Say no to Lawrence Welk attitudes
well... after fighting with the wood, literally, all day, hubby finally came to the conclusion that the wood was the wrong thickness... so we went out and purchased wood that should be the correct thickness.
as promised, more pictures of the work in progress.
first pic is just the state the AS is currently in... the next 3 pics show hubby's inventive way to remove the floor without being able to access the bolts from underneath. normally you would have to either cut the wood all up in little bits to reach underneath, or remove the belly skin to be able to reach... he cut AROUND the bolts so he could remove the wood, then ground the bolts out afterward with a grinder.
the next three pics show where he accidently sliced thru the top of the frame while cutting the wood apart, and how he clamped an angle iron into place and riveted the repair in.
the part of the frame that we've exposed so far has been treated with a rust converter, and tomorrow AM hubby is going to spray it with rustoleum (yellow... because hubby wants to "be able to see what he's painted and what he hasn't" ) then we're gonna have another go with the wood.
also... axles, new tail lights, reverse lights, a replacement black-water tank, and various misc doo-dads have all been ordered.
I am sitting down to some pizza after a day of what can only be described as an amazing failure to claim some level of sanity.
And my Loving wife here, after I just painted some of the frame with the yellow rust-olim, makes a comment about when I blow my nose the colors are black and yellow now.
Then she goes "Look.. Bumble Bee Snot"..........
I did not know if I wanted to shoot her, or shoot her.... so I decided to post that bit here instead... I still want to shoot her.... but it a little less now...
the next three pics show where he accidently sliced thru the top of the frame while cutting the wood apart, and how he clamped an angle iron into place and riveted the repair in.
I'll admit I have never done a repair of this nature, but I am concerned for the longevity of a riveted frame rail repair. I am concerned that the frame flexing over time will shear the rivets and leave a weak point in your frame.
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---AIR # 17817---
DJ
Last edited by overlander63; 01-18-2007 at 02:42 AM..
I'm not sure if anyone told you, but the floor is a part of the structural integrity of the trailer. That is, the shell is supported by the floor, and if you leave it as-is without replacing the little strip around the walls, it could allow the shell to shift while towing. In order to make the best repair, you will need to support the shell, and remove the piece of floor that is under the wall, replacing it with a larger piece of plywood that is secured across the frame and stringers.
Also, the piece of frame that is riveted together really needs to be welded. If for some reason you can't get a welder, you could use several 1/4" carriage bolts to hold the frame together, but that is also a poor alternative to welding.
i'll be sure to tell hubby about the "carriage bolt or weld it" recommendation... and ONE of those two WILL be done... however, as for the floor... after MUCH headache... we finally determined that the trailer that we had, the tile actually didn't go under the channel, like we expected, and like nearly everyone else's AS that we'd heard about... (one of the JOYS of owning a '64, apparantly... everything is a crap-shoot) so the actual thickness of the plywood WAS thinner. we took an actual piece of our floor down to Lowes to get the EXACT same thickness of wood... just to be DARN sure.
edit: overlander63, i'm not 100% awake yet... i just went back and read your post again... and again. all the wood and tile and anything else that could have been in that channel has been taken out. we're sure of that.
1. aluminum pop rivets are annoyingly fragile. they will "pop" before you are ready if you get impatient and squeeze the riveter too fast.
2. a WD hitch feels like it weighs a ton and a half, even with the arms removed.
3. if you give your husband or your father half a chance, they will steal all your extension cords for their own projects, leaving you unexpectedly in the dark.
4. my trailer doesn't have a univolt (or it has an inoperable one).
The true battery charging univolts were first used in 1965 models.
Your's simply switched between the battery and a transformer that had dual voltage output.
The 12 VAC output is for the lights, and th 19 VAC output is for the ceiling fans.
A 12 VDC fan motor works just fine on 19 VAC.
You can easily add a battery charging univolt, if you wish. That would do away with the two switches that you have. Wiring the new Univolt, is a piece of cake.
When you say "ceiling fans", you mean the vent fans, right?
And we have a Converter now, so the system will be wired into that, I'll figure all that out when I get to it.
Thanks for the info on the floor. You have given me much to think about.
Now I knew the floor was structural (And so is the frame) that is why I used steel rivets for the junction, I did not use aluminum (That would have been asking for a problem)
I would assume that steel rivets have the same shear as bolts of the same width (1/8”), and I used quite a bit of them, min 3 each side of the cut, to a max of 5 each side of the cut in every cut location (I have 3 locations).
Now, when I worked on drafting for airplanes, all the junctions were riveted, because only rivets provide for a solid junction and also allow for vibration from the wind, welding was not a desired option as when the plane flew the welds (Which would not give) would end up breaking the weaker metal in locations where vibration and flex were necessary or unavoidable. However, I know this is not a plane, but it might play by the same rules, I also know that car frames are all welded, so, that does kind of shoot down my theory and prove that plans are much different then trailers.
I’ll drop in ¼” carriage bolts on each end of the steel angle, just to be safe, as welding is not an option for me, because of the state of the trailer I am not hauling it with out the floor in, and the welder is going to charge me an arm and a leg to pack up all his stuff and come here to do the job. Maybe some day I’ll get a welder and be able to do the job myself, but as of right now, I’ll go with what I can go with, and that is bolts, screws and rivets.
I also plan to put some support straps across the frame, I’ll have Katz put some pictures of that for everyone.
Right now, I feel like I am getting sick, and as much as I want to go do the work, I just do not have any energy, Gonna take at least half a day off today, and just paint a little, and then play with the floor tomorrow.
Thanks again for everyone’s input on this project so far.
