1978 Sovereign Frame off

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by wcronin4

Dwwalker

Mine floor has the same inset as yours. Not sure what kind of trouble I’ll run into when I try to drop the shell on the frame. Any “must do’s?

I think what helped me the most was the shell rigging. We made sure the chassis was level side to side and front to back. We had a chain hoist supporting the shell. If the shell slowly drops down crooked to the subfloor, you have to fight it to get it to encompass the edge all the way around evenly. As we dropped ours down, we could rock the frame as it was suspended and going down to get it parallel to the subfloor. We stopped the shell about 1/2” from the subfloor and slowly dropped it bumping and pushing the edge to align. Good luck

[Dwwalker18]

What gave me the most trouble was trying to get the c channel, subfloor, front and rear hold-down plates, and shell to line back up. Similar to Bubba, I lowered the shell almost to the floor and then worked on lining it up, starting with the front hold-down plate and cleco-ing it in place. I used the tongue jack to help on the front, and jack stands in the rear to get the back end up to meet the shell.

While I was dropping the shell back on the frame and floor, I wish I had already thought through how I was going to address the rear end where the shell and trunk area meet, and tons of water usually seeps in. I later added a bit of flashing in between, but I could have done a better job if I added it while putting the shell back on. Hope this helps!

Dan

[dbj216]

We pray your Linda's doctors will find the cancer contained and fully removed. There will be screenings and checks for the next few years just to make sure.
You guys will win!

David

[Iansk]

Hey pal,

Best wishes and a speedy recovery.

There are far more important aspects of life than aluminum.

See you soon,

Your friend,
Ian

[wcronin4]

Hey everyone

In prep for installing the shell to the new frame, I have re-done all the decking and am in the process of finishing them with epoxy.

I am also trying to prep the shell, and trying to figure out how to prevent water from intruding underneath the compartment door that caused so much rot with the old floor.

I have read about others creating flashing to direct the water away from the sub-floor but I’m having a hard time envisioning how to do that with with the curvature of the shell under the compartment door.

What is the best way to do this? Has anyone found a good fix for this?

[dbj216]

Welcome back at it on Faith. The lack of a good rainwater seal in the back of our 70s trailers is infamous.

So we know the c channel sits on your new decking. The rear body plate is under the subfloor and then attached to the rear body below the cargo door. The body skins come down to the bottom of the c channel. Airstream decided to attach a little decorative aluminum sheet metal on top of the frame rails and below the decking. This directed rainwater into the joint and started the rot process given a wet climate and enough time.

I eliminated this decorative aluminum strip. This opens a gap between the bumper storage cover and the body. Rainwater drips into the bumper storage compartment, or should I say the waste tank drain manifold. Better than under the decking in my view.

I added an aluminum "flashing" to the bottom of the body sheet metal and let it hang about an inch below the body. I'm encouraging rainwater to drip into the bumper storage area.

Then I used some stainless steel expanded metal for the bumper storage compartment floor, not belly aluminum. No water will collect there.

Maybe these photos help a bit.

David

[Coady]

Originally Posted by dbj216

I purchased my wastewater tanks from Inca Plastics in California. They have a BIG catalog of all kinds of RV tanks. I went through the catalog until I found a tank that fit the dimensions I had under the trailer. Once I had the tanks, I completely reconfigured the drain plumbing to suit the tanks. ABS drain plumbing is not hard or expensive to do. I paid about $270 a tank and about $150 shipping. Here is a photo of the new gray tank drain connections for the galley sink and bath shower through the subfloor under the twin bed, curb side.

David

Where did you find their catalog? I am on their website and its awful.

[wcronin4]

Coady

Inka plastics does have a catalog of sorts on their site but the are measured drawings and show the tank number and dimensions.

Bill is the contact person who seems to communicate ONLY by email. In addition, he only gives these tanks part time attention.

If you’re looking for a great customer experience, you should lower your expectations.

I did buy two 435 tanks from them. There are pics on this blog that show how I arranged them.

Good luck

[zero26tb4u]

Originally Posted by wcronin4

In faith’s original flooring, AS used wide staples to join the seams of the sub-floor between floor bolts I assume to keep the joint smooth.

My experience with my new sub-floor warping and buckling made me realize that I need to do something similar.

Anyone know what kind of staples are used and the tool needed to install them?

Those aren't staples but rather joint fasteners like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Hillman-Group...46238133&psc=1

At least thats what I found on my 76's floor. They are actually designed to keep the panels from separating from each other at the joint and do little to keep the panels level with each other. I think the spline idea or biscuit joint would be a better option to prevent both separation between the panel joints and prevent the occurrence of an non-level surface from one panel to the next.

[dbj216]

Hey, Inca actually improved their website recently. You should have seen it before. Look for "download catalog" button and then start thumbing through it. You may find a tank with the dimensions that will fit your trailer. They also have a catalog of old Airstream tanks too.

Here is a photo of the old, broken tanks I dug out of my 75 Overlander. Note the Inca label and part number.

And here is a photo of the fresh water tank I dug out of my wife's 86 Limited. Note the Inca insignia and part number.

Inca Plastics in Calif. have been molding tanks for the RV industry for well over 50 years. I believe they actually invented the "spin weld" process making plumbing connections easier to a plastic molded tank.

