Shell-Off AND AC-Off? Or not?

[Luftstrom]

Hi Folks:
Finally ready to start a shell-off renovation. I would like to spare myself the trouble of taking off the AC. It is not leaking now and why invite that? Plus it is a lot of extra work.
What are your experiences and thoughts? Take it off or leave it?

[Bubba L]

Assuming you’ll be removing the inside skin before pulling the shell, I would remove the AC beforehand. The AC weighs quite a bit. Without the stability of the interior skins and the ribs attached to the chassis, the point loaded weight could bend or distort the shell. Just a thought. What year/model is your AS? Good luck

[mikextr]

I left my AC in place with the skins removed. No problems.

[Belegedhel]

What trailer are you working on? Is it a conventional AC unit (that clamps in place with 3-4 bolts), or is it the style from back in the 70's an earlier, where they are riveted in place with 1000 rivets?

[Luftstrom]

Thanks for responding !
The unit is a 1971 Airstream Sovereign (31ft) and the AC is a Duotherm 57915.522C. I don't think this is the original AC. It has a couple of bolts that hold it up with the necessary food framing. Topside the PO has left a broad assortment of rivets, flashing, caulking etc.
It works. It is a bit noisy so at some point I may want to replace it.


I would prefer to not remove it for the shell-off. Likewise, I am debating on whether to remove the door or leave it in place.


Thoughts?

[Sylvain]

Are you sure you want to keep the same AC? Newer AC are most likely more efficient. I would definitively leave the door in place if you remove the shell.



I could also suggest to do a shell-on. On trailers with two axles you can actually replace the floor entirely like a shell-off without cutting the sheets in half but keeping the shell on. I did that on my 31ft Excella.
Here is the video how I did it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGqvDCgBUCs

[TeddyK]

Awesome

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Luftstrom

Hi Folks:
Finally ready to start a shell-off renovation. I would like to spare myself the trouble of taking off the AC. It is not leaking now and why invite that? Plus it is a lot of extra work.
What are your experiences and thoughts? Take it off or leave it?

If it's not leaking now, it could certainly start leaking tomorrow. It only takes about 1/2 hour to pull an a/c unit if you've done it before, maybe 45 minutes if it's your first time. Not much to it and it will give you a chance to put new gaskets under it.

When I got my trailer I redid nearly all the external gaskets & seals. There were a few that looked good, and I made the same assessment as you - it's not leaking so why invite trouble? Sure enough, the only problems I've had since then have been the few things that I left in place.

If you're going to the effort of removing the shell to fix problems, then pulling an a/c unit should be just another simple step in the process. Likely you already have a gantry in place, and you can use it with a block & tackle to lift the a/c off the roof. We did something similar with a beam in the barn where ours is stored.

[Jcondon]

Great job!

[coloradoup]

They are heavy, if you are not replacing it I would leave it on and just try to re seal it. Even if you lifted it in place and re caulked it that would still be easier. If you have a lift that you can use to remove it without lifting it yourself then that's a different story.