Floor/Outside Skin

[SilverHoot]

I'm at the point where I have placed the rear portion of the floor down to check fitment(it fits!) before I pull it back out and seal the edges. Have a question as to where the bottom of the outer skin should be in relation to the floor. Does the bottom edge of the skin align with the bottom edge of the floor, Or does it align with the top edge of the floor? looking at the old rivet holes it looks as if it aligns more with the top edge of the floor which would be the bottom edge of the c-channel. Thought I took enough pictures but guess I did not capture this detail, that coupled with the fact that much of the floor at the skin was nonexistent.

Thanks,

Michael

[silverleeper]

Hi Michael, You never take enough pictures... On the Safari it was the top part where "top edge of the floor which would be the bottom edge of the c-channel". I saw no evidence that Airstream beveled the edge to fit the slope of the rear end.

[Xbob2]

Originally Posted by SilverHoot

I'm at the point where I have placed the rear portion of the floor down to check fitment(it fits!) before I pull it back out and seal the edges. Have a question as to where the bottom of the outer skin should be in relation to the floor. Does the bottom edge of the skin align with the bottom edge of the floor, Or does it align with the top edge of the floor? looking at the old rivet holes it looks as if it aligns more with the top edge of the floor which would be the bottom edge of the c-channel. Thought I took enough pictures but guess I did not capture this detail, that coupled with the fact that much of the floor at the skin was nonexistent.

Thanks,

Michael

Working on Soldiermedic's 53 FC we were asking the same question ... found out that the chassis has a great degree of flex and the rear was sagging. We were using a 6' level to check front to back and side to side and found that it averaged the flex out. when we used a small 8" level we found the tail of the trailer about 1/4 bubble off ... that translated to about 3/4" to 1" at the rear shell. A couple of stabilizer jacks under the bumper brought everything to level. As long as your existing rivet holes are hitting c-channel, your good to go. You DID level your chassis before starting didn't you?
Bob

[SilverHoot]

Thanks Lee.
Bob,

Yes, I did level the chassis albeit not perfectly, I'm sure. What I have found is that there is a 1/2 to 3/4" difference in air gap between outside shell and floor. I jacked the frame to make the gap the same when I started questioning just how far the outside skin should come past the top of the floor level. Sounds like the bottom of the outside panel should come to just top of the floor which would be bottom of the C-channel. Further complicating things id that the streetside rear corner panel has been skinned over and is as much as 1/2" below original.

[silverleeper]

Nothing is perfect. Try to line up the old holes as best you can. I used bottle jacks so I could move each side of the frame independently. That helped me a lot. Clecos are a must.

[Xbob2]

Originally Posted by SilverHoot

Thanks Lee.
Bob,

Yes, I did level the chassis albeit not perfectly, I'm sure. What I have found is that there is a 1/2 to 3/4" difference in air gap between outside shell and floor. I jacked the frame to make the gap the same when I started questioning just how far the outside skin should come past the top of the floor level. Sounds like the bottom of the outside panel should come to just top of the floor which would be bottom of the C-channel. Further complicating things id that the streetside rear corner panel has been skinned over and is as much as 1/2" below original.

Well, like I keep saying to Soldiermedic, "The beauty trim will cover all ills."
Bob