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LI Pets · 09-12-2009, 04:53 AM

Looking good, being a sailor also I fiberglassed my floor when I did my rebuild.

I don't know why more people don't do it they to overlays and replace more plywood then they need to when a coat of cloth and resin will make it indestructible.

Keep up the good work.

pbearsailor · 09-12-2009, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LI Pets

Looking good, being a sailor also I fiberglassed my floor when I did my rebuild.

I don't know why more people don't do it they to overlays and replace more plywood then they need to when a coat of cloth and resin will make it indestructible.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Bob. Yeah, I'm surprised it isn't done more often, too. Seems like it's so easy to get a leak and so hard to realize you have one until your subfloor is mush, that this little bit of extra work and weight will be worth it.

cheers,
steve

pbearsailor · 09-13-2009, 04:51 PM

I keep going back to many of those long long restoration threads. Always seem to pick up something new, even if I've read that same thread twenty times. Last night I was reading Sergei's great thread on his Argosy and picked up something really simple that helped me today. http://www.airforums.com/forums/379844-post229.html Juel and bhayden were discussing drilling out rivets and he mentioned using a Dremel.

There are two Dremels lying on the floor of my trailer right now. Pop rivets are easy to drill out, even with my cordless drill, but bucked rivets really call for a drill with speed. Don't really have the compressor to run an air drill. Using the Dremel is so obvious, but I never would have thought of it

, and it definitely works well. My subfloor is done, so I'm starting to pull off the rest of the interior panels, and I really need to drill out all those bucked rivets on the long upper panel since I don't really have anywhere to handle that big mess of aluminum all in one piece.

So thanks to Juel and bhayden for those posts in Sergei's thread.

There is no way in the world that I'd be doing what I'm doing with this old trailer without all the great info buried in Airforums.

cheers,
steve

pbearsailor · 09-15-2009, 08:40 PM

My recent progress with polishing the rear endcap made me revisit whether or not I wanted to strip my existing overhead panel or replace it with new.

One of my buddies in the marina suggested I ask myself if I had more money or more time. Therefore I started stripping one of those panels today. They're mostly behind cabinets anyway and I'll still replace the center overhead panel since I'm getting rid of the center hatch and will have a different light layout. Seems like a million bucked rivets on each side of that center panel, but I'm sure it's really only a thousand.

I had respite care watching Pam today and treated myself to having lunch in my trailer sitting at my refinished table. That's the only woodwork I've redone so far, but I just love the table: so simple and light, but pretty big and sturdy too.

Put on a new piece of threaded rod, taller, for my propane tanks. One of them needs polish.

Heater gets here in a few days, but it'll just be a temporary install to keep the trailer warm for work this winter.

cheers,
steve

pbearsailor · 09-26-2009, 08:09 PM

I planned to take a bunch of pictures today, but after one shot, the battery was gone. I'll get some up tomorrow.

Our mornings are getting cooler and it looks like we have one more nice sunny day tomorrow and then the rain comes. I don't know if we'll see any more really nice days, so there are a few things I really want to get done this weekend.

I bought a Dickinson propane heater Newport Propane Fireplace Heater and I'm installing it on a temporary mount in its permanent location by the door. That way, I can continue to work through the winter. We've got the diesel version of the heater on our boat, really like it, and several boats in the marina have the propane model. Muddy Hollow has one in his Caravanner too and thanks to him for the input on his install. I've taken the old stack that the Panel Ray heater used off, and the new stack will go there.

I'm also moving two solar panels from my boat to the trailer. The center powered Hehr vent has been removed and I riveted on a patch for that hole today. Thanks to all the rivet experts, especially Aerowood, around here that made me feel like I knew enough about it to just jump in and do it. I practiced on some scrap yesterday, grabbed a marina buddy to buck for me today, and now I've got room to mount the solar panels tomorrow.

My lone picture is the rivet practice piece.

cheers,
steve

pbearsailor · 09-27-2009, 04:08 PM

Couple of big steps today.

