Bambi II Saved from Recycler!

[Becky B.]

I think this is the only place you can get Prodex from:

Prodex Total 24 Inch Insulation

I've finished my first roll & am into the 2nd. I used the first under the floor, so I hope to have enough to finish the 2nd layer.

Also, just for all the bargain shoppers, Big Lots by my house has rolls of aluminum tape for $5. It's $11.50 at Menards, so that's quite a deal! I'm through 6 rolls so far.....

[Becky B.]

I started insulating the endcaps themselves yesterday (following HiHoArRV's lead--thanks Vernon). Finished the front one, but upon further inspection of the rear, there was so much corrosion from mouse whiz that I had to do something about it. While I really don't care about the inside of the endcap, I think that if it's not stopped it will keep corroding & may cause problems later. So, I used my handy dandy Matco polisher/right angle thingy and buzzed away at it. Then I put on a quick coat of clear coat to keep it from going anywhere (in theory). I'm letting it dry a while before putting the Prodex on it. Kinda a pain to put it on the cap when it's out--

I finally found a way to keep the endcap from jiggling everywhere....Thanks Tommy Bahama!


This is a small spot of the whiz/corrosion:



After sanding/polishing with my whizzer


One finished endcap....dreading the last one!

[HiHoAgRV]

Geez, I LOVE those 'luminum endcaps...(sitting here GREEN with envy...)

[Becky B.]

Sooo....I've been looking for aluminum trailera out here & all I can find are tin roofs! Enjoying the warm weather, but progress in the Bambi II has come to a screeching halt!

[tinman54]

Looks like all you are missing is the Bambi sitting out there under the palm trees. The other guests could help you polish it!

[Becky B.]

I'm afraid she's sitting in a pile of snow back home. Poor girl--she's so neglected right now. I have no remorse--I have only a few more days to bake in the tropical sun--then back to the old same ol same ol. The salt air would be bad for the polishing anyhow!

[3Ms75Argosy]

Hawaii, or the Carribean?? Looks great... and warm!!
Marc

[Becky B.]

Warm, sunny Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

[HiHoAgRV]

[PA BAMBI II]

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

I got everything but the shower pan & black tank out this afternoon. Any suggestions as to how to get the drain out of the shower pan? It's the only thing holding the pan in. Is there some special tool that hooks in the "x" in the drain to turn it? My husband couldn't get it to turn.

I used a 9/16" wrench and a screwdriver to get the shower drain out. I used the open end of the wrench to straddle the "X" of the drain and used the screwdriver to turn the closed end. Mine turned pretty freely and I did not break the "X". Now I need to remove the plethora of rivets holding the shower pan and black tank to the wall and remove them. The gutting is almost complete!

How does one remove the toilet from the black tank? I can't see that I will be able to remove the rivets behind it without removing the toilet.

Ben

[Becky B.]

Originally Posted by PA BAMBI II

I used a 9/16" wrench and a screwdriver to get the shower drain out. I used the open end of the wrench to straddle the "X" of the drain and used the screwdriver to turn the closed end. Mine turned pretty freely and I did not break the "X". Now I need to remove the plethora of rivets holding the shower pan and black tank to the wall and remove them. The gutting is almost complete!

How does one remove the toilet from the black tank? I can't see that I will be able to remove the rivets behind it without removing the toilet.

Ben

I'm pretty sure my toilet wasn't original. It was plastic. It had bolts holding it to the black tank. Once they were loosened, it came off. I broke mine to bits, though! I have a nice, clean, porcelain one waiting in the wings! You need to post some pictures of your progress, Ben!

[Becky B.]

Well, the vacation is over .....so it's time to get back to the old Bambi II. I started fiberglassing & sanding & bondoing the black tank/toilet platform and the shower pan last spring. Figured it was time to finish that job, since I was waiting for my DH to help me (actually DO) the electric. I got some Por-15 Whitecote paint that I also plan to use for the shower walls. It came out pretty good...not perfect, but not too bad for a first timer. I don't think auto body work is my calling, however! My house really smells like strong paint. Hopefully there won't be any (more) brain damage!



