The Double Nickel Project - 1955 Flying Cloud

[MattB]

Got to get back to updating the blog and progress on the trailer after taking care of some life changes for the better.

The outer layer of insulation going in. Went with the Insulation 4Less brand reflectix-style foam foil insulation. Not sure if I believe all of their claims for R-value but I doubt it could be worse than the original once I get done. Turns out that I got a lot more than I needed. In this case it is OK, because I have a few more trailers to use it up. I intend to do as I have heard a number of others do, by installing an outer layer of the foam foil and then split of pick stuff designed for 2x4 stud walls.

I also put in a little bit of foam padding tape to help create a little gap between the skin the material. Not sure if it will help too much but I spent less than $10, so not a big waste if it does not. Had a bunch leftover from another project that I wasn’t going to use otherwise.

[MattB]

Updated floor plan drawings.

Ended up going away from the U-dinette, but added a little length on one side for additional seating and relaxing space.

I want to have radiused corners on the furniture and cabinets to help provide a more Streamline Modern look. I also think I have the layout for all the appliances in the cabinets. I feel like the lavatory is too small, but it is bigger than a number of other toilet only designs I have seen in other small trailers. In this case I am also constrained by the divider between the two side windows on the curbside over the wheel well. Went through and resolved the height issues, and will need to finish the door and drawer layout but starting to see it as it will come together.



I also contemplated a great deal whether to switch sides for the toilet and shower, but ultimately went back to my original plan. Incidentally, this leaved the shower in the same position as original.

Incidentally, I think it is most like the layout from the 1954 FC:

[MattB]

The interior wiring starts to go in. Much thanks to all those who provided input and feedback. Nothing to do now but dive in and start running wires. Learning some things about which wire type makes the most sense and where. Still using marine stranded for DC, and a great deal of attention to being well grounded and looking for simple circuits for a reductionist approach to a complex system.

Everything will be taped into place with more permanent heavy tape, but can be tacked right now for neatness. Lots of rubber grommets for the through rib routing.









I am running some heavy wire for the solar even though I am not installing right away, although I tremendously dislike drilling holes in the side (or the roof in this case). I have already ordered a clamshell cover and I will use a big glob or Trempro under the clamshell to seal the hole and hold the wires until needed.

[Bubba L]

Glad to see you back at it. Although you let me go cold turkey without your progress photos for a few months. We’ll all get there eventually.

[MattB]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

Glad to see you back at it. Although you let me go cold turkey without your progress photos for a few months. We’ll all get there eventually.

Thanks Bubba. I come from a family of persistent folks. My dad used to sign his letters, “Relentlessly yours”. We’ll get there.

[MattB]

Once most of the DC circuits have been run with minor adjustments to the plan (reducing the number of light strips which can still be added later and don’t need wall access), I mocked up a little setup for the batteries, converter, distribution panel and a few other odds and ends. The battery monitor and master switch were a little tedious to sort but otherwise straightforward.



I was able to confirm that the battery was able to get charge and put power to the distribution box. One thing to note when putting in the surge protector and a few other things: the multimeter is vital confirm what one is being told. I had to adjust the surge protector in order to ensure that it was reading the correct voltage and wouldn’t shut off. The surge protectors that plug in between the cord and shore power are definitely easier to hook up each time, but this is protected from the elements, provides a cleaner look, and doesn’t require 2+ minutes to start working. Cheap insurance.



Also, installed the outside plug so that I could finish running the last of the 120V.



Run that heater, it’s cold in the shop!

[MattB]

After all the circuits are run, I need to be methodical to check and gain confidence. Every line traced and verified with a couple more minor updates made to the plan and the runs. Short to say be tedious and time consuming.

Then to begin carefully activating the breakers for master power and the converter. Everything 12V is checked on battery and converter power.

Porch light—check


Fantastic Fan vents—check


Sconce lights--check


GFCI, and then power shop light—check



12V outlets—check


Range fan—check


Everything gets verified for current and grounding—check. Very gratifying to figure some of this out and see things work.

Only one minor shock and we’re done with the big stuff after several days of hooking up, verifying and updating.

[MattB]

Time to make the wiring neat and ready for the next layer of insulation. Incidentally, I am to learn that ordinary duct tape is not sufficient. This would take the Gorilla Tape brand heavy duty stuff. Still, it’s better than the masking tape used for temporary holding.

Wires are duct taped into place and zip tied into bundles at wall access points in order to be ready for the rest of the insulation. Measurements are all verified for access points to blend with cabinets, counters, switches. Lines run one more time to verify.