With the center vent off and patched, I now have room for 4 solar panels mounted in between the existing roof vents. With our boat nearly always tied to the dock, I decided to take two of its panels off and put them on the trailer. Later I'll add two more, two fifty watt and two sixty watt panels for the total. That'll give me 220 watts of solar. My mounts came from AM Solar Rocker Foot Mounts and Tilt Bars mostly on the recommendation of John, FLYCLD, who has done about 5000 miles on his '62 Flying Cloud with the mounts firmly attached. I was concerned about that aspect, since they use a special 3M tape to attach to the roof. They seem to be on there really solid, are very easy to install, and have tilt bars so I can change the angle of the panels when parked.

Nobody to be found on a Sunday to buck rivets, but I got the patch for the heater stack clecoed on, the hole cut for the stack, and it temporarily screwed on. The outlet is a two part deal with the top exit for the hot exhaust and the lower opening is for the fresh intake air. I was going to try to use the stack from the old Panel Ray, but I really want it to work right and decided to use the Dickinson part. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the patch riveted on and the heater itself mounted.

cheers,
steve

pbearsailor · 10-01-2009, 03:00 PM

Not really a work session today, just leak checked the propane line I installed yesterday. But we fired up the heater for the first time and sat inside the warming trailer as I soon started yawning and felt that I badly needed a nap.

I just love this little heater. Excuse the shoddy cabinet it's temporarily mounted on--it has the original cutout from the Panel Ray and will be replaced later. The exhaust pipe is also the air intake feed--it's double walled. Therefore the heater is using no air from inside the trailer for combustion (a good thing). There is no noticeable heat on the outside skin after running for a hour, so the fresh air side of the deck pipe seems to insulate heat from the exhaust very well.

Let it run for 30 minutes or so to burn off the brand new odors and then brought Pam in to sit by the fire. Nasty wet drizzly Washington day outside.

cheers,
steve

slowmover · 10-02-2009, 06:02 AM

Sure am enjoying reading this, as with the other resto threads.

I know you guys in the hot country wouldn't think much of our current 85 to 90 degrees but for us in the Pacific Northwet, it's pretty darned hot. Might be taking it pretty slowly for the next few days.

Yes, working on anything metal -- in the sun -- is a challenge. Inside or out. Up to about 98F is bearable if the unit is in shade and humidity is low. One can get some work done, albeit slowly. If humidity is high (the difference between North Texas and the Gulf Coast Plain) then low 90's with a breeze is about it for me. At that point one is clock watching to catch the last hour to hour-and-a-half of light. And, one is always mindful of any solvents! On the other hand, February, March and April are fantastic for outdoor work waaay down here as one needs neither heat nor cooling.

Love the look of that heater. And that model of A/S!

pbearsailor · 10-02-2009, 09:26 AM

Sometimes I forget what it can be like back there. I grew up in it, but up north by Texarkana. Out here, we don't ever worry about whether or not we can pick up a piece of aluminum.

Once we get insulated, working conditions ought to be pretty good for us through the winter with the heater going. My biggest problem right now is getting Pam to want to stay in the trailer while I'm workiing on it. Alzheimers makes her want sameness and she's really happy in the car with her Teddy bears. And, she's at that point that she doesn't really even know when she's cold, so the car always seems like a better deal to her. I'm going to have to plan the work flow with insulating and wiring so that I change the inside appearance as little as possible and for sure keep the clutter down. She does like that little fireplace, though.

cheers,
steve

pbearsailor · 10-12-2009, 07:29 PM

I've got the patched holes for the center mount radio antenna and I'll be putting the new antenna on as soon as I take the inside forward endcap down. Thoughts on where the Wally Byam Caranvan plaque should go? From the info on the VTS site with the original instructions: "...directly over the front and rear window will be the Wally Byam Caravan plaque. Directly over the plaque will be the number. Directly above the number will be the Caravan Club decal." Do you think I should put the plaque just above the antenna mount or should I patch that lower hole so the plaque can go directly over the window?

