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66Overlander · 05-26-2018, 08:41 PM

More progress over the last couple of days. Many, many test fits of the bath cabinet and to figure out the reassembly sequence and plumbing routings. I also remade the tub hidden wooden support, but no close up photo of that.

I finally got the hot and Cold PEX lines routed around the tub and secured into place with clamps and insulating sleeves to keep them from rattling. I glued down new shims to aid draining of the tub, and then I finally reinstalled the tub. It was a struggle to get it to align the holes in the fiberglass and aluminum trim edge with the rivet holes in the inner skin, but I was finally able to get them to line up using a few clecoes after multiple try and much tape temporarily holding the trim strip in place. I chose to reinstall with stainless screws because I would have had to further mangle the aluminum trim to get a pop rivet gun in there. I used putty tape between the aluminum trim and inner skin as original to make a water tight seal. That was a challenge.

I have since started to reinstall the bath cabinet, but quit as it got dark before it was fully bolted in. I did staple a new vinyl cove molding around the bath counter top and set it in place to see how it looks, but it is not bolted down yet. I also trimmed the bath wall to fit since I needed to enlarge the hole for the PEX lines and since the trailer had settled a bit over the last 56 years and the new floor tiles are a bit thicker than original. I had to take about 1/4" off the bottom of the wall, but now it slides in perfectly. I am not yet ready to permanently install it, but I did take a teaser photo with it set in place.

It finally is starting to feel like I'm making progress. Thanks for hanging in here with all my mundane details, but this is how I am keeping track of my progress and maybe it will help some reader seeing all the steps.

goransons · 05-26-2018, 09:17 PM

looking amazing Joe!!

TouringDan · 05-26-2018, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goransons

looking amazing Joe!!

X2

Dan

dbj216 · 05-27-2018, 07:32 PM

The devil is in the details. Your progress descriptions certainly reflect all that is necessary to put these old trailers back together. It is not a weekend project.

May I ask what the material is on the bulkhead wall behind the tub? I wouldn't think it would be wood, but maybe it is. Maybe there was no shower throwing water around everywhere.

Airstream designed the rear bath with a big picture window in it for so many years. I'm sure that design sold a lot of trailers.

David

66Overlander · 05-27-2018, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbj216

The devil is in the details. Your progress descriptions certainly reflect all that is necessary to put these old trailers back together. It is not a weekend project.

May I ask what the material is on the bulkhead wall behind the tub? I wouldn't think it would be wood, but maybe it is. Maybe there was no shower throwing water around everywhere.

Airstream designed the rear bath with a big picture window in it for so many years. I'm sure that design sold a lot of trailers.

David

I have no idea what the material is on the bath wall next to the tub, but it is original and seems impervious to water. It is an off white and the other side is normal wood veneer. I think the core is something other than wood, but don't know that is is. That material is used on three places in the bathroom: the shower wall, the closet wall next to the toilet, and on the end of the bath base cabinet next to the tub.

Regarding the big bath window, there were snaps on the inner skin (yet to be reinstalled) so that the shower curtain could extend over about a foot of the window to close off the window from prying eyes looking in and to contain splashing water from getting out.

66Overlander · 05-27-2018, 08:37 PM

Today's updates. Quit early because the ambient was about 90 degrees with high humidity. The storage unit is a dark brown color making the interior like a shaded oven. I did not have my heat gun with me, so I don't know how hot it was inside, but I could feel the heat radiating off the walls.

Anyway, I got the bath cabinet bolted down, got the PEX and drains lines hooked up and installed the toilet sprayer. The shower head is cleaned up and attached to a new hose, but won't be installed until I clean up and install the pegs that the shower wand can be hung on.

I quit early (about 7pm) when my brain was fried by the high heat. The one thing I did not get done was installing the trim strip between the bath cabinet and the tub. The tub fiberglass flange was originally nailed to the bath cabinet and then an aluminum trim strip was screwed over the gap and nail heads (with much putty). I debated reinstalling with nails . . . or screws . . . or nothing. Now that my brain has cooled off, I am thinking I will skip the nail and screws and just fill the gap with putty and put the aluminum trim strip over the gap. I really doubt the original nails provided much strength. The cabinet is screwed to the tub below this flange to secure the joint. I worry that the nails might do nothing more than cause stress cracks in the fiberglass tub flange.

Oh yeah, and I still have to put a new inner gasket around the rear compartment door, as the original inner gasket is falling off and does not even touch the door when it is closed. I believe the new outer gasket that I installed seals well, but I might as well have a working inner gasket as a backup seal.

dbj216 · 05-28-2018, 06:58 PM

Maybe that shower wall is melamine? The shower wall in my 75 Overlander is melamine. It is white on one side and wood grain on the other. My wall had suffered the indignity of a paint job, extra drilled holes, and lots of bathroom caulk. I decided to replace it.

