Little Girl Refurb 1972

[Minno]

Thanks Desertair27!

Moved inside this afternoon, and finished putting the wall up between the kitchen and the bedroom.



Step 1 today was running the wires through the framing of the wall for the thermostats, water monitor panel, and water heater control and light. From left to right, running up from the floor between the ducts and around the outside of the wall is the tank monitor wire harness. Then the furnace thermostat wire, the a/c thermostat wire, 12 VDC power (red), water pump (red), water heater (pink), and water heater indicator light (yellow).

While double checking the wires, I discovered that I was missing a ground for the water heater control panel. Ran that wire up to the top of the wall, and then around the outside next to the inner skin in the same space the tank monitor panel wire harness is run. Will connect the ground under the kitchen cabinets by the furnace. Glad I caught it before we put the second wall skin on.




Here’s the wall with a kitchen plywood skin on. Now it needs 3 coats of poly before we mount the thermostats and other panels.



A couple of weeks ago, I built the kitchen cabinet base out of 1/2" plywood. Here it is set in place. It not only is the bottom of the kitchen cabinets, but it also covers the furnace ducts. We added foil back insulation to the top of the two ducts before setting the cabinet base in place.




This evening, I installed the rest of the shades, except for the one on the front window. All 6 side windows and the rear bath window have shades now. Get's them up and out of the way, and they should help keep it cooler in there. btw - the new a/c works great!

Chris

[Minno]

Hung the valances Kay made today. She had picked up the fabric for $40 for 8 yards of $40 a yard fabric at an upholster place a few blocks from us that was clearing out old fabric.



Starboard (curb side).



Double valance on port (street) side.



Bath valance that matches the shower curtain.


They are mounted on clips that let us slide them up and off if we ever need to. Putzy job getting those lined up for each valance, but the end result is great!

[Minno]

Kay put the 3rd coat of poly on the wall this morning, so this afternoon; I wired and installed the thermostats and monitor panels. Nice simple hour job that took 4 hours… Had to enlarge the openings for the wires behind the monitor panel and water heater switch. Not a fun project.



Installed the fuse, and the monitor panel works!



Meanwhile, Kay cut, installed, and insulated the two furnace ducts that will blow hot air out by the door into the living room. Not that we need hot air right now since its 95 degrees, and tomorrow is supposed to be 100.

Have a safe and Happy 4th!

Chris

[Minno]

Worked inside most of the day because of the heat. Hit 100 at 3 pm today, both officially and on our thermometer at home.



Kay worked on the side curtains. She made one set for the bathroom and one set for the kitchen window. The thought with them is to attach them to a track at the bottom as well to help hold the bottom of the shades against the wall. They certainly block the side light even without being attached at the bottom yet. They are attached to the valance inside with Velcro on the side and a 4” section of curtain track on the front. The track is screwed to the inside of the valance with some 3/8" long screws.




I worked on the building the kitchen cabinet today. Made the four partitions that define the cabinet. The stove will sit in the space over the furnace. Working to the right, we’ll have a small tall cabinet for storing things like cookie sheets. Might be able to have a small drawer at the top too – I’ll have to measure the cookie sheets to figure that out. The sink will be over the large cabinet under the window, and then the space on the right will have a stack of four drawers, or two drawers over a storage cabinet (haven’t decided yet). The space to the left of the furnace and stove will be a recessed shelf area that will face the door. I will add a small flip-up shelf on the end as well I think.




Behind the cabinet I made a simple cover to hide wiring and the back of the outside outlet box. It stuck through the inner skin, and I wanted it covered inside the cabinet. The holes in the plywood are access holes for the furnace gas line connection and electrical hookup. I'll make covers for them.

Now I need to run propane lines for the furnace and the stove before I can actually install the cabinet. Maybe this weekend once it cools off a bit.

Chris

[Bauxter]

Chris and Kay, You make my job so much easier! All I have to do is follow your restoration road-map. Trying to figure out how to finish an AS after it is gutted takes a lot of thought and planning...thanks for doing that for the rest of us, or at least me.

You should take a break from the heat, and come down to Central Ohio where it is only 100 degrees today....while you were here, you and Kay could keep busy on my AS, so your skills don't get rusty.

