Airstream taboo: Remodelling

[J. Morgan]

Valid points all.

I ended up redoing the back half of the bathroom because I made it too heavy.

I started the rebuild in the back and overbuilt it the first time round, too much wood , too many cabinets, and putting my batteries in the rear hatch was a big mistake.

The weight behind the axles matters, particularly the weight in the back two or three feet.

Before I lightened the trailer it weighed about 6,500 lbs.

My estimation is that weight in the very back acts like a pendulum adding to sway, and the further the weight is from the rear axle, its effect is increased exponentially. There is a very fine line between acceptable and too much weight, that can not be offset with front ballast.

I used 3/4" plywood cut in 2" slats as structural wood, which is lighter than solid wood and quite strong.

All of the cabinets but the main kitchen counter are constructed with boards cut from plywood and clad with 1/4" plywood. Very light, and very solid.

So, I did a remodel, and a partial re-re-model after the first trip.

[Isuzusweet]

Yeah, I don't know how many times I have looked at Airstream reno's, especially by the biker set with the Harley colours, check plate aluminum metal everywhere, massive tv, stereo, all blinged out and heavy as hell. Usually the first post after the first drive is "What happened to my engine power cause my Airstream is a dog????"

The Golden rule is as follows…."For every 100lbs you add to any vehicle you must add 10 hp to maintain a vehicles original performance."

Cheers
Tony

[TheOhioSean]

J. Morgan, your estimation is pretty close. A trailer is basically a lever system, with the axle(s) basically as the pivot and the frame as a lever extending from the rear bumper to the tongue. Balance is the key. As a general rule of thumb, the heaviest objects should be over the axle or just ahead of it, or failing that just behind the axle, to minimize the pendulum effect. Preference should be on or ahead of, as the trailer needs to be heavier in front to ensure adequate tongue weight.

[J. Morgan]

What got me was the "little here, and a little there" effect. The stuff I put in back was fairly light piece for piece, but all added up it was a lot.

On my re-re-model I removed about 350 lbs from the back 3' of the trailer, most of this from the back two feet of the interior,,, plus the two house batteries.

The 350lbs made a huge difference in the trailers towing manners. (I had pulled the batteries out before leaving town on my first trip)

So, the short way of saying what I said above is watch out for the little things, they add up. I weighed the stuff I took out, I was surprised to find that they added up to about 400 lbs, I replaced this stuff with less than 50 pounds.

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

What got me was the "little here, and a little there" effect. The stuff I put in back was fairly light piece for piece, but all added up it was a lot.

So, the short way of saying what I said above is watch out for the little things, they add up. I weighed the stuff I took out, I was surprised to find that they added up to about 400 lbs, I replaced this stuff with less than 50 pounds.

LOL I had my wife check out this post. The way she packed for a two week vacation and you'd think the apocalypse was upon us…….clothing for her and our two girls for two weeks, no laundry, two sets of dishes and cutlery etc, etc. I have told her, next time that in order to take more than what I deemed necessary she would have to loose weight.

Cheers
Tony

[J. Morgan]

Lol, you will just have to convince her that no matter what, on a two week trip you are going to the laundromat, so keep it light....

Oh wait,,,,,, never mind....

[wahoonc]

I weighed a lot of the stuff that came out of the cabinets on mine when we started tear down... do we REALLY need stoneware place settings for 8? Not to mention enough silverware to open our own bridal registry... When things start going back there is going to be a recording scale right by the door! I am not worried about adding weight to the components, everything planned and in progress is going to result in weight savings, copper vs Pex, replacing the Uni-volt with a PD, etc. Stock cabinets are going back, hard to beat them for their lightweight design.

Aaron

[Minno]

I weed out things we haven't used and I don't think we will start using every spring. Some things I leave in because we COULD need at some point (like extra blankets). Amazing what I've taken out over the years! It's a good practice.

Kay