Your bath is looking great. The heat and humidity of the summer months makes a guy look forward to winter.

David

66Overlander · 05-28-2018, 09:17 PM

Melamine or not, the bath wall has a lot of holes thru it to attach to the roof locker, bed base, bed lamp/shelf, and folding shelf bracket on the bedroom side, and to mount a towel bar and a couple of Byam Hooks in the shower stall.

It was another HOT one today, but I remembered to bring my heat gun. Didn't get to the trailer until late morning and by noonish the ambient temp was already 88, the temp on the inside of the storage unit walls was as high as 120 on the side in the direct sun, and it was already mid 90s inside the trailer. I had to quit before 1pm and head to cooler temperatures as the outside temp peaked in the 90s. I did a little prep work on cabinet hardware at home and then went back to install it at about 8pm. At that time, the outside temp had started to drop, but it was still 100 degrees inside the trailer.

Between my two trips to the trailer I got the bath cabinet to tub trim piece installed with putty behind it. I got the bath furnace vent cover installed. I installed the bath cabinet doors and drawers, and I installed some little aluminum plates in the drawer opening to reinforce the area that the twist drawer locks catch on. The plates came from another 1962 Airstream that I scavenged parts from a few months back. My trailer did not have them originally, but the drawer opening had significant damage to the wood from the drawer locks, so I am glad to be able to add "original" reinforcing plates to help the drawers stay closed during travel.

66Overlander · 05-30-2018, 10:24 PM

Some progress today. We finally picked up the new cushions. They look pretty good, but I did not get any photos. I made drawer liners out of the left over Formica. I had enough left over Formica to do all but 2 drawers. The liners will be a nice additional barrier, beside multiple coats of polyurethane, to and remaining mouse residue. Again, I forgot to take photos.

The only photo worthy achievement today was getting level sensors attached to the side of a custom gray tank I had made a few years ago and then finally bolting the gray tank in for good. I did have to notch out the aluminum tank pan that I made for clearance to the sensors. The tank and pan is held in place by three 1" steel straps that are bolted to cross members. None of the drain or vent pipes are connected yet, but that should happen relatively soon as I feel it will be best to at least get the vent pipe installed before the rear closet goes in, because the gray tank vent pipe will splice into the existing vent pipe in the closet. It will be easier to splice the vent pipes before closet walls make access harder.

StevieB · 05-31-2018, 04:47 AM

Joe,
Nice update. I can't believe you even attempted to work in there the past few days. Where did our Spring go? We went from Winter to Summer here in Michigan. It looks like you will be able to make some additional progress this next week or so with the temps dropping back close to the norm. Great work, keep it up! Someday I would like to see it in person. We are not far from each other here in Michigan.
Take Care,
StevieB

66Overlander · 05-31-2018, 10:40 PM

More progress today. It took longer than hoped, but the Gray Tank vent is "tee'd" into the existing Bath Tub/Sink vent pipe, using re-purposed original 1 1/4 ABS pipe and new ABS fittings. It is connected with a rubber coupler so that it can be easily removed for servicing the gray tank or the shore power cord that is hidden under the aluminum black tank shield in the attached photo.

I also started buttoning up some electrical items, including the bath fan seen in the attached photo.

I also bought more polyurethane and finally repaired the "drawer chip outs" in the kitchen cabinet veneer so that it can be poly'd soon in preparation for installation.

dbj216 · 06-01-2018, 06:55 PM

Hi: It always takes longer than we planned. Step by step toward completion.

David

66Overlander · 06-02-2018, 09:32 PM

Yesterday (June 1st) was a minorly successful day. I got the Water Heater and Battery/Battery Box bolted down among other achievements, but neither is connected to electrical or plumbing yet.

This is the end of the "mostly empty" trailer era.

66Overlander · 06-02-2018, 09:58 PM

Today (June 2nd) was a BIG day! HUUUUUGE!!!!

The trailer came out of the storage unit for the first time in 5 and half years! It made the trip home so that some cabinets could be installed, but boy does it need a wash.

I had a helper all day today, a good friend named Bob.

First we put in the Bedroom Streetside Roof Locker. Then the Rear Closet, the Bedroom Curbside Roof Locker, and the Bedroom Curbside Credenza. It was a lot of test fit, tweak, test fit, tweak, etc. until we got everything to slide and bolt in place. We even test fit the bed base temporarily, just to mark the outline on the floor with tape to help when it comes time to install the new fresh water tank and pump. Cabinet and closet doors, etc. will be installed later as time permits.

