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wasagachris · 01-26-2011, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REDNAX

That's why I said "remember" . . . I know I haven't seen them all, and I would hate to have been offensive to those who have done as well that I may have seen. Thanks for the pic (and now another thread to read)!!

Morning Rednax no offense taken I'm just joking with Daniel.

I'm pleased his frame turned out so well. It was a real mess when he started. The PO had really buggered things up and left him a jigsaw puzzle with wrong and missing pieces plus no picture to work from. Given what he started with his trailer is working out tremendously. That's all down to Daniel and his hard work and skill.
Chris.

DanielB · 01-27-2011, 07:56 PM

Ok I'm kinda bored, but in a good way.

Was hoping to get the axles today, but I called and he said they are scheduled for Monday. That is good because it gives time to piddle around with some little things that wouldn't otherwise get done. Gotta keep moving forward..

The next day after ordering the Dexter axles I remembered someone in a thread mentioned that Dexter would put the shock holders on, so I called the guy back (local wheel and tire company) and asked him about it. Told him that I wanted them on there if they could do it. Don, Bless his heart. He was surprised about shocks on a torsion axle, said he'd never seen it. I told him that Airstreams had them and he said he'd call Dexter and ask about it.

Well, when I talked to him today he said that he did call them back and they told them that they had the template for the shock holder. I have no idea whether they are going to weld them on, if they do they will be right, or how much extra it will cost me. I'll find out Monday when they come in.

I sorted all of my bolts and screws. That was fun.

I got my new lenses for the rear lights and signals assemblies. Since the PO didn't leave me with any screws to screw them in, I went through my sorted collection, but couldn't find anything that would work.

When I was putting the tanks in I decided to go ahead and run new wires and connectors and what-not to the sensors. I got a bag of brass screws to replace the rusted ones that were there. I still had a good number of these small brass screws.. and they fit on the lens assemblies!

This weekend I'll more than likely screw a couple pieces of floor on just to get a feel for it. and wait for the axles to finish that. I've got some measuring to do to try to get the JC channel positioned correctly on the floor. That is the thing that is worrying me most right now, the JC channel. Well.. that and leaks.

Aage · 01-27-2011, 09:20 PM

Daniel,

Some days, sorting screws is the most fun there is, huh?

Not sure how brass will work for the lenses, but I've always heard on here that if you are screwing into aluminum, use stainless steel.

I'm sure somebody else will tell us why, real soon.

Keep up the good work, it's looking real fine!

wasagachris · 01-27-2011, 09:47 PM

Daniel just a few words of advice. Don't fasten down any of the floor sheets until you have dry fitted the entire floor and checked the alignment and measurements of everything. If you start the first sheet a little off square you can be out of square to the frame by several inches by the time you get to the last sheet. Lay out all the sheets from front to back keeping them tight to each other and make sure they sit evenly on the outriggers on each side.
When you put your black inner wheel wells in place line them up equally on each side of the trailer and place them slightly wider than the floor sheets so they will line up with the C channel outer edge once it is attached to the floor. Make sure the wheel wells are the same distance from the front of the trailer.
When I reinstalled the C channel I had several points to measure from on the old floor so as to get it on the new floor in exactly the same spot. Use as many reference points as you can from your old floor(not the PO's replacement sheets).
Measure, check, remeasure, recheck and then do it all over again until you are absolutely sure everything is where it should be. You don't want to be dropping the shell back on and find out your new floor is off aligned.
Chris.
I hope all goes well with your axles. Sorry but these are some of the problems you face by not using exact replacements. Good luck.
Chris.

DanielB · 01-28-2011, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aage

Daniel,

Some days, sorting screws is the most fun there is, huh?

Not sure how brass will work for the lenses, but I've always heard on here that if you are screwing into aluminum, use stainless steel.

I'm sure somebody else will tell us why, real soon.

Keep up the good work, it's looking real fine!

Def. a lot more fun to sort screws than hauling 7 sheets of 3//4" plywood in and out of the storage room or painting with rust sealer. It is good to get a break.

DanielB · 01-28-2011, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Daniel just a few words of advice.

