Seems as if fixing the frame will be a DYI job

[phoyt]

Hi there,

Speaking of the back end of 76 Sovereigns... has anyone given any thought to any re-design that might help eliminate future leaks? I suspect this is a common problem with our 'habit'...

The old floor along the back side was the most rotted out on my 76, and the frame rails in that same area were in the worse shape of any other part of the frame. From other threads it seems apparent that the factory design encourages leaks or water to funnel under the shell.

My frame is off, all covered with POR 15 and just waiting for some new outriggers to show up before I can begin to put things back together... so now is the time for me to start thinking about this. I have to replace the rear hold down plate that is at the center of that back wall, it was so rusted out from past leaks it couldn't be salvaged.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Pete

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by phoyt

Hi there,

Speaking of the back end of 76 Sovereigns... has anyone given any thought to any re-design that might help eliminate future leaks? I suspect this is a common problem with our 'habit'...

The old floor along the back side was the most rotted out on my 76, and the frame rails in that same area were in the worse shape of any other part of the frame. From other threads it seems apparent that the factory design encourages leaks or water to funnel under the shell.

My frame is off, all covered with POR 15 and just waiting for some new outriggers to show up before I can begin to put things back together... so now is the time for me to start thinking about this. I have to replace the rear hold down plate that is at the center of that back wall, it was so rusted out from past leaks it couldn't be salvaged.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Pete

Hello Pete,
Our entire frame was pretty much shot so we are starting from the ground up. My husband's welding instructor is coming out today to take a look at the situation and the steel will be here in about a week or two. We have had all of our outriggers here since last fall because we foolishly thought we could find someone to weld it up. What a dreamer I was.

I would like to incorporate some of the great ideas I have seen on the Forums to our little project too. It always is a question because sometimes the ideas on done on trailers that are of a different year so some will work and some won't. Of course, I have been accused of having way too many ideas....that accusation is completely false of course.

Some people on the Forums have come up with some ideas on how to fix the infamous leak situation and we have saved some of those ideas. I think the real fix will be when we start reconstructing. Some things can be figured out until you get into it. I think the Forums are a great place to look for suggestions and people are really great to help with questions.

You seem to have made considerable progress on your trailer and so will likely be done before we will. My husband is going to work all winter on the interior rebuilding using the old stuff only as template material. No more plastic and vinyl for us. We survived the 70's once already so that was enough.

I keep watching the Forums for more ideas and have much of my interior upholstery and curtain fabric ready for the interior to be done. I am ready and just waiting on that durn frame to be fixed so we can feel we can move forward. Good news is that the Albatross now has an almost completed Rookery to go into once the frame is completed. A little progress is a good thing even if it isn't on the AS just yet.
Sandy

[ND10CentCan]

We finally got our steel today for our rebuild. Our axles are supposed to be here but we haven't seen them yet. I can't really imagine getting both the steel and the axles and being ready to go. Wow.... Dearest husband has been out in the Rookery since he got home caressing the steel and imagining what he might be able to do once the axles are delivered. I can see progress for the first time in a long, long time. Yippee!!

[Lance M]

That's encouraging news! Hope your husband enjoys making a new frame. Looking for some progress pics....

[Darkspeed]

Cool.. good luck on the frame... Thats some serious fun

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by Darkspeed

Cool.. good luck on the frame... Thats some serious fun

Thanks for the encouragement. I hope he doesn't hurt himself, start a fire, or have a stroke moving those long, long pieces. Stay tuned on that front and I will post pictures once we have more than a pile of steel and no axles.
Sandy

[my3sonsdad]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

If your frame is really bad, and there are no local welders available...

Then why not have a new frame with axle(s) and tires built and go pick it up or have it delivered to you? Perhaps P & S Trailer, or even the factory could furnish you with a replacement trailer.

Of course Iowa or Minnesota might be possibilities too.

You end up with a frame and suspension in first class condition and you're ready to start the reconstruction within weeks instead of months.

Paula

Sage advice to be found in this forum.

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by Top

That's encouraging news! Hope your husband enjoys making a new frame. Looking for some progress pics....

Hey Top,
I did take some photos of our pile of steel tonight but that isn't all that impressive. Once we make some progress on the frame, I will add photos. I am back to work full time now so no rest for the wicked as they say and all I can think about is being able to have an AS to go camping in.
Sandy

[wasagachris]

Originally Posted by ND10CentCan

Hey Top,
I did take some photos of our pile of steel tonight but that isn't all that impressive. Once we make some progress on the frame, I will add photos. I am back to work full time now so no rest for the wicked as they say and all I can think about is being able to have an AS to go camping in.
Sandy

Hi Sandy if you're really going through withdrawal you can always pitch a tent under the shell and go camping on the backyard.
Congrats on the steel and hope you can get the frame together real soon.

[ND10CentCan]

Can't believe it but we have steel, axles, a welder, torch, plasma cutter, and no money left but I think we might be ready to finally start moving forward on our Albatross. I might already be gone and arrived in heaven! If this is all some sort of sick joke, don't ruin it for me. Things are good today!

Seriously, we actually have all of our basic starting materials and we can start to work in the AM. I'm getting a black and blue spot from pinching myself....who'd of thunk I would ever get this excited about metal stuff?

Sandy

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Hi Sandy if you're really going through withdrawal you can always pitch a tent under the shell and go camping on the backyard.
Congrats on the steel and hope you can get the frame together real soon.

Hey Chris,
Don't think I haven't thought about it...camping under it one night seems so far away but now we have our basic materials to start so, who knows? I might give it until May of 2012 and ready or not, I want to go camping.

