Another sagging '77

[junkyardawg]

I've been able to put in some time on the trailer. (needs a name...)

Today I sprayed the steel with phosphoric. I've got my pattern almost ready for cutting the new floor. I bought a piece of ac exterior plywood. I'm planning on sealing it. The belly pan has been cleaned, primed and painted.

Now I want some opinions.

Would you add any frame support. It would be fairly simple to add some support at the last crossmember. The frame does lift easily into proper alignment. I think I can add support to keep it in that position without any assistance from the shell. Is that wrongheaded? I'd be happy to put it back together without having to move it closer to the welder... its so nice and level where it is...

I used a rubber mallet and shot bag to straighten the crumpled skin. Thats a great trick!

Pictures soon...

[Splitrock]

Originally Posted by junkyardawg

I used a rubber mallet and shot bag to straighten the crumpled skin. Thats a great trick!

Pictures soon...

Interesting! I'll be watching.

[junkyardawg]

ok, a few more pics.

This is the light fixture and glass cover that didn't break on the back of my head...

I have all the metal primed, the template for the new floor is mostly ready. I want to get a coat of paint on it in the AM and hopefully start reassembly in the afternoon. I'm not going to do any welding on it. Wish me luck!

[junkyardawg]

This shows the access to the set screw that holds the glass in place...



I think these bulbs are too high wattage for the switch. The little rotary switch gets hot when these are on. I'm looking into led replacements.



This is my low buck kitchen mod. The only goal I had was to use what I already had around. The oak top was made from trees off our place. The steel I had... the sink is the bottom of a beer keg. The plumbing is odds and ends from the shop. I did have to buy one valve. Works great! Can't wait to trim this all out and make it look sharp...

slow but steady...

[junkyardawg]

My helper is worthless....

[Splitrock]

Originally Posted by junkyardawg

I used a rubber mallet and shot bag to straighten the crumpled skin. Thats a great trick!...

I'd be interested to hear (or see) more about the "rubber mallet and shot bag to straighten the crumpled skin" strategy.

[junkyardawg]

I may be doing it wrong, but I had my girlfriend hold the shot bag on the outside of the trailer and I tapped gently on the interior dents. It worked. Its not perfect, but its good enough to be able to reattach the channel and skin. You can see the condition in the first pics I posted. I'll snap some tom. so you can see how it looks.

Is there a better way? I just read that body shops use shot in leather bags to smooth dents. That's about all I knew about it. Was I doing it wrong?

[junkyardawg]

here is the curb side. You can see the shot bag on the ground between the log and tarp...

[junkyardawg]

got the new floor piece cut and fitted... boy that was a challenge. I had to cut the gate valves out... Just could not get it done with them in place. New valves will be good anyway. The plywood I used is quite a bit thicker than what came out. The back piece was 1/2" The next one moving forward is 5/8". There was no 5/8" plywood that was decent at the Home Depot, so I bought the 24/32. I had to route out some spots to fit into the channel and under the baseboard of the closets in the bath. There will be a tiny 'ledge' at the junction of the two floor pieces, but I don't think it will be a problem. I'll probably smooth it out so the laminate is not too stressed by the 1/8" difference.

Tolerances are not so tight anywhere on this old trailer anymore

I put some oil based stain around the edges and openings in the new floor and have one coat of spar urethane on the bottom. I think I'll do another coat of primer on the frame and protect it as much as I can. Hopefully I can get another 30 years out of it.

[junkyardawg]

Quick question

Would marson structural rivets be ok to use when reassembling this? I don't have the tools for doing buck rivets and just picked up some of the structural rivets from fastenal. I was going to replace all of the existing 1/8 holes with 3/16 structural rivets. plus a few more. Anyone see a problem with this plan?

These are the rivets in question

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products...l.ex?sku=41500

[junkyardawg]

well, no one warned me off... so I put it back together. It seems to be fine. Better than fine, its closed up and looks great. Feels great, I can bounce on the frame rails and it doesn't budge. I added some reinforcement to tie it all together...

The adventure continues...

[bolerama]

The kitchen looks really cool, and your "helper" . . . well, how cute is he?!
Lisa