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Old 10-08-2006, 08:25 PM   #21
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Good ideas!

CaliAnn,

I think you've got some very good ideas. I was considering two of them myself. I've got a 31 footer that I was considering altering the floor plan to a rear bedroom. I was also considering the idea of bigger tanks (all three) and transfer pumps to do exactly as you've stated.

You go girl!

Oh yeah, I paid $2500 for mine and discovered it's got some sags. I'm planning a new frame for mine next spring/summer. I'm going to make it deeper and stronger, with larger tanks. So, like you, I'm tearing it down to the nuts and bolts. Like Steve Austin, I'll build it better, stronger, faster

Good luck with it!
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Old 10-08-2006, 08:27 PM   #22
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I suggest you rent the local public pool for a month or two, over-chlorinate it by about 10,000% and submerse this trailer in its entirety for that entire time. Then, when your time is up and it is time to remove it, rent it for another 2 months and leave it in there a little longer!

Seriously, you are ambitious souls - you should post your before and after photos on the October photo contest string, and then post the real "after" photo in next October's photo contest string.
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Old 10-08-2006, 08:40 PM   #23
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1968 30' Sovereign
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Over59
You must spray all surfaces with a Clorox solution as you go. This is especially so given your location. I used a garden sprayer. A cup per gallon is plenty. Never mix with or let this contact ammonia as you will get Chlorine gas, not good, very very bad. Spray good and close it up for a few hours then air out. Be careful pulling up the floor and getting into the walls. The belly pan will be full of stuff, it is not dirt.... Soak it good... Great project.
How are the axels? This can be a big money item. I trust you know this will cost you more than buying one in very good condition.
Oh, we do know it will cost us more, in the long run, than buying one in good condition. However, while we can afford spending a few hundred dollars per month on materials (what I can't find at severe discounts, that is), we cannot afford to lay down several thousand dollars at one time for one that is decent condition.

We will know about the axels when the floor is out and the pan is dropped. We *do* know that the curb-side rear wheel was frozen before we moved it. How much damage there is remains to be seen. And yes, they *are* big money items. Try replacing one on a tractor!

The good thing is that most of the work, except the electrical wiring (have a family friend for that), we can do ourselves. Therefore, we are pretty much only putting out for materials and appliances.

The appliances (except for water and waste tanks) we will likely be getting from used marine supply stores......and we know ALL of those to hit. *chuckles*

As for bleaching the bejeebers out of it and closing it up, allowing the fumes to penetrate and kill most everything, there are a couple of difficulties with that:

1. The A.S. is currently missing four windows; it cannot be closed up.
2. I am allergic to chlorine.

Oh, on the warning about mixing cleansers, you forgot to mention some other possible by-products of the mixture:

A. A lot of bleach, a little ammonia: Nitrogen trichloride. (NCl3) Highly explosive.
B. A lot of ammonia, a little bleach: Hydrazine. (N2H4) Thermally reactive and explosive.

So, by mixing the two, I can not only cause my lungs to disintegrate; I can also blow myself sky high and burn myself to smithereens.

That doesn't sound like a productive way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

For now, we're going to take our chances with respirators and nitrile gloves.

Peace,
Caliann

*The knows far to much about chemical reactions Mrs. Merlyn*
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Old 10-08-2006, 08:45 PM   #24
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1968 30' Sovereign
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dbradhstream
I suggest you rent the local public pool for a month or two, over-chlorinate it by about 10,000% and submerse this trailer in its entirety for that entire time. Then, when your time is up and it is time to remove it, rent it for another 2 months and leave it in there a little longer!
**** *chuckles* It's a thought, but *I* can't even go into a public pool...I turn into the pink-polka-dotted-monster (who itches like crazy), therefore, submersing it in chlorine is out. All of the bleaching of things thus far has been done by my darling and wonderful mother...and I can barely stand the *smell* of it.

Perhaps I could submerge it in a industrial tank of peroxide?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dbradhstream
Seriously, you are ambitious souls - you should post your before and after photos on the October photo contest string, and then post the real "after" photo in next October's photo contest string.
*grinz* The better half already posted them there, I do believe. *chuckles* Perhaps we'll get an "honorable mention"?

