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Silverflames · 09-21-2013, 12:41 PM

I scoured the airstream forms for quite a while, but was not Able to find any threads dedicated to building walls for AS. So I thought I might make one for my myself so know what I did later, and also to help others out. Feel free to chime in with any ideas or recommendations to be greatly appreciated.

So I started by removing all the walls inside the airstream and im ready to start rebuilding them one by one. After initial walls are up I will be building the bunks.

I know I'm gonna be working kind of backwards installing front walls by the kitchen and doing the cabinets in the bathroom last, but by reinforcing the walls for the bunks and I'm going lose space in the closet closets in the bathroom. I Have picked up five pieces of quarter inch birch plywood to start building the walls. I will reuse the metal channels to attach the walls to the inside skin.

Please disregard my cluttered garage we have limited space around here.

RM66caravel · 09-21-2013, 02:25 PM

Oh my goodness you have more than a walking path in your garage!?! I can see my tool box and if I am really careful I can reach the power cord! New axle blocks my shelves and aluminum blocks the treadmill I use to use before the caravel! Keep the thread going I will be there soon! Flooring belly pan then start putting it back together!
Cliff

mtbguy · 09-21-2013, 02:33 PM

I added a bunk to my existing walls on one side. Epoxied a sheet of 1/4 thick Luan ply from Home Depot to walls, then ran 1 x 4 vertical supports off bottom bunk and then on top ran a 2 x 6 from front to back for outer rail.

It turned out pretty nice. I weighed everything beforehand out of curiosity, it added about 30 pounds to trailer but works great for our family of 4.

Silverflames · 09-21-2013, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtbguy

I added a bunk to my existing walls on one side. Epoxied a sheet of 1/4 thick Luan ply from Home Depot to walls, then ran 1 x 4 vertical supports off bottom bunk and then on top ran a 2 x 6 from front to back for outer rail.

It turned out pretty nice. I weighed everything beforehand out of curiosity, it added about 30 pounds to trailer but works great for our family of 4.

Yea that looks great! I like how you kept the above head storage and the window is clear.

Silverflames · 09-21-2013, 07:00 PM

Things went really well today. I used existing walls as templates, cut them out of the quarter inch birch plywood. One of them was badly delaminated, So it took multiple trips back to the AS to get the right fit. I think sanding all the panels took the longest.

Silverflames · 09-21-2013, 07:04 PM

Tomorrow I start cleaning and painting the channels that attach to the walls, and I will start varnishing the walls. This may take some time since I have limited space for them to dry.

This staining is all done. It went pretty quickly we decided to go with Red Oak Minwax oil-based stain. It went on very easily with a rag.

Silverflames · 09-25-2013, 06:16 PM

Second coat of finish is on. Looks like I will be installing the walls this weekend.

Before and after varnish.

aquinob · 09-26-2013, 05:04 AM

Looking good. Keep the pix coming. Understand the clutter, I can hardly turn around in my garage/shop so lots of large panel cutting gets done outside.

mtbguy · 09-26-2013, 06:09 AM

Looking good!

truckasaurus · 09-26-2013, 07:33 AM

Looks good. When I built the walls in my Overlander I sandwiched some Teklam, (aluminum honeycomb with fibre skin) between the ply skins where I wanted some additional strength and styrofoam around the perimeter. It seems to have worked well so far. Next time I'll look at making the walls a bit thicker maybe even up to 4", I saw something similar on a Timeless Travel Trailers build and liked the aesthetic.

Silverflames · 09-26-2013, 08:17 AM

Those panels look very cool. The aircraft floor boards might be a good alternate to plywood.

ddstech · 09-26-2013, 09:54 PM

When I built my bunk walls I wanted them really solid. So I used 1.5" x 1" poplar and made a frame then 1/4" Baltic birch ply on each side. You can't see it, but under the bottom bunk the inner skin is open on the bottom and screwed to the floor. I attached the upper frame to the side walls then put on the outer skins and trimmed the end caps with solid birch. They are extremely stout and support the bunks that slide out.

Silverflames · 09-26-2013, 10:16 PM

Wow!!! I'm going to have to bump my project up a notch.. It looks like there is a slide outs on the bunks so the beds are wider? Gfi power on the side. Great spot for them.

Do you have a pocket door on the other side by the bathroom?

ddstech · 09-26-2013, 11:06 PM

Top bunk slides out 6 inches, bottom slides out 20".

No, I don't have a pocket door. I'm working on a heavy curtain for the bathroom. Maybe a door later.

Silverflames · 09-27-2013, 06:33 PM

I've been kicking around the same idea for my top bunk. How did you build the slide out? Rollers or just wood on wood?

ddstech · 09-27-2013, 07:35 PM

I'll try to get you a picture. It's mostly wood, but has nylon blocks integrated as well so it slides really smooth but still holds it's position during travel.

Silverflames · 10-14-2013, 05:02 PM

Ok got the walls installed today. I must have bent the tracks when taking them out, the took a fair amount of work to get back into shape.

I started on the trim work and the support beams for the bunk. I'm using the red oak stain on the birch ply wood, and for the trim I'm using un stained oak. It's coming along, slow but sure..

Skatiero · 10-14-2013, 06:45 PM

Looking good!!!

RM66caravel · 10-15-2013, 02:10 PM

Oh yes looking sharp! Feels good to be putting it back together doesn't it?
Cliff

Silverflames · 10-15-2013, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RM66caravel

Oh yes looking sharp! Feels good to be putting it back together doesn't it?
Cliff

Thank you! Man it feels great, it's amazing how much you can get done in 7 hours. I think I'm going to start taking off a days a month so I can be ready for Canopener in January.