'65 Caravel floor

[trout-fly]

I`ve taken all the interior out,,,and all the bottom pannels,,,i`ve been reading all the info on floor removal,,,i want to take the floor out in sections,,,when i get all the wood out,,what is holding up the walls,,,it looks like the wall sections are sitting on the 5/8 plywood,,, the bolts seem to come up thru the floor and thru the bottom channel of the wall,,mind are all bent and cuting these off is tricky because it`s right up agianst the wall and the nuts are in the channel,,, is there a site that shows the floor being taken out,,,,,is the belly pan really needed?,,,it seems that they gather a lot of dirt and mice,,,,i have a t@b trailer,,,they have a black liner glued to the bottom of the wood,,,and the floor is 2 pieces of thin plywood with ridgid insulation between the plywood,,the whole system sits on the frame and is bolted to it,,,i installed a flush tiolet with on demand water with a black tank,,,after i drilled thru the floor i sealed around the opening,,,i`ve never had a mouse problem,,it seems to me if there is a space between the floor and the bellypan,,,some mouse is going to find his way in,,along with water and other stuff,,,i live on the wet coast and water is always a problem,,,,,has any body done a new floor without putting the belly pan back in,,,,,thanks ekith

[Minno]

We just finished the floor in our '72 Sovereign.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f185...b-50967-3.html starting at post 30. We were warned to put pieces of wood in the channel where the ribs meet channel in areas where the floor was out, otherwise the walls might collapse or buckle. The elevator bolts are bent over on purpose in order to prevent them from vibrating out. They're a pain to cut out but a Dremel with a cut off wheel is what we used. Hope that helps.

Kay

[65CV]

Trout-fly,

Congratulations on the Caravel and I hope the restoration goes well for you.

Here's a picture of the construction of an airstream that really helped me. I think the artist was NorCalBambi, but I saved it quite a while ago. It shows how the wood is integral to the construction.

Here is a great thread to start: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...ons-35399.html You will note the shell-off and shell-on methods. I chose the shell off, since the Caravel shell is pretty small. In either case, you absolutely, positively need to ensure that the floor is well bonded to the shell when you're finished.

My thread is here: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f145...vel-45046.html

I'll try to keep an eye out for your posts and help where I can.

Best of luck,

John

[Stefrobrts]

I did my floor without taking the bellypan off, I did it all from the inside. I only did the front from the wheelwells forward, and the shell didn't shift or budge even a bit, I didn't even have to brace it. I cut the nuts off with a dremel tool to get the old bolts out.

I think the bellypan adds to the aerodynamic shape and smooths the windflow under the trailer, but then some new airstreams don't have bellypans, so maybe it's not necessary. I think a vintage trailer would look sort of funny without it.

[trout-fly]

i`m hoping this comes out,,,if it does i`ll post more pictures of my rebuild,,,the wiring in the floor had burnt in 3 places,,,and a whole wack of mice found a nice warm place to live,,,thanks keith

[safari57]

Keith,

I do not have a belly pan on the Flying Cloud. I wanted to be able to keep an eye on the floor. I put my tanks inside. Nice and clean underneath. I'm in Cloverdale if you ever want to take a look.

Barry

[trout-fly]

hello barry,,,i`d would like to see your flying cloud,,,could you email me at popspredatoryplants@shaw.ca phone# is 604 533 8507,,,right now my phone doesn`t work,,,we have two houses on the property the front house is where our oldest son lives,,his wife wanted a swimming pool,so when the company dug the hole they hit my telephone line,,it looks like it`s out for a few weeks,,,if you leave your phone #on the email i will call back on the cel phone,,,i don`t carry it and it dosen`t have message or caller id,,,thanks keith

[King O D Road]

Hi Keith, I'm rebuilding a 65 caravel this winter also and will be visiting Barry the week-end of the 12th Dec. Maybe we can get together and discuss a few problems.
Roger

[safari57]

Keith

I'll talk to Roger and maybe he and I can pop over to your place on our way out to view another friends Airstream, and some of our hot rod buddies, in Mission on the weekend of the 12th.

Work for you?

Barry

[trout-fly]

hello rodger and barry,,,i`ll be around here on the 12th.,,,my phone should work by then,,,let me know what time? thanks keith

[Bo&Susan]

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

I did my floor without taking the bellypan off, I did it all from the inside. I only did the front from the wheelwells forward, and the shell didn't shift or budge even a bit, I didn't even have to brace it. I cut the nuts off with a dremel tool to get the old bolts out.

I think the bellypan adds to the aerodynamic shape and smooths the windflow under the trailer, but then some new airstreams don't have bellypans, so maybe it's not necessary. I think a vintage trailer would look sort of funny without it.

We have all the new floor in and all fastened down but for the bolts in the c channel. How do we do this without removing the belly pan and banana wrap? Thanks Susan

[Stefrobrts]

As I recall (it's been a few years now) I used short (1 inch maybe?) self-tapping screws with a wide head and rubber washers to separate them from the aluminum. I just screwed down through the channel into the new wood. Originally there were bolts and staples, so I used a lot of those self tapping screws to convince myself it was all secure.

[Bo&Susan]

Thanks for your prompt reply.We actually purchased what you have discribed but were not sure it would be enough. If yours has held up several years then I think we will go ahead and use them. Its got to be better than what we removed, Don,t know how it stayed together for the P.O. Thanks again Susan