'79 Safari - Just need some clarification

[perryg114]

You don't want to use treated wood because of the acid content. It will eat anything metal that touches it. You also need to make sure there is enough of that hold down plate left to do its job. Did you look at the upper part of it where it goes under the wall skin?




Perry

[thomdial]

Yes, I believe the treated was a bad idea. I found a sheet of marine that was just a little more than exterior grade that I will use.
Is that plate buck riveted on the exterior wall?

[perryg114]

The L-Bracket is buck riveted to the back wall of the trailer. Just about all of the frame support for the back half of the trailer is carried by that plate. If there is too much rust there won't be enough of it left to carry the loads. In my opinion, this is a design weakness. There should be support all around the trailer.

Perry

[thomdial]

I can say this. When I removed the floor in the rear(along with all the bolts and screws in the C channel), there was no give whatsoever in the rear. Meaning, I could not widen the gap in the rear between the frame and C channel at all.

[thomdial]

Went with marine plywood. 60 bucks for one sheet. A friend down at the marina recommended polyurethane- said that is what they use a lot on boat floors. He said that sealing in something like epoxy was fine too as long as you seal all your screw and bolt holes, because it will trap moisture. I used one coat of poly, so as not to over do it.

[thomdial]

Perry,
Your hold down plate is a little different than mine. It would appear from your photo that your rear channel hangs off the back of your frame, and the hold down plated is actually what "holds" them together. My channel sits directly on top of the frame. In fact, I have 7 bolts that anchor it to the frame. Two of these bolts(on the corners) have an iron plate that rests inside the channel for added strength.

[perryg114]

Here is an illustration by Barts and what he did was real similar to what I did. I did not add extra skin material to the hold down plate area because I did not break the rivets. The L-bracket goes under the floor. The floor will be wedged between the C-channel and the L-bracket. This is why you can't put in a single piece of floor without sectioning it unless you remove the L-Bracket install the floor in one piece from the back and then install the L-Bracket and then drill through all the layers or use existing holes and bolt it all together. I added stiffeners to the top of the C-channel.

Perry

[thomdial]

Stripped off the vinyl clad on one of the interior skins. The rest in the bathroom will be hidden or in closets. Fresh primer coat of KILZ paint.

[thomdial]

Black tank back in. Lower skins repaired.

[thomdial]

Cut new maple plywood and refinished existing hardware with satin nickel paint.

[thomdial]

New epoxy paint for the tub, bench, vanity, and shower surround piece. Lots of sanding and fumes. Used high pressure sprayer. I had to practically rebuild the bench out of fiberglass, but I really want to keep some of the original design (just with better materials). Paint was tinted to almost a battleship gray.

[thomdial]

Anyone have any suggestions on what color I should paint the closet doors?

[thomdial]

Stainless cover for the black tank- old one was just plain nasty. Got the shower tub/ bench back inside. All the trim pieces still have to be painted.

[thomdial]

Closet doors are finally ready

[thomdial]

Blue marmoleum

[thomdial]

Starting to come together

[thomdial]

Finished the shower. Moved everything to the wall. Seems to make more sense.