[MattB]

I finally decided to use the pink stuff for the inner layer of the insulation. Stealing the idea from Colin Hyde, and splitting 4 inch deep insulation. Apparently I can’t do math because I bought a bit too much, but I still have more trailers and other projects that require insulation, so not the end of the world.

I ended up trying liquid nails first in order to secure the insulation where it won’t naturally be held. It’s not compacting the insulation and seems to hold with a little patience and persistence.

I am not a huge fan of working with the fiberglass. It is unpleasant in almost every way.

The front and rear sections are done.

[MsRivet]

What a nice coach! I will take the next few days to catch-up on your thread. MrRivet and I are a little farther behind on our project than you are. It was nice meeting you in Hollister at Boot Camp. I know you have been inspired and pushed to the next level as we were!

Cheers!!!

[66Overlander]

I can't say exactly why, but I don't think it is a good idea to bury the paper insulation backer between the inner and outer skin. I'd be worried of it getting wet and moldy in a minor leak you might not notice right away.

[MattB]

Originally Posted by 66Overlander

I can't say exactly why, but I don't think it is a good idea to bury the paper insulation backer between the inner and outer skin. I'd be worried of it getting wet and moldy in a minor leak you might not notice right away.

Joe, I think that is a fair point, but not a huge risk. The paper itself seems to be saturated with some kind of black tar-like substance. I have removed some of the paper where possible, and I am installing some drain points that will allow any water to drain out of the walls.

My previous experience with this particular insulation is in my sauna ceiling. The sauna is built entirely out of recycled materials except for a little of this insulation and vapor barrier. After experimenting with roofing techniques and tiles and failing miserably, the roof has leaked like a sieve for too years onto this stuff. It's not a showstopper for sauna use and so have procrastinated on fixing it, but I have not had any issues with mold with this stuff in an enclosed place.

Of course all trailers still leak..

[MattB]

The interior end caps have sat a while and gained a few minor scratches and I was not satisfied with level of shine. The soda blasting had left a texture, and I have had trouble getting them where I wanted them to be. I also wanted them to be ready when the insulation was in.

I have had good success polishing in taking off oxidation with a sisal wheel and greasy brown Tripoli, and then a treated spiral sown wheel with the black compound. But I also wanted to try a more aggressive vented wheel. It ended up working a little, but in the end was a disappointment. The first picture shows a trial run on another piece of aluminum.



The center section on the front endcap is another alloy different than the rest, and it had resisted texturing. The goal is to get everything else like it. Pretty close, but not quite.





It does not respond to polishing like other ordinary patina aluminum. It ended up taking about three passes each with the brown and the black, and then some white. The coloring white actually helped more than I expected.



The pleasant discovery was that after coloring with compound, I took a flyer and tried the wool bonnet with NuFinish F9 and it started getting better still. Of course, it still another 6-8 passes to get where I was hoping, and then another 2-3 with F7 or coloring compound. Frankly, I lost track and spent way too much time on both end caps. You can even see the reflection of a Lego Movie cup that I found in the shop. Not perfectly, but with a final buff out to take care of polishing lines and any handling marks, I can embrace a little imperfection and be finished once and for all.

[MattB]

Finished the polishing of the end caps, and installation of the insulation. I can say that my disdain for the fiberglass insulation. Never again. Just hated working with it, wearing the protective gear, etc. Far from the longest task of the trailer, but miserable.

In any case, end caps going in, and then the first few pieces of the lower portion of the rear.







They went in nicely, but it is important, if you are replacing panels to refit the old panel in place to check its fit, and see what needs to be adjusted and so not replicate a mistake from the factory. I did it for the rear panels, but would relearn this lesson soon again with painful results.

The little clam style Cleco fasteners are once again literally worth their weight in gold. If you don't have them, you need them. Buy eight. Expensive but in terms of time, money and misery saved, they would be a bargain at $100 each. Not exaggerating.




Also, another lesson learned, I needed quite a bit of aluminum and had budgeted accordingly. But if you don't need to, don't buy in larger than 12' pieces or so. They can keep the protective plastic on at Airparts, rather than coming off the reel, and are profoundly easier to handle.

[goshawks00]

Looking good. I’m surprised you said buy 8 Cleo’s. I have a coffee can full of 1/8” and another with 5/32”. Maybe 50-60 in each can.

[MattB]

Originally Posted by goshawks00

Looking good. I’m surprised you said buy 8 Cleo’s. I have a coffee can full of 1/8” and another with 5/32”. Maybe 50-60 in each can.

