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Silverflames · 06-28-2012, 10:27 PM

Well I started to pull her apart.. Like many threads I read, lots of rust and rotten plywood. It looks like I need to replace some of the main frame rails, and out riggers while I'm at. I'm still struggling with fixing it right, or just patching the bad sections of the frame... The real question is how much time do I want to put into this. The good news is that I have the main frame channel left over from when I fixed the front section of frame. Overall the cost is low, just takes a lot of time..

ddstech · 06-29-2012, 09:06 PM

Nothing a little duct tape won't fix! Good luck.

Silverflames · 07-01-2012, 07:25 PM

Just a quick up date to the "Quick Fix" I waned to do. I got the old main rear frame rails cut out, and replaced them with .25" Galv 5" c channel. Welded them in place, and then cut out support bracket/c Chanel under the back hatch. The entire thing was rusted into one solid piece. I'm debating on how to put that section back together. I'm going to use .25" Galv angle iron for the cross member, but I'm not sure if I should build the c channel out of Galv steel and weld it to the cross member, or buy an stainless steel or aluminum c channel and just bolt through the three layers.. Any ideas? If it has to get redone again, I want one of my grand kids to have to do it...

Eric H · 07-01-2012, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keithgrowe

Just a quick up date to the "Quick Fix" I waned to do. I got the old main rear frame rails cut out, and replaced them with .25" Galv 5" c channel. Welded them in place, and then cut out support bracket/c Chanel under the back hatch. The entire thing was rusted into one solid piece. I'm debating on how to put that section back together. I'm going to use .25" Galv angle iron for the cross member, but I'm not sure if I should build the c channel out of Galv steel and weld it to the cross member, or buy an stainless steel or aluminum c channel and just bolt through the three layers.. Any ideas? If it has to get redone again, I want one of my grand kids to have to do it...

That's a hard call. The one thing I would not do is sandwich aluminum up against it. First off it won't have the strength, secondly it will corrode the steel even faster.
It would really depend on how bad the C is. If it's badly rusted with holes then I would find a way to do a full repair. Not to mention if the floor is rotted out. The floor is part of the structure when it's all pulled together, shell, floor, frame. Perhaps you could just pull up the back section of floor to get to the frame....that's still a lot of darn work.

Silverflames · 07-11-2012, 10:45 AM

Well it's been a Bad week working on the old girl. I'm not to sure if I should post this or not, since I still feel like a complete idiot. I was welding on frame replacing rusted out section. I did think I needed a spotter, but now I know better. I was welding underneath and noticed smoke coming out of the water heater door, jumped up to discover the back driver side bathroom caught on FIRE!!!!! Grabbing the water hose I opened the back hatch and started spraying like crazy. The old plastics in the bathroom went up like a bomb fire. I was able to put the fire out saving the trailer... Sadly, the whole bathroom will need to be redone, the whole inside of the trailer has smoke damage and will need to be repainted.

So at this point I will be doing a full bathroom rehab, including a new floor, sink, closets, etc.... Looks like the summer camping trip is off.. My wife is great and stated "well now we can fix it all right, and it will look great when we are done.".

Wabbiteer · 07-11-2012, 11:36 AM

Thanks for posting - do you know what was the original point of ignition? Vulkem caulk? Mouse nest? Pipe insulation?

It took grit, guts, and lots of heart to share that. Sure makes for excellent clarity on the task before you though?

I once answered a telephone just as I'd started brazing a patch on my 1973 Pinto quarter panel, a minute later looked out the window to see column of smoke and fire. Whoda thunk the wheel well brace bracket in there was plastic? Good thing the fuel filler was on the other side.

Best of luck getting some Fall camping in!!

Silverflames · 07-11-2012, 11:44 AM

From the location of the fire, I think sparks from the angle grinder might have made their way to some old carpeting. I had a box fan running behind me to blow away the gasses coming off of the galvanized steel, and I'm sure that it helped things along. Next time I'll have a spotter and I'll soak everything down before I start.. We live and learn..

purman · 07-11-2012, 11:48 AM

That really sucks, but I could be a good excuse to pull the shell off.

Silverflames · 07-22-2012, 09:58 PM

Well a quick update.. I was able to take apart the bathroom and clean most of the old girl. I sanded down the bathroom end cap, and added a couple layers of fresh resin. It's not nearly as smooth as the original but it will work. My wife and I was able to prime and paint most of the bath room. I'll have to get a couple panels remade, they were burn beyond use.. I need to have the out anyway to fix the rear end separation. Next will be cutting out the bad floor and finish the frame repairs.

