78 Minuet " Blue Crush" Renovations

[BlueCrush78]

Hello again. Now that I have found my way to the correct spot, I will catch you up to date as to our progress via http://www.airforums.com/forums/f368...ce-204555.html which briefly outlines where we got to by the beginning of November this year. We acquired the Minuet in March of '19 during the last big snowstorm of the season in SD but had to wait to have a new axle shipped and for hubby to return to SD to install before towing it home to Ontario, Canada. By mid November, our Airstream MH friend from Peterborough came to assist with manouvering the 8.5' trailer into the 8' opening into our neighbour's garage. Yes the wheels came off, and the hubs, and the backer plates. Then they lowered the axle onto dollies and very, very slowly moved it into the present worksite. We have very generous neighbors!!!! As I was still working, hubby, when he was able, continued the demo, leaving floors and walls in place until we could assess the structure. Then "Chemo Interuptus" halted our progress for a month. Over that month we completed our house kitchen. In the process of replacing 22+ year old appliances I decided I didn't want a propane stove in the trailer, so we got an induction cooktop, which would pose its own renovation inquiries and issues in the new year.

[dbj216]

Well, I'm going to subscribe to this project and help where I can, although I've never worked on an Argosy.

Wow, that is a tight positioning job getting the trailer into the workshop. That in itself is more than I could do.

I hope you can post pictures of the "start" of the project. Pictures are very helpful in figuring out what's going on.

Here is a photo of my 66 Trade Wind that I worked on in 2013 and 2014. I sold it cause it was done and needed something else to work on. But it was a fun trailer and I hope the new owners are enjoying it.

David

[BlueCrush78]

A few days after Christmas we got back to work removing the lower interior wall panels, labelling them, of course and cutting out the very damp subfloor and the wet, wet, wet and stinky pink insulation from the two ends. Inital evaluation of the steel was positive however due to the wet conditions there was evidence of rust but thankfully no holes. Over New Years Eve and a few days into the new year, I wire wheeled, rust converted x2 and POR15 x2 all that was unveiled. The spare tire rack was solid. With a front to back section in the middle of the trailer floor also opened up, we decided to reinforce by bolting in some new steel. Thus began our frame on reconstruction. We worked methodically replacing the floor with 3/4 inch coosa board. Hubby routered the edges to fit into the C chanel. It was not an easy and very time consuming. Hubby opened up the belly pan at the front to secure bolts and nuts with new aluminum plates. We had to tie off bolts with a thread to fish them into position; thankfully he has very long arms to hold the bolts in place while I tightened the nuts above. What a chore!!! I am so very glad that is over. Notice the terrible condition of the wheel well covers. They were destroyed and broken in several areas, barely being held in place.
Once again "Chemo Interuptus". I am so humbled by what drives my hubby!!!!
Rielle

[skyguyscott]

What great progress! Hang in there!

I think your choice of Coosa will prove invaluable in the long run - no more floor rot ever!

Check out the following threads regarding Airstream insulation, the best I have ever read on the subject:

http://beahmstream.com/insulating-an...ch-and-theory/

http://beahmstream.com/insulating-an...l-application/

Beats the pink stuff in every way.

[Isuzusweet]

Hubby report:
The condition of the frame really surprised me, with absolutely no rust on the outriggers and just a tiny bit of surface rust from the axle forward where the frame came in contact with the plywood. There was a bit more rust from the axle back under the bathroom, which was to be expected, but still didn't require redoing any steel.
I guess my hunch at being out in a field in South Dakota paid off.
The extra steel bracing I installed was to provide support and keep the sheets flush to each other as they met in the middle of the trailer.
A PO had scabbed in a new piece of plywood near the door and the rear corner, under the shower.
Going Coosa is a no brainer; I love working with it, and it gives me piece of mind that it will never have to be repaired or replaced again. Will we get our money back.....heck yes.

