1956 Bubble Restoration Start to Finish

[InsideOut]

Very nice! Beautiful job...you should feel so proud of the work you've done!

Shari

[the544man]

Hey--thank you for all of the kind comments. As summer's coming to a close I'm getting in some of the last getaways with the family. It looks like i've definitely saved enough to do on the trailer for the fall and winter. My goal was to "finish" the bubble in one year. So next April will be the goal--then she's ready to camp. Here's my list of what's left: I have everyhting on hand--i just need time!



electrical-put in 2 more outlets, wire up all 12 volt stuff to fuse panel
lighting-purchase 4 cabin lights and 2 for under the roof cabinets. (I'm wondering if anyone's used a wireless light switch--that would be kind of cool walking up to the trailer--pushing a button and one of your interior lights come on.)

plumbing--run the sink drain through the floor under the spot for the rear bed and run under trailer. I do have all the fittings. And finalize pump placement and plumb everything in.

Cabinetry--build rear bed. this will be the one of the last things i do because i still need to be able to pull my cabinets out for access at the moment.

upolstry --definietly hiring this one out this winter.

trailerbrakes and axle--i'm waiting until i have everything else finished so i can take the trailer to a scale, weigh it, and possibly put on a brand new torsion axle, and hub package. I'm guessing the bubble will weigh in at 1950 lbs empty.

little stuff--curtains or blinds, throws, cool pendelton blankets, maybe build a couple small custom shelves, fill with camp gear

anything else?

cheers--ted

[flyfshr]

Yes, there is one more thing: a shakedown camping trip of over 150 miles roundtrip. I've been following along on your restoration/refurbishment and am appreciating all of your work.

Brad
FF

[the544man]

Here you see the abs drain connected to the trap. I'm sending it through the cabinet back under the rear bed so i can keep it away from the axle beneath and out of the way of the undersink area. I want to use the undersink spot for a small stainless waste basket. I found a great fitting gasket to get a tight seal around the drain pipe and to perfectly seal the 2 1/4" hole drilled through the floor. PS--i really don't need a trap since there's no sewage involved--but i put one in when i want to drain the water into a camp drain--this way i'll get no stinky-air backwash.



Here you see under the belly pan: the same gasket, a 90 degree leading to the grey water pipe.

On the other end i fitted a male connector to a swivel "valveterra" adapter so i can hook up my grey water hose direct to the hose end. they make adapters for linking into camp sewers too with a hose end connector. And under trailer--it's nice to have a smaller pipe too rather than the gigantic sewer sized fittings most trailers have installed. The brass fitting is merely a plug for travel.

In order to keep a low profile I made a bracket to hang a chrome fresh water inet that will feed from the campground. This leads via 1/2" pex to my sink/pump bypass for shore water. I can reach it easily from under the rear bumper--i didn't want to cut a hole in the trailer having a hose fitting sticking out. This keeps things tidy.

ps--auto wheel ramps work great for getting more elbow and drill room to work underneath the rear of the trailer!

[Aerowood]

I found a great fitting gasket to get a tight seal around the drain pipe and to perfectly seal the 2 1/4" hole drilled through the floor. ..... Here you see under the belly pan: the same gasket, a 90 degree leading to the grey water pipe.

Where did you find this gasket?

[the544man]

mr aerowood, I found the gasket at my local Van Well Building Supply. I knew my dimensions and looked through everything to see what might work. Look through the pre-packeged bins in the toilet/sink plumbing section--you'll probably find something similar. If you can't let me know--i can pick up a couple and send them too you. The one i found has an inner ring which slips around the pipe just right and seats into the drilled out hole to fill the void--then the larger lip seals around the top. It's nice to not have a sloppy looking mess of caulk around everything. Also--a bimetal hole saw works great on the thin aluminum underbelly too. After you drill out the floor on the inside--move the insulation out of the way, drill a pilot hole centered from the top down through the aluminum--then drill out the same hole dimension on the belly pan from underneath with the hole saw. Easy to get a great fit. The gasket holds everything tight too to make it easy to get good measurements for fitting the other pieces of pipe. cheers--ted