Mike

[Minno]

Thanks for the offer, I think. Leave 100 degree temps for 100 degrees temps doesn't sound like so much fun though...

Maybe we'll go visit our son in Hawaii. It was 75 degrees there when we talked to him yesterday. Man, that sounds nice and cool.

[Minno]

Busy hot weekend, but we still got a fair amount accomplished.



Starting with something simple, we bought a cover for the sewer connection.


I installed the rear bumper cover. But, I did it differently from the original design. One of the things that bothered me was that, as designed, the bumper cover slopes toward the rear of the trailer and lets a lot of water collect right at the weakest joint in the entire trailer. So, I decided to raise the mounting plate for the rear bumper hinge by 5/8”. I cut and installed a ½” channel across the rear of the trailer, adding two pieces at each end to help support and seal the plate I installed on top of the channel. Te plate is 1/8” aluminum, scribed to the shape of the rear of the trailer to form a fairly tight fit. I filled the void behind the channel and rear of the trailer with vulkum, and then installed the plate on top of the channel. While this doesn’t completely level out the cover, it certainly makes it slope a lot less toward the rear of the trailer.



This shows a side view of the bumper cover installed. The hinge is mounted on top of the 1/8” plate and the plate is on top of the ½” channel. All are riveted together. I added 2 sheet metal screws to each end to hold the plate and channel in place while I riveted it all together. The screws have locktite on the threads, and are now vulkumed in place, so I doubt they’ll ever work loose.



This picture shows the channel under the cover. Not the best picture of it, but the best I could do in the close quarters of the hatch.



To help keep water out, I added a strip of D seal to each side of the hatch. The hatch is by no way completely watertight, but it’s not as leaky as it used to be either. I did add drain holes in the bottom of the bumper hatch to let any water escape that made it into the hatch.

Chris

[Minno]

Biggest accomplishment was we cleaned all the gunk off the belt trim and re-installed it.





We had a couple of badly damaged areas on the starboard side (street side – I’m learning ), and the rear part of the belt trim was also badly damaged from the rear end separation she suffered from when we bought her. I was able to salvage replacement pieces from the rear section to patch the two spots we needed to repair.



You can see one repair right behind the front seam where the side skin joins the front end skin panel, and the second repair is behind the axel cutout.



With the bumper cover hinge raised, the original belt trim would not have fit across the rear anyway, so I cut the trim off where it meets with the frame and bumper hinge plate. I need to find a piece of trim to fill in over the bumper area. Not sure what I’ll do there yet.

[Minno]

Last thing I worked on today were the propane lines. I need to run the propane lines for the stove and furnace before I can build and install the kitchen cabinet.

A 7/8” hole saw cuts the perfect circle for running the gas line up though the floor. A little loose maybe, but it makes it easy to thread the gas line up from under the trailer. I'll fill in th ehole around the gas line with vulkum to seal out critters. After drilling the hole thorugh the floor, I used a really long (12”) ¼” bit to drill through the belly pan, drilling down through the hole I made with the hole saw, centering the bit in the hole to drill a lined-up hole through the belly pan. Then, crawl under the trailer and drill out the hole for the grommet (also 7/8”). Used this technique to drill the holes for the stove, furnace, and fridge. Didn’t get to the water heater yet.



Gas lines run up inside for the stove and furnace. Now I can build the kitchen cabinet in place.



These are the furnace and stove gas lines coming out through their grommets and heading toward the main gas line.



Gas lines under the trailer so far. From the left and working clockwise around the picture: fridge line, supply line from the tanks, stove line and furnace line. I have all the tees and fittings to put it all together, but I need more ½” copper tube for the main line. Since it was dinner time and I had run out of steam, I quit for the day.

[Bauxter]

Chris, Did you run straight ABS from the tanks, or did you use a rubber collar as a transition?
Are the furnace and stove gas lines home runs to the tank?

[Aage]

Originally Posted by Minno

We had a couple of badly damaged areas on the starboard side (street side – I’m learning )

Starboard = right side = curbside

Port = left side = streetside

But you were close.

