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till · 02-13-2004, 04:29 PM

Here is a shot of the backing plate for the floor deck. As you can see it is like a spacer for the floor I'm still puzzled that the insulation is sandwiched between the cross members and floor. Won't that kill the R value?

till · 02-13-2004, 04:38 PM

Here is a shot of the failed attempt to renforce the rear to prevent the dreaded SAG

74Argosy24MH · 02-13-2004, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Won't that kill the R value?

It isn't going to help keep the frame or floor dry once it gets wet either.

John

Sneakinup · 02-13-2004, 05:14 PM

Is the situation in your last picture that the frame itself has dropped, or the wood flooring has sagged down? Is the shell lifted in that picture?

till · 02-13-2004, 05:45 PM

Sneakup,

Yes the frame is sagging bad. The wood you see is just a piece that I threw in there just to fill in the hole. The whole floor is gone where the black tank should be. Also, the shell is acctully sagging too!!

I don't know if you can make it out in this photo, but the side is flared out just forward of the axles.

Sneakinup · 02-13-2004, 06:46 PM

Wow!

I recently discovered that the steel support below my rear hatch was rusted, and the wood was moist in many spots. I feared the dreaded sag, but mine hasn't sagged...yet. It is solid. I intend to repair that piece of steel and secure it.

Looks like you have your work cut out for you. The good news is that it CAN be fixed, and then you will have a solid unit.

Mine looks like this... rear blue molding removed.

fitzjo1 · 02-15-2004, 11:07 AM

I couldn't find a photo of the three channels together. But, here's a shot of the reinforcement I added to the rear channel when I fixed the frame separation.

Jon in SC

Streamsaver · 02-15-2004, 12:29 PM

I noticed the same feature on our 63 Tradewind. It is for two reasons.
one, at the factory the belly insulation is put on from the top before the floor. This speeds construction time.
two, it helps to isolate road vibration between the frame and floor.

Another thing about the floor. Has anyone else noticed the metal zig-zag joiners connecting the floor sections. When we took ours apart all the joiners had loosened from vibration and flexing. I think they are very important to the strength of the floor. We plan to replace the joiners with glued in wooden buscuits. This will make the floor act more as a solid unit. Hopefully making it last longer than 41 years. That is the next phase of our restoration. Right now we have an axle on order, then some new metal welded onto the frame.
Here is a pic of the shell while it waits for it's other half.

markdoane · 02-15-2004, 01:59 PM

I don't think those little metal joiny pieces give you any additional strength.

I would go ahead with the biscuits, tho. Can't hurt.

Think about the shear strength of those little thingys. They're mild steel and only about .040" thick. Theres only a handful of them in each joint.

Once you bolt the floor down, the ziggy-zaggies are superfluous.

Also, since the old ones worked loose, they weren't very effective, were they?

TomW · 02-16-2004, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by brentleew
... Why didn't the factory rivet the bottom of the interior skins to the floor channel? It seems it would have been much stronger in supporting the rear end weight.

I'm sweating this detail right now, as the new floor, up to the first rib, is now finished, and the reassembly can begin. At first, I thought the factory just missed this detail on my Airstream. But now, it sounds like it was either missed on everyone's, or is just not done for a reason.

There's some proverb about the small tree bending in the wind, while the big tree comes crashing down. If that doesn't ring a bell, the question is, "Would the stiffness/strength afforded by riveting the interior skins to the floor channel in the bath area have an adverse affect in the long run?

Thanks,
Tom