Abby gets some separation H

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Last night it snowed here in central Texas! It usually only happens once a year, so glad we got that out of the way. It was cold for a while this morning but I managed to get motivated and got back to work when the sun came out around 10:00 a.m. I have been kinda dragging my feet with getting the correct measurements to Colin at Colin Hyde Trailer Restorations for new Axis axles. Today I got it done. I took the wheels off of the rear axle and drug it out from under Abby.

I drilled a hole in two pieces of angle iron to bolt to the hub face for an accurate measurement.

Hub face to hub face was 80"

Bracket to bracket was 61 3/8"

Hub face to bracket was 9 1/4"
I cleaned up the original data plate.

I emailed the measurement sheet to Colin and then called him on the phone.
Axle Order Sheet.doc
It was not hard at all. Anyone with some mechanical sense at all can get the correct measurements. I can't wait to install the new axles when they arrive in a few weeks. Thanks for your help Colin!

[wasagachris]

Hey Lance I'm surprised you could get anything done in that "blizzard". Wow you must have almosta 1/8" of snow on the ground. LOL.
You're really going all out now. New axles, new floor and also grey and black tanks. That tank setup will give you plenty of waste storage. 25 gallons more than your fresh tank. Keep up the great work. It's all starting to come together.

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Thanks WC,
A light dusting of snow here and EVERYTHING shuts down. It will be great to start re assembling the pieces. Tomorrow will be more frame repairs.

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Once again the weather in Texas is warm. It is great weather to be outside working on Abby. I've been cutting and prepping the 1 1/2" angle iron to weld in to the frame. I'm cutting them so they fit between three cross members. I've cut a notch out of the center to go over the cross members that are shorter where the plywood seams are. I'm filling the gap between the underside of the angle iron and the cross member with a small square piece of flat iron. I'm using the Eastwood chassis restorer system. On the new metal I'm using a phosphoric acid wash then the Eastwood Rust Encapsulator and then two coats of their Chassis Black.

I beveled the edges of the angle iron so I can get better depth with the welder. Here's a picture of the frame ready to receive some support.

To make sure I have the frame straight and level before I weld, I'm supporting the shell with a 4X4 through the utility storage compartment holes.

I have this area that I need to rectify. After speaking with Colin Hyde on Friday, I went back to look closely at the area that he said '70s trailers were known to be weak. If you look closely at the axle mounting plate on the road side, you'll see that it is bowed out about 1/8th of an inch.

The frame is buckled a little bit in the same area.

This is right aft of the rear axle mounting location. Colin described it as a "fulcrum point" The chassis fabricators at Airstream did not weld the axle mounting plate correctly. There are no welds in the area of the plate that is bowed out.

I hope to get these repairs welded in this afternoon. Oh and I'm making some ribs today.

[DanielB]

Nice methodical job.

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The ribs are ready! Time to take a timeout and watch the Super Bowl.

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The past two days I've spent welding, grinding and wire brushing. It is laborious to say the least. I've cut patches, ground angle iron and welded for two days straight. For all you people out there that have a tore up, rusted, Swiss cheese frame, have a new one built! I know Dennis, I know. That wasn't ever my plan, so I'm cutting and patching. Here are a few pics of before and after of the worst area.

I grew up on a farm in Iowa, so welding things is nothing strange or foreign to me. I'm getting used to the little welder I bought. It works better in the wind using the flux core wire. The best looking welds I've laid were with solid wire on gas when there was no wind. Here's some of my better welds.
These two were with flux core wire.

This one was with solid wire and gas.

I should be done with the welding soon. I have four new outriggers and the aft crossmember to weld in. Those go quick and easy. My main man Andy from Heights Lumber and Supply called to let me know the Dow Tuff-R Polyiso insulation I ordered was in. The guys at Heights Lumber have been just awesome helping me source the things I need. I like to buy local from a small lumber yard because I like the hometown feel when I walk in and they say "Hi Lance. You finished with that Airstream yet?" I also will be using an insulation called Roxul for the curved portions of the interior walls. All flat sections will get Reflectix and the Tuff-R polyiso.
Making progress and it feels good. Even if I've spent most of the last month like this..

Prosit!

[soldiermedic]

Good work Top. Looks like you are moving along quite nicely. When's that resto shop going to be opening up?


Nice pants. I miss the glorious days of the BDUs as well and have all my sets starched and pressed in my closet. Of course this wasn't intentional, the ACUs came out and were mandated to wear after my BDUs were at the cleaners .

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Thanks. I actually had my first paying customer yesterday. Well, hasn't paid me yet, but a customer none the less.

I have always preferred the BDUs over ACUs. My favorite is the DCUs though.

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It was a beautiful day here in central Texas! 70 degrees and full sun! I got more welding done, but here are some pictures of my focus for today.

[soldiermedic]

Lance,

If you keep posting pictures of food, I am going to drive up to Harker when I'm there over spring break and not leave till you feed me...I tip well by the way

Steve

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Originally Posted by soldiermedic

Lance,

If you keep posting pictures of food, I am going to drive up to Harker when I'm there over spring break and not leave till you feed me...I tip well by the way

Steve

You are always welcome here. I love to cook for friends!

[soldiermedic]

We'll bring a side!

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When I started with the floor "treatment" I thought it would go quickly. I was so wrong. It takes a while to get three coats of West Epoxy sanding in between coats and three coats of Defthane laid down on the cut floor pieces. Throw in the cure time, distractions, and next thing you know it's three weeks later and I've only finished two of the three sheets of ply. I think they will be nice when they are all complete and installed. Here are some pics of the stuff I used

Here is what the ply looks like after three coats of epoxy and one coat of Defthane sanded.

And here is how it looks after the second coat of Defthane.

The tanks I ordered from Ronco arrived yesterday. I got three of their 17H 25 gallon tanks. They were $502 including shipping for all three. They did mess up one of the gray tank 1 1/2 inch inlet locations. It isn't going to be a factor. I can make it work.

They put the inlets exactly as I specified on the black tank. I test fit it up with the old floor board. Should work nicely.

Tanks for reading! Oh yeah, I changed my username. I'm not in hiding and I doubt anyone is looking for me. Just thought my username should be more personal. If you are wondering "Why Top?" it's the name most people call me in my line of work, so there you have it.
Prosit!