Silverflames · 08-09-2012, 10:30 PM

Things are still moving along, we got the old rotted floor out of the bathroom area. Cut a matching piece of marine grade 5/8 pt plywood and coated it with a few think layers of fiberglass resin. We completely covered the top, and about 6" around the edges of the bottom. We also covered a couple inches around the hole for the to loot and tub pee trap. I'm off work next week, so I will be installing the new floor, after I por 15 the frame.

I extended the frame down 3 more inches with 3x2 gal angle to accommodate larger holding tanks. I'm also hoping that extending this almost to axle area to will strengthen the frame and avoid rear end sag in the future.

I'll have 1 27 gal black tank, 1 27 gal grey tank, 1 30 gal fresh water tank. Hopefully 99% of the tanks will be covered by the belly pan when I'm done.

Once the floor, tanks, and drains are done we can start to paint the rest of the inside. I know it's a long road ahead and I just need to stay focused.

I'm really chomping at the bit to get started again!

Silverflames · 08-13-2012, 10:43 PM

Well I'm off this week, so I'm trying to get a lot done. I was able to get the frame cleaned and hit with por 15. The floor was put in place and screwed down on the scab piece. I started installing the bolts on the rear end. I'm really surprised how tough it is drill a half inch hole through 3 layers of stainless steal.

I' m getting ready to install the holding tanks, any one with any stories on how you installed yours? I'm building the supporting brackets from 1x1 1/8 " gal steal angle iron.

Silverflames · 08-19-2012, 05:13 PM

Things went along pretty well, I was able to get the floors in, and the tanks installed. I went with 1/8 inch aluminum straps wrapped in rubber roofing tape to hold the tanks in place. Bolted them in with 3/8 inch bolts.

The next big decision will be how to run the plumbing for the black and grey tanks.

Silverflames · 09-03-2012, 05:32 PM

Well still chipping away at it. I was able to finish up the plumbing to the black and grey tanks, filled the lines and the tanks but no leaks so far. Next will be getting the fresh water up and running. There is not a gas line running back there so I have been thinking about just using a small electric hot water heater for now.

M2HB · 09-03-2012, 05:39 PM

It looks like you are making good progress. Keep up the good work, you will be finished in no time.

Silverflames · 09-13-2012, 06:31 AM

Little by little, hour by hour that I'm able to steal away, I have been trying to get done.. I got the lines from the fresh water tank ran, and have started adding insulation and replacing the lower panels. Hopefully that will be done soon!

perryg114 · 09-18-2012, 11:26 AM

Well is does not look like you took the short term fix route? What changed your mind?

Perry

Silverflames · 09-18-2012, 11:46 AM

The purifying effects of flames!! In the long run setting the bathroom on fire will be for the best, not that I would recommend it to anyone. It pretty much forced me to do it right.

The plumbing is all most done, Im going the cpvc route, and need to order a hot water heater. I'm leaning toward the girad tankless system. It's will be odd to use at first but I think we can do it. I've called their support line a few times, they were easy to contact, and helpful. I would go with the 500, but can't stand to send an extra $1000 on the unit. PPL has the girard for under $500, plus $50 for the door.

perryg114 · 09-19-2012, 01:19 PM

I think CPVC is a good option although many on here will disagree. I am not totally sold on PEX although I have spent enough on tools already to have done my whole trailer in CPVC.

Yeah I forgot about the fire incident. Keep up the good work.

Perry

Silverflames · 09-19-2012, 01:44 PM

I looked long and hard at Pex, but I'm not skilled in its use don't have the tools frozen pipes are not much of a problem in Fl. Plus I'm pretty good with cpvc so it seemed easier to do. Just requires more fittings. Couple 45s here and there and your good to go.

riv-nut · 09-19-2012, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keithgrowe

Well still chipping away at it. I was able to finish up the plumbing to the black and grey tanks, filled the lines and the tanks but no leaks so far. Next will be getting the fresh water up and running. There is not a gas line running back there so I have been thinking about just using a small electric hot water heater for now.

Hi Keithgrowe,

Just looking over your post. One of the pictures you posted scares me a bit. Cutting out the bottom flange of a structural member and replacing it with a curved strap probably leaves you with maybe 10% of the original strength. This is obviously a tough situation to get the pipe through this area, but you should either try to "duck under" the frame, or go through it so that you don't remove the lower flange. You might be able to "bridge across" with another piece of trimmed I-beam or channel, but this thin curved strap will not recover any of the strength.

Lee