[Minno]

Originally Posted by Aage

Starboard = right side = curbside

Port = left side = streetside

But you were close.

Even after 5 years of Kay teaching me, I still get that backwards. Maybe I'll stick with port and starboard...

[Minno]

Originally Posted by Bauxter

Chris, Did you run straight ABS from the tanks, or did you use a rubber collar as a transition?
Are the furnace and stove gas lines home runs to the tank?

ABS is run straight from the tanks. Fittings are glued to the tanks, and then pipes are glued into the fittings.

Not sure what you're asking in the second question. The stove, furnace, fridge, and water heater are 3/8" lines that will connect to the 1/2" main gas line via 1/2" to 3/8" tees. The main gas line connects to the propane tanks. Is that what you wanted to know?

Chris

[Bauxter]

Chris, I think I understand the gas lines now.

AND thanks a ton for the help today.

[Minno]

SO:
We were given these two objects by my sister and brother-in-law last week. They had been given to them by my parents when they sold their airstream 13 years ago. We hadn't really looked closely at them at the time, thinking they were both part of a flagpole for the AS. Now, as we look at them, we see that this first one is definitely a flagpole but there's no base to attach it to the trailer tongue. I also strongly suspect that my dad made it. The top ball is silver painted wood, and the rope winder thingy is held on with hose clamps. Knowing my dad...
So how would one attach this to the trailer? We were thinking perhaps a little larger piece of pipe welded onto the tongue? Suggestions? BTW, when it is telescoped out to full height, it is a good 12 ft tall.


This shows the other piece that came with the flagpole. We think it is a support piece/arm for a Zipdee awning, perhaps?




Any insight appreciated! I think we'll get rid of the hose clamps...

Kay

[Minno]

We've been working on stuff in between watching the Olympics. We spent a good part of a day last weekend working on the propane lines under the trailer, but didn’t get them finished yet. Too hot and humid for the past week or so to want to crawl around under a big heat sink. Weather looks very promising for this coming weekend, so I hope to finish all the under the trailer stuff Saturday and Sunday.


But, we have been keeping busy. Took a relatively cool couple of evenings and installed the rest of the insulation in the ceiling and the rest of the ceiling panel. It’s in 3 pieces now, which made it a whole lot easier for the two of us to install. Kay painted the ceiling and trim strips before we installed them.



Here’s the rear ceiling aft of the a/c unit. I still need to rivet it up the rest of the way at the rear vent, but I’m waiting until I’m 100% positive I will not need to remove it again for adding wiring.



Here's the front ceiling panel. I also installed the second ceiling light for the living room area. These two lights will work off a light switch by the door. The center vent trim cover and a/c cover will hide the majority of the seam in the ceiling where I cut it into 3 pieces. We’ll find some trim to cover the cuts that are not hidden by the vent covers. Again, the front ceiling section is not totally riveted in place yet, just in case I need to remove it.

Installing the rest of the insulation and ceiling certainly made a big difference in the temp inside the trailer! Much less heat gain, and the a/c doesn’t need to work as hard to cool the trailer down, even in full sun.



Kay has also been working on the curtains. She sewed curtain track runner thingys onto the bottom of all the curtains, and then cut a 4 or 5” long piece of curtain track for each curtain.



The track section is riveted to the wall, and it holds the bottom of each curtain in place.



Now, the curtains are held to the wall at the bottom, and they hold the shades to the wall when the shades are pulled down. This is the front window next to the door.



This is the bathroom window with the shade drawn. We like how the curtains not only hold the shade in place, but also block the light that used to bleed in on the sides of the shades.

[SpiritAtBay]

Reading these threads is inspiring me!
Thanks for taking the time to write and post pix.
I've got my eye on a '61 Tradewind, 24'...I haven't seen her in person yet...

Chris and Kay, eventually i would like to relocate the rear bath to a side position, so I'll be following your thread closely!

Thanks,
Spirit

[Minno]

This is a continuation from post 384.



To begin the installation, we cut aluminum strips and mounted them to the back edge of each of the four plywood dividers. These are held in place onto the plywood with 1 ¼” #6 wood screws. Each screw has lock-tite applied to the threads to help ensure they will stay in place over the years. Each strip is about 1 ¼” wide.



