Ben and Lynn's Bambi II Re-do

[PA BAMBI II]

Hi Becky-

I did not take pictures of the removal of the upper cabinets, but their installation was straightforward. Along the bottom rear and upper front of each cabinet were lengths of thin wood making up the frame of the cabinets. Through these wood pieces went longish sheet metal screws screwed directly into the aluminum inner skin. The rear side of each cabinet was screwed into the closet/bathroom wall respectively. The front side of each had a piece of curved inner wood that was screwed through and into the aluminum.

I attached some pictures of the cabinets in their removed state. Hopefully this will give you an idea of how they are built. You can see the long sheet metal screws in some of the shots. Unlike the other responder's post, there were no aluminum angle brackets to add reinforcement to the installation. Just screws through wood cabinet frames and into the aluminum inner skin. Allowances (voids of frame) were made for the refrigerator vent.

I would like to call you to pick your brain about the insulation process. If you are willing, please PM me your phone number. I am having trouble visualizing the Prodex process. Thanks! Ben

[Becky B.]

Thanks, John & Ben for the pictures! That will help me a great deal when I get to the upper cabinets!! I may use a little of both methods when I make them. Thanks again!

[REDSLED88]

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

Thanks, John & Ben for the pictures! That will help me a great deal when I get to the upper cabinets!! I may use a little of both methods when I make them. Thanks again!

Sorry Ben, not to shirk on your post, but Becky try talking with Peter (World in Chaos) who just re-did his '59 18 footer. I believe He used some tricks when attaching the cabinets to the interior skins/ribs.
I would think a couple of extra supports/angle pieces here and there wouldn't be such a bad thing.
Good Luck

TIMK

[Becky B.]

Originally Posted by REDSLED88

Sorry Ben, not to shirk on your post, but Becky try talking with Peter (World in Chaos) who just re-did his '59 18 footer. I believe He used some tricks when attaching the cabinets to the interior skins/ribs.
I would think a couple of extra supports/angle pieces here and there wouldn't be such a bad thing.
Good Luck

TIMK

I follow his thread, so I'll take a peek & see if he has any other ideas for me.
Thanks!

[PA BAMBI II]

I finally got some time to rip into the Bambi. It is almost ready for more subfloor removal. I have all of the lower interior skins off. I had forgotten how frustrating it is to have to clear the drill bit of rivet heads every five minutes! I also hate spinners (rivets that only spin when you drill 'em!)

I found some interesting things including some unused rivets buried in the wall cavities, a very nice Craftsman cold chisel under the refrigerator riser, one mouse carcass, many mouse droppings, a weed/vine growing up inside the rear window trim, and a lot of dirt. Also noted the lack of C-channel across the middle of the back wall like Becky and that the rear exterior wall is double-walled (exterior skin). I surmise that the factory workers changed their mind on a rear vent for the furnace which looks like it was originally supposed to be larger- then they changed it to a smaller intake and exhaust and added an access door.

The plastic refrigerator vent is probably too brittle and too far gone to reuse. I hope to have it fabricated in aluminum or steel.

I ended the morning of Airstream work by shop vaccing the interior out to make the work space a bit more pleasant. This was right before I went to shower to remove all of the fiberglass shards from my exposed arms! Next step is to remove another section of plywood subfloor and prep/repair the frame. Meanwhile I need to order insulation and marine grade plywood.

The pictures show a bunch of nails removed from under the threshold (I thought Wally did not use nails!), some broken skin to the rear/under the threshold, the infamous vine under the rear window trim, and interior wall removal progress. Can't wait to end the demo and start rebuilding! Enjoy!

[REDSLED88]

Just pulled all my interior panels last week. Feels GOOD to get rid of that old insulation doesn't it?

I just need to pick up some POR15, and wood.
Where are you getting your ply from?
Size/Brand?

I think I'm going with 5/8" to save weight.

Looking good, keep it up!


TIMK

[PA BAMBI II]

Originally Posted by REDSLED88

Just pulled all my interior panels last week. Feels GOOD to get rid of that old insulation doesn't it?

I just need to pick up some POR15, and wood.
Where are you getting your ply from?
Size/Brand?

I think I'm going with 5/8" to save weight.

Looking good, keep it up!


TIMK

Thanks, TIMK. I hope to get out there this morning to remove the next piece of plywood. Then I am going to renovate the frame I have exposed and install new ply. Then I will work on the final two sections in the rear of the trailer.

It does not seem like a good idea to me to remove all of the original subflooring at one time so that some structure is left there. I am moving too slowly and would worry if the shell and frame were not tied together at all!

The local Lowe's quoted me for the marine grade plywood and have called me twice to see if I am ready for it- which I am not. I keep telling them I will be soon...regardless, I was happy that they can order it no problem. I will probably stick with 3/4" if that is the original thickness (need to measure it for sure). I do not know what brand.

Ben

[PA BAMBI II]

I struggled a bit with how to remove the elevator bolts required to remove the first section of sub floor for frame repairs. I got them out, but it wasn't pretty. I took my cutoff wheel in the 4" angle grinder and cut the heads off through the plywood. This created a lot of smoke as the plywood got very hot.

