When lacking a floor to make a template...

[JrnymnJay]

How to I get the right shape for my floor replacement?

The C channel is *gone* on some areas of the rear and front curves of my '56 Overlander. The floor is also gone in those areas, there was nothing to salvage for making a pattern from.

Am I going to have to 'wing-it' in getting the shape of the floor right once I get the shell back on the new floor? From what I can tell, the shell has some distortion sag from sitting on a rotten perimeter for several years.

The feeling I get is to leave the new floor wood panels long and let the shell settle on top of it. Then kind of "de-stress" the shell by pushing in/out areas that are out of line.

Or should I just put new C channel down and make sure it is straight and just make the shell meet up with those straight edges?

Jay

[Inland RV Center, In]

Jay. Make the new floor larger and "wing it." The curved floor channels that match the contour of your Airstream are no longer available.

Andy
inlandrv.com
airstreamparts.com

[74Argosy24MH]

A large sheet of cardboard works great, much cheaper than plywood.

John

[BobbyW]

So Jay;

What is your "Game Plan" now. Was the shell badly damaged from your little upset? I guess some temporary tie downs will be in order.

-BobbyW

[InsideOut]

JrnymnJay ~

From the tone of your comments with your photo posts, it looks like you at least kept your sense of humor with this whole mishap! I hope the damage isn't major ~ hang in there!

Shari

[Pahaska]

Some years ago, I disassembled my 2-place Slingsby glider and went home overnight, leaving the wings sitting on some scrap 2x4s laying flat on the grass. These big aluminum wings weighed over 250# each and I never had a worry about them staying right where four of us placed them.

Next morning, they were both piled up against a barb wire fence about 40 feet away. A friend who had camped overnight at the field said he never even heard wind during the night. Fortunately, the only damage was paint scratches.

That left me with a lasting respect for securing anything large that the wind can get to.

[JrnymnJay]

I've definitely kept my sense of humor through all the mishaps...it's easy to do when I can stay focused on the vision I have for my Airstream.

The shell wasn't damaged too badly...the whole structure is very resilient. I only have one seam rupture and denting near the roof on the curb side back by the window. It broke two plastic windows and one glass window, but all the windows were getting some kind of treatment anyway.

The occasion did make me consider again the idea of shortening the length of my trailer. 26 ft H2B (hitch to bumper) but the shell interior length is 22.5 ft. I'm thinking of shortening it by one or two sections in the rear--which would be about 3 to 6 ft I think.

I'm just toying with the idea because of the stage everything is in and it would be easy to shorten the chassis to correspond with the shell. I'm also considering future resale value---the shorter trailers sell for quite a bit more and have a potentially larger market with towability.

But overall, the game plan is to just keep moving ahead with the restoration. The shell held up its shape and everything that happened is quite repairable.

on to triumph!