Domino effect: fixtures->floor->frame

[sandgrubber]

I just wanted to pull the fixtures in the bathroom cause they were ugly and cried out for some paint. I knew I was likely to find and need to replace some plywood. Everyone seems to find rot in bathrooms in older TT's. What I didn't count on is rot that went through from the bathroom to the floor to the framing. I'm trying hard not to panic. I have a lot of sheet metal aluminum and a bending brake. I like working metal. But I have pathetically little experience and it's a steep learning curve. Here are some pictures. (text continued in next post).

[sandgrubber]

First shot above shows the floor. The dark part is very rotted. The light part was patched by a PO. There was some very rotted wood between the toilet and the tank as well.

Second shot shows a piece that went from the lid to the bumper box where the hoses, etc. are stored to a sheet of Aluminum that sat under the floor (I think...maybe it was over).

[sandgrubber]

Not a good day on the internet. Lost a couple posts. Then air forums went down for a couple hours, loosing another post. Now it won't let me edit previous posts. c'est la vie.

Third shot shows that the rot has gotten to the top portion of the main horizontal beams.

Last shot shows a piece of iron or steel that was vertical at the back and not attached to anything. I think it once provided a structural base for the skin. It seems to have once had a bent edge that locked into the floor system, but this is long gone.

I'm a little frightened by this all. Have been on a steep learning curve with respect to rivets, sheet metal, bending brakes, backwards saw blades. I have a lot of sheet aluminum to play with, and some basic tools. But I'm a 67 yr old academic woman. I've always enjoyed tinkering, but not had much support in doing it.

[sandgrubber]

just lost another post and got more messages about the system being down for maintenance ....will finish this off another day when the system is more stable. Sorry for the stop and go text.

[Lumatic]

Photos suggest pretty severe frame damage. I would be concerned with the condition of the rest of the frame, not just the bathroom.

[KrisE MN]

I put an ad on craigslist. On the Iron Range, we have 100's of iron workers laid off so I had to take my ad down I was getting so much response.

I don't know how safe your area is though. I live in a small town, everyone knows everyone.

I'm more into the design and decorating. Thankfully, for right now I have a few great guys helping me out. They have the GT emptied and floor off up to the door. One is a welder and had me call to get the last frame member in the back. Mine was missing, past roached LOL

I can get the specifics if you want. It's lighter gauge steel so specialty. I'm ordering the tanks and they'll be putting those in, plumbing, fixing electrical wires then putting floor back on. I'll putz with the wire brush and Por15 in the meantime.

We found that the door threshold didn't have any wood to fasten to. Looks like from factory, hard to believe.

I'm not sure if I wouldn't give up if it was just me tackling all of this. It's daunting! No wonder I see so many gutted Airstreams on the market.

So... my advise is to hire help when you can. I am hoping to avoid a 3 year remodel if I can.

[sandgrubber]

Originally Posted by KrisE MN

I put an ad on craigslist. On the Iron Range, we have 100's of iron workers laid off so I had to take my ad down I was getting so much response.

Do you know any unemployed iron workers who would like a vacation in Florida? I'm in a rural area but there are so many people with drug and alcohol problems that Craigslist is not a safe place. I've had a few problems with local 'skilled trades' ads where guys weren't what they claimed (one stole my DeWalt cordless tools and pawned them, and ended out in jail for his efforts ).

Our local RV shop is asking $100 for a callout and $65+/hr. More than I can afford.

[sandgrubber]

Originally Posted by Lumatic

Photos suggest pretty severe frame damage. I would be concerned with the condition of the rest of the frame, not just the bathroom.

The damage is heavily localized to the back. I think the back bumper worked as a rain trap and kept the area soaked for years. The step is also well rotted, but has been welded back together. The frame beneath the body of the TT shows only surface rust, no pitting.

Where I am stuck is in not knowing what I'm aiming for in the repair. There are quite a few guys around here who restore vintage cars and tractors and probably have the requisite skills. The RV repair people are unreasonably expensive, at least for my budget. At this time of year, they are kept busy servicing the 'snowbirds' (that's Florida) with their luxury Class A's.

What would be really useful is a drawing or some photos showing what the original assembly looked like.

[xrvr]

Call JD sanders and ask if the recommend a welder to help you. They use a local Gainesville welding shop but I can't remember which one. There are mobile welding outfits but you are correct in being careful. It's not going to be cheap if you want the job done right, but a good local guy can probably help you. You don't need an rv shop , you need a welder if the frame us the problem. Call sanders and ask for advice, good luck.

[KrisE MN]

Originally Posted by sandgrubber

What would be really useful is a drawing or some photos showing what the original assembly looked like.

The nice folks here showed me how to get this stuff via google search

type in airfurums then the keywords you want to search by

in this case: airforums 1970 Caravel drawings

I found alot of year/model specific information for myself this way. Also if you click on images when the search comes up, you can scroll through those

[sandgrubber]

Originally Posted by KrisE MN

The nice folks here showed me how to get this stuff via google search

type in airfurums then the keywords you want to search by

in this case: airforums 1970 Caravel drawings

I found alot of year/model specific information for myself this way. Also if you click on images when the search comes up, you can scroll through those

Great suggestion. I didn't find much for the Caravel, but similar years of other models seem to be similar. If the post by Aage on this thread is an indication
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...ngs-77095.html
... the piece that is obliterated by rust (last photo) was the rear hold down plate, and was just attached to the subfloor. Looks like its function was to stiffen things up, so it probably should be steel or iron plate, say 1/8" thick. But it doesn't look to be tied in to the whole framing structure and exact dimensions don't seem critical...can just try to recreate the old piece from the rusted remains.

[KrisE MN]

I found this:
http://www.airstream.com/wp-content/...0110i.arc_.pdf

[rugjenkins]

On my 75 argosy mine was rusted out too. I made and welded a new one like the one up front. It was welded to the frame. Hope this helps