Replacing the bottom trim on a 1977 Airstream

[HoldenGatt]

I'll apologize right off the top if I'm not using the correct terminology but I'm looking at buying this 1977 land yacht that recently had the shell removed, frame re-built, c-channel replaced and new subfloor. But as you can see from this photo the bottom edging that might be part of the belly pan seems to be missing. Could someone confirm that indeed that seems to be missing and how much it is to replace that on the entire trailer. Thank you.

[featherbedder]

Looking at pic. looks like bottom rub rail missing and banana wraps. There is piece of rub rail w/inset on bottom of door. These 3 items are readily avble. from Out Of Doors mart and several other suppliers.

[A W Warn]

Belly wrap, bananna wrap (belly wrap corners), vinyl insert and aluminum extrusion, are missing. Maybe more!

Is the belly pan there? Are the tank covers there? Are the wheel well liners there? Was the work that was performed done correctly?

CanAm Rv in Toronto is your local Airstream dealer. If you want someone to give realistic advice, go see them.
https://www.canamrv.ca/

[HoldenGatt]

Thanks A W Warn. The seller has notified us that he has the banana wraps. There is no belly pan. Not sure the tank covers are there. The wheel well liners are there but they have cracks. So they will likely have to be replaced. Is is possible to replace those without lifting the shell off again? Is any of this possible to fix without lifting the shell off again?

Could you explain what the vinyl insert and the aluminum extrusion are? And what are the tank covers?

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by HoldenGatt

Thanks A W Warn. The seller has notified us that he has the banana wraps. There is no belly pan. Not sure the tank covers are there. The wheel well liners are there but they have cracks. So they will likely have to be replaced. Is is possible to replace those without lifting the shell off again? Is any of this possible to fix without lifting the shell off again?

Could you explain what the vinyl insert and the aluminum extrusion are? And what are the tank covers?

In the photo in your first post look at the blue strip at the bottom of the door.
The blue is a vinyl insert. It is held in place by an extruded aluminum shape. Together these two pieces of trim are call a rub rail, and some people call it a beltline.

The rub rail should extend around the perimeter of the trailer. The aluminum extrusion is riveted or screwed over the metal joint where the wall metal and belly metal meet.(the belly metal should be lapped beneath the skin to shed water, but most of the time it is not and water ends up leaking into the belly pan causing corrosion) The vinyl insert slips into grooves in the extrusion and covers all of the fasteners.

The tank cover is a surround for the water and sewer tanks. It is a heavy galvanized steel sheet metal fabrication that protects the tanks from road debris impacts. There is a layer of foam insulation inside the tank cover that keeps the liquid in the tank from freezing. From the furnace there should a small duct going through the floor into the interior of the tank cover.

Also missing are the belt line terminations. Each place there is an interruption in the rub rail there is a special cast aluminum trim.
http://odmrv.com/catalog/index.php?m...yword=beltline

If you look at the weblink above, you will see that the Airstream dealers dont have the parts, you will have to search.

[HoldenGatt]

Wow that is a lot of incredible information. Thank you Alan.

[Minno]

It might be helpful to you to take a good look at an intact Airstream from the same vintage to see what is missing. Visuals always help me!
It will be helpful to you to have intact belt trim on your door. Different eras had different configurations of belt trim, so be aware you will have to find the right style to match, or replace all leftover pieces with new to match.
On our trailer, the belly pan overlapped the wall pieces, allowing water to flow into the belly pan. When we replaced the belly pan we tucked the belly pan pieces under the wall pieces and Vulkemed (Trempro) those connections to minimize possible water intrusion wicking into the subfloor.
Those cast aluminum pieces might be hard to find...

Kay