Shell off transmogrification

[truckasaurus]

Today was slow, I finished up prep work on the fiberglass end caps ready for priming, I'm thinking of trying Kilz primer with a thick 4" roller before re-installing , any thoughts? I'll be applying regular latex paint when that day eventually comes, again probably with a roller. "Slight admission of guilt, POR15 took it's toll on my spray gun :-( ".

So.... I thought I'd get the old interior skin out for a look see.

A. There's a lot of it and B. that means lots of work one way or another. I think I might prep them with sanding and roll them up ready for re-use or as templates. I may make the ceiling panel new and polished but the rest will be painted. There are loads of old access patches and scrappy pieces that need to be remedied somehow.

A eureka moment today occurred after listening to the VAP's 100 last night. I was looking at the Airstream plaque on the front and lo and behold there's a ghost of a Wally's Caravan sticker just below the old WBCC numbers! I checked and the rear is the same too. Neat.

[Zeppelinium]

That's a very cool photo! Thanks.

Zep

[nmbosa]

Very cool indeed, and answers my question of whether you were able to get the interior skins out without taking them apart.

[truckasaurus]

Yup, nothing exciting today, although the caps look way better and I found the painting quite motivational. Having taken them right down to the glass fiber/ Bondo I then primed the end caps twice and started on some of the interior sheet.

I decided to prep the sheets I definitely want to keep and some I'll just clean up for template duty. I belt/ RO sanded the sheet then marine cleaned them before coating with Kilz oil based primer on both faces. This is going to take forever and a day but I can't imagine the nightmare it must be to do this on anything other than a flat(ish) table. Scratch that, I can imagine how bad it will be because I need to do it to some areas of the shell, just aft of the doorway their is corrosion and black soot to address

Today I learnt that tightly rolling a 16' x 4' sheet is harder than you'd think but I need to get it done ready to move the project for winter storage next month or so.

[utee94]

Originally Posted by truckasaurus

... but I need to get it done ready to move the project for winter storage next month or so.

Sometimes, the size of this big Earth astonishes me even now. Down here it hit around 107 degrees at my house, and yet here you are talking about winter storage in a month or so. Truly remarkable.

Anyway, nice work, as per usual. You are meticulous, and I thoroughly enjoy watching your progress. I can watch paint dry all day long, knowing what was there before.

-Marcus

[truckasaurus]

Austin sounds great, nice and toasty and lots of BBQ too.. and very kind words too, thank you.

I have a question for the bubble foil guru's I was pondering the best way to install it in the curved end cap areas and it occurred to me that being as my model has fiber glass caps rather than metal could I just glue the bubble foil to the shell or even the end cap itself? I mean, I don't have the metal - air - metal dilemma. I'm re-reading all the reflectix posts but I've not found a great answer for the caps as yet.

[dieseleagle]

I just finished the first layer of Reflectix on mine two weekends ago.

I'm sure there are multiple ideas on doing this but your post sort of invites two responses. First, you could spend as much time on careful piecuts as utee94 did on his terrific inner shell or you can use up some of the scrap by piecing in some of the smaller remnants to accomodate the compound curves. I was fairly carefull to cut the pieces to get a tight butt joint. I put the new piece over the installed one, drew around it with a Sharpie and then cut to the line. I used 3M spray contact adhesive to put it up and then used foil tape (not duck tape) to cover the joints. You can see from the picture which approach I chose.

The other question though involves next steps. I've started stringing the new wire. After that the only plumbing that will go in the wall will be the drain line for the AC unit and a vent stack for the kitchen. When all that is done the plan is to cut lots of strips of 1/2 inch styrofoam and glue them on liberally to serve as spacers before applying a second layer of Reflectix to provide a continuous final layer. The point of the process is to create multiple layers of trapped insulating air, the bubbles of the first layer, the middle void and then the inner layer. This result will only occur if each of these steps is taken in turn.

[Over59]

Some great looking work going on here.... Getting that interoir end cap back on was hard on mine. I suggest it's the firt interior piece you put in. The shell is too rigid if the wall panels are in first.

[76sovereign]

Looks like you did a fantastic job! I love looking at your progress.

Originally Posted by dieseleagle

I just finished the first layer of Reflectix on mine two weekends ago.

I'm sure there are multiple ideas on doing this but your post sort of invites two responses. First, you could spend as much time on careful piecuts as utee94 did on his terrific inner shell or you can use up some of the scrap by piecing in some of the smaller remnants to accomodate the compound curves. I was fairly carefull to cut the pieces to get a tight butt joint. I put the new piece over the installed one, drew around it with a Sharpie and then cut to the line. I used 3M spray contact adhesive to put it up and then used foil tape (not duck tape) to cover the joints. You can see from the picture which approach I chose.

The other question though involves next steps. I've started stringing the new wire. After that the only plumbing that will go in the wall will be the drain line for the AC unit and a vent stack for the kitchen. When all that is done the plan is to cut lots of strips of 1/2 inch styrofoam and glue them on liberally to serve as spacers before applying a second layer of Reflectix to provide a continuous final layer. The point of the process is to create multiple layers of trapped insulating air, the bubbles of the first layer, the middle void and then the inner layer. This result will only occur if each of these steps is taken in turn.

[truckasaurus]

Hey Diesel that looks like a great job, I'm really looking forward to getting the insulation in although I can see how messy a can of spray adhesive could be in my hands! I was thinking I needed to patch a couple of 1" holes on the front end cap aluminum but instead I'm going to order a replacement radio antenna from VintageSupply. (Ryan R&KWeber has one and it looks cool). Plus I listen to the radio alot.

