shell off restoration of '54 Cruiser

[Stanley29]

Installed the floor today. 3/4" birch…cut it to 85" after several measurements and head scratching. Screwed them down temporarily with 2x20-2 self tapping screws. Just accidentally happened upon a Fastenal up in Portland after dropping off my springs to get re-arched. The first screw pulled right thru the plywood. Have to go slow. Im thinking I might need washers. Hope to slide her under the shell tomorrow and finish the cutting. Also worked a little more on paint removal from the front end cap . Slowly coming off

[HiHoAgRV]

Are you going to use this perfect opportunity to flip the frame and do the insulating and belly pan upside down?

[Stanley29]

Thats the plan. The cruiser is a beast…Im a little nervous about hauling it up from both ends. Before I do I will replace my climbing ropes with big chains and make sure the floor is screwed down good.
I have the floor temporarily screwed down in a few spots now. I Jacked up the frame and put it on roller boards to slide under the shell for the end cut measurements. Didn't go so well the first time. The shell teeters forward…tough to do by myself. I did manage to get her under however. I still need to square it up better before I decide to cut. Whats tough is the shell warps when you let her down from the aluminum in the front and back touch down on the uncut section of flooring. Maybe I should brace it…or not and just cut it and get er done

[HiHoAgRV]

Go for it.

[Stanley29]

frame being rolled under the shell. Little more work on the end cap. My hats off to the guys who have done this. Serious fumes and patients. Not looking forward to the rear one. Think I might try the aircraft grade remover

[Stanley29]

After several attempts of trying to duplicate the front and aft sections of the floor I remembered I still had the trim laying around. Good thing it saved the day. Not sure is I could have even come close. Should be good to go now. Interesting how the aluminum that is the main support of the shell doesn't reach the floor. 1/2 inch on some of them….

[Stanley29]

views of the shell sitting on the floor

[Stanley29]

Rolled the frame out from under the shell and put in the remaining screws then pulled them out and applied a coat of wood sealer. More coats tomorrow. Have to take care of the wheel pants next

[Stanley29]

floor with coat of sealer

[Stanley29]

Looking for some insulation ideas. Has anybody have experience with spray insulation?

[MarkR]

Google "spray foam airforums" and you'll find lots of discussion

[Stanley29]

Just ordered up my aluminum for the belly pan. went with .030 5052. $45/sheet 4x10. Still need to figure out how Im going to insulate the floor and need to find a large grey tank. Until then I will leave one cavity open. Found some 2" blue foam at Lowes. R10.. A bit pricy…then there is a guy selling some R-4 pink stuff fairly cheap. I think I saw HIHO using it. Anybody have any advice?

[Stanley29]

Did some more work on the end caps. After using copious amounts of paint remover I moved to the polish. F9….didnt do a great job.this is the front cap. I need to go at it with some steel wool or sand paper to get the deep corrosion out of the aluminum. The rear cap is coming along. I used steel wool and it works much better.

[Stanley29]

My aluminum for the belly pan has arrived. Trying to finish up the wheel wells before I flip the trailer and work the bottom size. Having issues fitting them. I had to fab most of the outer portions since the others were rusted off. I cut the floor inline with the main frame rail now Im thinking it should have hung over a half inch. No where to attach the outer lip of the fender that seems to want to rest on part of the main frame rail. I might rip a piece of wood and glue it in then screw the fender to it.

[Stanley29]

fenders

[Lance M]

I personally think sub-floor insulation is a useless waste of time and effort that will only cause more harm than good. A good heater and a warm to the foot floor covering is my best advice for cozy feet in cold weather camping.

[Stanley29]

No insulation eh. Interesting….where will the varmints live? If its a waste of time its definitely a waste of money. Foam board insulation is not cheap. Couple of things. Im not anxious to screw a bunch of holes into the bottom of the floor…also Im thinking that being upside down and bouncing down the road the foam boards would eventually come loose. Maybe. Bat would make the most sense but definitely do not want mice and they will get in…no doubt. Some spray foam maybe. HOFARC does a lot of this

[Lance M]

True. I insulated the underside of Abby with two layers of DOW TUFF-R polyiso foam board and the floor is cold on cold mornings. I wish I would have spent my time and money on other things.
Spray foam may be better. It sure is costly though.

[toastie]

I didn't put any floor insulation in mine, in fact, I put vents in the belly pan to help with air flow. If you notice on all major restorations on the forum, floor rot, mold, and mice come from wet insulation, very nasty stuff. Plus we don't camp in the winter.

toastie

[truckasaurus]

my 2c plan. I'm skipping under floor insulation and going, hopefully, with 1/2" cork flooring. That said I won't have under floor tanks either but the 1/2" cork should keep my toes warm. The BP zone is always going to be a moisture trap so I thought why bother.

Like your work by the way.