Need Help: Where To Begin

[adonh]

Originally Posted by GAStreamin

Just a little cosmetic work. My daddy pressure washed the Airstream today. I need to think of a name soon. :-)

I see in the pictures that you have a small jack stand under the Airstream fold out steps probably to stabilize or level the step. The Airstream foldout step is great piece of engineering that has been around for a long time. One problem is that over time the lower step fold up arms will wear a groove in the aluminum housing of the upper step and will cause the lower step to swing in and tilt downward. There is a fix for this by cutting and installing a small piece of 1/4" aluminum stock to the upper step housing to act a s brace for the lower step. Maybe someone can post a picture or a thread where is is covered in more detail.

But my main point in posting is to alert you of the potential danger of using a jack stand or any type of brace on the Airstream steps. These steps are designed to operate without any type of brace and can fold in and collapse at times when someone steps down on the step caused by the tension being released where it housed in the frame of the trailer due to the jack stand. I know that is probably confusing but I have seen this happen and the potential of a serious fall can occur. In the interim I would suggest a separate standalone temporary step arrangement similar the steps I made for my 1976 A/S attached below. This is nothing more than 2 wooden boxes with the smaller one sitting on top of the larger one cut to size to allow for an easy 2 step arrangement into the A/S. The top step should be attached to the bottom so that it will not move. In the long run this will be an easier means of going in and out of the trailer as you work on on it and may prevent a possible bad accident if the old Airstream steps collapsed on you.

[GAStreamin]

Originally Posted by adonh

I see in the pictures that you have a small jack stand under the Airstream fold out steps probably to stabilize or level the step. The Airstream foldout step is great piece of engineering that has been around for a long time. One problem is that over time the lower step fold up arms will wear a groove in the aluminum housing of the upper step and will cause the lower step to swing in and tilt downward. There is a fix for this by cutting and installing a small piece of 1/4" aluminum stock to the upper step housing to act a s brace for the lower step. Maybe someone can post a picture or a thread where is is covered in more detail.

But my main point in posting is to alert you of the potential danger of using a jack stand or any type of brace on the Airstream steps. These steps are designed to operate without any type of brace and can fold in and collapse at times when someone steps down on the step caused by the tension being released where it housed in the frame of the trailer due to the jack stand. I know that is probably confusing but I have seen this happen and the potential of a serious fall can occur. In the interim I would suggest a separate standalone temporary step arrangement similar the steps I made for my 1976 A/S attached below. This is nothing more than 2 wooden boxes with the smaller one sitting on top of the larger one cut to size to allow for an easy 2 step arrangement into the A/S. The top step should be attached to the bottom so that it will not move. In the long run this will be an easier means of going in and out of the trailer as you work on on it and may prevent a possible bad accident if the old Airstream steps collapsed on you.

I have actually thought about that. I just haven't made up new stairs yet. My steps are already broken and when we take the frame and shell off, I thought we would fix them then. Thanks for the tip!

[lonewolf1977]

Can I just say you're my new hero????! I'm reading this thread with such inspiration. My husband & I just got a '57 Overlander....neither of us are handy folks, but we're looking at a complete restoration....

[RM66caravel]

Hey girl great progress! I am on hold until next week waiting for the available storage locker. In the mean time I am working on the last remaining item on my frame supply list which is the trailer electrical pigtail. Make a list of things you will be needing for yours and on those days of massive rain or large groups of young minds you can concentrate on the logistics part. Are you replacing all of the insulation? If so take down the inner shell before the frame then you can start removing the frame. You do not have to remove anything from the frame but the few wires from frame to lights. Floor belly pan and all can and are easier to remove after the shell is off. You have to clear the wheel wells to get the frame out and you are going to find that there are 2 or 3 hidden rivets by the door which you may have to cut just remember to be safe and keep the kids away during the shell removal. Do not need distractions!

[RM66caravel]

Oh yes leave the channel the the ribs attach to on the floor not the shell and brace the ribs with wood braces since you are detaching the channel. Makes the whole process easier.
Cliff

[GAStreamin]

We really are rethinking the shell off after much research. Looking at going with a shell on refurbishment.

[putback]

Originally Posted by GAStreamin

Ok, wow, I have tried to get down the upper interior skin, but it was hard on me and I got tired. I will get help for the rest of it. I don't plan on putting back the same interior skin. I am going use something else. I think I understand it better now, I use the clecos to temporarily hold panels until I rivet them back. Right? Yeah, I'd like to see your photos.

Concerning the original interior skin. Those full size aluminum panels account for nearly half the structural strength of the body. They or new sheets are gonna have to go back in. Wood paneling can't do the job. New sheets will be very pricey. However, with the skins out laying on a flat surface they are fairly easy to clean up and re prime. You can then reinstall and finish coat in place. Use some type of ID on the back of each piece as you disassemble so you can easily reinstall them using the original rivit holes. Makes a much neater finish.

