1980 Caravelle Shell Off Renovation

[timzog]

So here is a mockup of my possible setup. The Hepvo goes directly into a 1 1/2" street elbow that drops into the main 2" line which connects the grey tank and the exit. The bottom of the Hepvo is level with the top of the tank. Based on what I've tried so far, there is no way to run the shower into the top of the grey tank without raising the shower floor and I don't want to do that.
On the right side there is a T that leads to the bathroom and kitchen sinks.

[Wabbiteer]

Yet another drawings/photos worth a thousand words.

Something as short and straightforward as that mock-up avoids 4/5ths of the grief that was knocking about in the above posts. Minimal standing water in pipe, top side intercept and large pipe diameter... Ah, if only I will be so blessed. Thanks for sharing

[timzog]

Thanks. I think to be safe I am going to vent the back end of the shower trap too. I found an easy way to do it by combining the back sink drain and the vent together.

[timzog]

I went ahead and glued it up with the additional vent to the back of the main drain line. The vertical pipe will go to the bathroom sink and up to a vent on the roof. It will go up through the sink cabinet and then the medicine cabinet on the way.







I'm going to use the aluminum floor as the shower pan. I drilled holes in the shape of a smiley face, for my kids, and riveted an aluminum fitting underneath it. The fitting is a vacuum fitting that has a flat face on one side and a 1 1/2" tube. After riveting it I pounded on the center with my flush rivet set and indented it a fair bit to help with drainage.











The fitting fits right into a standard trap fitting I got at Lowes and slides into the Hepvo trap. I'm going to make an access door under the bathroom cabinet and that will let me make all the final connections after I close up the floor and provide access if the trap needs servicing.

[timzog]

Put in the final pieces of the belly pan. There was one big sheet that spanned all the way a cross and under the tank. That big piece was pop riveted in place using the big head 3/16" Alum rivets from VTS. Then I bent the final piece up at the back and sides so that it would fit up against the inside of the frame. It took some crude pounding and bending using my trusty nylon head on my rivet gun but I finally got it to fit.















I buck riveted it to the other piece of belly pan and to the frame since I could easily reach both sides. I sealed the connection to the rear cross member with marine adhesive but didn't use adhesive on the bottom seams thinking that it would be best to let it drain/breathe.

[timzog]

Insulated the rear end with 2" foam and sealed the gaps with spray foam. I also insulated the sides of the frame to try and protect the grey tank and plumbing from cold as much as possible. I did not put in a tank heater below the tank but may set it up later to circulate some cabin air through that area. I added the tank monitors and ran the wire through a grommet in the floor to come up inside the kitchen cabinet. I started laying in the pex tubing but will have to wait on an order from Pex supply to connect the plumbing.



I am trying to figure out theperson for winterizing the hot and cold fresh water supply lines. I have currently laid it out to go out through an existing hole in the frame on the rear left. I'll just have two valves and a T and some kind of bulkhead fitting to use for draining. It will be the lowest point in the system and the furthest to the rear so I should be able to crank up the front of the trailer to do most of the draining. Now I just need to find some sort of stainless bulkhead fitting that I can easily connect to 1/2" Pex.

[timzog]

Carried out a final test on the major drain plumbing. No leaks. Man it holds a lot of water. I won't be driving far with full tanks but it is nice to have the option.




Started work on freshwater plumbing. Starting at the back and low point of the plumbing is the drain line. I bought a 1/2" tube to 1/2" mpt adapter and made a nut for it out of a cut off 1/2" FPT cap to make a pseudo bulkhead fitting.






I had an existing hole in the left rear main frame so I used a piece of 1/16 alum plate with a 7/8" hole to cover the hole and provide an installation point for the drain. Sealed everything with marine sealant.


An additional 1/2"FPT cap provides a dust cap for the drain. Im a little worried about plastic threads but it won't ever hold pressure.





