68’ Ambassador toilet floor replacement

[Zcashio]

So I just started on a 68’ Ambassador and the only bad spot is the toilet floor. 3 inches away the tub is solid and a rock, along with everywhere else besides the door subfloor a bit. I’m very surprised at how underneath the flooring the plywood still looks somewhat “new”, it’s obviously not but still surprised. I’ll attach some pics of what the previous owners have done to “hold” the toilet from falling into the tank. Terrible work, lazy, and just downright SHOTTY!! I want to totally replace the rear subfloor without removing the shell. It’s got some rear sag so it’s already dropping and the rear hold down bolts at cut out. I know I need to remove lower inner skins and then drop the belly pan. I have dropped most of the rear belly pan but the “banana” wraps( I just recently finished our 72’) will not drop. All rivets are drilled. Do I need to remove the inner skins so they will drop?? Any help would be great. Thanks.

And yes! Those are street signs added for “support” of the toilet. I’ve also found receipts hidden and back in 92’ it was at North Dallas RV for ceiling burn, they charged $32.80 to cover it up with reflectix. That’s the only cabinet I didn’t open of course. Everything worked in this unit besides the fridge. It happens to be above the fridge, but it’s the original fridge so I’m sure nothing major happened.

[Zcashio]

I’m pleased with the rest of subfloor. A small mold spot underneath one window. But it’s still structurally stuff.

[Manning G]

My '71 Ambassador 29 also has last plywood sheet problems. I have not pulled the shower tub yet but I have removed the outside trim band and the banana wrap and can see that the back 2 or 3 inches have a problem from bumper leak. The bumper can move maybe 1/2 or 3/4 inch independently of the body when you stand on it.
Also the banana wrap was rivited on top of the sheets above it. I'm sure they were supposed to be under so that water would flow over the seam without entering.
With all the plumbing there, I'm not sure how I'm going to get another piece of plywood back in there.
I'm not shooting to have a pristine showpiece of a resoration, but I want a workmanship-like permanent fix to this.
Now to scour the forums to figure out what I have to do!

[68 TWind]

I replace the rear floor in my 68 Tradwind up to the first cross member. It was a big job. You need to remove all the shower and surround, then the lower wall panels. Everything up the cross member. By mating the plywood at the cross member you have a solid surface to bolt the new floor into. That area gets lots of traffic and it needs to be as rigid as possible. I welded an piece of angle iron between the rails under the rear edge to bolt the rear to. I used POR-15 on the steel and paint to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion and SS bolts. One you get the old floor out make a template with 1/8 inch luan plywood using the old floor as a pattern. Fit the luan perfectly to the contours of the trailer and then use that as pattern for the final floor. You will have to put the new floor in in two pieces since you are doing it with the shell on. You will see why when you get to that point. Make the seam over the frame rail under the tub (street side). Rout a round over on the top and bottom edge of the new floor so it will slide into the c channel and before installation coat the edge, top and bottom in a 6-8 inch strip with a couple of coats good epoxy (West system) to seal the end grain. After installation my floor was a little springy right in front of the toilet so I laid down several layers of fiberglass cloth with epoxy resin over the whole area between the frame rails and under where the toilet sits and along the rear of the trailer. That really firmed up the floor plus will protect the wood from any future water. In hind sight I would glass it before installing. Take careful measurement of where the toilet sits in relation to the tub. After you get the new wood in, sit the toilet in the exact spot it came out of and then step on the flush lever and mark the exact center of the discharge chute on the floor down thru the toilet. That way when you cut the hole it would line up really close with the black tank, which has some wiggle room.

The banana wraps on mine were riveted on to the c-channel before the shell was lowered and riveted. The shell covers the rivet heads holding the banana wrap. I cut most of them from the inside with a multitool vibrating blade and then used a thin sharp putty knife between the shell and and the wrap to knock them loose. Be care and don't dent the edge of the shell.

Pay attention to the water heater are as well and how the old floor looks there. Make a lots of pics, 3x more than you think you will need cause they will save you a lot of head scratching when comes time to reinstall.

Finally , the trim that covers the rivet heads in the bathroom is unavailable. I tried for months and never found any. Be very careful with it when you are taking out the bath, pry the center cover out and then drill the rivets. Label each piece and make pics of exactly where it goes, again a big time saver. A good supply of cleo fasteners will greatly simplify the reinstallation of all the trim pieces.

Lots of info , hope it helps. Don't get in a hurry.

[Manning G]

Thanks Bruce & Rachel,
I think I understood everything you said and it seems straight forward. All of the rivits are out of the tub from the inside and obviously the drain is holding it in place. Todays project is to get under the trailer to get access to the tub plumbing.
To say that your instructions are pretty clear is not the samething as to say I'm not terrified!

[Manning G]

I've been on it this am. Am I seeing this clearly? Do I have to pull the black tank to get access to the shower drain so that I can pull the shower out?