Peace,
Caliann
*who wonders how much 20,000 gallons of peroxide will run her?*
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Old 10-08-2006, 09:00 PM   #25
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1968 30' Sovereign
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimGolden
CaliAnn,
***** Oooops, I had better explain that up front, before I meet anyone in person and we all get embarressed and mumbly at a rally or something:

My name is Caliann. It is pronounced "KAY-lawn". My grandmother was Irish-Gaelic, so it has that pronounciation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimGolden
I think you've got some very good ideas. I was considering two of them myself. I've got a 31 footer that I was considering altering the floor plan to a rear bedroom. I was also considering the idea of bigger tanks (all three) and transfer pumps to do exactly as you've stated.

You go girl!

Oh yeah, I paid $2500 for mine and discovered it's got some sags. I'm planning a new frame for mine next spring/summer. I'm going to make it deeper and stronger, with larger tanks. So, like you, I'm tearing it down to the nuts and bolts. Like Steve Austin, I'll build it better, stronger, faster

Good luck with it!
Bigger, stronger, faster, more elegant, smarter, prettier and with satellite internet connectivity!

Oh, for those of you that want to get WyFi in your Airstream, to take advantage of the growing number of RV parks offering the service: It doesn't work unless you have an *exterior* antenna! Airstreams are fully encased in aluminium, which disrupts WyFi transmission. Please do not call the harried support technicions and scream at them because you can't get online UNTIL AND UNLESS you have an exterior WyFi signal antenna. Then, if you still have problems, call them, but don't scream.

(Just a friendly reminder from your neighborhood geek.)

Peace,
Caliann
*The Mrs. Merlyn*
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Old 10-08-2006, 09:30 PM   #26
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1968 30' Sovereign
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Wallpaper?

We're going to have to take out the inner skins on this job, of course, so after searching faithfull through the forums (I really, REALLY did!), I have some questions about other ideas:

The vinyl coating on the inside (the end-caps are fiberglass or plastic, and seem perfectly white) are horribly, horribly stained by God-knows-what. Yes, I will probably dip them in vats of purple stuff to clean them...but what about afterwards?

There is some truely gorgeous, watered silk wallpaper in a champagne that I would LOVE to put over that vinyl....but, is that something that is doable?

I was only able to locate one thread on putting wallpaper over the vinyl...and there was nothing on whether they succeeded or not. All the rest of the threads that the search provided that mentioned wallpaper at all were on getting it OFF the wood (an understandable desire).

The watered silk with the bamboo floors and, possibly, bamboo dividing walls, would give the interior a very nice Oriental look, don't you think?

Would someone, pretty please, tell me, "Oh, certianly you can put wallpaper on the interior skin...", and fulfill my modest dreams?

Peace,
Caliann

*The Mrs. Merlyn*
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Old 10-09-2006, 04:00 AM   #27
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1956 30' Sovereign of the Road
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Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't know why you couldn't wallpaper over vinyl or anything else. I think the point is doing the right kind of prep work and using the right kind of adhesive. Check with with your friendly Homey D or or your local Sherwin Williams. I know there are specialty adhesives designed for papering over different surfaces. I remember years ago seeing a feature on something like HGTV where they covered the walls of an old Silver Clipper with batting and fabric. Kind of gives a whole new meaning to "padded cell".
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Old 10-09-2006, 07:04 AM   #28
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Sewer Choice and Wallpaper

Your ideas seem workable, let us see.

We have a cut-in or cut-out on our septic system so a visiting trailer can hook up the trailer's waste drain to our waste system, We hook up a water hose, plug in the extension cord and connect the septic. They can do whatever and do not bother us. It works great. Hint: when it is time fot the visitors to go, cut the water and electric. Wait on the septic.
As an owner of a tankless water heater and 3 teens, consider that the interior space is small and during the long luxury showers the water will serve to steam the wallpaper unless venting is very strong, Add to that when breathing each body gives off 1 to 2 liters of water as moisture per day that will condense on the cold walls.
We have rear bath with mid-twins, a bad combo in my mind also. The costs of a change to rear queen, mid bath might be prohibitive but it does work on paper. The 22' CCD has a great mid bath for example.