I then put together the drain valve assembly as shown so that both hot and cold can run out the same drain. The valves will be accessible from an access hole in the floor. It all gently flows downhill and the drain is the low point of the fresh water system so it should drain easily.







Next is the rest of the subterranean plumbing. I'll try to finish it today, but there are other to do lists than this one

[timzog]

A couple of final pictures before putting on the fourth and final aluminum floor section.
I didn't want any blind rivets in the shower area so I attached some aluminum angles to the frame. I'll be able to reach these from my access holes to use buck rivets to fasten the floor to the frame.



I applied a liberal quantity of marine sealant to the top of the frame and got ready to put on the floor.



No pictures of the new floor yet since I couldn't keep the sealant off of my hands when putting in all the rivets. I used regular buck rivets for most of this part and it was way faster than the countersunk buck rivets.
I'll clean up a bit and take some pcs of the finished floor. I have a few more rivets to do and the floor will be complete. Yeah.

[timzog]

Here are some pics of the floor. It feels really solid!!!

[timzog]

A few final touches before putting the shell and frame together again.
Sealed up holes temporarily to keep critters out.


Filled in any holes around base with buck rivets. Added some more buck rivets between outer shell and C channel.



Next will be to rent a power washer and clean the shell interior.
Tim

[timzog]

I bought a $100 power washer from a big box store. I sprayed on some detergent and then power washed for about an hour with the zero degree nozzle. It did a great job of removing the leftover insulation. It did not remove a lot of the residual adhesive originally used to attach the pink stuff but I think it will be fine.







I took apart the original 4 leveling jacks and was able to piece together 2 complete jacks from the parts. These are going in the front but I am planning on a different solution in the back that will attach directly to the frame by the rear bumper.
I cleaned and painted all of the non threaded steel parts with POR 15 and then topped with a blue enamel. I used a brush but it would have been way better to use a spray can for the top coat. It ended up a bit drippy but should protect from rust. They'll be covered in road grime soon if I am lucky!



Now I just need to install the jacks and Ill be ready to reunite the frame and shell. I am trying to do all I can while the frame is sitting in my garage instead of in the back yard.

[timzog]

REUNITED!!!!!!!

Today I rolled my frame and shiny new aluminum floor under my not so shiny shell. I used a jack and a bunch of beefy C clamps as safeties on the way down. I got 6 clamps in and felt safe to call it a day. Still have some final alignment to do before I start with fasteners but I am liking it so far.







I removed all the bracing material which is still piled in the middle.

[ddstech]

I hope you are getting custom license plates... Something like "nomorot". Must be nice to know you will never ever have to do this again.

Looking great.

[timzog]

Originally Posted by ddstech

I hope you are getting custom license plates... Something like "nomorot". Must be nice to know you will never ever have to do this again.

Looking great.

I love it
Thanks,
Tim

[timzog]

Yesterday, I fixed the bumper leak forever. I took a 1 1/2" by 1/16" angle and bent it to match the contour of the back of the trailer. Before I attached the rear of the trailer to the shell, I slid the angle between the skin and the J channel so that it works as a flashing to direct water away from the frame. I am not putting the same bumper box on so the water will just flow off the angle and onto the ground.YEAH!! I'll take some pictures in the daytime to show what I did, but it will certainly prevent the damage that ruined the bathroom floor and corroded the rear crossmember.

