The Double Nickel Project - 1955 Flying Cloud

[MattB]

Took the opportunity prior to sealing the seams to knock out the few small dings in the end caps. My 1 lb. rubber mallet worked out well. I forgot to take some of the before pictures, but it certainly seemed to come out OK. Either gently tapping or simple rolling with the round part of head took care of the issues.



Earlier I took the time to make the first cut of polish on the roof to have a smooth clean surface to seal to. Then fantastic vents. I considered briefly trying to fix up the original vents. But I only had one functioning lifter out of six, so I gave it to another restorer, and I tend to prefer a renovation over a restoration approach. If you need some lids, they may be recoverable in and of themselves.

I did not use seal that came with the units, but used a liberal amount of Trempro, and used flat-headed aluminum screws. I don’t know if I bought the right type aluminum screws, as they weren’t very strong. A few broke along the way, but they held up. Then sealed on the inside. When I leak tested they still managed leak without some additional sealant on the inside.

[Bubba L]

I like the license plate, it goes well with the trailer. What are your plans for the AC? We’re wiring now so I need to get a game plan. I’m still thinking about a window unit dismantled and placed under the gaucho with a plenum and ducted air. I know some have done this, but don’t know about the decibel level. Keep up the good work. Bubba

[MattB]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

I like the license plate, it goes well with the trailer. What are your plans for the AC? We’re wiring now so I need to get a game plan. I’m still thinking about a window unit dismantled and placed under the gaucho with a plenum and ducted air. I know some have done this, but don’t know about the decibel level. Keep up the good work. Bubba

Bubba, I missed this earlier, but heard you on the podcast. I thought I had it referenced in this thread but it may be in my AC thread. I am looking along these lines. http://bigrigproducts.com/dometictruckac.html

[MattB]

I am building a cabinet above the fridge to house the air handler. It will fit within the footprint, and above a 5-6 cu ft fridge. The coolant lines will run down behind or beside the fridge through the floor and I have a spot in the frame venting out the belly pan for the fan unit. I was thinking of a louvered or sliding guard piece for protection during traveling. I still have about three options for precise placement of the fans, but they can also help the fridge ventilation as well. I work with a former tractor trailer service manager, and these seem pretty common and easy to service.

[Bubba L]

Hey Matt, I’m checking out the Dometic unit and trying to get a printout of the specs/installation guide. Sounds like the decibel level may be good. We have completed our wiring and started the insulation. So, I’m ready to nail down the AC model and installation. Your idea sounds like what we’ve been planning. We just have to find the right unit. Thanks for your post. Good luck, Bubba

[MattB]

Updated plan with a few minor adjustments: Red/Black swap, added fridge to the AC circuit list, made the circuits more accurate.

I would like to confirm that this design will work and see if there were anything that I am missing.

Any feedback on my previous questions is also appreciated.

Thanks!

12V Plan - 20180429.pdf

[MattB]

Too many other hobbies: took time to make a few batches of beer...which I brought to the fall rally here in the Midwest. I am very much hoping that I can have this trailer complete by the next fall rally. It may be close.

[MattB]

Continuing to refine the floorplan and toying with making changes. Realizing that the U - shaped dinette will need to be shortened, and make the table much smaller. Otherwise go with a two bench setup with a little shelf space under the window and along the sides, but extend under the windows.

Front:


Considering whether to switch the bathroom and shower from one side to the other. Ultimately, the toilet is tough to fit anywhere with a sink in the same room. I have been using the model of the 1954 floorplan mixed with the floorplan from the Orvis Airstream, but that Orvis Airstream has no sink in the lavatory. I want to be able to wash my hands and shave without using the kitchen sink, and more importantly, SWMBO wants one sooo...we will have one.

Middle:


Ultimately, some of this will have a little flexibility in how wide the chest of drawers and fridge cabinet are, and how wide the counter is between the shower and the range.

Rear:

[MrRivet]

The license plate looks great! We ran into the same problem here in Florida trying to register a year correct tag for our 1948 Airstream Liner. It can be done on a vintage automobile but not on a vintage trailer. There was a push by some of the Florida vintage camper owners to have it changed last year but they have not been successful as of yet.

We plan on fabricating some sort of clips to attach the year correct tag when we are showing the trailer.

