1959 Overlander Restoration

[65CV]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

One window at a time..... Check thanks for showing me how NOT to do it!

Actually I can't believe you had all of them out! That was one nasty stretch of weather. I was mopping my floor and my windows were in!
...

We wrapped all the screens in black plastic and used a liberal amount of packing tape. It wasn't as bad as it sounded, but still took too much babysitting.

It's raining right now and every single window seal is in place (not all spacers or any operators). I'm actually looking forward to leak checking later.

[reinergirl]

I knew you could do it! Thanks for leading the way, yet again!

[65CV]

A little more followup on the spacer for the windows. The first one went in after a lot of trial and error -- with a few obscenities. The last window took no time at all. I though I'd share the tricks I found.

I was only willing to make one cut on the table saw and used a razor and utility knife to trim the rest.

Cut the length just a little long.
Use sandpaper to shorten it just enough so that it is a tight fit.
Trial fit the spacer and mark where it needs to be trimmed for the channel.
- see attached picture -- the portion in the channel needs to be removed
- look carefully and you'll see the pencil line that marks the amount to be trimmed
Use Vice Grips to hold the piece and make the final trim
With the piece firmly held in the window, just slide it into place
Center the window and attach #4 x 1/4 stainless screw

Hopefully this helps and will suffice until Frank does another tutorial.

[65CV]

The only good news about all the rain lately is that it's provided a good leak check. We were completely dry on the floor, with only a quarter sized puddle of water on the top of the forward window after a wild 4 1/2" rainstorm. I found a small void in the Vulkem bead above the forward eyebrow that was the culprit. Apparently, those of us who are lucky to own '58 - '62/3s have to think of that eyebrow as a funnel that will direct water into the trailer if not well sealed.

About a month ago, I noticed a dirty streak coming from one of the windows right down the front of the newly painted zolatone. It was coming from another water funneling point that wasn't obvious.

Our windows are tilted in, due to the curve of the shell. The lower corners trap water and -- if there is any opening -- will also funnel it in. Since this one caught me by surprise, I thought I'd post a pic. Where the outer frame joined, I had a VERY small gap. It was large enough to let in a small amount of water. They're now all sealed and there is no sign of water.

On the attached picture, the seam that goes left and down from the corner of the bulb seal was the leak point.

[65CV]

I thought that a couple weeks of soaking in penetrating oil would allow the LeDeux lifters to unfreeze. Wrong. I need 2 for the Astradome and only one is fully free to operate. The originals are too cool not to use.

I found two very helpful threads, one from 2005! I hope to use this method this weekend so the astrodome is ready to install. I'll have help setting up the scaffolding next week and plan to get both the Astradome and the second Fantastic Vent in place.

2005 Thread

2009 Thread

[65CV]

The last opening in the shell will be the toughest -- by far. It's for the Air Conditioner Exhaust.

When we reskinned a damaged panel on the Caravel, I kept the Battery Access Panel, which looks perfect for the A/C Exhaust on the Overlander. Obviously, I want to be absolutely positive about placement before cutting a hole that large!

I plan to use Toastie's method to install a casement unit. It starts at post 483 of this thread.

Here is the A/C temporarily in place next to the old galley frame. It will require that the galley be extended in length by about 2 feet and width by about 2-3 inches (I hope that is all).

As Murphy's Law would predict, the perfect location for the vent hole is centered right on a rib. Moving it 10 inches left or right affects the entire layout of the kitchen and dinette. I think it's time for a cardboard mockup.

[65CV]

The cardboard mockup is well worth it, helping us visualize the decisions we will make on final layout. Luckily, it was only 95 degrees and 95 percent humidity.

The A/C either needs to go on the roof or take up more room than originally planned. We really don't want a roof A/C and I think I heard that the roof isn't designed to support that weight without reinforcement.

The exhaust vent placement isn't the only issue for the A/C -- it needs side vents too. See Becky's Thread around post 261 for more pictures of Toastie's design.

The extra counter and storage space in the galley is a major plus, but it rules out any chance of a wrap around dinette. Our lifestyle definitely requires significant table space, so the obvious choice is a long dinette. The length of the cushions should fit Zep's long lounge criteria.

This isn't final, but looks pretty reasonable. We'll have a 27" x 89" galley and 62" long dinette cushions. The curb side cushion will be about 58", to allow for access to a new plug, leave a cubby for shoes and allow a good drop zone for groceries. The table is 54" long and 32" wide, will be easy to remove and drop down to make a queen sized bed. We're still considering a 2-piece table. Still need to finalize seating, especially the back.

I think I need to spend a lot more time staring at this layout with a cold beverage.

[nmbosa]

I like it. Very similar to our layout. We find the dinette seat between the end of the table and the kitchen counter is the most popular seat and a very convienient place to drop groceries when packing.

Norm

[65CV]

Why did I pick one of hottest days of the year to install the second Fantastic Fan and the Astradome?

They're in. The light from the Astradome is great.

I'm hot!

[nmbosa]

Wow, that is some serious scaffolding!

[65CV]

Originally Posted by nmbosa

Wow, that is some serious scaffolding!

It was a great buy on eBay years ago to refurbish some of the house. I've been planning to sell it for years, but more projects keep coming up. My friends love it and keep coming up with reasons to borrow it.