Ha! I should clarify. Eight of the clamp style. I have several hundred of the standard 1/8” and 5/32” types. Those little clamp style ones are amazing. https://www.airpartsinc.com/735_SIDE_GRIP_CLAMP.htm

[MattB]

More progress on the interior skins. Lots of little learning points along the way.

Using the old pieces as templates. The time spent to cover one side of the aluminum, even with paper and tape it in place really did well to prevent minor scratches on the new sheets. I took a chance early on to have the original zolatone soda blasted out and it did not pay off. I was willing to give it shot because a lot of the panels were pretty chewed up, gauged, cut, corroded, with inconvenient holes. I doubt I could have used a lot of them if I had not done the media blasting. Between very small (less than ¼” in all cases changes to geometry and correcting little issues that were present when the trailer left the factor, I would have had lot of misaligned panels here and there that would not have looked right. Add in my own mistakes that exacerbated these issues, and I will soon re-do a few panels.



The bottom front panel goes in. Originally it was 12’ long all the way around the front. Not sure why, but this creates an issue. I noticed when I took it apart originally that there was a small gap in the corners at the bottom where the edge was a little bit up from the plywood where it attached to the C-channel, and there was a tight fit to one corner of the front window. This will be corrected even though it doesn’t look bad.



Very important to test fit the original window sills before attaching the panels to them. The outer framing in the walls had spring in a bit and needed to be pushed out about 1/8” to allow the sill to slide in. Made a little spacer to hold the framing in place while I attached the panels. Ended up being important on almost every opening.



Also interesting: all of the original interior skins were 7075T6 ALCLAD alloy in .032 or .025 thickness. The .032 were very rigid. Chris at Airparts, Inc. tells me that this is very difficult to buy now, and extremely expensive, being 5-6 times the price of the 2024T3 used commonly. She calls this the super alloy, no stretching, very strong, etc. Not sure why it was used on the inside of trailer to be painted over, but not the first unexplained thing I have found in the construction of this trailer.



An example of leaving the masking tape in place to prevent scratching as the panels are slid into place. I have some touch up polishing to do, but this really helped.



Finished rear end. This end came together very well, better than expected.

[MattB]

Received these as gifts, albeit on my wish list. Looking at how to incorporate these into the cabinets. I want to have a nice gas range cooktop, but don't want the standard RV oven. I don't use it enough to justify. Thinking that if I can create a shelf with a door for one or both, then I can have them if I need them, and take them out for extra storage if I don't.

[MattB]

I am behind in updating the thread, so need to catch up. Been working slowly but steadily with a number of interruptions for family events, work, camping trips, vacation, etc. And working on another trailer for a family member.

The front end cap did not go on nearly as easy. I think I might have tweaked the geometry slightly when replacing the outside corner panels. A quarter-inch can make a big difference I am learning. I ended up making one of the panels twice, as the first time, it was just requiring too much stretching and was not fitting properly. If you look closely, you can see the slight dimple and tension in some of the rivets on the first run.









By this time I had quite a few rivet holes in the original front end cap piece on the street side, but fortunately they would be hidden by the new piece. I still put in a small strip of new aluminum in behind both pieces so that I was confident that I would be riveting to fresh metal, and only two rivet holes were visible, out of very many.

[MattB]

The original deadbolt lock that I installed in the entry door was a crappy disaster, and one of the reasons I rebuilt the door a second time after fixing it initially. I ended up going with the modified deadbolt from VTS: https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com...p/vts-343c.htm. This bit is a little picture heavy, but I tried to get into detail for others. It was a little fiddly, but I was able to do it with minimal tools and a good deal of patience. It came out like a champ. Mainly one needs a drill or drill press and some hole cutting bits.

It seems to be well done, and no problems so far. In order to get it positioned just where I wanted I decided to mount it in a wooden bracket.

Disassembled:



I used a piece of scrap oak board I had approximately in 2x4 dimensions. I cut two holes initially so that I could fit the bolt and try to give it room to rotate and slide.





Then I need to add a little more play in the holes. You can see the little tab on top that move side to side on top and requires more room.







I used ordinary sheetrock screws to pin the face of the bolt on the bracket with predrilled holes to remove any play up and down or side to side on the face of the bolt in bracket.

Once I had the bolt in the bracket and functioning, I clamped it in place FIRMLY and then started building shims to brace and position exactly in place. It was a little tricky in figuring the best way with the vertical and horizontal ribs.