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01-24-2015, 08:35 AM
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#61
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Rivet Master
1986 34' Limited
1975 27' Overlander
1969 21' Globetrotter
Conifer
, Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,278
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I know Remove all is a safer, water based stripper. I found the same situation you did. If I left it on too long, it was hard to get off. It even stained the aluminum on my 86 (which is not Alclad aluminum). I switch to nasty Aircraft Stripper. It bubbled up the old clear coat on my 66 in 15 minutes and I could scrap it off with a plastic "bondo" spatchula with no problem. It it didn't stain. You can sure see where the old clear coat was left and the area where it had faded away.
Stripping the old clear coat off makes our trailers look better. But it is a slippery slope as we then grab the polisher and begin many hours of work and future maintenance.
Neat that you are making your shell stronger. And thanks again for the tip on the cargo door frame material with gasket.
David
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02-10-2015, 06:21 PM
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#62
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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progress update
Among other little stuff, I installed a Fantastic Vent in the front opening where a PO had removed an old fan and left a leaky cover. Although I have not connected it to power, I know it will perform consistent with its name. Instructions recommended installing with sheet metal screws but I decided to use stainless #8 machine bolts with lock nuts. Then I added aluminum flats on front and back sides to give the skin more meat.
Also added was a condensate drain system to the Coleman Mach air conditioner, installed in 2008. Expert Lew Farber recommended the Dometic system available from VTS, saying the Coleman drain system was crap. The photo also shows the aluminum framing added around perimeter of the AC opening.
Other than that I've been reworking bad rivets, replacing sheet metal screws in the roof with rivets and working more on potential leak points. Nice weather most of the past week!
Jim
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03-08-2015, 12:05 PM
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#63
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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shell aft back in place
After installing new wiring at the back of the trailer as well as mineral fiber insulation, my wife and I set the shell back in place with Clecos. Note the support from behind for an ugly hole cut by a PO.
Jim
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05-19-2015, 07:33 PM
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#64
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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May 2015 update
Over the past 2 months we've done several exterior skin refinements and repairs. The entry step looks great now and there is a new refrigerator vent, gutter and door hold open. Inside with wiring complete, we've made an attempt to create a thermal break using gaffers tape. It's time to finish insulation and reinstall interior skin.
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06-07-2015, 07:18 PM
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#65
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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June update
Our project is about more than a trailer. it's about creating a place for us and our guests to relax even when we are not on the road. OK, no road experience so far but that day (year?) is getting closer. Today I riveted back the mid wall panels. There are many more steps but I enjoy jumping from one to another according to what I feel is next priority, and that changes.
My brother in law suggested Nida-Core panels for wall and cabinet construction. Never heard of them but he says yachts use them for strength and light weight. Have any of you in the AS world used them? I'll bet they are a challenge to find in mid-America.
Jim
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07-01-2015, 03:41 PM
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#66
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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Another Milestone
All the interior skin and trim is reinstalled and painted. With summer upon us, the AC is reconnected. It was great to see the new internal condensate drain flowing.
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07-07-2015, 08:33 PM
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#67
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Rivet Master
1986 34' Limited
1975 27' Overlander
1969 21' Globetrotter
Conifer
, Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,278
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Well, as they say in house building, looks like you have the drywall up! Looking nice. I wish I had learned about the AC condensate drain when I installed my new AC a few years ago. There was nothing in the Colman instructions about it, and certainly no drip pan. So I have condensate running down the side of the trailer. Not the greatest. Yours is done right.
David
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07-07-2015, 08:41 PM
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#68
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Rivet Master
2010 28' Flying Cloud
Lower Alabama
, USA
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 658
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Jim, I am still looking forward to visiting you when I make it to Devil's Den one day.
You are making good progress on the trailer and its been fun to catch up with where you are with it. Keep the updates coming!
Best regards
__________________
Alan
"If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you never tried before!"
Air #64439
Southeastern Camping Unit WBCCI #5033
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07-08-2015, 07:17 PM
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#69
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Rivet Master
1971 31' Sovereign
1972 31' Sovereign
1983 31' Airstream310
Soddy Daisy
, Tennessee
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 687
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mineral fiber insulation
What brand an thickness did you use. All I have found is the acustic is this what you used. I have a 67 safari that I am trying to gather materials for to start on it this fall. Thanks Jim
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07-20-2015, 05:12 AM
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#70
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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mineral wool brand & thickness
Quote:
Originally Posted by cole3444
What brand an thickness did you use. All I have found is the acustic is this what you used. I have a 67 safari that I am trying to gather materials for to start on it this fall. Thanks Jim
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It is a real challenge to find the right thickness of insulation. I've been on vacation so I must apologize for this tardy reply. I used 3 inch thick batts of Stone Wool from Lowe's called "Safe & Sound" and then used an electric meat carving knife to slice it down to 1.5". Where the insulation tends to fall down 3M adhesive spray kept it in place long enough. This insulation is not advertised for thermal insulation but it has about the same R-value as the mineral wool sold for that purpose.
Jim
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09-03-2015, 07:19 PM
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#71
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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one small milestone
Today I almost finished the bathroom wall, just a few touchups and a final coat of poly on the birch needed. It was slow going in part because I had to figure out what I wanted to build. It ended up with a sliding door on the front rather than a pocket door which permitted a stronger wall on the bath side, not a flimsy wall on both sides.
On the shower/tub side I decided to use two FRP sheets glued together with the back side exposed and then smoothed with #000 steel wool and the same 1 part epoxy spray finish I used on the walls and fixtures. It didn't come out as glossy as the other surfaces but it still looks better to me than the ice crystal texture of the front.