This time I decided to go at it from a different angle. I got a medium sized hole saw and my drill. I drilled a hole around each elevator bolt head (with the pilot bit off center) about 1/4" deep. Then I chiseled out the circle of wood. This gave me greater access to the elevator bolt heads. I locked a vise grip on each one and wiggled it until it broke off, then tapped the remaining threads into the belly pan. We'll find those later. This procedure worked quite well.

For the screws and bolts around the perimeter c-channel, I still had to grind some of them off under the plywood. I almost have the second sheet of old sub floor ready to remove.

[PA BAMBI II]

When I got home from work today, I set the circular saw deck to 3/4" so that I could cut a slit in the second piece of sub-floor heading toward the back of the trailer. This is the section with the main door. After wrestling wit ha few unseen screws in the c channel, I got both pieces of plywood out.

The frame looks pretty good. There are a few iffy spots, but I am going to reinforce those spots and call it good. Cleaning and painting the exposed sub-frame are the next steps.

On a high note, I need to order some supplies! It is time to start building the old trailer back up now that she is almost completely stripped. I need to get the 7 wire harness to run through the frame below floor, insulation, and marine grade plywood.

I will try to post pics tomorrow of the exposed frame.

[Becky B.]

Making some progress, Ben! My words of advise are to NOT keep track of what you spend! (now that you're going shopping) It's pretty depressing!

[PA BAMBI II]

Well, here we are with the second section of plywood sub-floor removed. The frame looks pretty good all things considered. There is still original paint on some of it. I plan to repair some of the worst parts and run with it.



This is pretty excited! I am looking forward to starting to put some structure and elements back into this old trailer instead of just tearing them out!

[Becky B.]

Look for the missing stringers under the bathroom when you take it apart in the rear. Ours were cut out. They did that to make room for the shower & toilet drains. Not a whole lot of support was back there!

[PA BAMBI II]

I am having trouble finding 9/16" marine grade plywood and AdvanTech comes in 19/32" (close enough), but no one here carries that thickness. Every distributor carries 3/4".

An AdvanTech salesman is going to try to help me find some locally. Seems to me the dealers should be able to order 4 sheets of 19/32" for me and add it to a shipment of 3/4", but they will not do that. Seems like the potential customer holding the cash has no clout anymore. This is one sad reality as most companies and big box stores forget completely about customer service.

The only other blessing holding me up right now is the recent birth of our second daughter, Cora Ashley . I am totally stoked to fit bunk beds into the Airstream for my girls!!

Ben

[Becky B.]

We used the 3/4" Advantech, but since we did a shell-off, it didn't matter. Hope you can come up with something!

But more importantly, congratulations on your new baby girl!! My two girls are 6 years apart (we have 2 boys in between), but they are close now that they're grown. My sister & I are the best of friends & are close in age. It's great for girls to have sisters & doubly great for mom & dad to have daughters! They become more precious to me each day & yours will too!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

[PA BAMBI II]

The day before our baby Cora Ashley was born, the photographer liked the idea of using the Bambi for a photo opportunity! (Photo credit: Double H Photography, Lancaster, PA)

[REDSLED88]

Originally Posted by PA BAMBI II

I am having trouble finding 9/16" marine grade plywood and AdvanTech comes in 19/32" (close enough), but no one here carries that thickness. Every distributor carries 3/4".

An AdvanTech salesman is going to try to help me find some locally. Seems to me the dealers should be able to order 4 sheets of 19/32" for me and add it to a shipment of 3/4", but they will not do that. Seems like the potential customer holding the cash has no clout anymore. This is one sad reality as most companies and big box stores forget completely about customer service.

The only other blessing holding me up right now is the recent birth of our second daughter, Cora Ashley . I am totally stoked to fit bunk beds into the Airstream for my girls!!

Ben

What about using 5/8" marine ply?

Congrats on the baby!

TIMK

[PA BAMBI II]

I am not sure if I have room for 5/8", especially with the added thickness of the Prodex. I am looking locally (Lowes) at some good grade 19/32" standard plywood.

I might try to locate some 5/8" marine grade if folks think there would be room- but I am doing a shell-on and not replacing the belly pan, so there really is not too much wiggle room.

Thoughts?

Ben

[Jewel65]

I don't think you want to use marine grade plywood. My understanding is that it will react to the aluminum. I am using standard 19/32 plywood and painting it with oil base porch paint before installation. Hope this helps.

[perryg114]

Marine grade is not the same at treated plywood. Marine grade has more layers of wood and less voids and defects in it. It is not treated with anything.

Perry

[PA BAMBI II]

I went and bought my four sheets of 19/32" exterior grade plywood this morning for the subfloor. I traced the first piece- front of trailer- from the removed "patterns." Well, there was not much left of the original curves, but I think we go it!

Burned that section of the original floor in the barrel this evening and hoping to get the first section of new subfloor installed soon!

Felt good to be back at it again! We want to use the trailer for camping by late Summer. I am not saying it will be finished...but we want to use it.

Ben