[RM66caravel]

Shell on is a good option! You have to do only what is needed and that which you are confortable with. Your floor looks pretty good except in the bath. My shell off has several reasons and floor rot is only a small part. Keep up the great work i am enjoying the read.

[GAStreamin]

Originally Posted by putback

Concerning the original interior skin. Those full size aluminum panels account for nearly half the structural strength of the body. They or new sheets are gonna have to go back in. Wood paneling can't do the job. New sheets will be very pricey. However, with the skins out laying on a flat surface they are fairly easy to clean up and re prime. You can then reinstall and finish coat in place. Use some type of ID on the back of each piece as you disassemble so you can easily reinstall them using the original rivit holes. Makes a much neater finish.

That is VERY good to know. I have labeled the back of each. I mainly did that as a template, but I did not realize that wood can't do the job. Very interesting. So, what do people do put paneling over it? Doesn't it make it heavy?

[GAStreamin]

Originally Posted by RM66caravel

Shell on is a good option! You have to do only what is needed and that which you are confortable with. Your floor looks pretty good except in the bath. My shell off has several reasons and floor rot is only a small part. Keep up the great work i am enjoying the read.

I hope so. I think it gives me more confidence in going forward and doing it here. Now, to get the bellypan off.

[GAStreamin]

Originally Posted by lonewolf1977

Can I just say you're my new hero????! I'm reading this thread with such inspiration. My husband & I just got a '57 Overlander....neither of us are handy folks, but we're looking at a complete restoration....

Aww, I don't know. I am going in blindly. Not much of a hero yet. Maybe I will be if it gets done. Wow! A '57? That has to be amazing. Keep me posted with your progress!

[SeeMore]

Given your progress I assume you have read some of the other posts showing similarly brave owners. Here are a few links you might have missed:

You'll find an interesting thread on wood interior work here:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f321...i-15592-3.html

This link will lead to an aggregated assembly of restoration links:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...ons-35399.html

Try this link to reignite your dreams about how your baby will ultimately be decorated on those days you feel it might not be worth the effort:
Airstream interiors

I do colonial period furniture woodworking but haven't encountered any need to remodel our trailer yet. However, that doesn't mean I never dream about that day.

[perryg114]

As an Aerospace Engineer, I am not sure I buy the interior skins being all that structural. The interior pop rivets are pretty weak and soft and usually pretty loose so I don't think they would do much if any real loads were imposed on them. The outer shell has real structural solid buck rivets and most of the strength of the shell is on the outside skin. The way the Airstream is built the strength of the shell is not really used very well to stiffen the whole structure. This being said, it is probably easier to leave the old skins in there and put wood on the inside of that. Then you don't have to worry about hitting a stringer to attach the wood. You can put a fastener anywhere you want to.

If you were to put in new aluminum skins, all you really need to know is where the ribs and stringers are and you can drill new holes as needed. You can use the old skins to figure out where the ribs and stringers are for the new panels. You would make lines to mark the rivet centerlines on the new panels with a sharpe marker and then remove the marker with ethanol when you are finished.


Perry

Originally Posted by putback

Concerning the original interior skin. Those full size aluminum panels account for nearly half the structural strength of the body. They or new sheets are gonna have to go back in. Wood paneling can't do the job. New sheets will be very pricey. However, with the skins out laying on a flat surface they are fairly easy to clean up and re prime. You can then reinstall and finish coat in place. Use some type of ID on the back of each piece as you disassemble so you can easily reinstall them using the original rivit holes. Makes a much neater finish.

[GAStreamin]

Perry,

I was hoping to NOT put back the plastic/metal skins. I was hoping to put in all new insulation and then wood. Is that too heavy yet not strong enough? If I used aluminum, I would rather it be as little as possible on the inside. What do you think?

[perryg114]

Put wood over the old skins. There are some folks on here who have done wood on here. Just do some searches and PM them and ask some questions. I don't know if they left the old skins or not.

Perry

[webspinner]

We paneled our "back room" with 1/8" birch plywood over the original interior skin (which had ghastly white paint that still felt tacky). In most of the rest of the trailer, the interior is covered with cabinets. I don't think the added weight of the wood over aluminum is much more than the overall increase in weight you'd get from having wood instead of aluminum in those hidden places. I haven't run any calculations, though. That might help you decide.

We spray painted the bathroom and left the remainder of the wall original. It actually makes it lighter inside than wood would, which we find helpful.

[GAStreamin]

I got my screens back from being powder coated silver and I rescreened them. I used the original spline after I cleaned it really well. Viola! New interior screens! Now if I can figure out how to get paint to stick to the plastic handles.

[Becky B.]

Did you try Krylon paint? It's for plastic.

[perryg114]

Sand the plastic to get the glaze off and the paint will stick. This is assuming the handle is not polyethylene or Nylon.

Perry

[GAStreamin]

Originally Posted by perryg114

Sand the plastic to get the glaze off and the paint will stick. This is assuming the handle is not polyethylene or Nylon.

Perry

I will take a picture of them. I used a paint like Krylon that is suppose to be for plastic. I sanded it with wool. Maybe not harsh enough.