[Aerowood]

Thanks, I'll go look at my Big Box Store

[the544man]

I finally figured out where i wanted to put the water pump. So i wouldn't have to build an additional hatch for access to the pump. also if i ever get a leak--ill know immediately rather than letting water soak into the floor from under a hidden area--so --i thought i'd.... keep it simple..... and just put it right under the sink. Why didn't I think of that? I re-routed my camp fed h20 line right next to my fresh water tank line--and ran them right into the spot. I used all brass pex fittings as I was told they have a better track record than the plastic ones.



Do i have it right? [here's the flow chart] outside gravity fed--fresh water tank--(breather tube from one fitting)--outflow from tank--shut off valve--pex line under rear bed area to inlet on pump--water pump--"T" outlet into (2 lines to sink since i'm not running a water heater)--going to sink--another "T" for the other line coming from camp fed pressured water (with shutoff valve as well.

I also put a union at each fitting on the pump for easy remooval for winterizing. I do need to pull the pump every winter don't I? I kind of assume i do as I will not be putting that foul antifreeze in my belly!


I also cut out an area for a waste basket here. i want to hide the trash behind a door and this is my only option on such a small trailer. glad i thought of this didn't put the pump under there!

thanks for the feedback friends

[ddstech]

That cutout was a very good idea! I am adding it to my list..

[the544man]

Check out what "Mattkroff" sent me. a brand new latch-keeper for the door within a door setup. It holds the frame part of the door to the side of the trailer when you want the screen door action on the interior part of the door. Not only is the piece brand new--Matt had it re-chromed when he was sending in some of his metal work to the chromers. How cool is that--thank you matt! I just want to send kudos out to all of you airstreamers who are helping others with nothing to gain for yourself. I look forward to helping someone in such a way with their project too. So thanks to a few crucial lock parts from Ed and now this cool shiny thing from Matt--the Bubble's vintage door is back to better than original. Thank you friends!

[ddstech]

This Matt guy sounds like a great guy. I bet he has access to more of these brand new latches if anybody else needs one. They are the originals, Theodore Bargmans. With or without the rubber bumper.

[the544man]

I've seen some pretty elaborate bed supports on the forum--but I think i'm going to keep this extremely simple. With such a small piece of plywood needed for the rear bed, I just can't see that good plywood is going to flex that much at all (and if i find it does i can add a support in the middle). I'm planning to use a kreg drill system and screw 6-8 2"x4"'s with the backs routed out for the water and electrical conduits.

This way my storage will be clutter free of supports. I'm planning on using 3/4" birch ply (at only 15 lbs more maybe than 1/2 " I think the stiffness is worth such measly weight gain) and screw them down to the supports. Along the back near the exterior hatch I have a support strip and the inside hatch frame has an intergrated frame for support. The only challege will be cutting a perfectly curved ply top and setting it down with the cabinets in and all. Do you see any problems with this? cheers--ted

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[dznf0g]

544,

Nice work. Not sure why you don't want antifreeze in pump and lines. (Not Tank! of course). I would think if you blow out your lines, and disconnect the pump lines, at the pump, you'd be fine. Most of the water will run out of the pump on a rag and the rest will evaporate. There are just rubber diaphragms inside and the small amount left wouldn't expand enough to hurt anything. Run it dry for about 15 seconds and almost all of the water will come out in your rag. Don't think you would have to pull the whole pump. Wasn't there a statement in the pump installation manual which said not to mount vertically? Can't remember if that was for a SureFlo or a Aquajet. They do make a valve kit to pull antifreeze from the bottle on the suction side of the pump and thus eliminating the tank. That is my preferred method for many years. A good flushing in the spring and I have never had any residual taste, ever.

