A harmonized order of repair work

[Old Farm Guy]

Hi all,

Tony here. First post. Just purchased a '74 Sovereign and in the process of removing the very tired interior. My question to those of you who began and completed the process of repairs, is there a specific order you followed (e.g. gut interior, then floors, then walls, tear out insulation, remove/fix windows, etc).

My intuition tells me there is probably a logical order in which to proceed, but due to inexperience I've yet to figure it out.

Any Jedi Masters out there with wisdom on this subject?

Thanks in advance.
Tony

[Jamespio]

I'm no master, Jedi or otherwise. But I own a '69 so I have a little experience. I recommend you review some of the "full monty" threads, doesn't matter for what particular trailer/model, just to get a sense of how these are built and what a full rebuilding looks like. If you know that you are going to replace the entire interior, then that makes your planning easier. Step 1 should be an evaluation of what systems and appliances still work, which ones do not, and which ones you're repalcing even if they do work. Check all the electrical, all the plumbing, the water heater, furnace, fridge, fans, running lights and running gear. Step 2 will be to gut everything you don't intend to keep, and especially remove any floor coverings until you're down to the plywood subfloor. Then, Step 3 you'll need to do a complete evaluation of structural integrity. The floor is a critical structural component which, with the walls, forms the semi-monocoque structure of the trailer. At that point you should know most of the work that needs done, although 90% of the frame is still hidden from you.

At this point you'll have some idea of the work that needs done and can develop a plan. In terms of work order, I did a variation on the following which I thought made sense:
1. Structural repairs (replacing subflooring segments, dealing with rusty frame members, replacing a broken window);
2. Running gear. I have not repalced my axles, which I need to do, and you probably do also, but I inspected and evaluated the brakes, replaced old tires, repacked bearings so the thing could be towed. I also replaced all of the taillights, brake lights, and marker lights since the originals were badly corroded and the trailer had a mish-mash of various marker lights.
3. electrical. You could do plumbing first, but having power in the trailer is helpful when doing the other work that will need done. Despite being 50 years old, the electrical systems were surprisingly complete in mine. I still cleaned up a lot of connections, and had to spend some time making lights work properly.
4. Plumbing. Plumbing a trailer is a huge pain. But 50 year old copper that may or may not have been properly winterized each and every year is a good idea. I'd say I'm at about 50% copper, 50% PEX right now, and don't have any leaks. Plumbing the drains has been just as much of a hassle but at least that's all in ABS plastic, not pressurized, so it just glues together and is more forgiving of errors.
5. Evaluate/Repair/Replace propane distribution system.
6. Rebuild interior, this will include the difficulties associated with repairing or replacing the appliances, as well as rebuliding a bathroom.
7. Start making things pretty (interior finishes, decorating, polishing exterior, that sort of thing).

This is not what I have actually done, but it would be an orderly way to go about it.