Argosy Redo

[rugjenkins]

2 in foam is done on outrigger sections

[rugjenkins]

The milestone starts- 1/3 finished with the belly wraps.front door sectionrear door section with cloes

[DDOK]

Thanks again Matt for the info. Also, looks like you did a great job removing the paint !

[skyclad]

Looking great! How are you finding the buck rivet process? Having not started it yet, I'm feeling a bit nervous about it

[rugjenkins]

I was a little apprehensive at first too. After the first rivet or too it flies! I have the whole family helping- wife, 13,10 and 8 year old kids. I started with the patches. At first we squished the too much. Not good- drill out start over. The just need to be mushroomed. My 8 year old does the best. Look at the other rivets already in place and copy. For my gun it's two short blurps- less than 2 seconds and they are perfect. I'm considering replacing all the rivets. That way I know they would all be sealed. Good luck. Buck riveting is the best part.

[SteveSueMac]

"I need to believe that something extraordinary is possible."

Alicia - A Beautiful Mind

[SteveSueMac]

Will: Do you like apples?

Clark: Yeah.

Will: Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?

Good Will Hunting

[rugjenkins]

Here's my newly made banana wrap jig. I've already formed the poster board templates- once on jig to get ballpark measurements, once on camper to fine tune and then on the jig again for final fit. Now time to cut metal and rivet together! Pics to come.

All I have all the patches done and leaking rivets replaced. Rain in 2 days will let me know if I got them all.

[rugjenkins]

Here what I've done so far.
It's not to bad but near the center it buckles some. I may try some thinner pieces in the center

[DDOK]

Wow ! That is impressive.

I am just planning on reusing my banana wraps. I'll have to replace some of the aluminum on the bottom side of the pan, but I think my banana wraps are OK. I was really worried about damaging the wraps when I pulled them off, because I felt like it would be really hard to replace them if I messed them up, but now I know its possible.

Thanks for sharing !

[rugjenkins]

I would reuse mine but I raised the camper 4 in so I was going to have to modify them anyway. Plus they were damaged and badly patched.

[rugjenkins]

Making 7 panel banana wraps is tough. It's out of my skill level. The radius is too sharp for them to lay flat when riveting. So scratch that idea!!! So I pulled the originals out and modified them to work and I'll add a custom patch over the hole. modified with cleos finished

I've hit that mode where countless hours fabricating cool ideas have given way to modify and patch what you got so you can use it!!👍😃

[DDOK]

I here ya. We just finished knocking dents out of our banana raps and priming them today. We are planning on hitting national parks starting mid June, and have so much work to do. We are starting to prioritize. We won't have it all done.

I got my axles ordered this week from Colin Hyde. He seems super knowledgeable and helpful.

I've cleaned and primed the front third of the frame, and we are going to start putting floor in this week.

FYI, I did find out there are a couple of resources online for buying the wraps in case you want to go that route:

http://odmrv.com/catalog/index.php?m...roducts_id=995

http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...p/vts-2024.htm

You are doing great work. And I really appreciate you sharing what you've learned. It has been super helpful for me, and others as well I'm sure.

DD

[rugjenkins]

Repaired and painted banana wraps. Temp installed the 1st one.

[rugjenkins]

Banana wraps installed. I'm doing a happy dance. The shell is now installed.

Note: do not mask off newly painted metal until completely cured for 30 days or so- the paint peeled like a banana- pun intended.

Cleaning up windows to caulk. Never used silicon to seal the windows or anything on a camper. I spent an hour with a razor and steel wool getting the silicon haze/etch off. To the PO- thank u. I now know why one does not use silicon and I now have two beautiful panorama windows that I appreciate 😎

[skyclad]

What paint did you use on the aluminum? Did you have to prime it?

[rugjenkins]

Primed with ace galvanized and aluminum primer and top coated with ace rust stop paint. It takes about a month to fully cure. I also add valspar hardener in the paint. I scuff the metal with 400 grit sandpaper first. I painted my aluminum popup 2 yrs ago and it's holding up great and looks good.

[rugjenkins]

Caulked the windows. Painted the exterior interior skins with the ceramic paint

[skyclad]

What's yr thinking behind painting the interior of the exterior skins?

[rugjenkins]

I bought
The theory is that it's suppose to help insulate and provide a thermal break. I'm also spray foaming for insulation. Basically it's ground up ceramic- it's very fine. Just add to your paint. It was 50 bucks for 5 gallons. Why not give it a shot. I'll update on performance. I did not paint the other end cap yet so I maybe be able to test temp on either side