'55 FC The Whole ball of wax

[NorCal Bambi]

2air, Thanks these are great thoughts. The shower location is partly because of the placement of the stove and the sink. This is because of the original location for the stove vent in the side of the trailer. There are also some interesting holes that have been cut in the shell by the PO. I'm planning to have the crapper drop directly down into the holding tank. This is how it works on the Bambi. And that seems to be a good feature. Good thought about the metal being cold. It sure could be a wake--up in the morning.

[2airishuman]

ok don just to EASE my confusions...

1. is this gonna be a 3 tank trailer?
2. are the tanks sizes determined yet?
3. are the tank locations sorted out?
4. will the tanks be 'custom built' or off the shelf ready mades with predetermined HOLEZ?
5. will THAT pooper location really work out?
6. by that i mean are the frame rails/outriggers spaced such that the straight SHOOT for the crapper fits right there?

i hate to be stuck at the basics or early detail stage but, don't see any mention of these things yet.

perhaps this has all be worked out and just not posted yet?
___________

and going back 1 last time, to an earlier question, is this really a WET BATH or not?

imv ceiling holes are easy to patch or redirect pipes/vents toward...

but floor holes take COMMITMENT and are hard to alter later.

so the interior design and placement of many fixtures seems to flow FROM those foundation decisions...
__________

one last question in this round...

do you have a copy of the ORIGINAL floorplan anywhere?

have u got a sketch up of that original layout?

later gator
2air'

[3Ms75Argosy]

If I remember correctly.. and I may not.. , Don was working on building his own tanks... how many, I don't know.
Marc

[NorCal Bambi]

How is the door in the back of a 55 Flying Cloud mounted. The back of the trailer I am restoring had quite a bit of damage in the back. I have the back "trunk" door but I don't know how it was attached when stock. I know it folded down because there is a key lock in the top of the door. Some pictures would be of great help.
Thanks Don

[NorCal Bambi]

2air, I'm working on measurement and layout ideas for the plumbing now. I plan on building my own tanks. I'm trying to work a plan where I can keep everything within the 4" of the original frame. Not sure I can make that work. Thanks for the list I need to try and keep all things in mind. The Bambi was easy by comparrison because I had everything from the original.
Don

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

ok don just to EASE my confusions...

1. is this gonna be a 3 tank trailer?
2. are the tanks sizes determined yet?
3. are the tank locations sorted out?
4. will the tanks be 'custom built' or off the shelf ready mades with predetermined HOLEZ?
5. will THAT pooper location really work out?
6. by that i mean are the frame rails/outriggers spaced such that the straight SHOOT for the crapper fits right there?

i hate to be stuck at the basics or early detail stage but, don't see any mention of these things yet.

perhaps this has all be worked out and just not posted yet?
___________

and going back 1 last time, to an earlier question, is this really a WET BATH or not?

imv ceiling holes are easy to patch or redirect pipes/vents toward...

but floor holes take COMMITMENT and are hard to alter later.

so the interior design and placement of many fixtures seems to flow FROM those foundation decisions...
__________

one last question in this round...

do you have a copy of the ORIGINAL floorplan anywhere?

have u got a sketch up of that original layout?

later gator
2air'

[NorCal Bambi]

Here two drawings of the black and gray plumbing drain and storage unit design for our 55 Flying Cloud. The Bath Unit that I showed in an earlier post has room for the gray water pipe form the sink to run to the gray tank. The vent pipes for both the gray and black tanks run inside the walls of this unit also. Please feel free to comment.
Thanks Don
I also need some pictures from someone on how the door in the back of these trailers is attached. I have the door. There is no clear sign of how to attach.
Thanks Don

[C Johnson]

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

Here two drawings of the black and gray plumbing drain and storage unit design for our 55 Flying Cloud. The Bath Unit that I showed in an earlier post has room for the gray water pipe form the sink to run to the gray tank. The vent pipes for both the gray and black tanks run inside the walls of this unit also. Please feel free to comment.
Thanks Don
I also need some pictures from someone on how the door in the back of these trailers is attached. I have the door. There is no clear sign of how to attach.
Thanks Don

Ya know Don, I don't think they were on a hinge. I think they were like my side door on my Caravel. The top of the door slides into a channel and the you push the bottom in and latch it. I have seen some other older Airstreams and the access door fits the same way as my Caravel. So you would remove the door from the trailer when you open it. On later models that I have looked at the rear access door had a hinge at the top. I don't know if it was there from the factory or a PO made it that way.

[NorCal Bambi]

Chris, Thanks I bet you are right. I like the idea as well. Removing the door for access makes much better since.
Don

Originally Posted by C Johnson

Ya know Don, I don't think they were on a hinge. I think they were like my side door on my Caravel. The top of the door slides into a channel and the you push the bottom in and latch it. I have seen some other older Airstreams and the access door fits the same way as my Caravel. So you would remove the door from the trailer when you open it. On later models that I have looked at the rear access door had a hinge at the top. I don't know if it was there from the factory or a PO made it that way.