Hey Chris, thanks for the heads up.
I get the floor alignment deal. I worked on framing crews for years in the olden days framing houses. The one dependable thing is the 4' width of the plywood.

For the wheel wells the plan was to let them float until the shell was back on. That way I can move them around however they need to be. The critical concern for me is that they need to be in the right position to rivet the outside edges to the shell.

I really don't have a good history with the old JC channel for a pattern as far as lengths and what-not, so this will be problematic. I really want to get it on without gaps if possible. It will probably take the biggest part of the weekend to get this figured out.

Lance M · 01-28-2011, 06:16 AM

Daniel,
Like the guy you talked to where you ordered the axles, many people are sure that shocks are NOT required with torsion axles. See this thread:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f460...ers-69733.html
This is where I was schooled on shocks. I read everything I could on the subject and came to the conclusion that there was absolutely no test or engineering data available to prove that shocks make any difference in the ride quality (good or bad) of a rubber torsion axle. Having fresh axles is what really matters. As for your choice in axles, I believe you've made a good choice with Dexter. They will be just fine. I'm not sure how much you paid, but I'm sure it was a fair price. I plan to buy my Axis axles from Colin Hyde Trailer Restoration. I was quoted a price of $430 each for Axis axles. This price includes all hardware and shock brackets installed.
Inland quoted me $750 each. Plus mounting hardware kits (2) for $12.95.
Here's the totals from each.

Axis from Colin Hyde-$860
Henschen axles (made by Axis) from Inland $1,525.90.

The difference in price, $665.90 is amazing to me. I can't believe that people would actually pay nearly twice the price for an axle made on the same production line. Think of the things you could buy with $660. Maybe a new welder?

DanielB · 01-28-2011, 05:17 PM

Hey Lance,

The axles that I'm getting are Dexter #11, 4400 lbs ea. with 12" electric brakes, hubs, drums, 22.5 down angle and mounting brackets.
$560 each. Ouch!

Axis had a better price, I believe, but I went with the Dexters because we have a local place here that sells them so if I need to yell at somebody I can do it in person.

A hundred or two is no big deal to me for axles. I spend that much every weekend it seems like on assorted junk for the trailer.

As for the shocks.. I remember reading those threads, but again, why not? If I have the brackets for them on the axles and don't use them there is no harm done, and I'm rich so the money doesn't matter. It certainly can't hurt anything (I hope). If the brackets are there I may or may not put shocks on there.

If I were to ever sell the beast, I would certainly put the shocks on there and highlight them as an example of Airstream luxury and quality.

DanielB · 01-29-2011, 08:28 AM

Attach floor weekend. Promises to be great weather.

First thing this morning, attach the plywood strips to the cross members for the floor breaks. Not sure if they were attached originally, but will definitely make it easier to work with the plywood sheets if the strips aren't sliding around. Love the self taping screws.

DanielB · 01-29-2011, 08:42 AM

There are a couple of original issues that have to be.. Ima call it "corrected", before the floor goes on.

Issue number 1.
The outriggers that the steps attach to span a break in the plywood floor. Unfortunately, where the two pieces of plywood come together above the steps, the only support is a thin piece of aluminum sheet between the plywood and the outriggers.

So, the most used piece of floor in the trailer, the spot immediately inside the door, has a break in the plywood with no support under the break.

Pic1 shows the chassis in this area.

Pic2 shows the area with the aluminum sheet and a piece of angle aluminum on the outside that the door bolts to.

Pic3/4/5 shows is the adaptation. I cut the two floor pieces around that opening and cut a solid piece to fit in over the opening. All floor joins here now rest on the chassis.

I am very surprised that the original configuration held up at all. I can see a 250-300 lb person stepping in the door directly over that unsupported crack.. wow.

If your floor "gives" right inside the door, this might be why.

DanielB · 01-29-2011, 08:53 AM

The second issue to be corrected, is on the roadside rear.

On my model there was a box built in between a couple of outriggers for the water and electric to spool out.

The problem here is similar to Problem1 above.. support underneath the flooring.

Photo1 shows the area there. Again a floor break with no support between the outriggers.