R
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Old 10-09-2006, 01:43 PM   #29
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1968 30' Sovereign
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Floor...subfloor?

So...I have spent hours on the search feature, going through thread after thread to see if someone else has already asked my question, and it doesn't seem like anyone has...so I'll ask here.

The Idea: Use 1"x8" Cypress tongue-in-grove planks for the underfloor *instead of* plywood, marine plywood, signboard, honey-combed aluminium, etc.

Pros: Cypress doesn't rot. Ever. If I wanted to, I could get cypress planks that have been under water for the last century. It has darn little expansion. Its strength, flexibility, compression ratios, etc., etc. outstrip pine plywood....also, I can just fine sand and poly-urethane it, and I will have a nice, hardwood floor without extra covering. (either carpet, pergo or hardwood) It is, of course, much easier to work than a normal hardwood, being classified as somewhere between a hardwood and a softwood. It is much less porous than pine.

Cons: You tell me. Why can't I use planks? Why is this a bad idea?

Demolition goes on. Pictures this evening of the empty hulk of the A.S. Floor comes out tomorrow, so we will know what the frame looks like....and if this Monty goes on, or if I am putting a large amount of A.S. parts up for sale. (If the frame is absolutely shot, there is no reason to attempt a restoration. If the frame is salvagable, we go on.)

Peace,
Caliann

*The tired, filthy, sweaty, itchy Mrs. Merlyn*
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Old 10-09-2006, 02:04 PM   #30
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1968 30' Sovereign
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fastrob
Your ideas seem workable, let us see.

As an owner of a tankless water heater and 3 teens, consider that the interior space is small and during the long luxury showers the water will serve to steam the wallpaper unless venting is very strong, Add to that when breathing each body gives off 1 to 2 liters of water as moisture per day that will condense on the cold walls.
I was considering doing the bathroom (or at least the bath/shower room, if we do a split mid-bathroom) in something a little more ...substantial....than wallpaper for just that reason.

More along the lines of a tasteful showerboard or....if I can find something that will work, a thin, curved tile. I'm not sure about that yet, as I haven't researched the interiors on bathrooms for an A.S. yet.

Heck, I might just resin-ize the whole dang thing and inlay capece and abalone shell mosaics. *grinz*

Long, hot showers are a necessity. Figuring out how to make them happen without damaging anything is the more difficult part. I am sure there is a way, I just haven't come across it yet.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fastrob
We have rear bath with mid-twins, a bad combo in my mind also. The costs of a change to rear queen, mid bath might be prohibitive but it does work on paper. The 22' CCD has a great mid bath for example.
The costs would *certainly* be prohibitive....if we weren't already going to replumb, re-pipe and re-wire everything already. Propane lines, water lines, waste lines and wiring *all* have to be re-done. I'm not risking myself or my hubby to rat-chewed wiring, corroded copper propane lines....or, for that matter, oxidized waste pipes.

BUT, since all that has to be done *anyway*, if we're going to move rooms around, this is a good time to do it.

The CCD midbath is certianly sweet...and efficient. Would it hurt your feelings if I said I have my heart set on a split bath? Not so much for luxury as for functional reasons. If I gotta go, I am not fooling around. And my innards don't want to wait for the better half to get out of the shower.

Peace,
Caliann
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Old 10-09-2006, 03:34 PM   #31
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Progress!

Woo hoo!

Well, she's gutted. Stem to stern, the only things left of the interior are the parts I couldn't figure out how to remove- the toilet, the furnace and the hot water heater.

Couple of interesting finds. I found one of the origional gas lamps under the streetside bed. Under the bathroom counter down beside the toilet I found the last one to challenge the rat for ownership of the trailer- an opossum. A very VERY dead opossum. Least it doesn't stink any more.

Anywho, I will take pictures once I get it swept out and presentable and post 'em up.

