Remove belly skin -- all or nothing?
'73, 31', SLY, rear bath -- aka, M&MT (mildew and mouse turds)
-- the goal is a usable TT, not a restoration.
Noting a lot of flaky rust in the storage bin inside the rear bumper, and always curious about the origin of rust, I took off the rear bumper (only had to drill-out two of the four bolts). I loosened the underbelly skin to let it drop down between the trailer longitudinal frame. This released lots of small stones, rust, leaves, nut (pecan and hickory, not S.A.E.) pieces, etc.
I was going to completely remove the belly skin, but it is about 15 feet long! It extends from the rear to infront of the front axel. Sure, I can drill-out the rivets to release it, but, how would one ever replace it? You would need 2 or 3 2x6's 10 feet long and several hydraulic or screw jacks. Or, is there another way?
In the rear, I see that the angle iron (between the two longitudinal frames) that supports the rear end of the holding tank is severely rusted. Rusted, too, is the galvanized metal pan in which the holding tank rests -- but it is only rusted where it has been in contact with the angle iron. Otherwise, everything seems intact and neither rusted or corroded. I assume I can just jack-up the pan and tank, cut-out the bad areas, replace and weld in a new angle iron...or, am I being Poly-Anna?
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JimF - a pilgrim_still <*}}}><
Waterproof, Louisiana
1973 Sovereign
"Preserve Game - Use a Trained Dog"
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