I got all the VAP episodes and have been slowly listening to them. Even got my dearest to start listening and he said from what he is hearing, it will take two years to get ours ready. Yipes...I hope not. I told him even if it isn't completely done, we are going camping next year or I get a new dearest and go without him. He's not scared for some reason. I think he knows no one would be interested in anyone with such a bad case of aluminium brain as I have.

Let the games begin!!
Sandy

[wasagachris]

Sandy I think you need to find another one that is camp ready and use it until the Sovereign is ready. You can always sell that one later.
Great news on the axles and steel. I look forward to seeing the progress.
Will you be using the old frame as a template. My welder started building the new frame upside down on the old frame and flipped it over once the main rails and the crossmembers were done. Then he matched up the outriggers, axle plates and the rear kick plates and tank mounts etc.

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Sandy I think you need to find another one that is camp ready and use it until the Sovereign is ready. You can always sell that one later.
Great news on the axles and steel. I look forward to seeing the progress.
Will you be using the old frame as a template. My welder started building the new frame upside down on the old frame and flipped it over once the main rails and the crossmembers were done. Then he matched up the outriggers, axle plates and the rear kick plates and tank mounts etc.

My dearest is going to use the old rotten, falling apart frame to build the new one from by using the same plan you had. Didn't you kind of wonder why what you do is followed by what we do? No copying going on here

We would love to get another AS to use while we get this one done but with our son back home finishing up college, me in college (again!), and an aging mother in law to take care of, we have all we can do to get our supplies on this one. Not that I won't be sorely tempted to grab another shorter AS if one comes across my path...but don't tell dearest.

Hmm...wait a minute, there's a guy in Ontario that has a big collection of them. Maybe I can sneak across the border and get one hauled away before he notices
Sandy

[wasagachris]

Sandy I'd gladly lend you one but none of mine are camp ready. The 73 is a half polished empty shell. The 63 is a severly damaged empty shell with no windows.
That's the two on this side of the border. Then there's the rest still in the US. The 47 is an empty shell, the 61 is mostly all there but has no working appliances or plumbing. The most complete one is the 55 that is in Ohio and I have no idea if anything works in it, plus it is suffering from a serious case of rear end seperation with the belly pan falling out at the back also. They are all candidates for shell off restorations.
You'll probably be done with yours before I get even one of mine fixed up. I'm like you I don't have any cash left to fix them as I keep spending it buying more trailers.

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Sandy I'd gladly lend you one but none of mine are camp ready. The 73 is a half polished empty shell. The 63 is a severly damaged empty shell with no windows.
That's the two on this side of the border. Then there's the rest still in the US. The 47 is an empty shell, the 61 is mostly all there but has no working appliances or plumbing. The most complete one is the 55 that is in Ohio and I have no idea if anything works in it, plus it is suffering from a serious case of rear end seperation with the belly pan falling out at the back also. They are all candidates for shell off restorations.
You'll probably be done with yours before I get even one of mine fixed up. I'm like you I don't have any cash left to fix them as I keep spending it buying more trailers.

I think the song (Dylan?) goes something like everytime I pass temptation's way, I always hear it call my name. I would love to get another smaller one we could take on short weekend trips but so far nothing has come close to ND that is in the size and price range we need. I will keep looking knowing I have such a project at home that I might need some mental health help for continuing to look for a small one. Temptation by AS always calls my name.

[ND10CentCan]

Questions:
Do we have to get a certified welder to cut off our old hitch and reattach it to the new frame (one of the very few things we can salvage from the Albatross) or can dearest do it himself? Any advice?

The bumper is bent and what do we do about that? Can we do something here or is it best to take it to an auto body shop to get it fixed?

Thanks for anyone's advice.
Sandy

[Lance M]

Sandy,
I don't think there would be any regulatory problem with your husband welding on the coupler. It all pretty much boils down to his level of confidence. You can purchase a new bumper for around $479.95 from ODMRV I had the bumper from Abby straightened and a tear welded. It can be fixed if not too damaged.

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by Top

Sandy,
I don't think there would be any regulatory problem with your husband welding on the coupler. It all pretty much boils down to his level of confidence. You can purchase a new bumper for around $479.95 from ODMRV I had the bumper from Abby straightened and a tear welded. It can be fixed if not too damaged.

I think he is wanting someone more experienced to do the hitch part and that is the hard part-finding someone to do it. I will tell him what you said and go from there.

The bumper is twisted and bent a little-not much and I think salvageable. I am going to see if one of the vo tech guys would take it on as a project for class so it gets done fairly well. If not, it might be live with it until later down the road. We have been buying the really expensive stuff right now so we are trying to limit it to absolutely needs at the moment. Plus we are always trying to figure out how to fix it ourselves if possible.

Thanks for your reply and info!
Sandy

[wasagachris]

Sandy I got my new rear bumper from Inland RV for $328.00

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Sandy I got my new rear bumper from Inland RV for $328.00

We should really have gotten stock in Inland since we got all of our tanks and axles from them. I also used Andy's great idea for removing decals on the trailer so maybe it isn't so bad all in all. I would love to just be able to order all the stuff from Inland and be done with it but somehow my checkbook tells me stop already. I have a bunch of stuff picked out already for my next Inland order so I think I might have to sell a kidney pretty soon.

Spent a good share of the day trying to remove decals galore and huge plastic letters on both sides of the Albatross that spelled out MICHIGAN. Which is probably a great state but since we are from ND, it just didn't seem right. I have removed about half of the US from a very ratty rear US map and a naughty decal on the back window. I have no fingernails left but it looks better. Weird to look out and not see the letters on the trailer.

Husband is working on the frame and has all of the frame cross members tacked together. He is going to have Barry (welding teacher) come out this week and take a look at doing the hitch for us. It looks so good after no progress for so long-I am really happy about the progress. My job is to paint the frame once it is done so suggestions on the paint I should get?

Thanks,
Sandy