Lifting shell confirmation

[Toddzilla]

Hi Kariber,

I have a 15 foot shell and used two 2x6 stringers across with diagonal stabilizers. The was more than enough, and I just used 2x4s to hold it up.
You'd probably need 4 for yours, and if your using the gantry system you won't need to use the diagonals.

cheap and easy.





You can see mine was held up with 2 more 2x6's attached to a wall and some 4x4 legs.

[Mixter]

You can see the blocks of wood I used to place under the ribs and keep the shell from folding underneath. In the pic of the view of the front, the extra wood laying out on the floor is from when I was mocking up the size of a future lounge in the place of the original gaucho.

[RM66caravel]

Just as a precaution I would look at some of the shell off threads and would brace the inside of the shell as it is rather flimsy without the c channel or the frame as others have found the hard way! There are many ways which are not expensive to brace the shell the depending on the soil where the shell will sit it would be best not to sit it directly on the ground. I am not a pro or all that experienced but that ounce of prevention and the fact that you do have an investment to protect! This is just my opinion and please take it at cost and think about it!
Cliff


Yes I said that! Or did I?

[Mixter]

My shell was actually extremely rigid. I was really surprised... I did not claim this from my own wisdom, as I took the advice from the pro, Colin Hyde, and did not brace anything. His comment to me was that it was not necessary, and in fact added unnecessary weight. The factory assembles them the same way- with cranes that lift from the vent holes.

After my experience doing this, I cannot imagine the work of bracing the inside. There are several recent threads going where others are doing the same with same results...

Lift and go- dont be skeered!

[RM66caravel]

Rather error on the side of safety then expense have seen 1thread where the shell buckled but I do not believe damaged.
Cliff


Yes I said that! Or did I?

[Swahealy]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

Typically when lifting a shell with a gantry system, you remove the fore and aft vent lids, and all lights, fan shrouds, and AC ceiling unit so that the ceiling is completely flat. You then position a gantry frame over each of the vent holes and run a chain hoist down into the hole. Get a 4x4 or 6x4 beam that runs from the fore-most rib to the rear-most rib, and attach the hoists to this beam. You then simply lift against the beam, and the beam picks up the shell from the center of the ceiling. No additional bracing is required. If you have your inner skins in place during the lift, you might want to wrap your lift beam in old towels or something to keep it from abrading the ceiling.



Once the shell is on the ground, if you are worried about it blowing away in a strong wind, then stake it down in whatever way your creativity dictates. You might use some of those screw-in anchors that people use to anchor those fabric tent-sheds, and run webbing straps up the wall, through the window, and down the inside wall, and to the anchor.

The distance from my fore most vent to aft most is about 20 feet. It's 12 feet from middle vent to aft vent hole. Do you thing I could lift from middle and aft or should I go fore to aft?


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[Belegedhel]

Go fore and aft.


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[MacDad]

I could be wrong but I believe the method could be a 10' 4x4 or 4x6 support by a chain through the fore vent and then a 10' 4x4/4x6 with a chain through the rear vent which would give you good support and eliminate the balancing act a single chain in the center would create. Side benefit would also be not having to maneuver a 20' long hunk of lumber.

[Swahealy]

That sounds like it would work. Would there be any inherit benefit of having the 20' piece of lumber - strength ?


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[drchris66]

My 31' Sovereign is lifted as we speak. I have 2 short pieces of 2x8 under the front and back vents. Just make sure they are long enough to reach under the ribs in front and behind each vent. I've had it up and down many times as I worked on it and it's amazingly rigid. And my interior skins are completely removed. No need to lug a huge beam in there.

[Swahealy]

Drchris

Any pictures you could share? Did you separate the c channel from the shell and leave it attached to the subfloor or did you remove the c channel from the floor and lift the c channel with the frame?

I'm trying to do the former. Very nervous that I've got all attachment points free from the shell and c channel.


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[Belegedhel]

On a 70's trailer, you will leave the front and rear curved sections of "U" channel attached to the shell, and just make sure all of the bolts holding the channel to the floor/frame are out. The C/U channels that go along the sides of the trailer wrap under the subfloor, so you will need to drill out all the rivets that hold these to the shell and leave them on the floor when you lift. Try running a putty knive between the shell and the channels you are leaving behind to both cut through the sealant and to ensure that all of the rivets are fully separated.

[drchris66]

Actually, on mine there is only a "U" channel on top of the floor. Nothing wraps around the edge of the plywood. I simply slid a sawzall blade under the bottom channel from the outside and cut all the way around. Had to trim some of the outer skin to get better access, but it'll be covered by trim later. My entire channel is lifted with the shell. I'll try and get some photos tomorrow. In fact I was thinking of posting a complete renovation thread if it'll help others going through the same thing.

[Swahealy]

Just wanted to share that I did exactly what drchris said. Got my chain hoists from harbor freight and lifted shell very easily with strap around a 4x6 located in the fore and aft vent holes. Hopefully you can see that from the pictures above.

[drchris66]

Awesome work. Now, the real fun begins tearing up that decking and cleaning out the belly pan. Did mine from above after the deck was off. Read too many stories here of guys laying underneath that rotted-animal-carcass-pink-insulation-molten-mess-within. Wasn't going there.

BTW, I ran into a balance issue too. Ended up taking the door off to even the weight. Hangs nice and straight now

[Big Dad]

Hi Guys, I just read all the posts on lifting the Shell. I am doing the floor in my 2008 Bambi. I have all the interior removed less the ceiling panels. All the bolts and screws out from around the inside of the shell. It appears that this "C"/"U" channel wraps under the plywood on mine. I am in the process of removing the lower rivets and the belly and radius edges are removed. So once all the rivets are removed from the exterior and at the bottom of the ribs this shell should lift off? I am going to jack it off the frame so how much bracing do I need. I see from the pic's of lifting it off from a hoist there are no bracing at all. On a 16' is the shell strong enough, other than what I need to lift with? Any help will be great!

[Belegedhel]

Wow, a shell-off on a 2008! That must have been some leaky trailer.

Yes, once the rivets are drilled out, and all bolts removed, your shell should be liftable. Your shell is certainly strong enough to hold its shape without any cribbing or bracing. BUT, if you intend to jack it up rather than hoist it from above, you will need to build bracing in order to have something to lift against. Your shell only weighs a few hundred pounds, but if your bracing fails and the shell drops to the ground, you could do a lot of expensive damage--probably better to over brace, than to under brace. But I would still suggest that by the time you buy the lumber and build a bunch of bracing inside the shell, you could have built a set of gantry frames and lifted the shell from above, and IMHO had a safer lift.

[Big Dad]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

Wow, a shell-off on a 2008! That must have been some leaky trailer.

Yes, once the rivets are drilled out, and all bolts removed, your shell should be liftable. Your shell is certainly strong enough to hold its shape without any cribbing or bracing. BUT, if you intend to jack it up rather than hoist it from above, you will need to build bracing in order to have something to lift against. Your shell only weighs a few hundred pounds, but if your bracing fails and the shell drops to the ground, you could do a lot of expensive damage--probably better to over brace, than to under brace. But I would still suggest that by the time you buy the lumber and build a bunch of bracing inside the shell, you could have built a set of gantry frames and lifted the shell from above, and IMHO had a safer lift.

It had a broken window and the PO did not cover it up and it got really wet in the rear. I also found it had been leaking around the water tank in the front and buckled the floor, so off it comes. I have been doing Older trailer restorations but this is my first AS. A was amazed at the few screws and more silicone holding the interior together, not what I expected from an Airstream. Thank you for your advise. Drilling the rivets this morning and bracing it up I'll post some pictures for you all to view!