Merlyn
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Old 10-09-2006, 06:25 PM   #32
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Here we go- a couple quick pictures, before I go soak in the shower for a week or so:

1: All geared up and ready to work:


And proof that I didn't waste my day off:




I broke some of the floor out, and the frame looks WAY better than I expected, so far. Especially since I pulled the sections of floor up by hand :: chuckle ::

Tomorrow- We drag off all the crap I pulled out.

Merlyn
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Old 10-09-2006, 06:33 PM   #33
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Plywood will act, when appropriately fastened to the frame, like a "monolithic" panel, which is necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the overall design. The individual boards on a steel frame would never be able to provide the structural "panel" required to resist the lateral forces.

A side note: In houses they use to lay the individual boards at a diagonal (at least in California) and because you had repetitive wood joists to nail into you could get "shear value" out of the system. Unless you never move the trailer again, it would be a bad idea to use the 1x8's.
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Old 10-09-2006, 07:46 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkR
Plywood will act, when appropriately fastened to the frame, like a "monolithic" panel, which is necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the overall design. The individual boards on a steel frame would never be able to provide the structural "panel" required to resist the lateral forces.
MarkR
So, what you are saying is that if I can find a way to place the planks under compression on the x-axis, I would be able to use them, as they would be exerting force against the C-channel?

How much exertion of force is necessary to maintain the integrity? 5 foot pounds per inch? 10?

Peace,
Caliann

*who is getting out her calculator*
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Old 10-09-2006, 09:24 PM   #35
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. . . since the overall design counts on the fact that the floor is a diaphram and that there our "outriggers" instead of a structural frame related to the perimeter body shape (so that the diaphram is essentially cantilevered out to the edges) . . . that it would be nearly impossible, in the real world, to resolve the forces created by a ride down the road with individual planks. i'm not an engineer but i think i have a pretty good idea how airstreams, at least vintage ones, are "held together". i'm sure there are engineers around here that could articulate it differently . . . or even disagree with me. and perhaps there is a "structural scheme" out there that could utilize the 1x8's but i think it would be fundamentally different than what you started with.

great progress.
MarkR
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Old 10-10-2006, 09:19 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Caliann
......

The CCD midbath is certianly sweet...and efficient. Would it hurt your feelings if I said I have my heart set on a split bath? Not so much for luxury as for functional reasons. If I gotta go, I am not fooling around. And my innards don't want to wait for the better half to get out of the shower.

Peace,
Caliann
Hurt my feelings? Funny. JCFERGUSON made a nice bath, check it out.
We all appreciate good thinking, a split bath is a way to consolidate the grey water on one side, kitchen sink and shower, and on the other side only the toilet right over the tank.
Or you could make the bath big enough to shower with your better half.
I will try to keep the piping on one side, in one place, keeping it short and simple, just like me.
R
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Old 10-11-2006, 08:12 PM   #37
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Just curious, any update on the rat yet? If the cats get him first I think Merlyn should wrestle him away, salvage the body, and run with it to the local taxidermist. Quite a conversation piece he could be!
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Old 10-11-2006, 08:19 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkR
Plywood will act, when appropriately fastened to the frame, like a "monolithic" panel, which is necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the overall design. The individual boards on a steel frame would never be able to provide the structural "panel" required to resist the lateral forces.

it would be a bad idea to use the 1x8's.
MarkR
I agree, have you considered fiberglassing the floor?

See this
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Old 10-11-2006, 08:43 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MerlynGraves
Here we go- a couple quick pictures, before I go soak in the shower for a week or so:
You are brave my friend...VERY brave! Can't wait to see the progress.
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Old 10-11-2006, 10:02 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fastrob
Hurt my feelings? Funny. JCFERGUSON made a nice bath, check it out.
We all appreciate good thinking, a split bath is a way to consolidate the grey water on one side, kitchen sink and shower, and on the other side only the toilet right over the tank.
Or you could make the bath big enough to shower with your better half.
I will try to keep the piping on one side, in one place, keeping it short and simple, just like me.
R
If I was in position providing opportunity to do such overhaul, go w/2 person shower. How could you ever regret. You've already mentioned long shower neccesity for marriage longevity...what could make a shower longer...can't wait to look at JCFERGUSON'S bath... hope its gotta a hot tub..JK
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