I wanted to give my wife a solid foundation to a great trailer; perfect size for one person, with a lot of windows.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[bibbs]

I love the argosy’s. They are the same as the airstream, but different. Because they are painted, they are easier to maintain. One of these day’s I will find a 22’ er. You are well on your way. Keep having fun! And Keep posting!

[BlueCrush78]

Hello everyone; It has been an emotionally difficult road and will continue to be one but I have decided to muster up the courage to continue with this restoration with the help and support from a father and son team from my area. Many thanks to John and neighbors for retreiving the Minuet from the neighbors garage last spring. Unfortunately I didn't get anything accomplished last year. Before I stored her away for the winter my lovely team installed bracing supports and the new Mach 4 airconditioner, which closed in the roof hole and intalled the necessary side doors where the water heater and fridge will vent. Just this week the Minuet has returned to my front berm where the new door lock and jack have been installed. Thankfully the new jack has a manual crank handle in case of electrical issues. Had to remove the top of the old one and manually move the gears to lift the jack leg so I could transport it home. I've begun the arduous task of paint removal using Circa1850 instead of the citristripper because it cannot be shipped to Canada. The 3m stripper and sanding were just not going to cut it...so I begin.
Gabbycat

[BlueCrush78]

Here are a few pics

[BlueCrush78]

It's been about 2 weeks that I have logged of work on my Crush. I have succeeded in completing the stripping( I know there were lots of easier ways with more toxic materials but hey people, we were in a lock down!) and have had D, the dad of my help team conplete the 110v and 12v lines. It was a bit interesting trying to figure out the layout and connections of the wiring in the Crush as there were soooooo many connectors it was as if someone couldn't quite figure out their intentions. Today I removed the sink Lexan window for repair. Sadly I inflicted a painful "drip" from the stripper, so began the process of sanding for repair. I did manage this, however, the window was not just dirty or injured. I could not, no matter the processes I tried, from the forums or you tube, to reduce the haze, the muck, the yuck from the Lexan. Being frustrated, I retired, ordering some product to help; I hope. I do not want to replaced the Lexan after reading about the difficulties.

[BlueCrush78]

Still can't get the haze down on the Minuet window. I may have to be brave and get it replaced...rather try to do it myself although everything I have read on it sounds daunting. It will have to wait. 5 days of thunderstorms and D hurting both his shoulders slowed the progress a bit. As of today, the rear Fantastic Fan and the front MaxxFan are installed. Ridiculous heat, so very grateful that we wired the airconditioner to work as a plug-in to the house. D fashioned some reinforcement aluminum "L" brackets to the roof ribs, to install the MaxxFan. I have started on cleaning up the window frames and the belt - mid & bottom with a brass wire brush wheel. I am past my intended date to have Crush to the painters. Living by the "Rule of Tin", no matter how long you think it will take - triple it!!!! Half days in this heat are all I can take until the sun begins to set.
Oh, and I found a few filler surprises, but hey, that's okay. I think it used to be blue!!!

[BlueCrush78]

Just a few more pics

[BlueCrush78]

Here they are

[BlueCrush78]

Over the past weeks D & I have identified and fixed some of the leaks. Rain and cool foggy mornings have been the reality of this later part of July and seriously, I am over it! Where did our lovely Ontario summer go so quickly? We have made progress. D completed installing the solar panels, macgyvred a curvy bit to protect the cables coming out of the roof, from a light fixture casing that I found in my stash of "stuff", sealed the hole in the front encap where the antenna used to be and beautifully found a solution to the gaping holes around the wheelwells. We removed the front end cap for cleaning and repairs, 1st -2part epoxy and the bondo fiberglass on the backside. By the end of this week I hope to complete the bondo filler and sanding on the front so we can insulate and put it back in place. Found some more structural issues which seemed to be compressing the shell downward so reinforcements where ribs were hacked away and under the glass windows were also addressed. I dug out putty like material that was not vulcum from a variety of gross mouldy spots where it was obviously not doing a lick of good. I know vulcrum...dug out a ton from the 310 during its renovation. Of course it's raining again this morning...bleeechhh.