Finally, as darkness approached, the trailer went back into the storage unit.

One thing learned today is that getting the trailer in and out of the storage unit is much tougher with our 2500HD pickup than with out previous tow vehicle (a much more maneuverable Hummer H2).

MsRivet · 06-03-2018, 04:43 AM

HUUUUUGE!!!!

Huge day indeed. Looking good! Glad to see all the hard work coming together.

dbj216 · 06-03-2018, 08:31 PM

Wonderful your trailer saw the light of day even just for a short trip. Beautiful looking cabinetry. My trailer is all aluminum extrusions, tambor, and melamine panels. I might add that our 86 Limited does in fact have all wood cabinetry except for some shelving.

Hey, I think you ought to keep Bob around a while longer. You guys got a lot done today.

David

PS Thanks for the pictures, very nice.

66Overlander · 06-04-2018, 11:39 PM

Sunday was a slow day accomplishment wise. Monday was another good day, with some help again from my friend Bob. The most significant accomplishment over those two days were the installation of the Battery Charger and associated fuses and connection to the Battery and 12V Circuit Breaker Panel (which can be partially seen at the top of the attached photo above the battery but below the front shelf). The trailer now has a working charger and partially working 12V system, though I may add some clips to better restrain the battery cables from movement. Some lights and fans work on 12V and others are yet to be fully connected but it is great to finally get at least part of the 12V system operational.

The other big accomplishment was the partial installation of the front closet. It was getting dark before we got all of the screws and rivets in place, but we got enough in to hold it in place until I can complete the installation tomorrow.

This time, since there was only a single large cabinet to install, we carried the closet to the storage unit in my truck and just pulled the trailer forward enough to expose the door so the closet could be carried straight in.

There is a little more electrical to finish, but the next big task will be to work on the rest of the plumbing, both the below floor and kitchen sink drain lines and the fresh water system forward of the bathroom, including installing the Fresh Water Tank and Water Pump and hot and cold water lines to them and the kitchen sink.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other little things still to do, but I am concentrating on the "big tasks" for now.

Bubba L · 06-05-2018, 06:17 AM

Joe, the fit of the closet bulkheads look great. Don’t know how many patterns I’ll go through before I get a goof fit. Beautiful work. Bubba

dbj216 · 06-05-2018, 06:46 PM

You gotta hire your friend Bob! He is a big help. It must be very satisfying seeing all these painstakingly restored cabinets going back into the trailer. They look new as you insisted they must.

David

66Overlander · 06-07-2018, 09:34 PM

I've been very busy the last couple of days. In some cases I did not take appropriate photos. In other cases they are not too exciting, so the photos are hit or miss to accompany this post.

CUSHIONS: Lorrie and I temporarily installed the front gaucho cushions and found some issues. When we then examined the bedroom gaucho cushions, some of the same issues existed, so both were taken back to the foam shop for adjustment. We should get them back early next week.

CABINETS: I completed the reattachment of the front closet. I got three coats of Polyurethane on the kitchen base cabinet, so it is ready to be reinstalled. All cabinets have now been repaired, stripped, and poly'd. Woodwork is basically done except for re-installation. Some items may need to be tweaked a little to fit during the re-installation process.

ELECTRICAL: I tidied up the battery cable routings under the front gaucho a little bit and completed the connections to one 120V outlet in a closet wall and both ceiling fans (including reinstalling their trim rings). The rear ceiling fan was changed from the original 120V only model to a vintage 12V only model out of a 1966 Airstream. The front fan is original and dual voltage. All installed electrical now works (charger, all three fans, and most lights and 120V outlets), but there are more electrical items yet to install (water pump, water heater, furnace, one more light, more 12V power outlets, etc.).

PLUMBING: I got the plumbing vent pipe reinstalled in the rear closet and caulked were it exits thru the roof. I reinstalled all the trim around the black tank cover. It is the trim that mostly holds the cover in place (along with gravity). I installed a new lever arm in the toilet flush linkage to replace the original pot metal arm that had disintegrated, so the toilet is ready to be reinstalled, but it has not gone back in yet. Today my friend Bob helped again and we developed a solid plan for the remaining freshwater and above floor drain lines in the bedroom and kitchen areas. We did a massive shopping trip to Home Depot and started the installation, but daylight ran out before we got it all installed. The fresh tank, water pump, and accumulator are partially bolted in, but no hard lines have been run yet, though we have a plan for all of them.