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Ken J · 07-20-2006, 01:00 PM

I thought I was the only crazy one to move in the middle of a restoration - good luck - I'll let the frame off guys answer your question , but I would think a flat bed and a very well supported shell should work....

Ken

ankornuta · 07-20-2006, 03:38 PM

Do you think four guys could lift the body by 4x4s attached to the supports?

Well, I should say "lift and carry".

till · 07-20-2006, 11:48 PM

Not a problem! Four are needed beacuse of the akward weighting of the object. 4 of us (2 men and 2 boys) moved a 10 foot secting with out any issues or sweat. Just make sure all of you are reading from the same page when you do this. That and all of you should walk the path (dry run) first.

I am going to bed now.....

ankornuta · 07-21-2006, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by till

Not a problem! Four are needed beacuse of the akward weighting of the object. 4 of us (2 men and 2 boys) moved a 10 foot secting with out any issues or sweat. Just make sure all of you are reading from the same page when you do this. That and all of you should walk the path (dry run) first.

I am going to bed now.....

Well... this is a 24 foot section (the whole body, sans interior skin). I guess I'll try it. There may be a funny post on here in the near future with pictures of what a "dropped" Airstream body looks like!

So how much do you think the body weighs without interior skin or doors, but with glass? I'm guess between 700 and 800 pounds.

AZstreamin · 07-21-2006, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankornuta

Well... this is a 24 foot section (the whole body, sans interior skin). I guess I'll try it. There may be a funny post on here in the near future with pictures of what a "dropped" Airstream body looks like!

So how much do you think the body weighs without interior skin or doors, but with glass? I'm guess between 700 and 800 pounds.

Anyway you can back that flatbed trailer under the body?... If it is 800 LBS that would be a tough load for 4 guys to carry evenly and level.

ankornuta · 07-21-2006, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZstreamin

Anyway you can back that flatbed trailer under the body?... If it is 800 LBS that would be a tough load for 4 guys to carry evenly and level.

Oh damn. You gave me a good (?) idea. I can just build my own flatbed, since I'm going to need it any how; in other words, I'll just bolt my wood down to my trailer frame which I need to do regardless and then back that up under the body and lower it down.

Once I get to the new house, I'll just jack the body back up again and pull the frame out to get the belly pan fabircated.

Okay... let's see if I can get the plywood secured to the frame this weekend without incurring a heat stroke!

ankornuta · 07-23-2006, 09:50 AM

In the 118 degree heat with 30% humidity yesterday I started bolting my floor down in preparation for moving the shell to the new house. I got the first few pieces bolted in place, starting at the front. It's not too hard; I just drilled all the holes with a 5/16" forstner bit first, going down just enough to recess the carriage bolt head. Then I drilled through the rest of the way with a 1/4" drill bit and put the 1/4" x 1" carriage bolt through. Lock washer and nut on the bottom and it's done.

If it wasn't so ridiculously hot here it would be a pretty easy process. Yesterday my drill actually kept overheating in this weather and I kept having to take breaks to let it cool down. I can't pick up my ratchet with bare hands because it gets too hot. Even the bolts get too hot to touch comfortably. This morning I started at 6am and it was already over 90 degrees and then the drill died. So I'm done for the day.

I think the last piece of plywood floor for my trailer is too long. It almost reaches the bumper, short by only about 1". I'm not going to bolt that piece in place until I have the frame under the body again. That way, I can lower the body down and see how much length I need to trim there.

Next weekend I'll be at our cabin in the mountains enjoying the cool weather and then I'll finish up the floor and set the body on it the following weekend so I can take it to the new house. I'm trying to decide how I can secure the body so that it's safe for the 12 mile drive to the new place. The last thing I want is for that body to fall off in the middle of an intersection. That would certainly be a sight....

ankornuta · 08-06-2006, 12:34 PM

I continued to secure the floor today. I'm just about done, except for the last piece which I'm not going to bolt down until I do a test fit. I've decided that I'm going to use the old belly pan and just cut it off right where it disappears from view. Then I can finish up the insulation, plumbing, wiring, etc underneath and cover the bottom with new aluminum.

I also put the wheels and tires back on today and discovered something that made me very happy; per my calculations once I had the gray and black tanks installed with their supporting structures and the floor back on, the trailer should balance perfectly when unloaded (before the propane, batteries and fresh tank are installed up front). And it does! It's really cool. I can put the hitch stand up in the front and move the trailer side to side and front and back with very little effort... it just sort of teeters up and down ever so slightly.

Next up... test fitting the body.