Here’s the stove and furnace section of the cabinet installed. During one of my not really thinking moments, I used pocket screws to mount the stove shelf and back to the sides. Staples would have been so much easier and quicker. I thought of the staples the next day though, so not worth taking all the screws out. I must admit that the cabinet is certainly strong enough with the glue and screws.




Here’s the other two plywood dividers installed. Plus the stove is set in place. You can also see the plywood cover I built to hide and protect the wheel well. The sink will go in the section under the window, and the section to the right will be a combination of drawers and a door at the bottom. You can also see the pocket screws that mount the dividers to the base and wheel well cover. The base on either side of the furnace is not screwed to the floor, so there will be flexibility allowing for cabinet and wall movement while traveling. Also, by not screwing the cabinet base to the floor, the cork floor can expand and contract without binding on the cabinets. That’s the theory anyway.



Cabinet from the other side. You can see the aluminum strip on the back of the plywood divider riveted to the inner skin. This end of the cabinet will have a shelf or two facing the door.

Now, on to the face frame where drawer and door opening will take shape.

Chris

[Minno]

Finished running the propane lines on Sunday.



Here’s the manifold mounted under the fresh water tank. I took an idea from the new Airstreams we’ve looked at and covered all the propane lines with pex tubing. ¾” pex (red in the picture) fits the ½” propane line, and ½” pex (white) fits the 3/8” propane lines. This view is looking under the trailer from the door side, right behind the steps. The propane line on the right comes from the tanks. The branches coming toward you are for the stove and furnace, the one going away from you is for the fridge, and the one going to the right is for the water heater. It feeds above the axles and heads to the rear of the trailer.



Here’s the water heater propane line at the rear of the trailer. From above the axles, it drops below the second gray tank, and then threads its way over the black water drain and on to the other side of the trailer. The red and blue pex lines coming out from the bottom of the trailer are the low point drains.



Here the propane line for the water heater goes up into the trailer. The extra flair coupling is what happens when you push too hard on the propane line and it kinks…



Last week, I took the old aluminum propane tanks we acquired up to Farrell Gas had had them install OPD valves and re-certify the tanks. Cost $23 total for each tank to have a new valve installed and be recertified. The recertification is good for 5 years. Had them filled while I was there too.

The rod laying on the tongue is the new rod to hold the tanks and regulator in place. Getting the old one off was a royal PITA. It snapped off cleanly right at the point where it goes into the mounting tube welded on the tongue. I tried to drill the old rod out, only to discover it had a pin though it and the tube. The pin must be hardened steel. Drilling though it was going to be impossible, and it was so rusted in place, it wouldn’t budge for love nor money. After messing with it for an hour or so, I did the sensible thing and cut the entire tube off the tongue. 2 minutes with a cut off wheel on my angle grinder.



Here’s the new mounting tube for the propane rod welded onto the tongue. Still need to install the threaded rod and re-pin it.



While I was under the trailer this weekend, I was bothered that the mounting strap for the dump valve was several inches behind the valve. I placed it there because that’s where it could be riveted to the frame. It does provide a lot of support, but I thought the valve itself should be supported. So, I made another mounting strap and installed it on the inboard part of the valve. This will help support the gray drain line as well I think.

Back to inside stuff now.

Chris

[Minno]

Finished installing the propane tank rod this evening. Primed the tube I welded on, and cut the rod to length. Drilled for and installed cotter pins to hold the rod and bottom two nuts in place.



Have also been working on the kitchen cabinet. Built the face frame mostly. The top and bottom rails are connected together with the five stiles that define the openings. This weekend I’ll add the other pieces to define the drawer and door openings, and work on the end of the cabinet by the door.


Ordered drawer slides and hinges from Rockler today. Decided on full extension slides that are self closing. The hinges are also self closing. Pricey buggers... Hopefully they will have enough closing force to hold them closed while traveling. Time on the road will tell if they work as well as I hope or not.



Kay finished the curtains for all the windows. She has all but the front window completely installed now with the top valance and bottom tracks to hold the curtains and the shades against the wall.