It's occurred to me that I won't know which holes in the fiberglass should have pop rivets installed in until the sheet aluminum goes up, what's the consensus here? just install rivets every 6" or so?

[dieseleagle]

I assume that the holes you are referring to are above the window. If they are to the side they would probably be from the early TV antenae. I have to give credit to Frank Yensan for the idea, but this is how I dealt with mine.



We grew up in Illinois and travel back regularly to visit relatives, so it seemed like the natural solution.

The end cap was definitely riveted with coarse spacing prior to the aluminum panels going up. BTW, I'm sure you've considered the need to hang any wiring you'll need for lights, speakers, etc..., prior to the endcap going back in.
As

[truckasaurus]

The holes are on the side of the front window so you're right they must have been for TV antenna, I'll have to do some measuring to see whether mounting a radio version work in that location

I like the patches Frank came up with, presumably they're made with a scroll saw or something. However, I might need to save the patches for a couple of other places. I might even try a 3D variant, layering up several pieces to create something I have in mind.

When I rivet the caps back in I might try using something adhesive too, I will need to move the trailer to a new temporary home before the sheet work goes back in and I'm a little worried (it's going to be a slow haul for sure). Possibly a semi flexible adhesive would help?

I have removed all the holes for switches and lights that were in my end caps as I like the smooth look but I should run some lines for a just in case scenario and power and audio to what was the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Is there a particular wire I should be looking for or just a regular 14G for the 120 Volt, how about 12 Volt wiring?

[dieseleagle]

I swiped the idea from Frank but I Xeroxed the shapes from a map and recopied to the size I wanted. Then I just traced the shape onto the aluminum and cut them out with aircraft snips. The resizing button on the copy machine would be just the ticket make several sizes of the same shape for your three dimensional idea.

I'm using 12/2 wire for the 120V. For the most part 12 ga. stranded is used for the 12V. Remember, low voltage can mean high amps so the guage is heavier than you might think. For instance, I'm putting in a three way refrigerator and the 12V wire from the converter to the fridge is 8 ga. The line from the battery box in front to the back where I'm putting the charger/converter is 2/0 to the disconnect switch and 6 ga. after the switch.

I'm using the wiring diagrams from my other camper rather than anything from the vintage diagrams since I'm installing all new stuff. We have a whole lot more gadgets now than they had in the early sixties.

[truckasaurus]

What with weird weather it's been tricky getting much done. I'm going to try and make a patch to go over the old astadome opening so I can use a regular 14" unit. I ordered two fantastics yesterday and I'm really looking forward to sealing the roof up so I can stop wrestling with a 20' x 20' tarp!

Whilst buying Vulkem today I saw a really cool looking aluminum vent and got the manufacturer details. Maybe it'll come in useful...

Thalermetal.com: Department: 'EVF-1/EVF-2 Exhaust Vent Flashings'

[truckasaurus]

Today I picked up some stainless steel hardware on my way home and couldn't resist checking it for fit. It's not quite original looking but I don't think anything will be falling off soon. (Does it classify me as insane that I CLR'd and Q-tipped the lens to get the rust stains off?).


I was going to make a curbside stringer to replace the mangled section just above the wheel arch but it's nearly 8' so would be messy with my small brake (30"). Instead I bought some 3/4" x 1 1/2" channel from PrincessAuto and notched it to fit, tomorrow I'll see how it works when I change the panel out.


Kind of unrelated but 'm seriously impressed by my outdoor cat Bob; maybe it's because there's nowhere for the mice to go with the new belly pan but she's not going hungry!

[pbearsailor]

Bob looks like a cool cat and I don't think the quality of work you do will ever get you classified as insane around here.

cheers,
steve

[MarkR]

Originally Posted by pbearsailor

Bob looks like a cool cat and I don't think the quality of work you do will ever get you classified as insane around here.

cheers,
steve

of course the people that live on the "inside", within the walls, never believe they're insane . . . and these little yellow pills they give me haven't stopped me from enjoying your work.

[truckasaurus]

Lots of progress made and it came out OK in the end!

Saturday was a long, long day getting the curbside panel up and partially riveted. It took longer than I expected as there was quite a bit of messing around with rib and stringer alignment, but of course you only do it once (at least I hope so). I suspect having a badly dented panel and stringers does affect the template process somewhat, well that's my story...

Today we finished up the riveting, except where I need longer rivets, olympics, wheel trim, and another bucking tool that I hope are still in the postal system somewhere.

3 small patches were taken care of (all standard looking circles) and the street side lower window that I cut in a few days earlier.

Loran "Pinecone" and his wife came over to check out Bob the ships cat and sneak a peek at the trailer. It's great to meet new people and hear what they have planned for their project. Loran had some pictures of their Travelux which looks very cool so I'll have to make a little pilgrimage. (He also mention a 40's model, maybe a Clipper, a mere 35 minutes away....).

Jenny, my lovely Airstream brainwashed girlfriend, cleaned lots of the window glass up and I have to admit it does feel much less like the trailer of choice for a serial killer now. Still now I need to rebuild the Jalousies with some new hardware & glass and it doesn't look easy!

[pbearsailor]

I see bunches of hours of work there. Really looking good and you've made a whole lot of progress in not a lot of time.

cheers,
steve

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Keep on truckin Truck. Fantastic progress.