1978 Sovereign Frame off

[dbj216]

Hey, that's a good idea. The belly pan replacements I've done had the belly pan slid under the side wraps beyond the frame rails. Then the side wraps attached to the frame rails. Having both parts overlap just at the frame rails is a good idea.

Thanks for the insight.

David

[wcronin4]

My first attempt at plastic welding was a success. You can see by the pic below, that while the weld is not a thing of beauty, it was adequate to stop the leak and save me from having to remove the tank. After I filled the tank, I noticed another hair line crack near the top of the tank. The pic below shows where I had Dremeled out the crack before applying a weld.

Scott Bixler from Polyvance was extremely helpful in talking me through the welding process.

I also put a bead of Sikaflex 221 gray along the bottom belt trim. After installing the side wrap panels, and after a heavy rain, I noticed water accumulating inside the side wraps. If I didn’t find a way to seal off the side pans, the accumulated water would create a rust issue for the outriggers and main frame.

The sealant along the belt trim seems to have remedied the problem.

Bill

[dbj216]

I knew you could repair that tank. Great job!

Boy, you are right on sealing the side wraps at the joint under the rub rail. We took our rub rail off in sections to remove the side wraps, to weld on new outriggers. I noticed Airstream did a great job sealing this joint with vulkum I think. It is white in color, and still pliable after all these years. There are a lot of rivet holes in this joint. We will seal it up the best we can.

David

[wcronin4]

Hey everyone

The weather turned noticeably colder the other day following a warm day. That morning, I got inside the AS and the inside of the outer skin was covered with condensation.

I know from several other campers we’ve owned that condensation can be an issue when it’s cold outside and you’re heating inside; especially noticeable on windows. I’ve often wondered with our stick-and-tin campers if condensation was forming inside the walls.

Does insulation in the walls negate condensation from forming on the inside of the outer skin of an AS? Is condensation an issue that should be considered when developing an insulation strategy?

Bill
Keeping Faith

[wcronin4]

This has been a very productive week! Except for some small punch list items, We are finished with all the insulation and belly pan installs. A week and a half working on my back under Faith was not as difficult or as unpleasant as I thought.



When we redesigned Faith’s frame to accommodate larger tanks, we had to move one tank forward in the bay behind the axles. To drain that tank, a pipe had to be run to the back. You can see the location of the pipe in the above pic. When you make changes like this there are always trade-offs. In this case the pipe covers the spot where the stabilizer goes. When we decided to do this we assumed that we would find a work around to the problem. So far, we haven’t come up with a solution.

Here is another pic of the belly pans


Now that the bottom is sealed up, I’m going back to dealing with the leaking vista view windows. We are leaving Monday for Atlanta to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with our daughter and family. Following that a short camping trip. So we will take a couple of weeks off AS stuff.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

[dbj216]

I had the same "loss of BAL stabilizers issue on my Overlander. I lost my attachment cross member due to the relocated grey tank and drain piping.

So I go to Camping World and buy aluminum screw type stabilizers instead. Not a fancy as the BAL type, but they fit just fine under the rear bumper storage area frame rails and I can crank them up tight no problem. The trailer is solid using them. They nest together and store easily. It is not a big deal to me.

David

[wcronin4]

Need advice

As we head towards Atlanta for the holiday, I’m still trying to develop a strategy to address the accumulation of water in Faith’s side or wrap pans.

With the trailer level, during a rain storm, these pans collect water. When I raise or lower the tongue of the trailer, water pours out of the pans. The curbside is worse than the other. I believe it is because the awning channels the water to the front and back on curbside, and water pours down like a waterfall.

When I took this AS apart, there was no sealant from the factory on the joint where the side pans were pop riveted to the shell. Neither was sealant used on the rub rail that covers the joint. The old frame and outriggers were rusted beyond repair because water ran freely into these pans and puddled there.

I used sealant on both the side pan joint and on the rub rail and I still have water seeping in.

AS’s design is obviously to allow water to drain into these pans via weep holes in the C and U channels to carry off condensation on the inside of the outer skin. What they did not design very well was a way to drain the water off to keep it away from the frame.

So I’m looking for ideas and suggestions. Would it be advisable to drill a series of weep holes in the side (wrap) pans? Would installing vinyl screw covers in the rub strip be useful?

Bill

[strangepod]

Originally Posted by wcronin4

Need advice

As we head towards Atlanta for the holiday, I’m still trying to develop a strategy to address the accumulation of water in Faith’s side or wrap pans.




Bill

YAY! you will be in my neck of the woods, come on by and finish mine - lol But seriously, you are doing a great job, look forward to more post!


John

[57Vintage]

If you want a way to have drains in the pans themselves, here's what I did. Bad part is it requires loosening the bottom of the panels for access since yours are already installed. On all the fixed belly pan pieces I added screened vents to allow any moisture to escape. They're 1" in diameter.