I enlisted the help of my DH again to help me put the end caps back up & start with the walls. It has gone suprisingly well. Thanks, Vernon, for the tip about putting the 73" stick with styrofoam on the end to prop the end caps up. It worked great![ATTACH][/ATTACH]



Do you think I've demanded enough power lines for the little Bambi II? I like gizmos & stereos & switches, so there are lots of wires. Sadly, I am not much at electric, but my husband has humored me & wired all of it. Thanks, Bill!

[Becky B.]

I decided the front lower wall was too far gone to patch. The mice/rats/raccoons chewed the bottom of the wall for whatever reason (I think to make their super highway faster!) & it was just gross! The added bonus is that I can polish the whole front While I worked on that, my hubby hooked up all the outlets so I don't have to trip over cords anymore

The gnawed piece:




All the walls in:




Next is beginning to polish the endcaps. They are surprisingly corroded on the interior. At least the bottom will be easy! I want to have the buck rivets on the door be silver, so I'm going to prime/paint & move clecos around & rivet the door after painting. Should be interesting!

[HiHoAgRV]

Well that's interesting, 1 piece of metal all the way across. My '63 is 3 pieces. Ya gotta love new metal!!!

[worldinchaos]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

Well that's interesting, 1 piece of metal all the way across. My '63 is 3 pieces. Ya gotta love new metal!!!

Interesting. Mine is 3 piece in the rear, one piece in the front. Go figure.

[Becky B.]

Mine was also 3 pieces in the rear. In some places it was 3 layers thick, with a piece of scrap from, what I'm assuming, was a '63 Bambi (the cut out was where it was on the '63) I can't say that this trailer was a piece of artwork when it was made. There were ribs that didn't make it all the way to the floor, ribs that were only atttached on one side, the frame had a cut out so the plumbing could make it through....stuff like that. I laughed as I was busy riveting the other day. I remembered reading here about people complaining that there were rivet shavings, rivets, miscellaneous scraps in their trailers from when they were made. If you've ever completely put a trailer back together, you sure can see WHY there might be some stuff here & there! It's a pretty messy business & clean-up is a big part of the putting back together!

[Becky B.]

Started trying to polish the interior end caps this week. Wow...what a job, is all I can say. It's really pitted with corrosion (strange because it was zolatone coated). All I can think of is that they used a different grade of aluminum b/c it was getting painted. So, I sanded it with 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 2000 and then polished with a wheel. Still not so great. I'll never get all the pitting out. If it looks really bad when I'm finished, I think I'll swirl it with brushes or something. Right now, my arms really hurt!

I tried using an random orbit sander, but I think that made things worse rather than better. Pretty tuff with the interior curve:


So, I've been sanding everything back down by hand


And it's looking like this--after about 13 hours I might add....



But it still has pitting like this:

[tinman54]

The rear endcap in our 54 is like that also, I just polished it the best I could and left it. Some of it will be covered by cabinets on either side of the bed. Besides that it kind of matches me, I'm a little rusty and pitted also and I'm not 57 yrs. old yet:-) The Cruiser is making me feel that old some days though!

[Becky B.]

Thanks for the info, Tinman. I too am a bit rusty & pitted, so if it's not perfect, oh well! I have told myself that I don't have a deadline, so I'll just keep plodding away at it!

[Becky B.]

After a bunch of sanding, and all the grades of Nuvite (tried some wheel action too, but didn't get much cutting from it), and finally cycloing, I'm FINISHED with the front end cap!!! I've decided to skip the rear, since it has some deep scratches in it, and not a whole lot of it will show anyhow. Now I'll move on to priming & painting.

Here is my end cap....the new bottom was a breeze to polish...top isn't perfect, but the old gal has been down a rough road!!