**azflycaster** · 08-06-2006, 01:10 PM

I'm glad that the weather has given you a break to work on this project. When you get it all back together are you going to have a few hundred pounds of tounge weight? The reason I ask is that a light hitch will cause sway problems when you tow. BTW, I thought you were going to move....

ankornuta · 08-06-2006, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azflycaster

I'm glad that the weather has given you a break to work on this project. When you get it all back together are you going to have a few hundred pounds of tounge weight? The reason I ask is that a light hitch will cause sway problems when you tow. BTW, I thought you were going to move....

No kidding... the weather's actually been pretty decent the past few days. It's nice to get outside and do stuff.

When it's all put back together, the tongue should be just a bit heavier (but not too heavy) so long as all of my planning works out the same in real life as it is on paper. So far so good...

The move is "officially" at the end of September. I'll probably move the trailer before then if progress permits, but at the very least it gives me a deadline. It seems like I work more quickly when I have a deadline like that.

NorCal Bambi · 08-07-2006, 09:31 AM

I know what you mean about dead lines. When I was working on my trailer it was rally dates that I used to create dead lines. The input from the members of the rallies and the dead line was a great help. Especially on those jobs that seemed to take for ever. Cool work. Hope to see your results at a rally some day in the near future.
Don

ankornuta · 08-09-2006, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

I know what you mean about dead lines. When I was working on my trailer it was rally dates that I used to create dead lines. The input from the members of the rallies and the dead line was a great help. Especially on those jobs that seemed to take for ever. Cool work. Hope to see your results at a rally some day in the near future.
Don

I hope that I can get my heap to a rally some day soon!

Initially I thought I would be done with this thing very quickly. And I guess that if this was my full time job I could get it done very quickly, working eight or ten hours a day every day. But... it's a labor of love and I think part of me wants to drag it out because I really do love working on it. That's where the deadline comes in handy for getting stuff done!

Ken J · 08-09-2006, 10:24 AM

It will get done - if its like me it will seem endless at times, especially if you want to go camping - there were many times if someone came along with 1 dollar I would have said take it!

I think my 58 was in similar condition to yours - its taken me about 2.5yrs - can't do much in winter here - guess you can't do much in summer there - so probably about evens out. Not to mention I had a new house built and moved during that time - actually I guess your there too!

Regards

Ken J

ankornuta · 08-14-2006, 02:15 PM

I need to cut my belly pan so that it wraps over the U-channel and down under the frame just out of sight. I'll close it in with new aluminum on the under side later on when i finish the wiring and plumbing and all that down there.

Anyhow, I have a lot of belly pan that I need to cut; what's the best way to do it other than an air-nibbler thing; They don't have to be clean cuts. I just don't have an air compressor and need to do this quickly.

Any advice? Hacksaw?

Safari Tim · 08-14-2006, 02:33 PM

I just picked up one of these shears recently. I used it to cut away the belly pan. Seemed to work pretty well for that.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=92115

It does say 360 degree swivel head. I have not figured out what that does though.

flyfshr · 08-14-2006, 03:23 PM

Ankornuta ~
I have an electric nibbler similar to the one shown above that you may borrow. Shoots through sheet aluminum just like butta' Let me know.

Brad
FF

ankornuta · 08-14-2006, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyfshr

Ankornuta ~
I have an electric nibbler similar to the one shown above that you may borrow. Shoots through sheet aluminum just like butta' Let me know.

Brad
FF

Tim, thanks for the picture.

Brad, thanks for the offer! If they don't have them in stock at Harbor Frieght, I might just take you up on that this weekend.

I didn't realize that they made electric versions of these tools.

C Johnson · 08-14-2006, 06:52 PM

Ank, I thought I'd put a plug in for the Harbor Freight sheet metal shears. I have the exact tool that Tim is talking about. I did have to order it online as the HF store here didn't have em. It didn't take very long at all to get here.

One of the best tools I have bought for doing metal work. I used these shears to cut my entire new bellypan out of .040 Aluminum plus all the other odds and ends that I need a nice clean, straight edge for.

ankornuta · 08-15-2006, 10:37 AM

Alright, that does it. I've ordered it from Harbor Freight!

ankornuta · 08-18-2006, 06:39 PM

This weekend I'm going to get the frame back under the body for a test fitting. I haven't attached the U-channel to the floor yet because I want to be sure that everything's lined up just right. This means that I'll have to roll the frame under the body, lower the body, test fit, attach the channel, and then raise the body back up to put the belly pan perimeter in place. I'm not looking forward to lowering, raising and lowering the body again. However, if all goes well this should enable me to start buttoning it back up by next weekend.