The floor was killing me, but I suppose that now it will go better.
So remember, everyone, when you replace your floor, make sure to check if the tile goes under the shell, or stops before the shell, and check this BEFORE you take the floor out!
Katz and DH, my condolences on the loss of Solar and Bengee. Losing K9 friends is sometimes as tough as losing the human ones.
And whoa! You have been busting your butts on the trailer. I would never guess it is the same coach I saw at the Can Opener. Congratulations on your haul of Airstream goodies. Very interesting thread to say the least. Carry on . . . .
Ok, it seems the shell has dropped a down a bit, in the 3 days I have been working on this infernal floor, so, now I have to brace up the shell, and then install the floor, and as it seems, since I do not have the new tank yet, I can not put down the back section (The section I started with) and since I want to get the floor down enough to support the shell, I need to do something.
I was planning on, once I get the shell lifted again, to put in 5/8" spacers around the frame, to support the shell, but I wonder if the spacers will be enough to support the shell, so I plan to just build from support framing to hold the shell up while I work my way down the trailer.
I'll let you all know how that Goes.
Next, I am going to have Katz (Since she is so good at it) post some pictures of how I fixed the floor. Now, I did have some major holes in the belly pan, but I did not want to have to replace or even remove the belly pan (I almost removed it when I fell though it, but that was not planned.
Anyway, since all the major holes are where the frame is, and I had some major rust issues with where the tank was, I decided to use EPDM self adhesive roofing membrane over the belly pan and then rivet it back to the frame again. This held it in place quite good and then some metal strips and a few more rivets where I wanted them to ensure proper contact of the membrane and I think this baby is done.
You will see in the pictures that I also laid the roofing over the entire area where the new Tank will be, this was to reinforce the area, as well as protect it from any form of future rot or decay.
Next, I’m going to insulate under the floor with some “Bubble Warp” reflective insulation and then some fiberglass over that, the “Bubble Warp” should give a good guard against any holes in the belly pan from allowing water to hit the fiberglass (And fiberglass does adsorb water like a sponge, and I want to put a guard against that, as much as I can. I could not find encapsulated fiberglass, so I’ll have to settle for faced batt, not my first choice, but it is what I have to deal with.
Now I am going to remove the third floor piece, (As it does not support the shell) and then install the second floor piece (saving the first floor piece for later, the first piece is under the bathroom, just so you know the order) and work my way down.
I still need to remove the front of the trailers interior shell, but I am saving that for tomorrow as well. Then, after I have all that removed (and I will only need to play with the fiberglass insulation again in a major way for just one more day) those fully cast fiberglass ends are quite a mess, and they can be very heavy.
While I am doing this, I hope Katz will be sanding the interior wall panels and prepping them for painting, since we are painting the panels before we reinstall them (That way there is no tape and I do not have to paint in an enclosed space). I am going to use a paint sprayer for the job to give a nice even brushless finish that will be smooth and look uniform throughout the trailer. When I get there, I’ll have Katz post pictures of that as well. Wow, lots of pictures huh she has to post, Huh?
Anyway, I popped my knee out about 2 days ago, and it’s really starting to get to me, I am Icing it tonight, I was planning on using some nice butter cream Vanilla flavor, or I could use an Ice Pack, like every suggests. I might go with the ice pack.
Katz had a great Birthday yesterday, we took her to a Longhorn (Steak House) which is one of her favorite places to go eat.. and boy did we eat.
Then we got her an Ice Cream cake and sang Happy Birthday (Well we mangled the song, proof positive that more people do not make for a better song).
Anyway, enough with all the personal stuff on with the adventure!
Well, today, I finally got the last of the interior shell off the Airstream, and we figured since we have to fit the floor under the shell, we are going to do both ends, and finish at the middle, Because the middle piece just drops in, and does not need to be fitted under the shell, so that sounded like the best plan.
Today, I finished sawing out the bolts, and cutting the sections of floor, but have not pulled up the floor yet, leaving it in, for support until I can replace it. Tomorrow, we will prep the wood with a sealer, both sides, and then when the paint dries, we will remove the floor, cut the new floor, and install all in the same day, well that is the plan anyway.
I only have 3 pieces of floor do to before this done, seems I started at the hardest end first, but that is I guess just the way I am, a sucker for pain and punishment.
I plan to use some left over pipe to fish the 7th wire under the floor, for the reverse lights and then replace the main feed line that links to the plug with a single line of 7 wires, as opposed to having the 6 wire line and the 7 wire on the outside, this should make it look clean as well as maybe offer some level of protection to the whole mess of wires.
Next, after we get the floor replaced, will be to install the bathroom again, since that will be something I am used to, I hope it goes well. The tank should be here in the next few days, so all things are going according to some plan I have not made not do I know anything about, but they are going to say the least.
Now, remember that big dent I had in the front of the Trailer, looked like it hit a tree or something. Well once I took out the interior shell, I just placed my hands on the end, and gave a little push and “POP” it went back into place, just as easy as that. As it stands that was the easiest job that has been done to the trailer yet.
Well Katz just had to make a joke of this, and was like “Heal this Trailer” like I just laid hands on it. I needed the joke, but I think she is going to get a moment purgatory for that comment alone.
Well that is the Update for now.
I’ll let you all know how things are going tomorrow.
BTW: Overlander63, was in an Accident, and if you could donate for his family, or what have you, that would be great. I believe Katz has a donate button on her Sig.
BTW: Overlander63, was in an Accident, and if you could donate for his family, or what have you, that would be great. I believe Katz has a donate button on her Sig.
Thanks.
DH
Accident??? what happened? throw us some details....
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