[195Pilot]

Timzog,
Been following your work, your doing a great job.
Can you elaborate a little more on the 1/16" plate. Did you extend the plate past the frame rails? My idea was to shape the 1/16" plate all the way around the rear and weld into out riggers for extra shell/frame support.
Keep up the good work,
Jack

[timzog]

Originally Posted by 195Pilot

Timzog,
Been following your work, your doing a great job.
Can you elaborate a little more on the 1/16" plate. Did you extend the plate past the frame rails? My idea was to shape the 1/16" plate all the way around the rear and weld into out riggers for extra shell/frame support.
Keep up the good work,
Jack

Hi Jack,
It is not welded on. The vertical portion of the angle goes up between the J channel and the outer skin. This will be be buck riveted together through the outer skin, new aluminum angle, J channel. The horizontal portion sits on top of the floor and extends back with about a 1" overhang over the back of the floor. On the sides it extends about 1/2" to the outside of the main frame member. I am am going to bend it over a bit to create a drip edge all around. There are 6 1/4" SS bolts that go through the J channel, the floor and finally through the beefed up rear frame crossmember. I am using minimal sealants and trying to think about this like a house where water always is directed out instead of in. Sorry not to have pics yet. I've been working at dusk in the evenings trying to get a bit done after work, but it not been good for photography. This weekend, I'll try to explain better.
Thanks!!
Tim

[timzog]

I promised to attach some pics and finally got around to it. Here are some of the outside where the angle sticks out from underneath the outer skin and on top of the main frame members that head out to the bumper.






On the inside you can see how the angle is between the outer skin and the J channel. I think I may add a few enforcements to further connect the frame to the skin or ribs.




I went around the entire perimeter and attached the J channel to the floor using 1/4" stainless bolts with fender washers and nuts. I used the blue locktite to ensure that they don't slip with vibration.
I also went between the bolts and put in a bunch of 3/16" alum rivets to connect the sandwich of Jchannel and floor.





I patched some more holes too. I am going to be using a Danfoss 12V fridge so I am sealing up the old fridge access. So far it is attached with pop rivets and clecos and sealed with Vulkem, but when I can get a buddy to come over, I'll buck rivet it in. Pop rivets are my semipermanent clecos. When I'm ready to buck rivet I drill them out with an 1/8" bit and then drill the final hole with the #21 bit to prepare for the 5/32 buck rivet.






I also made a temporary patch for the water heater door using an old piece of the belly pan. Not pretty but water tight. I also attached a 3/4" x1/8" angle underneath the outside edge of the floor to brace that unsupported section of floor and to give something to attach the belly pan to.

[timzog]

By the way, now that I have the floor totally secured to the J channel and the front stabilizers down, I am amazed at how solid the floor is. I am actually a bit worried that it is too rigid and wont flex as much as required? The biggest unsupported expanse of 1/8" floor is above the spare tire in the front, but it doesn't sag much even under 185 pounds in the middle of it. The span is about 30" all around. There won't be any traffic over that part of the floor so I wasn't worried about weight bearing there.
Down the middle,of the floor, I can't detect the deflection when I put a straight edge next to my foot. I also checked out the table pedestal mount that I had installed under the floor, I attached it with flush rivets to the underside of the floor and put a few aluminum angle brackets around it to distribute the load. It is also really strong and should be able to handle all the crap my kids will dish out including climbing on it to get into the bunk bed. I really like that it is totally flush with the floor and will disappear with a flush plug.

[timzog]

Our 2003 Honda Pilot was in an accident yesterday (noone was hurt!!) so it got us thinking about new tow vehicles. Although my goal is 2500 pounds for the Caravelle when done, it would be nice to have a more capable tow vehicle. Cars we are looking at include the MDX, Highlander V6 AWD and maybe the Sienna AWD. We live in UT and need AWD but don't want a giant car either. I've thought a lot about what Mutch has said about towing with a minivan and the Sienna looks like a real possibility. It is hard to ignore the argument,of a longer wheelbase, powerful drivetrain, and lower center of gravity than an SUV. The lower center of gravity in particular is one of the things every one says is important in an Airstream so why not the TV. At 3500 pounds capacity for towing, it is close to a fully loaded Caravelle but I think with weight distribution, it should be enough car for the job. I don't want to switch this thread over to an out of control argument over TVs but would appreciate real experience from folks who've pulled smaller trailers like mine (20', single axle, ~2500 pounds dry)
Tim