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NorCal Bambi · 02-22-2010, 10:05 PM

There is something special about the truth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerowood

One just can't have enough cleco's. Your always 50 short, no matter how many you have.

Kip

VIKING · 02-22-2010, 11:44 PM

You go Don!
I'm certain it's going to come back together under your and Claudias guidance. I'm wondering a couple of things though.
Had you checked the frame for level prior to fitting the shell?
Was the shell hanging or sitting in a way that would contribute to the issue you are having?
I wonder how much these shells maintain their shape if they are sitting on saw horses or hanging from a lift for a long period of time.

Rich the Viking

NorCal Bambi · 02-23-2010, 07:51 AM

Viking, yes on the first question. And yes on the second two questions. I had the shell up on saw horses outside for over two years. And the saw horses were on semi-soft ground. In fact one of the horses sank part way into the ground. I had also stored some lumber on the braces on the inside of the trailer to keep the wood out of the rain and snow. Were these bad ideas? You bet ya! The great thing about retrospect is we can learn from it.

Thanks also for the good words.
Don

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIKING

You go Don!
I'm certain it's going to come back together under your and Claudias guidance. I'm wondering a couple of things though.
Had you checked the frame for level prior to fitting the shell?
Was the shell hanging or sitting in a way that would contribute to the issue you are having?
I wonder how much these shells maintain their shape if they are sitting on saw horses or hanging from a lift for a long period of time.

Rich the Viking

SilverHoot · 02-23-2010, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

Aligning the shell to the floor turned out to be quite a chore. If you have been following this project much, you know that I started out with a trailer that was a shell, almost no floor, OK frame. I bought this trailer because I felt I could do what ever I wanted and no one would complain about my ruining a good trailer. Because the floor was about 90 percent gone, I had no patterns to work from. Once the frame was repaired and painted I began to work at creating some patterns etc. to layout the floor. You all know the old adage measure twice and cut once. I measured and measured and measured and laid out what I hoped would be correct. I installed the plywood on the frame and bolted everything down. My neighbor Tom and my Son Yale helped me lower the shell down onto the floor on two different days. It was obvious that my measuring and pattern making was in the ball bark but not a home run. The biggest problem was the realization that the shell had sagged. The result of this was that the two ends of the shell didn't come in contact with the floor. My basic reaction was, "This is not good". I spent several days jacking corners, jacking the frame, attaching different parts of the shell. Unattaching and unjacking different parts. For a while nothing looked like it was going to work. After much thought and several dreams or night mares on the subject I came to some conclusions. An important note is that no belly pan had been attached. The belly pan would have taken too much flex out of the frame and the floor. Here is what I came up with.
The middle section of the body matched the floor fine. So I need to buy at least 100 more clecos so I could attach the center sections and get that part stable. Then I could work out toward the ends stretching, jacking, and pulling things together. I worked a little toward the back then toward the front. Back and forth adding clecos as I went along. Slowly and things began to align. Finally everything was attached and the trailer fit once more. I have allowed the trailer to sit in this fashion for two weeks. This has allowed the trailer to stabilize. I hope! I plan to check out one section at a time, If all stays put than I'll work on the belly pan for that section. Again working from one end to the other.
The only photo of any of this process is the one shot here of a lot of clecos running down on side of the trailer. Also the back of the trailer had been damaged. The second photo shows how its looking now. The back is matching pretty well.
Don

Having many of these same problems myself right now. Replaced floor and bolted down c-channel. When I get the shell lined up with existing holes in c-channel, it seems that one side of skin is buckled slightly. Fooled with it all day yesterday ...

NorCal Bambi · 02-23-2010, 08:16 AM

SilverHoot, Let me know how your realignment works. We are almost neighbors. We are in Yreka. I'll PM you with info. There is more details on what I had to do to make things fit.
Don

NorCal Bambi · 02-23-2010, 08:37 AM

I've removed the back inside end cap on the Cloud. And once again, "Mice and Rats and Bees, OH MY". Airstreams seem to be home on the range for all types of gritters.
Including Humans

3Ms75Argosy · 02-23-2010, 11:35 AM

blech! I WILL take the whole ceiling off my TW when I get the floor in... yuck!
Marc

NorCal Bambi · 02-23-2010, 12:54 PM

Marc, I'm going to start a new thread by the same title. I think it could help others rebuilding to solve some critter problems.
Don

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

blech! I WILL take the whole ceiling off my TW when I get the floor in... yuck!
Marc

NorCal Bambi · 02-23-2010, 09:27 PM

I've just finished the design for the side bath in The 55 Flying Cloud. It's not too different form some of the stock designs. But I have made some changes to fit our needs. I am includes 2 sets of pictures of the plan. As always, I'm open for comments. The different colors represent the sections. I'm planning on making molds and producing this unit out of fiberglass. The sections are so the pieces will fit through the door.
Don

flyfshr · 02-24-2010, 06:52 AM

That sure is excellent work Don. Both on the thought process and the rendering. A couple questions come to mind. How about slopping the horizontal surface under the sink for run off? I realize not much water would probably get under there but having standing water is not good. If you don't already have the sink, how about running the base all the way up to counter height and putting in a drop in sink to avoid that unusable dead space? Might even put in an access door for personal care items storage.

