Visit our Popular Forums

tgregory13 · 01-17-2007, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dear Hubby

Ok, well the old floor is 5/8" but it had flooring on it (vinyl Tile), that made it 3/4" thick. Now I am not sure, if the flooring went under the channel, because I had to pull it all up when I was looking for the bolts.

But, in 1964, did they put the flooring on before the shell, or after the shell?

I have no problem getting 5/8" wood, and I have no desire to put 3/4" where 5?8" should be.. but.. I have heard the flooring went under the channel, if it did not then, 5/8" will work.

Also, everyone says 3/4" wood... so..... what do I do..?

And how is your project comming, ya got the floor in yet, because we both have the same year, did you use 5/8" for your new floor?

DH

on my 63 the vinyl did not go under the U channel... it was frame, plywood then the U channel just like a sandwich. and the U channel on the 63 does not have the, what i call a second channel, connected to the U channel that the pylwood would slide into.

i did the shell off route and right now i have everything stripped down and waiting to have the frame sandblasted..... i'm also going to add a fresh and grey tank in the frame... when mine goes back together i will use 3/4 and since mine is completly apart i will not have the problem that you are having (i hope)

here a link to my rehab thread if you want check it out... http://www.airforums.com/forum...hab-26286.html

Dear Hubby · 01-17-2007, 08:36 PM

Ok after inspecting the plywood I had left, the tiles did not go under the wall framing, like every trailer I have ever seen made (I love those "How it's made" shows)

I took the floor, with the tiles on it, and it was 3/4" I lined it up to a piece of 3/4" plywood and it was the same.

But since the tiles do not go under the shell in 64, I took a piece to the Home Improvement store and got an exact match. Seems 19/32 was the size I needed.

Now, Since it is late, I am going to cut and install tomorrow.

As for seaming the wood, I plan to do the seams at the frame breaks, so I will not have to lap the plywood down the body (Just like it was first built) the down the middle seam I plan to use the standard 3” overlap with screws at 6” o.c. with glue.

This has been so infuriating, but, As it seems, once again, older trailers, follow different rules.

DH

tgregory13 · 01-18-2007, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dear Hubby

As for seaming the wood, I plan to do the seams at the frame breaks, so I will not have to lap the plywood down the body
DH

yep, you should find that you have a crossmember to bolt to every four feet working back to front and your last sheet in the front will be less than four feet...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dear Hubby

This has been so infuriating, but, As it seems, once again, older trailers, follow different rules.

DH

thats why when you are parked in a campground in a sea of white and pop-up, pop-out, pop-apart trailers you can say to your self "what a bunch of sissys"

Dear Hubby · 01-18-2007, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgregory13

thats why when you are parked in a campground in a sea of white and pop-up, pop-out, pop-apart trailers you can say to your self "what a bunch of sissys"

Ok that was funny !

I needed a good laugh after this mess. thank you !

DH

GetOutDoors · 01-18-2007, 01:10 PM

Make sure you use corrugated fasteners (about one every 4 inches) on the seams, onece you get the flooring in, particularly the seams that go from side to side. This will help keep movement, a type of shimming, from occuring.

Seam movement control is very important, particularly if you use a glue-down flooring.

Calvin (No Hobbs)

stanton66 · 01-19-2007, 08:34 PM

the floor in your as is 5/8,it is under the c chanel,it can be replaced in one piece but you will fight with it.cut it in half, install half at a time,it will be much easier.you will still have to pry up on c chanel get it under .yes it is fine to use self tappers in the main floor area but,there is no way around pulling the inside skin off to replace the bolts that run through the c chanel,floor,then the end of the outriggers.this is a must because these bolts hold the body to the frame.and remember if its wet in the back, it could be leaking in the front.anyway fix the leaks first.

Dear Hubby · 01-22-2007, 08:06 PM

Ohh by the Leaks.

The guy before screwed the windows shut, and now.. I have nice 1/8" holes in the shell.. where water is just pouring in.

I can use self tappers though the c channel along the shell, right?

Or do I have to do some kind of bolt job there?

DH

Lumatic · 01-22-2007, 08:20 PM

Since the holes are in there, would putting in Olympic rivets be a solution that would not look like an out of place fix? They should slip right in to 1/8" holes and match the Airstream rivets closely.

Jacob D. · 01-23-2007, 02:27 PM

The ones that V.T.S. & Inland RV sell are 5/32" but you can of course drill out the hole to be 5/32" first. You can get them in 1/8" or 3/16" but I haven't found a source (haven't looked very hard either to be honest).

Put a dab of Vulkem on them as you put them in and twist them around a little once they're in the hole to get a seal all the way around and you'll be set.

For a quick fix until you can get some Olympic rivets, you can get normal 1/8" aluminium pop-rivets at Home Depot (etc) that are easy enough to drill out to replace, and will keep the water out until then.

I've put Olympic rivets in many, many holes in the outside (awning & awning rails mostly) and once they're shaved down and polished a little, you wouldn't even know they weren't there back in 1964.

Jacob D. · 01-23-2007, 02:31 PM

Oh, and along the C-channel you want to use, variously, 1" wood screws in places where there is no frame underneath the floor, self-tapping metal screws where you're joining the shell to the frame through the floor and you have no access to the underside, or you can use bolts in both cases where you have access beneath to tighten them.

I had access underneath and used wood screws every few inches to hold the shell to the floor, and then bolts every foot or so even where there was no frame, and also bolts to connect the shell to the frame. Probably overkill, but many of the original screws had rusted and I wanted to make sure the shell & floor had a good connection.

FreshAir · 02-01-2007, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stanton66

there is no way around pulling the inside skin off to replace the bolts that run through the c chanel,floor,then the end of the outriggers.this is a must because these bolts hold the body to the frame.

Question here; I am doing a partial floor replacement in the rear of my TW. I do no wish to pull much if any bathroom fixtures or cabinets...so to access the c-channel bolts is there a problem of boring a 1 1/2" or 2" hole in the inside skin at these bolts to access them without pulling the skin? None of the inside skin is visible at the floor level as it is all behind something. A vinyl patch could be glued over this hole when finished with the bolting process. Any opinions?
Thanks, Neil.

LI Pets · 02-01-2007, 04:19 AM

Why not, but use alum patches perhaps.

Jacob D. · 02-01-2007, 12:29 PM

Bear in mind that as well as the bolts, there are probably wood screws as well, and you may not be able to locate those as easily as the bolts. Mine were not evenly spaced between bolts or anything sensible like that. On the other hand if you can get the floor out without removing the screws (if it's really rotted, say) you could probably just cut them off and not replace them when you put in the new floor - just use bolts.