[Manning G]

I've had a lifetime aversion to plumbing so I did not know how tubs attached to the drain plumbing! As I just sat there thinking, it occured to me that it HAS to unscrew from the top. My previous efforts at just that had not showed any tendency to unscrew so I made myself a tool to stick down the drain (a file and a cresent wrench to turn it), used more force, and voila she came free.

[rmkrum]

FYI there is a standard plumbers tool that has a slotted end and an adjustable handle to unscrew drain parts.
However, a flat bar and a crescent wrench is a fine substitute in a pinch.

[RichHog]

Originally Posted by 68 TWind

I replace the rear floor in my 68 Tradwind up to the first cross member. It was a big job. You need to remove all the shower and surround, then the lower wall panels. Everything up the cross member. By mating the plywood at the cross member you have a solid surface to bolt the new floor into. That area gets lots of traffic and it needs to be as rigid as possible. I welded an piece of angle iron between the rails under the rear edge to bolt the rear to. I used POR-15 on the steel and paint to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion and SS bolts. One you get the old floor out make a template with 1/8 inch luan plywood using the old floor as a pattern. Fit the luan perfectly to the contours of the trailer and then use that as pattern for the final floor. You will have to put the new floor in in two pieces since you are doing it with the shell on. You will see why when you get to that point. Make the seam over the frame rail under the tub (street side). Rout a round over on the top and bottom edge of the new floor so it will slide into the c channel and before installation coat the edge, top and bottom in a 6-8 inch strip with a couple of coats good epoxy (West system) to seal the end grain. After installation my floor was a little springy right in front of the toilet so I laid down several layers of fiberglass cloth with epoxy resin over the whole area between the frame rails and under where the toilet sits and along the rear of the trailer. That really firmed up the floor plus will protect the wood from any future water. In hind sight I would glass it before installing. Take careful measurement of where the toilet sits in relation to the tub. After you get the new wood in, sit the toilet in the exact spot it came out of and then step on the flush lever and mark the exact center of the discharge chute on the floor down thru the toilet. That way when you cut the hole it would line up really close with the black tank, which has some wiggle room.

The banana wraps on mine were riveted on to the c-channel before the shell was lowered and riveted. The shell covers the rivet heads holding the banana wrap. I cut most of them from the inside with a multitool vibrating blade and then used a thin sharp putty knife between the shell and and the wrap to knock them loose. Be care and don't dent the edge of the shell.

Pay attention to the water heater are as well and how the old floor looks there. Make a lots of pics, 3x more than you think you will need cause they will save you a lot of head scratching when comes time to reinstall.

Finally , the trim that covers the rivet heads in the bathroom is unavailable. I tried for months and never found any. Be very careful with it when you are taking out the bath, pry the center cover out and then drill the rivets. Label each piece and make pics of exactly where it goes, again a big time saver. A good supply of cleo fasteners will greatly simplify the reinstallation of all the trim pieces.

Lots of info , hope it helps. Don't get in a hurry.

Thanks for all of the detail in this. I’ve cut the black tank apart and removed in my 72 Safari and behold the floor and rot. Great advice!

[Zcashio]

So I’m terrible at keeping an ongoing thread of builds. But this 68 Ambassador is just about finished(except for painting some exterior trim and securing up the belly pan, etc.) But I thought I’d attach a few photos of the finished interior and exterior along with some fun photos of a 78 Cadillac and a 1940s plane. Nice little photo op! Hope you enjoy. Thanks for the help along this whole site. We will he offering this Ambassador up for sale soon!

[skyguyscott]

Nice job! My compliments to your impeccable design, you have mad skilz, sir.

[Zcashio]

Originally Posted by skyguyscott

Nice job! My compliments to your impeccable design, you have mad skilz, sir.

Thank you very much for the kind words. It means a lot. I still have many lessons to learn. And skills!

[J. Morgan]

Lol you didn’t have time to take pictures. Congrats on a really FAST and awesome build!

[Zcashio]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Lol you didn’t have time to take pictures. Congrats on a really FAST and awesome build!

Thank you J. Morgan. I wish I could work a tad bit faster, but these things take time. My wife wishes I were faster too. Though the magic wand doesn’t work in Airstresm world!

[J. Morgan]

I love your build! Other than you building for sale I think you and I are kind of similar in our approach, get it done, make it nice to look at and functional, and polished dents are not only acceptable, they’re cool!

[kittmaster]

That is pretty wild, nice work.......... "Alex, fold my laundry"........LOVE IT!

[Zcashio]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

I love your build! Other than you building for sale I think you and I are kind of similar in our approach, get it done, make it nice to look at and functional, and polished dents are not only acceptable, they’re cool!

Yea we are still wondering whether we will travel in it for a bit and then sell. We LOVE it and how it turned out. But after all, business is business. I have always wanted to work on an old car or truck. And I love working with my hands and seeing the end product. I also love learning new things and seeing how I can improve myself each time. I just never knew I would work on 2 vintage Airstreams before I worked on an old car/truck. We hope to soon restore/renovate an airstream that works for our family to travel for a few months at a time. With 2 littles and a dog it’s takes some thoughts.

And the dents I was concerned would look “crinkled” if I tried to work them out. They just add character and show it’s age!