In this case though there is no floor between the outriggers, except a thin strip on the outside under the shell.

Pic2 shows that the rear U channel and the JC channel for the side actually meet in this area.. and again the only thing underneath these is a strip of 3/4" plywood with a break in it.

Pic3 shows the improvement. A piece of angle will be fit on top of the outside of the outriggers.

It's going to be so awesome to get this floor on.

DanielB · 01-29-2011, 03:25 PM

Lucky break today. I'd kinda decided to go with the commercial vinyl tile for the floor. Last night on Craigslist guy had some Armstrong for $15 a box (45 pieces). Went there today and picked up 6 boxes. Awesome.

DanielB · 01-30-2011, 08:40 AM

Pretty stoked about the floor tiles. I had to spread a few out to have a look-see.
I got 4 boxes of red and 2 of green.

Since the weather is awesome this weekend and I won't get my axles till tomorrow, I decided to go ahead and get the floor ready for reattaching to the shell.

I removed the old axles.
If the Airstream Gods are with me, when I get the axles it will be just a matter of attaching the 8 bolts, and the Beast will be ready to be reunited with it's shell.

DanielB · 01-30-2011, 12:56 PM

I need a rest break.

Small but very important detail.. the JC channel is made for 3/4" plywood. Not. It is actually something like 1/8" less than 3/4".

Last big thing was to put the channel on the floor. Thought that I was going to be cute and throw on some flashing tape around the edge of the plywood beforehand.

Mistake and mistake.
JC channel way to narrow.
I'm getting too old for this. Only have so much energy.
Anyway, had to pull the flashing tape off and do violence to the edges of the plywood so that the JC channel would fit.

It actually was
1) Quick work
2) Necessitates re-sealing (epoxy or whatever) the plywood around the edges again.
2) Allows me to go back to the original plan to use real flashing around the edge so that I can have a good amount inside the channel to bend up alongside the inner wall and underneath to keep any moisture that seeps down from the edge away from the floor for an extra inch or so.

Anyway, how I did this was to mark a line 1 3/4" in from the edge of the plywood and scratch a line there. Set the Skil saw to about 1/8 or so, turned the skil saw sideways and dragged it to and fro along the line and out from the line.. used it sort of like a router.

wasagachris · 01-30-2011, 02:41 PM

Daniel I had the same issue with the plywood and I put it down to the paint I used to seal the floor and edges. It was quite thick. Also the plywood they sell now is metric sized and slightly larger than imperial measurements. I had to hammer the channel off the old floor sheets so I did the same in reverse to install the channel on the new floor. It was a very tight fit and the plywood did compress enough to get the channel on.
BTW why are you not sealing up the whole floor sheets both top and bottom before installing it. I would paint a waterproof sealer on the sheets on both sides and the edges before installation.
Chris.

DanielB · 01-30-2011, 02:50 PM

The plywood sheets have 2 coats of water based Verathane on each side and the edges are sealed with epoxy. I just need to re-epoxy the places where I ground it down today.

The channel fits great now. I didn't need to hammer it.. just tap, tap, tap.

wasagachris · 01-30-2011, 04:27 PM

Hi daniel Sorry the pics didn`t show the sealing of the floor. Anyway I managed to get the pics I promised you of the fresh water tank venting and I took a pic of the channel meeting point above the reels roadside.

DanielB · 01-30-2011, 05:22 PM

Very informative. Thanks a bunch Chris.

Aage · 01-31-2011, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Hi daniel Sorry the pics didn`t show the sealing of the floor. Anyway I managed to get the pics I promised you of the fresh water tank venting and I took a pic of the channel meeting point above the reels roadside.

Chris, do you have two fresh water tanks? If not, why are there two vent lines? Also, I guess you haven't connected the fill line(s) yet, but it's not obvious in the photo where it will go...?

wasagachris · 01-31-2011, 09:36 AM

Aage it is one tank which is sectioned around the angle iron for the floor support so that`s why the two vent lines. You can see the nipple for the fresh water fill on the fill port. I have not really connected any water lines yet just mocked this up for daniel to see.