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10-26-2008, 02:54 PM
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#1
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2 Rivet Member 
1977 31' Excella 500
Emmett
, Michigan
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 27
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Simple rear floor repair turning ugly!
I began the tedious process of repairing a section of floor in the rear bedroom of my 1977 Excella today. Everything was going pretty well. I removed the lower rub rail, rear bumper, rear storage, belly pan and lower rear curved pieces. I started to center punch the bucked rivets to start drilling them out but on the roadside panel there was none! It looked kiind of strange so upon investigating I find out that a skin over skin repair was made at some point!
Now I am confused as what to do! I can't access the rivets to seperate the body from the frame! Good new is the frame is in pretty good shape. Only needs a few minor patches, then prime and paint.
I think I may have to now remove the lowere rear quarter panel! THis could get expensive!
Please advise!!
Nate
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10-26-2008, 03:00 PM
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#2
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Rivet Master 
1991 34' Excella
Princeton
, New Jersey
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 7,071
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How is that skin on skin repair held on? Did the they just rivet the vertical lines and do nothing around the bottom edge?
__________________
WBCCI 12156 AIR 3144 WACHUNG TAC NJ6
2004 Excursion 4x4
1991 34 ft. Excella +220,000 miles, new laminated flooring, new upholstery, new 3200 lbs axles
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10-26-2008, 06:11 PM
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#3
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2 Rivet Member 
1977 31' Excella 500
Emmett
, Michigan
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 27
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Where's my rivets!
Yep... Just vertical and upper horizontal row of rivets. THe only thing holding the lower on was with the rivets through the rub rail. I have since removed the interior components, and also the inner panels to see whats going on . Good part is that it does not appear that the floor rot was caused from water coming in from above. I believe that rot is from the seam around the lower rub rail. It had remnants of many different caulking materials, including silicone  . There was also a scabbed in piece of plywood over one of the large holes.
So much to do, so little time! Next trip is not until April, but the Michigan weather does not allow for many days of exterior work!
nate
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10-27-2008, 10:49 AM
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#4
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Silver Mist
Currently Looking...
Riverhead
, New York
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,011
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From the inside you can shear the rivets off that are in the C channel, that should drop it.
Then rivet it back as it should be.
I did my floor in the same spot.
__________________
Bob
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10-27-2008, 12:08 PM
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#5
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2 Rivet Member 
1977 31' Excella 500
Emmett
, Michigan
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 27
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That will probably work! Only problem I see is that there appears to be a a slight gap between the original and overskin. Riveting back to the C channel could cause buckling of the panel when the gap is filled. We'll have to wait and see!
Nate
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11-05-2008, 05:16 PM
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#6
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2 Rivet Member 
1977 31' Excella 500
Emmett
, Michigan
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 27
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Moving along on my floor repair and I am beginning to think that this may have been done once before! I noticed that all of the floor bolts are wafer head instead of the typical elevator bolts, and It appears that the floor is closer to 1/2 than to 3/4" . What size is typical for the floor? 19/32?? Thankfully the frame is in pretty good condition. There is just two small areas of corrosion at the rear of the frame. Easy fix.
Nate
1977 31' Excella 500
Nate
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11-05-2008, 06:15 PM
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#7
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Rivet Master 
1978 31' Sovereign
Texas Airstream Harbor
, Zavalla, in the Deep East Texas Piney Woods on Lake Sam Rayburn
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,435
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nd48463
...It appears that the floor is closer to 1/2 than to 3/4" . What size is typical for the floor? 19/32??
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It is exactly 1/2".
Below is a picture of what came out of my '78 Sovereign (top), and, on the bottom, a cross section of a 1/2" 7 ply finish plywood I found at Home Depot.
It sounds as if your "exploration" of your Excella is pretty well parallelling my experiences on the '78.
'78 31' Sovereign
I had to purchase a whole sheet of the finish plywood to match up to the existing thickness of the floor, but only ended up using less than half of it. Not to fear, though, there will be ample opportunity to use it later on as you "customize" the Excella.
__________________
Dennis
"Suck it up, spend the bucks, do it right the first time."
WBCCI # 1113
AirForums #1737
Trailer '78 31' Sovereign
Living Large at an Airstream Park on the Largest Lake Totally Contained in Texas
Texas Airstream Harbor, Inc.
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11-05-2008, 06:30 PM
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#8
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Retired.
Currently Looking...
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, At Large
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,276
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Strange. Our '74 has 3/4" plywood floor. Maybe another cost-and-weight saving measure in the mid '70's.
__________________
Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.
Terry
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11-07-2008, 08:30 PM
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#9
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Rivet Master 
1973 31' Sovereign
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,255
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nd48463
That will probably work! Only problem I see is that there appears to be a a slight gap between the original and overskin. Riveting back to the C channel could cause buckling of the panel when the gap is filled. We'll have to wait and see!
Nate
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Possibly you could insert something thin to fill the slight gap before you re-rivit.
By the way my '73 also has 3/4". I knew that some models older than mine had thinner plywood but I had not heard that anything newer did.
Malcolm
__________________
Only he who attempts the ridiculous can achieve the impossble.
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