[C Johnson]

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

Chris, Thanks I bet you are right. I like the idea as well. Removing the door for access makes much better since.
Don

Yes it does, Someday, no doubt, I will forget and run over my access door. I think I will get a spare. haha. Came home today and was happy to see the AS and know that I will be camping next weekend. Sorry you can't make it. I am determined to make some time and stop by on one of my forays down south.

[Byams55FlyCl]

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

Here is a picture of the original Zolatone green. The rest of the trailer was in pink and two tone gray. Boy is that 1955 or what? I was still a freshman in high school then. I don't think I want to go there again.
Don

Hi Don!
Just found your thread - now I will be up all night reading!
I do hope that you've photos of the green, with pink and gray.
My 1955 Flying Cloud # 7787 is green Zolatone also, but I didn't see any pink. If you didn't share the original color photos yet, please will you share some now?

[NorCal Bambi]

Byams, could you post a couple of pictures of how the back door in your trailer fit in place and what holds it there. My trailer was gutted when I bought it, so there are no pictures that show any interior. I can tell that the interior was a green Zolatone. The sliding doors on the high storage units were a dark gray with white flecks. the counter tops were the same formica.
Don

Originally Posted by Byams55FlyCl

Hi Don!
Just found your thread - now I will be up all night reading!
I do hope that you've photos of the green, with pink and gray.
My 1955 Flying Cloud # 7787 is green Zolatone also, but I didn't see any pink. If you didn't share the original color photos yet, please will you share some now?

[NorCal Bambi]

Howdy all, I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I had some computer problems about two months ago. When that happened I lost my original 55 Flying Cloud SketchUp computer graphic. I've been working on a new one. This graphic has taken a litter longer because I've set out to make it look as much like a 55 Cloud as I could. I'm not finished with the work yet, but I thought I'd share where the work is at the present time.
Don

[Blue Pearl]

And looks like a wonderful campground too. TT

[VIKING]

That's very cool Don.

Rich the Viking

[NorCal Bambi]

Picase Slide shows of 3d Airstream graphics
Picasa Web Albums - Don - Final Design ...
Picasa Web Albums - Don - Airstream 55 ...

[SilverHoot]

Wow! Amazing what YOU can do with Sketchup! I tried it for a hour or so one time but could not figure it out. Love your floor plan and am planning a similar dinette area. Thanks for sharing!

[NorCal Bambi]

Thanks for the positive comments, How is your trailer coming?
Don

Originally Posted by SilverHoot

Wow! Amazing what YOU can do with Sketchup! I tried it for a hour or so one time but could not figure it out. Love your floor plan and am planning a similar dinette area. Thanks for sharing!

[SilverHoot]

Hi Don,

My trailer is coming along slowly. Installed my 4th piece of subflooring day before yesterday. Been working from back to front and have removing cleaning and painting frame then cutting, sealing edges and installing new. Next to last piece is cut and sealed, now I have to remove the last front piece and make the new. Don't know what it's doing up your way but has been raining pretty hard here. Trailers outside and the ground gets wet under the trailer so I don't work on it when its's raining, not much fun painting upside down anyway and really bad if the grounds wet. Be happy when I get the floor completed and can do some inside work. Probably won't get much done today as it is raining as I type!

[NorCal Bambi]

I've decided that I want as much lighting on the trailer to be LED. So I found some new type tail lights that I have installed as a fit test. I'll include some pictures later. Be prepared, I know some will not like what I have chosen. Doesn't really fit a vintage trailer. But remember this was a shell and frame only to start with. And the purpose was to make it my own.
We missed the NW rally. And it looks like it was another great time. I was cleaning out the shop. So I could actually get some work done. And Claudia was working on taxes so we can keep the hounds away.
I have also been working on dent removal from the siding on the trailer. I got this really great video tape from a guy in England who dose this fantastic body work. It was very informative. So I'm working with some of his techniques to remove some dents. I'll let you know later how that is going. I could have replaced panels but I wanted to work with what I had. There is something special about convincing metal to move and form in the way you wish.
Don

[Xbob2]

Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi

I've decided that I want as much lighting on the trailer to be LED. So I found some new type tail lights that I have installed as a fit test. I'll include some pictures later. Be prepared, I know some will not like what I have chosen. Doesn't really fit a vintage trailer. But remember this was a shell and frame only to start with. And the purpose was to make it my own.
We missed the NW rally. And it looks like it was another great time. I was cleaning out the shop. So I could actually get some work done. And Claudia was working on taxes so we can keep the hounds away.
I have also been working on dent removal from the siding on the trailer. I got this really great video tape from a guy in England who dose this fantastic body work. It was very informative. So I'm working with some of his techniques to remove some dents. I'll let you know later how that is going. I could have replaced panels but I wanted to work with what I had. There is something special about convincing metal to move and form in the way you wish.
Don

Could you post info on the tape and where to get it? Thanks in advance ...
Bob