New belly pan install

[Greg1410]

I am getting ready to install new belly pan from the freshwater take back to the bumper on my 1970 overlander. The old material was about 61 inches wide; new material from Airparts is 48 inches wide. I am thinking of installing it longitudinally with one seam. But just thought I would check to see if some thought installing it from side to side would be better.
TIA.
Greg

[dbj216]

Hello from Colorado: I've installed new belly pans on 5 Airstreams over the years. God help me. It is a hard job for me. I too buy my aluminum 5052 at .025 thick from Airparts in Kansas City. I have done all five trailers side to side, or east west as it were. I allow plenty of width to tuck under the body side wraps by several inches. Here is a couple of photos of the work in progress. I insulated with rigid foam insulation, I used a floor jack with a piece of plywood to hold the aluminum in place while I drilled and riveted it in place. I used a round "cow magnet" to locate the steel cross members for drilling, and I finally got done with the job.

David

[Bubba L]

Greg, also if you need a quick piece of aluminum, Westbrook Metals there in San Antonio has it. Talk to Chuck, he’s familiar with Airstreams. You could also ask dbj216 to run down to Boerne to supervise. Good luck