[the544man]

hey thanks for the good info. the pump is a shureflow and the manual does say that I can mount it vertically (but with the pump portion down in case there's ever a leak so the motor won't get any moisture). As far as the Antfreeze--I gues it's because i can still taste it from my parents shasta growing up. They must have more discreet/tasteless formulas now? I figured the same on the blowing out the lines and letting things dry. And since it's pex line--i'm not worried about any residual in the lines. I have a couple unions on each side of the pump so it will be easy to pull the lines off without messing with the sharkbite fittings. Maybe i'll do the blow and go thing and leave the pump. Here in Oregon we didn't even get a snow last year but we did get 2 weeks of freezing weather. thanks for your input--i'll take your advice.

[dznf0g]

Did your dad use green stuff or pink stuff back in the day? By the way, I see they are (or were before the current economy) making retro Shastas again.

[the544man]

I can't even remember which type--just that we kids sure never drank the water--it seemed to be only for washing dishes. That was a long tome ago--but some things never leave your senses. regards--ted

[fastrob]

Originally Posted by the544man

I've seen some pretty elaborate bed supports on the forum--but I think i'm going to keep this extremely simple. With such a small piece of plywood needed for the rear bed, I just can't see that good plywood is going to flex that much at all (and if i find it does i can add a support in the middle). I'm planning to use a kreg drill system and screw 6-8 2"x4"'s with the backs routed out for the water and electrical conduits.

This way my storage will be clutter free of supports. I'm planning on using 3/4" birch ply (at only 15 lbs more maybe than 1/2 " I think the stiffness is worth such measly weight gain) and screw them down to the supports. Along the back near the exterior hatch I have a support strip and the inside hatch frame has an intergrated frame for support. The only challege will be cutting a perfectly curved ply top and setting it down with the cabinets in and all. Do you see any problems with this? cheers--ted

Paper templates can be used to check your measurements and make up a pattern.
No matter how many times I cut that board, it was still to short, or was it cut 3 times, measure once, I get confused sometimes.
I would like a support in the middle but I have crazy dogs and wild kids. Or is that wild dogs and crazy kids?

[the544man]

fastrob,
yes--i've used a lot of carboard for templates too. and--I was thinking last night that a couple small pieces of angle iron streached out from front to back on both sides of the inside hatch access (and one across the inside of that same hatch) would give me the support without the scafolding mess underneath. I could just bolt them to 2x4 edge supports. It would be easy to designing a trick looking wooden bed frame but it's going to be out of site and just in the way. I'm really wanting to have the biggest storage underneath that i can--1'm going to need a place for some folding chairs, you know--stuff, and/or the trailer spare. Any more thoughts? ted

[Dave Park]

I like what you've done there, but I would go for a slightly thinner ply, and have two cross-pieces running either side of that front hatch. That would minimize the bowing of the ply, knock off several pounds of weight in the back of your trailer, etc. I'd also put some felt on the supports, to prevent creaks and squeaks.

[the544man]

Good advice-- dave --on the felt to illiminate sqweaks--I'll definitely do something like that. I also have thought about a thinner plywood thickness too since i'm now going to do more support. 5/8" may work fine. I just picked up 3 four foot pieces of 12 gauge angle iron for support. The solid one will go across the front hatch (and be hidden behind the top frame) The ply will also sit right on top of the hatch frame. but the iron will bear all the weight when you sit on the edge of the bed. Then i think i'm going to use 2 lighter drilled out--but still 12 gauge pieces that will span the not perfect middle front to back. The metal pieces are not all that heavy and will make it very sturdy without losing my storage space. i'm really not real concerned with adding 15 lbs here for a sturdy bed plus better storage. I really don't think i'd like ramming stuff into a stick framed bed support in the storage area. rememebr this is a 13 foot trrailer on the inside! I don't get the locker room you get on those 31 footers. my thoughts are that with this rear bed design the biggest piece of plywood between supports will be only 4' x 3' 10". that will not flex with 2 people sleeping (or not) or a couple unsupervised kids jumping on it.

can you think of anything else? Thanks for the input everyone. ted