Safe Travels,
Tim

[goransons]

Can you tuck the toilet into the corner and put a small vanity between it and a wardrobe on the side of choice? A single bowl sink should fit fine, that's the basic layout in our 55. Curb side tub, small hamper under the back window (you can put a toilet there too, and if you're really confident you can stay in the conversation with the front of the trailer simply by not pulling the curtain lol ).

Anyway, tub on the curb side, hamper under the rear window, toilet in the corner on an angle, then a small sink vanity that actually goes over more of the black tank then the divider wall/wardrobe or whatever is the division between your bathroom and the rest of the trailer.

[goshawks00]

Originally Posted by MattB

Updated plan with a few minor adjustments: Red/Black swap, added fridge to the AC circuit list, made the circuits more accurate.



I would like to confirm that this design will work and see if there were anything that I am missing.



Any feedback on my previous questions is also appreciated.



Thanks!



Attachment 309803

If you have room add AC on it’s ow circuit

[goshawks00]

I see your flood /belly pan lights are on a separate line- I hope they are led, if so it would be a perfect line to put AC on.

[MattB]

Originally Posted by goransons

Can you tuck the toilet into the corner and put a small vanity between it and a wardrobe on the side of choice? A single bowl sink should fit fine... .Anyway, tub on the curb side, hamper under the rear window, toilet in the corner on an angle, then a small sink vanity that actually goes over more of the black tank then the divider wall/wardrobe or whatever is the division between your bathroom and the rest of the trailer.

Scott, this very much what we are looking at, although I think we will ultimately go with the shower on the street side and the lavatory on the curb side. Just want to make sure I can fit the toilet and sink in a space 36" x 34". I think I can do it with toilet tucked diagonal into the corner and the sink also in the corner.

[MattB]

Originally Posted by goshawks00

If you have room add AC on it’s ow circuit

Thanks, I think I made an error in there. Unless there is a 12V requirement that I have missed up to this point, the air conditioning will be 110V and I am putting in on it's own 20A circuit.

[MattB]

Trying to manage the timelines of posting versus current work and planning is getting confusing. Need get posting to get it closer to caught up.

I had a local fabricator cut and break a small piece of diamond plate for the front step when I had the bumper trunk lid cut.







Also took a few minutes to attach the rear trim.

[MattB]

I re-hung the door to check the fit. There is a little rub on the bottom due to the diamond plate step taking up the space I left when I previously mounted the door hinges without the sheet taking up space. If I can’t get it down the way I want to I will create a little space with the floor and the door. Also mounted the door catch.







That said, I still love the custom screen guard from David Winick.

The biggest result of the watertightness checking was the complete abandon with which the rear window leaked through the frame. Bearing in mind that I had already sealed it better than I found it when I took it out of there originally, it was easy to see why a previous owner had put in the 10-12 lbs of sealant around the frame, and the last foot of the sub-floor was completely dissolved.




I traced out where a band of butyl tape was missing from one of the top portions of the frame behind a hinge and the behind the drip cap. Much better.

Finally, I found a little something to compliment my pursuit of a Spartan on eBay.

[MattB]

Trying to wrap of the remainder of the main hookups. This is what I was planning, pending some feedback, to hook up the Umbilical to Battery to Converter to Distribution panel.

Does this make sense?

[MattB]

OK, anybody?

[goshawks00]

Ground batts to frame, ground distribution to frame

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by MattB

Trying to wrap of the remainder of the main hookups. This is what I was planning, pending some feedback, to hook up the Umbilical to Battery to Converter to Distribution panel.

Does this make sense?

Attachment 315142

Can I assume both of the little black boxes on the positive wires are fuses? Those wires must be protected by fuses rated to protect all downstream wires until the best fuse is encountered. Or alternately all downstream wires must be sized to be protected by the selected fuses.

After this most critical point, you plan should work, altough in my 1962 Airstream I chose to fuse the wires to the umbilical cord, converter, and main distribution panel separately for minimal disruption should a short circuit occur in any wire.

P.S. Remember that the fuse on the wire to the umbilical cord also protects wire in your tow vehicle from current sourced from your trailer battery when you are hooked up, should a short occur in the tow vehicle wiring. An umbilical fuse of about 30A is likely appropriate, which is probably smaller that you want for the main distribution panel and possibly the converter.

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