New interiors wall ideas

[terricrowe26]

We would like to hear what materials people have used to replace their interior walls? We are doing a complete renovation to the frame. The old walls have some cracks and we would just like to start new. What did you use?

[AtomicNo13]

Pintrist is your friend.

[DaveMc]

We used a woven vinyl from Chilewich to replace the mouse fur in our 2005 Safari. It's incredibly awesome, and my absolute favorite part of the renovation. It was also the most expensive part of the deal. For a 30' trailer, I think all-in it was close to 3K--which includes labor to remove the old stuff, prep, and install the new material.

[Belegedhel]

I used 5050 .040 thick aluminum for that shiny interior look. The PITA part of the project was finding a clear coat to put on it--didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped, especially for the cost and effort that went into it. The other mistake I made was not immediately removing every finger print I put on the panels as I installed them, and a month later when I went to do the clear coating, I had to sand out the (now permanent) prints.

good luck!

[HiJoeSilver]

Originally Posted by terricrowe26

We would like to hear what materials people have used to replace their interior walls? We are doing a complete renovation to the frame. The old walls have some cracks and we would just like to start new. What did you use?

Just to clarify, you're talking about the wood partition walls vs the interior skins correct?

[SeeMore]

Your question may not be specific enough to gain insight. When you wrote 'walls' did you mean the skin material for the interior shell, structural material for partitions, or wall coverings? If you mean the aluminum interior skin, then replace the damaged sections with aluminum as that layer is specifically a part of the shell's structural strength. Apply whatever decorative layer you desire after that.

If you meant exposed/final layer, I removed the "mouse fur" and put up UtraLeather in the front section and a textured vinyl in the bedroom. Some use paint, cloth, vinyl or wall paper and I've seen thin plywood applied with spectacular affect. It all depends on the design theme/aesthetic you want to achieve.

UltraLeather finish:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...2&d=1445358798

Wood Paneling over aluminum:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...1&d=1183417292
http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...2&d=1162254459
http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...8&d=1284865775

Woven Grasscloth:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...5&d=1301361018

Stickup Tiles:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...9&d=1309898861

[terricrowe26]

I am talking about the interior skins. I really don't want to strip them, I want to replace them with something else, or is it in our best interest structurally to reuse the aluminum interior skins by stripping and either painting or applying some other material to the alum. We are taking this trailer down to the frame. We have floor rot, we are taking out the black water tank and add a gray water and a composting toilet. Our AS didn't have a gray water tank. We will do all new plumbing and electric. We haven't decided if we want for a heating system yet. Our AS is only a single axle and 18' so space is hard to come by. How many people actually use the ovens? I could really use that room for just a cook top and have more storage.

[funkill]

Originally Posted by terricrowe26

I am talking about the interior skins. I really don't want to strip them, I want to replace them with something else, or is it in our best interest structurally to reuse the aluminum interior skins by stripping and either painting or applying some other material to the alum. We are taking this trailer down to the frame. We have floor rot, we are taking out the black water tank and add a gray water and a composting toilet. Our AS didn't have a gray water tank. We will do all new plumbing and electric. We haven't decided if we want for a heating system yet. Our AS is only a single axle and 18' so space is hard to come by. How many people actually use the ovens? I could really use that room for just a cook top and have more storage.

Might be helpful to state the year and model of your Airstream for best feedback on stripping and structural integrity.

Mine were vinyl coated and painted. Some of us have had some issues with painting.
I've seen pics on this forum and on pinterest, et.al, of folks striping to bare aluminum, replacing with wood, covering with vinyl, etc. I also noticed the big bolts of the woven material (as used for some outdoor chairs and placemats) at a large, local fabric warehouse. I've considered using it to cover the (laminate) bulkheads in my trailer. Very cool colors, patterns and a modern look. I think it's similar to the Chilewich mentioned in a prior post.

Good luck!
Funkee

[55AS]

Originally Posted by terricrowe26

I am talking about the interior skins. I really don't want to strip them, I want to replace them with something else, or is it in our best interest structurally to reuse the aluminum interior skins by stripping and either painting or applying some other material to the alum. We are taking this trailer down to the frame. We have floor rot, we are taking out the black water tank and add a gray water and a composting toilet. Our AS didn't have a gray water tank. We will do all new plumbing and electric. We haven't decided if we want for a heating system yet. Our AS is only a single axle and 18' so space is hard to come by. How many people actually use the ovens? I could really use that room for just a cook top and have more storage.

In my 55 FC (now sold) I had the same issue- ugly painted skins that were hard to strip. I opted to cover them in clear-coated birch with aluminum trim. Also have yet to bake in any of the ovens in my AS's but they do make good storage spots for cookware.

[Paul & Holly]

Looking for ideas too.

[DavidsonOverlander]

We're doing ours in wood. I like the look, but it's a lot of work!

[jimstream]

I am looking at a thermal plastic that looks like aluminum called Fasade that is available at Lowes. It is used for home interiors such as back splashes, walls and ceilings . Very lightweight , does not scratch or dent, comes in many colors and textures to resemble copper, stainless steel and aluminum . Check it out. Fasadeideas.com

[youngpeck]

We are using 1/8th-inch birch plywood on the inner walls, and we reattached the aluminum skins first. The alum was full of holes, the vinyl covering would not clean up, and the wood looks great. The birch is very light-weight. One 4'x8' sheet might weigh three or four pounds at the most. Much better-looking than the '70s plastic look. And arguably taking no more time than cleaning up the aluminum would have.

[HiJoeSilver]

18 feet long from where to where. If your trailer is only 18 feet long it should be pretty easy to replace the interior skins with new aluminum if you wanted to. I replaced all the interior aluminum on my 23' using the old skins as templates. It was pretty straight forward. I primed with etching primer before installing then rolled on exterior paint. Since I had them all removed it seemed easier and quicker than stripping the 70s vinyl. Plus they had lots of holes from bad PO repairs/use.
You can cover the old ones as well as mentioned by the beautiful posts by others above.
My original plan was to cover the new aluminum with wood veneer but time and money!

[Jim & Susan]

I looked up some of your old posts and it looks like you have 71 Globetrotter? That's similar in construction to our 73 Overlander. For the bulkheads, we used 1/4" Birch from Lowes. It turned out pretty nice. We didn't replace the interior skins, just cleaned and painted over the crazy vinyl. It was a lot of work, but much easier than trying to strip the vinyl off the walls. There are some threads on stripping interior vinyl walls here. Use Google search and include Airforums in the search terms.

Good luck. Post some pictures when it starts coming together.

Jim

[terricrowe26]

I like it with the alum on the seams. Not to busy looking, I like the idea of it being all one color because my space is so limited.

[terricrowe26]

I do have to take them off and reinsulate and wire, but I like the idea of just painting over the vinyl coating, what did you use for paint?

[terricrowe26]

it is considered a 21' camper hitch to bumper, but 18' end to end interior.

[jhart717]

Has anyone shiplapped the interior of an airstream? We just got a 71 sovereign (31 footer) And want the ship lap look... We are fully renovating the trailer so the aluminum interior walls will be removed... my question is how important is the inner aluminum shell for structural integrity? Could we just pull it out and put up the ship lapping directly to the ribs?

[jhart717]

What about ship lapping? Also how structural is the inner aluminum wall? If like to take it of and just put up ship lapping... does anyone have experience with this?