A few panels even have 2 vents because the area they cover is subdivided by outriggers/crossmembers/frame. I used a dimple die to create the correct size hole but also to create an area that sits lower than the panel itself. In this photo the panel is right side up so you're looking at this from inside the belly pan.



The tabs are bent over and epoxied.



Make sure the louvers on the vents are facing towards the rear to shed water off when traveling. I also epoxied the outside edge to make sure it was secure. (panel upside down)



Here's the source I used.
https://ventmastersstore.com/collect...-mill-bag-of-6

[wcronin4]

Originally Posted by strangepod

YAY! you will be in my neck of the woods, come on by and finish mine - lol But seriously, you are doing a great job, look forward to more post!


John

John

Where are you located? We are staying in Roswell.

Bill

[wcronin4]

Originally Posted by 57Vintage

If you want a way to have drains in the pans themselves, here's what I did. Bad part is it requires loosening the bottom of the panels for access since yours are already installed. On all the fixed belly pan pieces I added screened vents to allow any moisture to escape. They're 1" in diameter.

Attachment 356839

A few panels even have 2 vents because the area they cover is subdivided by outriggers/crossmembers/frame. I used a dimple die to create the correct size hole but also to create an area that sits lower than the panel itself. In this photo the panel is right side up so you're looking at this from inside the belly pan.

Attachment 356844

The tabs are bent over and epoxied.

Attachment 356843

Make sure the louvers on the vents are facing towards the rear to shed water off when traveling. I also epoxied the outside edge to make sure it was secure. (panel upside down)

Attachment 356845

Here's the source I used.
https://ventmastersstore.com/collect...-mill-bag-of-6

57Vintage. —— very nice solution!!! Since all my pans are installed, I have to find a way to take your idea and apply it in a different way. You have taken my thinking down a different path and for that I’m grateful.

[dbj216]

I have simply drilled 1/4" holes in the belly pan and side wraps to let the water drip out and a little drying air in. I won't use water absorbing fiberglass insulation as that certainly contributes to the rusting.

Be diligent in finding and sealing leaks, use that moisture meter, and install a way for water to drip out of the "basement" of our trailers. Moving to Arizona would help too.

David

[wcronin4]

Hey everyone

It has been about ten days since I learned that I have bladder cancer. The tumor was removed, and so far indicate that we caught it early although one test that will be done tomorrow will shed some more light the prognosis.

Needless to say, not much has been done to Faith in the interim. I start immunotherapy the second week in Jan which will last six weeks. Hope to work on the AS as soon as possible.

Prayers welcome.

Merry Christmas to all, and hopeful we can all make significant progress on our projects in the new year

[Bubba L]

Hate to hear that and best of luck to you. I went through something very similar 1-1/2 years ago. I used the 55 renovation as my therapy project. That kept me busy, active and my mind occupied. Oncologist are great nowadays. Hopefully this is just a bump in the road and you’ll do well. You’ll do great and have a speedy recovery.

[dbj216]

Wishing you a speedy and full recovery. It sounds like you caught it early, and your doctors are lining up the latest cancer fighting treatments. One of the best treatments is knowing you will be back at the Faith project soon. Don't think the worse, always think the best. Others have beat it, and you can too.

David

[coloradoup]

The technology just keeps getting better with this stuff. Looking forward to your progress next year!

[Minno]

Prayers from us heading your way! Keep the faith!

Kay

[Joyflea]

Best wishes! Blue

[wcronin4]

I begin a once weekly immunotherapy regimen for six weeks tomorrow morning with positive expectations.

Working on Faith has helped to keep my mind occupied and hands busy.

Of late, I’ve been focused on installing things that penetrate the outer skin so they can be properly sealed outside and in. The vista windows have been particularly challenging. My goal was to dispense with the vista window on curbside which sits under the awning and salvage the two on the street side. I followed Kay’s (Minno) suggestion using Sikaflex 221. That did the trick. Can’t say enough about Sikaflex 221 as the go-to sealant. The pic below showing the vista all taped up prior to sealing.

I purchased an Airstream rock guard from out-of-doors mart. Easy to install, and adds to the appearance. See pic below.

Although I haven’t posted a lot since Christmas, I have been steady at it. Replaced door gasket, screw covers for lower belt trim, sealed up wheel wells, resealed window frames, and an inordinate amount of time find a sealing leaks.

Faith sits in my driveway, and I’m out working on her most days. It is incredible how many people stop to take a peek, offering encouragement, and in some cases telling me their back-in-the-day AS story. Through Faith, I’ve now met most of the people in my street, each with their own vision of how they would redo the inside. But the most often asked question is, “How are you going to figure out where all the wires go?”

In the coming week, assuming I feel well enough following treatment, is to take Faith to RV dealer time have a new A/C installed. I haven’t finalized which A/C to use I am leaning toward a Coleman Mach 8, low profile, high capacity, 15k BTU heat pump. Domestic has made a lot of changes to their units, and provide no tech support help. If anyone has thoughts on my choice, I would welcome input.

[wcronin4]

Forgot to load pics from previous post