[BlueCrush78]

Here are some pics of the dirty endcap at the rear, the front was worse. So sorry for the flippy photos, I can't figure out how to fix it. If anyone knows, please let me know. Thanks

[BlueCrush78]

Work continued, as per usual in Aug, Sept, and now Oct. So many little things that needed to be addressed. There was this ridiculous leak that persisted from the front fresh water hatch. The key hole was the culprit so D made a curved hood to protect it from the rain. The buck rivets around the curbside window behind the pano window continued to cause issue because of the dimpled aluminum, I guess. Gutterseal didn't make a difference so I dug out the exhisting goop and discovered that the rivets were Olympic rather than solid. I used new Dymonic sealant to fill in the area and when it cured I sprayed the area with Leak Seal. Problem solved. I did this around the door also as they too were issues. The top cover portion of the door is screwed on so I filled those the same way but instead of Leak Seal I just painted that portion with the weatherproofing paint that I used on the roof, Heat-Gard. It, by the way works like a charm. Touch test after only one coat on the endcaps and roof demonstrated a significant difference in temperature between the coated and uncoated. The back endcap was a nightmare to get down and took significanly more effort and layers of suppot repair, epoxy and bondo to get it to a point of being able to be handled and put back up, but it did go back up with only 2 small areas showing minor stress cracks which I will have to repair. The wheel well trim was in really bad shape so D took some time to reshape it and add some extra bits to the hole area to secure the trim in place. We mounted an excellent backup light from NorthernLites so I can hopefully not hit anything behind, added 4 side marker lights which emulate the 1 original round marker light and glow a bright LED orange. Then I started the pink panther foam blocks to provide a space for the energy reflective foam insulation which I purchased in a 4' by 50' roll. In the small spaces I used Roxul insulation. I am hopeful that it will do the job. I thought I should try to paint coat the entire upper half of the Minuet with the Heat-Gard but the visual of the product was not to my liking (not shiny and smooth) and certainly painting over top of it would strip it of the qualities of heat reduction so I tried and then stripped it off again leaving only the roof and endcaps done. We primed it, found the multiple areas of dimpling and marks, did body work, sanded and sanded and sanded (damp weather didn't help), re primed, then used something D called "thumb putty" which was actually a finer automotive bondo product, sanded again and finally reached what I believed was the best we were going to do. Aluminum TopSide paint with 5% mineral spirits and 15% hardner for enamel paint, 3 coats white & blue. It looked good; so much different from the start. The story continues....

[BlueCrush78]

....so we were around 30- 40 minutes out of the storage shop where we had been painting for the past two weeks when it happened. The tree removal road crew flagged us through on the opposite side of the road and "BAM"!!!!, the large tree limb in the chipper rolled and hit my car first then dragged all along the curbside of my newly painted Minuet. OMG. Disbelief!!!!. Thankfully the trailer only sustained a minor impact dent UNDER the pano window and drag rash and scratches. So, is there time before the snow flies to make this claim with the county and the insurance companies to settle and to repaint the whole 5 side panels??? Very disappointing to say the least but we will persist....maybe next spring.
Missing my hubby so very much.

[dbj216]

I thought I was the only one with bad luck! I'm confident you will get the damaged repaired. Here is hoping for a fair settlement. You have the time to make the repairs and get your Argosy all ready for next year's travels.

David

[WHUDS22]

Originally Posted by dbj216

I thought I was the only one with bad luck! I'm confident you will get the damaged repaired. Here is hoping for a fair settlement. You have the time to make the repairs and get your Argosy all ready for next year's travels.

David

Me too
Good luck hope to see u on the road!

[Eric 26 Argo]

Just got caught up on your build. Wow! Lot of great work and glad you had help. The tree trimmer incident is probably everyone's nightmare and you actually experienced it. Hopefully everything on the insurance side is settled and the fixes are being taken care of.