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Old 11-06-2014, 08:19 AM   #1
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interior walls

Please forgive my naiveté. Has anyone replaced the interior walls with thin plywood or resurfaced existing walls with wood to obtain a cabin or log home feel?
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Old 11-06-2014, 09:14 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by charlieward View Post
Please forgive my naiveté. Has anyone replaced the interior walls with thin plywood or resurfaced existing walls with wood to obtain a cabin or log home feel?
Not sure what you have. Your bio says vintage kin. In Airstreams the original interior skin is aluminum. It needs to stay. It adds to the structural strength of the trailer. You would need to add something over it. Keep in mind your adding weight so the lighter the better.
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Old 11-06-2014, 11:09 AM   #3
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I haven't done it but I would love to have the warmer feel of some varnished Birch Plywood. As Geo said above it will add some weight.
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Old 11-06-2014, 12:06 PM   #4
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interior walls

Yes,,,

Over the aluminum.

It helps considerably with heat transfer.

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The completed trailer weighs 6500 lbs.
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Old 11-06-2014, 12:11 PM   #5
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interior walls

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1/4" birch plywood over the skins, it wasn't a difficult project.

You will also want to look at the Adorondac Airstream. Do an internet search, you will not be disappointed.


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Old 11-06-2014, 12:16 PM   #6
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If you decide to do it I can fill you in on some of the things I learned doing the project.


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Old 11-21-2014, 09:52 PM   #7
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can I remove the interior cross walls and have and open floor plan. Basically removing the wall between the kitchen and bedroom? Will that affect the travel integrity?
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Old 11-21-2014, 11:39 PM   #8
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It didn't seem to hurt the integrity of my trailer. It is one big room and a bath now, it is still super firm.


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Old 11-23-2014, 10:28 AM   #9
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What type of adhesive did you use and how did you trim out the windows?
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Old 11-23-2014, 11:44 AM   #10
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interior walls

No adhesive at all. The wood is butted up agains a rail at the top and the arc of the wood holds the wood in place against the floor.

There are a few screws in the top and bottom, but they really are not needed.

The windows are just cut out and trimmed with the old window frames.

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Old 11-23-2014, 01:06 PM   #11
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J. Morgan,
What did you finish the wood with? Shellac seems to be popular with vintage restorers.
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Old 11-23-2014, 03:23 PM   #12
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I used regular old varnish on most of the wood, lacquer on some of the stuff that I needed to dry "right now".


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Old 11-23-2014, 09:34 PM   #13
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how much 'expansion' space did you allow around windows, etc...? The spars between sections.. those appear to be screwed in to the ribs????

Oh.. and how much weight did it 'add'?
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Old 11-23-2014, 10:52 PM   #14
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interior walls

I screwed into the old interior aluminum skins wherever the joints fell. When I first put the walls up I screwed the edge of the plywood to the skins about every six or eight inches. Once I started putting the stringers in these screws got in the way so I pulled all of them out. The plywood fit well without these screws, and the screws through the stringers were more than sufficient to hold the plywood. The window frames also work very well to hold the plywood tight to the wall.

"I didn't allow any space for the wood to expand, but I didn't worry about getting the joints super tight.

Expansion might have been a bigger issue if I had installed the wood in he desert instead of in the middle of a hot humid Arkansas summer. "

Now the truth,,,, That was my made up "I knew what I was doing" answer...... but in all honesty, I didn't even think about expansion till you just mentioned it.... Haha!

I think I might have gotten lucky, I installed it at the right time, and I think the plywood is fairly stable.


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Old 11-23-2014, 10:55 PM   #15
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interior walls

My completed trailer ready to camp weighs 6500 lbs. (via scale ticket)

I figure the wood and the rest of my mods added about 1,200 pounds net to the trailer.

If I get to build another I think I might see how 1/8" plywood might work, that would save quite a bit of added weight.

I figure I used about 30 sheets of 1/4" plywood less waste, (counting my cabinets and fixtures) probably about 40 pounds a sheet for birch, a bit more for the oak.


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Old 11-24-2014, 08:15 AM   #16
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Thanks for that great info! Just speculation, the expansion of the aluminum may be similar to the wood so is not much of an issue.

That is more than "food for thought" that is a feast!!!
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Old 11-24-2014, 09:42 AM   #17
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I will be using 1/8" birch on mine, right over the wall skins, next spring. I did a test piece about two feet wide, full height (eight feet), oiled to a nice medium-dark finish, and it fits and looks just fine. Weight should not be an issue.
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Old 11-24-2014, 10:07 AM   #18
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interior walls

Going to 1/8", I imagine you will save about five or six hundred pounds from what I did.

If I had it to do over, I would add a layer of 1/8" foam between the skins and the wood.

The thermal difference the wood alone makes is substantial, the foam would likely add even more insulation value.


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Old 11-24-2014, 12:19 PM   #19
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That's a lot of weight to save! The 4 x 8 1/8th-inch sheets are pretty light. I like the idea of a layer of foam. So what type of foam would you recommend?
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Old 11-24-2014, 12:26 PM   #20
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The good thing about the old trailers is their lightness. Starting with a 5,000 pound trailer has its advantages when doing a project like this.

Even though I used 1/4" ply, my trailer is still a lot lighter than a new Airstream. I was actually shocked to see how heavy these trailers have become, but it kind of provides a guide on what kind of increase is acceptable.


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