Got the 320, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000 grit sanding done on the rear endcap and made a quick pass with the compounder today. Not perfect as it still has some pitting, but I really don't think I want to take any more material off. Looks pretty good now and I think I can be happy enough with it. Many many hours spent here.

I installed the bulkhead passthroughs for the solar panels today. They're made by Blue Sea Systems and all of their electrical stuff is really good quality. I'll be using one of their AC breaker panels later on too. Blue Sea in Bellingham, so it's a local company too. They mount through 3/4" holes in the patch installed after the center roof vent was removed. All 4 solar panels will feed through those two posts.

cheers,
steve

pbearsailor · 10-22-2009, 04:54 PM

Our weather has been a tease this week. It rains, clears up for awhile, and then rains again.

I pulled off the fiberglass forward endcap so I could buck rivets for the Wally plaque and do the antenna install. Don't know of any other 50's trailers that have the endcap in fiberglass instead of thirteen aluminum panels, but there must be others. It's so big and unwieldy that it'll likely go back up just as soon as I get the Prodex insulation installed. Planning to cover the fiberglass with a 13 panel redo in Baltic birch later on.

Decided to patch the lower antenna mount hole and put the Wally plaque over it, moving the antenna slightly higher. Looks the best to me this way.

You can see the big roll of Prodex insulation in the endcap picture, that's next up.

cheers,
steve

ASwifey · 10-22-2009, 05:42 PM

That's a great shot! Would make a perfect avatar for you.
Congratulations on the beautiful work you are doing.

pbearsailor · 10-22-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASwifey

That's a great shot! Would make a perfect avatar for you.
Congratulations on the beautiful work you are doing.

Thanks, I've really had fun with the project. Good idea on the avatar, too.

steve

Pink1 · 10-22-2009, 09:57 PM

Steve,
I read this whole thread. It is great to see a craftsman at work. The heater is neato! We were up to Orcas Island this summer and riding in a car on a ferry was different and fun. We are excited to go up again. Love the avatar too. Hi to Pam!
Smiles,
Pink

pbearsailor · 10-22-2009, 11:25 PM

Thanks Pink. Good luck on getting your trailer, I've been reading your posts.

Orcas Island is really cool. We've gone many times to Rosario there (although I guess it's hit upon our hard times now) and listened to Christoper Peacock play the old pipe organ.

Pam is still not too happy sitting inside the trailer and prefers her seat in the car. Hopefully the heater will win her over and she'll be ok inside Island Girl with me while I work.

cheers,
steve

utee94 · 10-23-2009, 07:23 AM

The recent work looks great Steve, it's time-consuming but so worth it!

-Marcus

pbearsailor · 10-23-2009, 09:33 AM

All I have to do is look at your recent posts, Marcus, to see that someday the wheels will actually turn! It'll be worth it for sure.

steve

soldiermedic · 10-23-2009, 01:35 PM

Nice Steve....I'm getting close to shutting down for the season as well. I do need to get my front panel replaced and belly pan done. Other than that, install windows and pray for easy goings until spring.

Steve

pbearsailor · 10-23-2009, 02:24 PM

Thanks Steve, fantastic progress for you--what a great crew. I've been taking notes on your bellypan redo and will get to that next year when/if the rain stops.

I'll be able to keep plugging away this winter. Heat is functional and insulation goes in next. I'm hoping to get insulated, rewired, and maybe get some of the upper inside panels back on during the cold months.

cheers,
steve

soldiermedic · 10-23-2009, 07:44 PM

Steve, I am very interestedin hearing and seeing more on your heater. Did you research to get the best price? Where did you buy from? How was the install? I plan to use the hole from the old panel ray heater, but I see that you had to use a patch.

More pics and info would be great.

We hope to tackle the front belly pan and the front panel tomorrow.

Steve