DIY or go pro panel replacement

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Safari Tim

What ever you do keep that water cooler on the roof!

I have not seen to many of those around :-)

funny because i was just thinking DITCH THE SWAMP COOLER!

towing economy will go up without that box up there and what about those overpasses!

or keep the cooler shell and make it into a cupalo!

while that last photo does show more issues, i'd still wait. why put new frosting on if the cake isn't edible?

what u haven't shared yet is what specifically u plan to do rehab/restoration wise...

and what the timeline, and budget might be, and how much do you plan to diy/outsource.

reread your own post #9...are you planning to do a FULL MONTY?

can't wait to see the interior and guts on this unit...

cheers
2air'

[truckasaurus]

The cost of rivets is odd, I'll ask Greg at Inland about that. And I already see some polishing in my crystal ball.

That "thing" on the roof is on borrowed time! My plan involves a very sleek exterior with as little adornment/ distraction as possible. From listening to the VAP (thanks Tim) I'm going to pinch some ideas such as venting stuff below rather than through walls as much as possible; but it is very early days for planning. The axles, disc brakes, rims, tires and running lights etc are all being addresses by Inland so that's some decisions made already.

The interior will be contempory, lightweight and with some luxury. I have spent so much time on this site looking at peoples excellent work it's kind of making my wife suspicious already... I'd also like to draw on some design cues from the work I made for a furniture show a few years ago, mixing domestic woods like walnut and the exotic like Zebrano, one of my favorite combos. However the weight was never a concern until now. Yesterday I was looking at some honeycomb aeronautical matererial to make sandwichs/ torsion boxes for the cabinets and counters; if anyone has tested this I'd love some direction?

I'm told the floor is sound (by Inland not the PO) but I can't see how to alter the frame for modernisation without a full monty. Looking at the old factory shots has got me thinking about flipping the chassis to do the belly pan; are there any threads about this that I've missed?

The time line will be long as I'm in no rush, plus I don't yet camp so that's a relief given the lack of an interior. Budget, budget, best not to think to much about that however I'm not good at cutting corners or compromise so I'm sure I'll have to add a couple of hours of billable time to my working week. (over a very long period).

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by truckasaurus

... I'd also like to draw on some design cues from the work I made for a furniture show a few years ago, mixing domestic woods like walnut and the exotic like Zebrano, one of my favorite combos.

One of mine too. My ’67 Trade Wind has the highly figured Birch wood. I have added Zebrano to the sliding doors in the front cap. It looks great. Another good combination is Zebrano and Mahogany (preferably ribboned), but of course, that is a double exotic. I am considering replacing the “Walnut” laminate on my ’83 Excella’s drawers and closet doors with a combination of either Ash or Birch with Zebrano accents. Not only would it look better, it would lighten up the interior a lot!

[truckasaurus]

My smarter workbench is Ash, the olive smell was delicious for days during milling. The smell of Zebrano is stuck in my mind but not for such a good reason; more how shall I say, agricultural.

[2airishuman]

very cool ideas trucks'

have u seen the coverage of the vintage lightning trailer? in a/s life?

i think u are going to want a NEW STRONGER FRAME as the back bone of your project.

will there be 3 holding tanks and modern electronic gadgets, appliances and creature amenities?

i question adding NEW AXLES, tires or running gear NOW or running lines for disc brakes...

if the unit is gonna SIT for 2 years or undergo a major deconstruction/reconstruction.

not only is sitting bad for the rubber bits, but how can you know what rating is best without an idea of the final weight?

the goals of light weight and luxury are tough to combine, not impossible but a challenge.

keeping it anywhere near the original weight, while adding useful modern stuff or even essentials (holding tanks) is a challenge.

what about power? 2 batteries or 4 or solar and so on...

Originally Posted by truckasaurus

...I'm not good at cutting corners or compromise...

IF the above statement is true you could be heading toward a full monty project on the scale of...

-the smokelessjoe argosy or boatdoc argosy

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f227...ase-18448.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...red-40365.html

-OR something like vintage lightning or one of the carlos restorations...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f321...ari-15592.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f191...pod-37710.html

i'm just a new trailer lets go camping NOW sort of guy...

but i've got great admiration for some of these thought out and well executed projects...

even this fine bambi (one of my favorites) had the axles upgrade as the VERY LAST thing...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...mbi-17925.html

cheers
2air'

[truckasaurus]

all good points 2air.

I've not seen a single copy of Airstream Life, will hunt some down now.

The new frame may be an option although I'd like to to just update the original if feasible. I'm not sure why.

3 tanks seems the way to go along with modern appliances, however I won't be installing a huge fridge/freezer, a typical oven or so much in the way of kitchen stuff. Minimal will be a key element. I'm thinking more small microwave/ oven unit and a smaller fridge and maybe a couple of rings.

I'd like to have delayed on the axles too but I fugure I'll have it up taking the weight off as much as possible and in worst case the axles are not huge dollar items. Selecting the 3000 lb rated axles was not a concern as that will in a way ensure that I stick true to my goal. I see the original weight was 3650 lbs total dry so that will be my target. Honestly I'm really looking forward to the pick up and tow home and that probaly colored my judgement alot in making the trailer safe for the journey.

No strong feelings on the power supply yet.

I'm a big fan of Carlos, Smokelessjoe and Uwe's trailers. I don't have any metals experience so it's going to be a journey.

[safari62]

Originally Posted by Safari Tim

What ever you do keep that water cooler on the roof!

I have not seen to many of those around :-)

That's for the carrier pigeons

[Karrylou]

Dent in 2014 Bambi Sport
How long should it take to repair/replace rear curbside panels? It's been in shop 5 weeks now!

[Boxite]

Which shop is doing the work?
Why don't you ask THEM? (and if they'd already missed their delivery date, ask them how much longer they need and how much they plan to discount the cost for the delay?)

The entire upper cap (five panels) of our friend's 20FC was replaced at North Dallas RV in two weeks, and they didn't even have a long entry-wait. (about 1.5 weeks before they could bring it to them... and they quoted 4 weeks but had it fixed in two.)