Brad
FF

NorCal Bambi · 02-24-2010, 06:57 AM

Brad, great suggestions. I will probably work on those today. Once again the forum is so great. It's so easy to miss a good idea when one gets so involved in a project. A fresh look from someone on the outside can have such value.
Thanks Don

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyfshr

That sure is excellent work Don. Both on the thought process and the rendering. A couple questions come to mind. How about slopping the horizontal surface under the sink for run off? I realize not much water would probably get under there but having standing water is not good. If you don't already have the sink, how about running the base all the way up to counter height and putting in a drop in sink to avoid that unusable dead space? Might even put in an access door for personal care items storage.

Brad
FF

NorCal Bambi · 02-24-2010, 07:00 AM

I haven't decided where to put the shower head yet. Anyone have ideas. Or comments on where their shower head is located. And what the good and bad reasons for the location.
Don

flyfshr · 02-24-2010, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

I haven't decided where to put the shower head yet. Anyone have ideas. Or comments on where their shower head is located. And what the good and bad reasons for the location.
Don

Unless you want exposed plumbing, the curved exterior wall is out so that leaves the two end walls. Putting the hot and cold water lines on the other side of the wall you chose may be decided by what's on the other side of that wall. Another item to consider is from which direction would the two water supplies be coming from.

Alot to ponder.

Brad
FF

NorCal Bambi · 02-24-2010, 07:46 AM

Bath upgrade as per suggestions.
The plumbing for the shower is a good thought. I'm also wandering about the direction of shower spray.
Don

47WeeWind · 02-24-2010, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

Bath upgrade as per suggestions. The plumbing for the shower is a good thought. I'm also wandering about the direction of shower spray. Don

Hi Don:

You might consider having exposed plumbing inside the bathroom from the faucet "upwards", and use a hand-held shower head like those found in 1960's Airstreams. The head can be "hooked" to the wall for an overhead shower, or taken off to more directly reach those "underneath" body parts we used to be able to see when we were younger. :<> VanDyke's Restorers has the hand-held shower head and flexible hose:

Handheld Shower and Hose Chrome, Shower Heads and Accessories, Bath at Van Dykes Restorers

During a quick look in VanDyke's web site I could not find the other hardware, a wall-mounted "hook" and the attachment to the hand held shower head that provides the "hole" for going over the hook's vertical "post". But perhaps others can help you locate those parts.

I'd put the shower faucets on the left hand wall as one enters the bathroom, and put a mount for the hand-held shower head higher on that wall. This location is closest to the shower pan. It also places the faucet knobs close to you for water temperature adjustment while maximizing the water's impact. Nice drawings!

NorCal Bambi · 02-24-2010, 09:46 AM

Fred, thanks a lot for the suggestion. I like this unit a lot. I sure my wife will like it even more.
Don

Quote:

Originally Posted by 47WeeWind

Hi Don:

You might consider having exposed plumbing inside the bathroom from the faucet "upwards", and use a hand-held shower head like those found in 1960's Airstreams. The head can be "hooked" to the wall for an overhead shower, or taken off to more directly reach those "underneath" body parts we used to be able to see when we were younger. :<> VanDyke's Restorers has the hand-held shower head and flexible hose:

Handheld Shower and Hose Chrome, Shower Heads and Accessories, Bath at Van Dykes Restorers

During a quick look in VanDyke's web site I could not find the other hardware, a wall-mounted "hook" and the attachment to the hand held shower head that provides the "hole" for going over the hook's vertical "post". But perhaps others can help you locate those parts.

I'd put the shower faucets on the left hand wall as one enters the bathroom, and put a mount for the hand-held shower head higher on that wall. This location is closest to the shower pan. It also places the faucet knobs close to you for water temperature adjustment while maximizing the water's impact. Nice drawings!

FC7039 · 02-24-2010, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

I haven't decided where to put the shower head yet. Anyone have ideas. Or comments on where their shower head is located. And what the good and bad reasons for the location.
Don

Do a quick Google search on shower head slide bar . This will give you many options.

My thought is to have one nozzle. Mounted low on the bar for the sink. Slide it up to the desired hieght for a shower.

RankAm · 02-24-2010, 12:36 PM

Don, your drawings/renderings are very impressive. Am I correct that they are in SketchUp?

I have a 56 FC (that I acquired last summer), but I still am in the demolition stage. I hope to build a wet bath similar to your plans, and (to simplify the plumbing) I have been thinking about a single fixture for the sink and the shower similar to what FC7039 suggested.

Excellent work! Hank

NorCal Bambi · 02-24-2010, 01:07 PM

Yes, I am using SketchUp and some of the renderings are with Kerkythea.
FC7039 do you have a thread with you work? I like to follow your progress. I found your thread. "Lip"
Don

Quote:

Originally Posted by hjlairf

Don, your drawings/renderings are very impressive. Am I correct that they are in SketchUp?

I have a 56 FC (that I acquired last summer), but I still am in the demolition stage. I hope to build a wet bath similar to your plans, and (to simplify the plumbing) I have been thinking about a single fixture for the sink and the shower similar to what FC7039 suggested.

Excellent work! Hank

FC7039 · 02-24-2010, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

Yes, I am using SketchUp and some of the renderings are with Kerkythea.
FC7039 do you have a thread with you work? I like to follow your progress. I found your thread. "Lip"
Don

Yes and no. Yes, you could call this my thread. No, in that I guess I should update it for anyone to follow.

Just for you I will scroung up some pictures and post my latest.

Mostly I do not keep it updated as it only reminds me of the lack of progress I am making. Besides You all are doing so much better.