David

[wcronin4]

Let’s begin with fantastic news.
My wife Linda underwent a hysterectomy, to remove cancer that had appeared in her uterus. They also removed some lymph nodes as a precaution. We just got the final pathology back and Linda is cancer free. No further treatment will be required other than quarterly checks for the next two years.
From the day we received the original report of cancer from a biopsy, the surgery and the final report took a very short five weeks. Linda is recovering nicely, on light duty and thrilled at what can only be described as the best possible outcome. So many answers to prayer. So many people supporting her.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Now to all things Aluminum.
You will recall that I put all new decking on Faith, covered it with a tarp and went on a month long vacation. When we returned, the decking was saturated with water, warped, and ruined.
Since I don’t have a covered area to work in, the Greatleys and Vernon suggested putting epoxy on the plywood and to give it another whirl. That turned out to be excellent advice.
As it turns out, my son is a surfboard manufacturer and works with epoxy all the time. I cut all my decking out, and my son, took the nine pieces of plywood and treated them like they were surfboards, epoxying one side then the other.

You can see some of the boards lined up with another surfboard that was also being treated.

When the boards were all mounted they looked pretty good. I used Gorilla tape to seal all the screw holes. Two torrential downpours, and no issues whatsoever. This is the way to do it if you don’t have a covered place to work. My thanks go out to the Greatleys and Vernon for the suggestion. Now I have the added protection from water intrusion. The only negative about epoxy is it is heavy. Each panel of plywood was noticeably heavier. The pic below shows the frame ready to slide under the shell.

The next pic shows the gantries lifting the shell once again. You’ll note how level it is. This is thanks to another suggestion from my friend IANSK.

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST

[wcronin4]

Ian suggested using ballast to compensate for the weight of the door and awning. The next pic shows ballast constructed of PVC pipe and some sand. Worked like a champ.

I had previously mounted a class IV hitch on the front of my truck to haul my bride’s bike on our long trips. I improvised and hitched the frame to the front of the truck and drove the frame under the shell. Using this technique, it was easy to line up.

Since the back of my old frame and wood decking was totally gone, I did not have a good template to create the final piece of decking in the back. You can see from the next pic, when I put the shell on, the decking stood proud of the shell by a ¼ to ½ an inch. I had to lift the shell back up, use a jig saw to recut the back panel and then re-epoxy the edge of the panel.

The final picture shows Faith sitting correctly on her frame, with everything lined up and ready to bolt and rivet down. From the time I lowered the shell onto the frame, it took three days working 2-3 hours (the 90 degree heat and high humidity made working longer difficult) to line up and tweak things before everything lined up. I tried to drop the shell on the frame holding it an inch or two above the C-channel and it felt like I was herding snakes. I didn’t start to make real progress until I clecoed the less complicated street side to the C-channel, raised the other side up an inch or so, and slowly took each spar and positioned them into the channel. Once I did that it went smoothly. That doesn’t mean it was easy. It takes a lot of patience. I was working alone, and that meant it took a lot longer.

Taking that final pic of Faith sitting atop the frame gave me a tremendous sense of accomplishment. I would definitely recommend using the gantry system to lift an AS shell off and reinstall it. When I put the shell back on, it did not have any internal structure at all. Faith is 31 feet long. Shorter units will be easier. The advantage is that the shell can flex during reinstall and I think it makes it easier to reinstall. The only thing holding Faith’s shell in the air were two four by four posts wrapped with chain hoist chain, nothing else. I credit my friend IANSK for convincing me to do it this way. Thanks Ian.

[Iansk]

Bill,

Such great news about Linda, I'm so happy for you both.

Proud of you for persevering and achieving touch down, super cool!

Thanks for the kind words, glad I was able to help, plus I gained a friend in the process.

What did you end up doing for the rear hold down plate? Or what is your plan?

Now the fun starts, right?

Ian

[dbj216]

So happy to hear great news about your lovely bride. Modern medicine is such a wonderful thing. It certainly has added enjoyable years to my life.

Congratulations on the marriage of body to new frame. I bet Faith likes her new foundation. It is stout for sure. And letting the body flex around the new frame is a great idea. I wonder how Airstream does it in their factory. Maybe the same way.

A very positive post from you.

David

[Minno]

So glad Linda is doing well.
Also glad that your frame off went so well. Now comes the "fun" part (well, most of it is fun. ALL of it is putsy).

Kay

[my3sonsdad]

Congrats Bill! Even better to hear Linda is clear & recovering.

I’m learning from your experience, so thank you for sharing all the details of what is working and what isn’t. Both are equally important and valued!
Jim

[wcronin4]

Both of my black plastic wheel wells are cracked. Can those cracks be epoxied? They appear to be ABS. Don’t know how the plastic will react. Anyone have any experience?

[Aerowood]

I consider repairing mine one of the biggest mistakes I made. If I was to do it again I would make them out of .125 aluminum. If a tire ever fails the plastic will not contain anything, but the thick aluminum may contain the tire from doing to much damage to the interior.

My above floor black tank is going to be right next to the wheel well and I’m going to put an additional steel wheel well on the inside to cover the plastic. Sort of a “scatter shield”.

[wcronin4]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

I consider repairing mine one of the biggest mistakes I made. If I was to do it again I would make them out of .125 aluminum. If a tire ever fails the plastic will not contain anything, but the thick aluminum may contain the tire from doing to much damage to the interior.

My above floor black tank is going to be right next to the wheel well and I’m going to put an additional steel wheel well on the inside to cover the plastic. Sort of a “scatter shield”.

I may be past the point of doing this. The wheel well channels that the plastic fits into are already installed and would require major surgery to remove.

Further, the wheel well channels are not exactly square from the factory and the plastic ones can mold to the irregularity where rigid metal will not.

Blowout damage IS a concern. I’ve had too many of them with previous rigs and we plan to travel a lot with Faith when she is finished.

It appears my options are fix the plastic I have, or find something stronger that will fit the existing channel structure.

[Joyflea]

Built new ones for mine out of 18g galvanized. I had the luxury of putting them under the new floors . They could be modified to work on top of the floor with a water proof flange .