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moveinon · 03-03-2011, 07:37 PM

After over 30 years of trailering I never had a blow-out. But the other day I had a "double-blow out" on the curb side and the explosion also took out both layers of the wheel wheels. How do I find replacement wells and reconstruct........

1987 25 footer

Lance M · 03-03-2011, 07:42 PM

Bum luck on the double blow out! The exterior wheel wells are available from Out of Doors Mart and other Airstream parts dealers. I haven't seen any of the interior wheel wells available anywhere.

Schu · 03-03-2011, 07:48 PM

Both parts can be ordered through an Airstream Dealer

moveinon · 03-15-2011, 09:46 AM

Has anyone replaced the wheel wells? I can get the inner and outer (black and cream color) skins from my local airstream dealer for around $400 including shipping. Can they be installed from the outside, then secured from the inside??

moveinon · 03-15-2011, 09:49 AM

wheel wells - total replacement

Minno · 03-15-2011, 10:58 AM

How the wheel wells are attached my vary slightly from year to year. In our '72, the cream colored well covers are attached to the top of the plywood floor and on the inside of the inner wall skins. The black inner wells (some call them outer) are attached under the plywood floor, to a piece of sheet metal. They are sandwiched between the plywood and the frame. They are also riveted to the outer skins, on the inside of the wheel wells. The skin is sandwiched between the black plastic liner and the molding that goes around the wheel opening. Some models of airstream use a J molding that catches both the black plastic and aluminum skin.

Why do you want to replace them? Depending on the damage, and how much you want to tear into your trailer, you might be able to patch them in place using fiberglass and epoxy.

If you can post some pics of the damage, and the year of your airstream, you will probably get some more ideas on how to repair.

For some pics on how i repaired ours, check here post 70:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f185...b-50967-5.html

Then, if you go to post 117, you can see how the black liners are installed under the plywood floor. Finally, at the end of post 143, you can see how they are attached to the skin.

Chris

moveinon · 03-15-2011, 12:34 PM

Thanx for your reply!

I had a double blow-out on the curb side and the rear tire completely came off the rim, ripping out more than half of the entire wheel well, inner and outer skin.

How do I go to post "117" and "143"?? I do not see them under "wheel wells"

driftless · 03-15-2011, 01:03 PM

moveinon, click on Chris's link that he provided, then scroll or page down to post #117 and #143 on that thread. The post number is in the upper right corner of each reply. This is post #5 on your thread.

Oh, and welcome to the forums. We'll try to help you fix her up!!

moveinon · 03-15-2011, 03:46 PM

Thanx , I'll get the procedure down soon, I hope -

The problem I have is my stream is not gutted. I hope I can install from the outside and then screw-down / revit from the inside......

Minno · 03-15-2011, 05:06 PM

Ouch! Again, depending on the amount of damage, you might be able to scab the new wheel well liners onto the remaining pieces of the old ones without needing to take everything apart. If you can, cut the old ones out, leaving a couple of inches of material around the outside, and then I think you should be able to attach the new ones to old remnants. I know epoxy will stick very well to the black liners. I haven't done any repairs on the cream colored ones, but if you can seal the black ones well, then you would not need to seal the cream colored ones totally.

There's fiberglass insulation between the two liners as well. Although based on your description of your blowout, that might all have gone awol.

Good luck!

Chris

Lance M · 03-15-2011, 05:58 PM

I'm installing new wheel wells on my '72. I would go with trying to repair the old ones as Chris has described above because the ones you get new are not the same size as the originals from '72. They are wider, shorter and the outer lip does not extend low enough to meet the original rivet line with the exterior skin. I've made some modifications that I'll post to my refurb thread here. Good luck!

moveinon · 03-17-2011, 08:12 AM

I hope I have better luck with the size..
My unit is a 1987 25' - Here are some pictures of the dammage:

Lance M · 03-17-2011, 08:45 AM

Looks a lot worse than I thought. Not much left to salvage.

ventport · 03-17-2011, 08:48 AM

Sounds like that should be covered by your insurance co. If you have insurance, get a bid from the factory and have it fixed professionally. I would think they would do it from the inside with the interior removed to get at the problem. Which if done correctly by a professional will be expensive.

driftless · 03-17-2011, 10:06 AM

That is some significant damage!! Did you have any exterior skin damage?

In answer to your initial question, it appears you would have to replace the wheel wells from inside from what I've seen and understand about the basic construction of the AS.

If you don't have insurance and undertake the repair yourself, I'm sure this community will support you with whatever information you need. Best of luck.

manymemories · 07-23-2011, 08:54 PM

i have a question for you top.i see that you had to put extenders on your wheel wells to meet the skins.I'm thinking about removing whats left of my wells,bolting the lip that goes between the frame and floor directly to the top of the floor.do you see any problems i may run into besides sealing the 3/4 gap between the frame and the top of the floor?the reason I'm doing it this way is because i think its going to be hard getting the new lip between the frame and floor.i will have to make my extensions longer and am thinking of welding some flat stock to the top edge of the frame to seal the end of the plywood.my original wells are a one piece and i am putting in the two piece(couldn't find the one piece)

jerbear315 · 11-02-2012, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Top

Bum luck on the double blow out! The exterior wheel wells are available from Out of Doors Mart and other Airstream parts dealers. I haven't seen any of the interior wheel wells available anywhere.

That's just lovely, since we have just noted ours are cracked and need to be replaced...
Cheap plastic on Caravel 66'.

Jerri

perryg114 · 11-02-2012, 12:02 PM

Why not build a proper wheel well out of aluminum or galvanized steel. You would only need a single layer and you could just put some rigid foam on the inside surface.

What brand of tires were you running and how old were they? I am guessing the explosion from the first tire took out the second tire.

Perry

r carl · 11-02-2012, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perryg114

Why not build a proper wheel well out of aluminum or galvanized steel. You would only need a single layer and you could just put some rigid foam on the inside surface.

What brand of tires were you running and how old were they? I am guessing the explosion from the first tire took out the second tire.

Perry

Why not just use boiler plate and then you can use ST tires.