Starting a 'Full' Monty

[HiJoeSilver]

BLUF: Can i remove just the lower interior skins for shell removal? Obviously following a good gutting, inside and under. Can't think of any reason not. ---I've pretty much done a ton of research and prep work and am about to start a full monty. I know i'll have to gut it, but when i get down to the interior skins, can i remove just the lower panels around the shell for access to the c channel/bolts and leave the upper panels for now? I plan on putting all the original interior back for now.

[markdoane]

Sure, unless you plan to run new wiring in the walls or ceiling.

[65CV]

markdoane is right. It keeps the shell a little stronger for the lift. It's an eggshell once it's loose! That said, most remove all panels eventually to replace insulation and replace or upgrade wiring.

Just wanted to be sure you saw this thread.

[HiJoeSilver]

Thanks,

[HiJoeSilver]

My priority right now is getting the frame, running gear, and floor in ship shape condition. Then when i've got structural fidelity, I plan to work on the insulation, electrical and plumbing, before putting the interior back in.

[arktos55343]

You might just seriously consider going the full...full-monty and removing the interior skins all at the same time...because what you are likely to find in there are a lot mouse tunnels and turds running through the fiberglass insulation. It's really not that big a deal to brace the frame with 2x4s and 2x6s before you release the c-channel and lift the shell. If you wait to take the interior skins off until after you have completed the frame and floor work, then you will have all that insulation and mouse poop contaminating your new floor. Just a thought.....

[mrgreen]

leaving it on is a good idea in my opinion then you can go piece by piece later.

[65CV]

arktos55343 brings up a good point.

We did pull all the old skins, got rid of the mouse infested insulation, pressure washed, sanded and treated the interior skins -- all over the old trailer floor. We had Colin Hyde replace our floor and he was able to lift the shell mechanically without bracing. Since it stayed indoors, little to no bracing is needed. A LOT of gross stuff went on the old floor, avoiding a mess on the new one. See this thread for details.

Before that, we pulled the top of a Caravel off in our back yard using bracing. It was surprisingly heavy, due to the wood, not aluminum. It also required a good bit of tying down to avoid blowing away. There are horror stories on this board about failure to do so. Your trailer is much larger than 17', so the weight and tie-down issues are much larger.

Bottom line -- the best way to attack this depends on two things -- how much contamination is between your walls and where you are doing the work.

[HiJoeSilver]

I'm thinking i'll go the full monte right now. I'm not expecting to many mouse issues, from the small places i've been able to see in the wall things look pretty good, and the trailer is really in pretty good condition. I was under her today and was surprised at how god the belly really was, not that it didn't have some small issues, but nothing major. I'd really like to pressure wash the interior skins after gutting it but getting water and electric down to the trailer is difficult. I'm working on it at my dad's, about 200 feet from the house, and he has a soso well which makes water use a dilema. Maybe after i get it all gutted i'll tow it closer to the house to pressure wash it, with the old floor still in it (going to get replaced anyway)(drilling some holes for drainage) then move it back and then remove the shell.

[65CV]

HiJoeSilver,

Hopefully yours is one of the cleaner interiors. Which trailer are you doing?

John

[HiJoeSilver]

It's actually pretty usable, my dad thinks i'm crazy for doing all this, but my plan is to travel from march to october next year so i want her in tip top shape. I'm working the 23' safari right now, using the 31' as a shop space, it's mostly gutted but in bad shape, pretty rotten floor in several spots, was in the 31' as well today, a few spots on the floor that were water logged, but after i get the 23' done i may just hit that one hard and quick to clean it and seal it up, but leave it gutted. The interior on the 31 was horrible when i got it, so most of the stuff made its way to the dump, not much was salvagable.
I think i was really lucky on the 23'. The interior is really usable and will all be going back in for now, with ideas for renovation a little later down the road.
I just remembered my dad has a generator i could power a pressure washer with, so i think i may rig a air matress to fill with water at a spring down the street, then jerry rig the removed water pump from the trailer to provide pressure to the pressure washer.
Just read a thread on using citri strip and pressure washer, that sounds really easy, the plasticoat is pealing away in a few spots and where you can see under it, you could shave. Some heavier corrosion on the top bends, but overall i think i may get lucky on the polish job difficulty.

[65CV]

HiJoeSilver,

We're paying the price now to redo some work, but we had 2 months of a great escape from the NorthEast winter. Hopefully you can do the same. It's a real challenge organizing what can be done permanently before a trip like this.

Our story is here. Hopefully it helps in some way.

John

[HiJoeSilver]

65 CV, thanks I’ve been going through the posts you linked to and some that that one linked to.
I think I’m off to a good start. Started gutting it yesterday and with a late start was able to rip out the gaucho, dinette benches a PO had put in place of a second gaucho, some of the bulkheads, one of the upper storage compartments, and the stove. The dinette made more sense than a second gaucho, and no real kitchen sitting area besided a fold up table from the lower front cabinets.
Today I got a really late start so I just got some little things done along with getting the fridge out.
While I’ve been doing everything I’ve been coming up with lots of ideas:
For new belly pans, I think I’m going to have to splice together 4’ sheets width wise, use some 3M VHB tape at the seams and then rivet through the seam for reinforcement, the VHB to really hold the sheets together and seal the seam well. This depends on the cost difference between this and ordering AS spec from an AS dealer, all of the closest 3 which all measure almost exactly a 5 hour drive, to the AS dealers in NY, PA, NJ.
I’ve still got the aluminum vent lids which I like, but the fan size is pretty small, so I’m figuring the biggest blade I can use to replace the original size, looks like about 9”. Would like multi speed, so I’m thinking of getting some 12v pulse width modulators to wire into the circuit to be able to adjust the speed, moving controls for the fan from the micro switch in the ceiling to somewhere I could access and control the fans myself.
Thought about replacing the ½ inch floor with ¾ inch floor for more firmness and support, but realize that this would throw the rivet holes in the hold down plates, so I’d have to rout ¼ inch off the edges so the channel sat down at the same level, or drill new holes in the hold down plates, or maybe replace the plates. Not sure what I’ll do yet.
Thinking down the road I did a test area stripping the plasticote with citristrip, only description would be amazing. 15 minutes and the stuff just wiped right off. Not sure why anybody would use anything else.

[HiJoeSilver]

65CV, Been reading your post, plenty of good info. I'm taking off the interior skinns now, bought a reg china marker to mark all the rivets, then saw you did domething similar. One question on they prodex install, what did you use to glue it to the skin and itself? I think i may go the prodex route over ROXUL mineral wool.
Thanks
Joe

[HiJoeSilver]

So far i've got the interior emptied, belly pans and tanks and plumbing removed. Did a little stripping on the outside, and am just beginning to remove the interior skinns. So far so good for the most part. When i took the fresh water tank out it had some water in it, when i dumped it, out came a ton of black sludge, gross, glad i never drank anything out of it, then found a pretty good sized crack in the tank top, also glad they have replacements available from OODM.