I really should sell it before I get any ideas of polishing the roof!

[65CV]

Colin and the boyz at CHTR will be so proud that I've kept this trailer looking really high class. See pic.

All kidding aside, we tested the 12000 BTU AC before being willing to cut holes in the side and floor of the trailer. It was HOT today, about 90. When the noon time sun hit the trailer, we turned on the AC and it was able to continually drop the temperature. The size seems perfectly adequate for our size trailer and the type of camping we do. The noise level was very good.

I'm sure we'd need more BTUs if we headed down south in the summer. We don't.

Toastie's design continues to look good -- especially after seeing the amount and temperature of the air moving through the condenser coil.

[65CV]

Why can't I pick a nice cool day to install a floor?

It looks so dark in this picture because we finished the damn thing at 9PM. Finished floor in one pic and the real tile -- nowhere near as dark -- in the other.

The cool grey looks very good next to the warm mahogany.

Now, everything being installed will be for the final time!

[Becky B.]

Looking great! My little 10,000 BTU keeps my little Bambi II really cool & it's very quite compared to the overhead in my Avion. It's a pretty tedious install, but I think it's worth the effort! I put in the same flooring, except the black fleck. Haven't polished it yet....kinda reminds me of school! It wears like iron!

[reinergirl]

Looks great, so whatcha got planned for today? Iit's another hot one! I've still got guests so I haven't touched my trailer in a week, having withdrawal symptoms!

[65CV]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

...so whatcha got planned for today?

Had the morning available to finish up a few last pieces, cut and trim the fridge vent, then massive cleanup.

Thanks for the measurements on your floor cutout. Since we have a frame member running right through the middle, I used a 14" x 7" cutout, rather than your 12" x 7". I used a galvanized screen that hopefully won't slow airflow. I put it in so it's easy to change out if Colin convinces me that I used the wrong screening. I'll do the cutout in the bellypan later.

With sunlight, the real color of the tile shows.

The rest of the weekend is overbooked with parties. I'm ready for a break!

[65CV]

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

Looking great! My little 10,000 BTU keeps my little Bambi II really cool & it's very quiet compared to the overhead in my Avion. It's a pretty tedious install, but I think it's worth the effort! I put in the same flooring, except the black fleck. Haven't polished it yet....kinda reminds me of school! It wears like iron!

Becky,

I hope the A/C stays as quiet as our test run. It was far better than an overhead unit. The installation does look like a job, but luckily Toastie and you have documented it quite well. Thanks again!

I hope the floor needs absolutely nothing. Polish a floor too??? Nah!

[nmbosa]

Originally Posted by 65CV

Had the morning available to finish up a few last pieces, cut and trim the fridge vent, then massive cleanup.

Thanks for the measurements on your floor cutout. Since we have a frame member running right through the middle, I used a 14" x 7" cutout, rather than your 12" x 7". I used a galvanized screen that hopefully won't slow airflow. I put it in so it's easy to change out if Colin convinces me that I used the wrong screening. I'll do the cutout in the bellypan later.

With sunlight, the real color of the tile shows.

The rest of the weekend is overbooked with parties. I'm ready for a break!

That looks good. I still need to do this for ours, I've just been opening the access door to give the fridge intake air which is really poor practice. What did you do on the belly? A buddy mentioned it's a good idea to have a way to seal it off to prevent tons of dust from flooding the trailer if you ever drive on a dirt road. Apparently they took their trailer down a dirt road once and there was dust everywhere.

Norm

[65CV]

Originally Posted by nmbosa

That looks good. I still need to do this for ours, I've just been opening the access door to give the fridge intake air which is really poor practice. What did you do on the belly? A buddy mentioned it's a good idea to have a way to seal it off to prevent tons of dust from flooding the trailer if you ever drive on a dirt road. Apparently they took their trailer down a dirt road once and there was dust everywhere.

Norm

Really good question, Norm. Colin usually does a bellypan cutout that is protected by hardware cloth. He offsets it from the opening above in the floor.

Since I'm also planning to open the bellypan for an air conditioner cooling air intake, I have double the potential dirt infiltration problem.

What do you think of this idea?
- mount 4 rare earth magnets just inside the hardware cloth and bellypan, near each corner
- make a cover plate out of galvanized steel that has duct tape covering any area that will contact with aluminum
- snap the galvanized cover in place anytime the a/c or refrigerator is not being used

There are two obvious problems with this idea -- the galvanized piece may fall off in transit and we may forget to remove the cover.

I'm much less worried about losing the galvanized piece if I use the same magnets that I used here. I don't have the source handy, but will post it later. I think I first heard of these magnets on jcferguson's (Carlos) thread.

If I cut off airflow to the refrigerator, it should be fine since I plan to really seal that cabinet and always run a CO detector. I bought a new style refer scoop to do a much better job of removing exhaust gas. If I cut off the air to the A/C, I do run the risk of overheating and ruining the unit.

The only other method that I have thought of is an air scoop, with the closed end on the forward side of the trailer. I'm afraid it might be pretty restrictive to good airflow. We boondock a lot and will run the fridge on propane often, so airflow will be important.

Any better ideas out there?

[nmbosa]

That sounds like a good design. I have also worried that I'd forget to open up the vent, but I'm pretty sure I want to install some type of cover to keep out road debris and dust.