In the corner of the lower right corner of the photo you should be able to see the platform on which the converter will reside and the framing around the floor vent to move incoming air to the back wall and support the AC/DC refrigerator. I'm using some of that fresh air to ventilate the converter which will then exhaust along the edge of the chimney to be built behind the fridge.
Jim
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09-04-2015, 12:16 AM
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#72
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4 Rivet Member
1951 21' Flying Cloud
Sacramento
, California
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 263
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Very slick! What kind of runners did you use on the door?
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09-04-2015, 02:24 PM
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#73
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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The 3/4" door will hang from a track I ordered from Woodward Hardware. It has no bottom runner but does have 2 bottom guides when open. Actually I don't think I needed the bottom guides since it will nest behind the dinette bench. When closed it will have the kitchen counter top on one side and stopped from going inward by the door jamb. Small 6 lb magnets in the jambs and door are intended to keep it either open or closed. Until we build the door, not sure if all of this will work as intended.
Jim
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09-04-2015, 08:02 PM
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#74
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Rivet Master
1986 34' Limited
1975 27' Overlander
1969 21' Globetrotter
Conifer
, Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,278
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I found bulkhead walls kinda hard to make. Lots of trial and error on my part. I did get the 1/4 inch aluminum extrusion material from VTS. I had difficulty bending it to the contours of the trailer, especially in the rear bath with the spherical fiberglass end cap. It tended to kink on me. Maybe I should have heated it some before bending.
I have a pocket door and that flimsy wall on the bathroom side to cover the pocket door and vent pipe. I lost about 3" of floor space in the bathroom, but I wanted to cover those vent pipes.
You are making progress.
David
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09-29-2015, 06:48 PM
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#75
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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progress update
Two updates coming, first on DC electrical and second on plumbing.
12V fuse panel has been wired except for batteries, battery cables and battery monitor. Fuse panel is mounted at battery height for older eyes. It will be covered by the stern gaucho bench.
The AC to DC converter will be beneath the bow gaucho bench. It will steal ventilation air from the "chimney" to be used by the AC/DC refrigerator and have its air flow directed back into this chimney above the refrigerator, thus bypassing cooling needs for the fridge and somewhat isolating noise from the rest of the trailer. Obviously, there will be a box above the converter to complete this design. Will it work? Maybe...
Jim
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09-29-2015, 07:17 PM
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#76
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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plumbing update
sometimes the posts I write evaporate before ready to send. that just happened again. darn! let me try again.
Today I had the water supply system sufficiently along to do a pressure test. After fixing a couple of issues, no more drips observed. One was due to not inserting the pipe far enough into a tee and the second at a faucet connector. I had no experience with Pex so this was an important event in my mind.
Note the drain system to be beneath the lavatory, intended to allow cold and then hot to drain through one valve. A 3-way valve separates cold from hot except during the draining procedure. Will it work?
I still need to tap into cold water for the toilet supply.
The water pump is plumbed but not yet connected to power. It is also not yet anchored. It is beneath the future bed.
For comparison to systems in place when we bought the trailer, see my post of 01-10-2013.
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09-29-2015, 07:40 PM
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#77
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Rivet Master
1986 34' Limited
1975 27' Overlander
1969 21' Globetrotter
Conifer
, Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,278
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PEX works great and is so much faster and cheaper than soldered copper lines. You used the push to connect (PTC) fittings which are even easier than the crimp clamps I used. I had three leaks during my initial test, and all three were from pipe threads, kinda the same experience you had.
Your idea to use a three way valve to drain the cold and then the hot water lines ought to work. I did not provide a water drain circuit in my Trade Wind. I use the pump to run the system dry, then open the plug in the water heater to drain it, and then bypass the water heater and blow pressurized air through each circuit. Finally I pump RV antifreeze through each circuit (kitchen, bath, shower, toilet, etc.) Winterizing is important in Minnesota cold.
You're coming along on your rebuild.
David
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10-08-2015, 03:57 PM
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#78
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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Now the bath components are reinstalled except for the new toilet. Most of the fiberglass pieces were cracked or completely broken so it took a fair amount of repair and refinishing. One refinement made was to add a toilet paper storage box behind the toilet. Before there was just a hole that a PO had crudely covered with plywood. At the lavatory I moved the power outlet further away from the water and, of course, put in a GFI model. A small LED was added on the closet partition above the lavatory.
Obviously we still have shelves and cabinet door to build for the closet.
One side benefit is that now we have a few power outlets inside the trailer, a nice feature with winter coming.
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10-08-2015, 06:52 PM
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#79
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4 Rivet Member
1967 22' Safari
West Fork
, Arkansas
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 394
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VTS bulkhead wall trim
Some time ago I bought 2 - 8 foot aluminum extrusions from VTS intended for curved bulkhead walls. When I found how difficult these are to bend without buckling, I decided to reuse the beat up, pink painted, original trim but then found a cool way to also use the VTS aluminum. (My spouse cleaned up the original extrusions.) On my post from Sept 3 one of these is visible at the street side of the door opening into the bathroom. On the post from earlier today, the other stick was used to trim out the closet partition next to the lavatory. This second one is set temporarily in place until the closet has a door.
Jim
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10-08-2015, 07:12 PM
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#80
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Rivet Master
1986 34' Limited
1975 27' Overlander
1969 21' Globetrotter
Conifer
, Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,278
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Hi Jim, I too found the bulkhead wall extrusions a bugger to bend. I used one of my trailer tires as a mandrel and bent it using that tire as a large radius. It helped, but not the best. Thinking back on it, maybe I should have pre-heated the aluminum to say 300 degrees F carefully using a butane torch. The metal may have bent more easily.
At least you were able to utilize the pieces you purchased. They were pretty spendy as I recall, but I'm grateful to VTS for providing them.
I'll bet the Arkansas fall colors are heading toward their peak by now.
David
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