1956 Bubble Restoration Start to Finish

[the544man]

Back and forth---I'm still toying with an idea of making a small cubby for the inside hatch access only. That was my in original plan but I changed my mind-- a few times. In that case--I would go with a frame build which would give plenty of support in the middle and give an extra dedicated interior storage spot rather than the "great room" storage. i'd lose that big space for large objects and the spare tire. I suppose i could build a adapter for the spare on the rear bumper--or strap it to my tow van roof rack. What would you guys do? I wish I could pack the bubble up to see what would really work best but that's not feasible, practical, or fun, and all the gear is not on hand yet. cheers and thanks for the input--ted

[the544man]

take a look at these vintage scounces. I'd prefer something in brushed nickel rather than chrome--but i like the smaller projection, the fact that they have a sealed shade, and they would still give some uplighting. I'm still searching for something for overhead on both sides of the dinette. Since it's just a few inches from a taller persons head--typical reading lights and bigger projection shades just won't work. I've been linked to a couple sites on the forum but i havn't been smitten by anything yet. these might be a bit too "bathroomie"? what do you think. any more ideas or suppliers? regards--ted

[flyfshr]

They look cool enough but I'll bet those glass lenses are heavy making them prone to becoming unattached and falling off. Would make a nice dent in all of your hard work just before breaking and leaving glass shards all over the floor.

Brad
FF

[craftsman]

I read thrugh the thread and didn't see mention of the species of wood used. It looks like Quartersawn White Oak to me. Looks fantastic.

[the544man]

i know what you mean on the glass. so many scounces have pointy projections coming down that would spear your head. i think that would be worse! I am converting all lighting to 12 volt so i need something that I can throw those 12 volt conversion bulbs in. it seems alot of the tiny scounces have those funky bulbs in that can't be converted. I'm thinking i need a bigger bulb. I can't think that 2 typical, say car--cabin- overhead mini bulbs would give ebough light at the front. i think i can live with 4" of projection on a light but no more. another one similar to these scounces are the "otis" on rejuvunation hardware. it's a little smaller than these but not much.

[the544man]

mr craftsman--yes you're right on the quartersawn oak. the classic look for a bubble bungalow right. cheers

[craftsman]

My favorite wood. I have a very nice stash of some full 1"X12-15"X 12' boards I bought about 3 years ago. Also a couple of large blocks of Ebony that I use to peg tenons. I've built a lot of Craftsman Style furniture over the years. You can use Ammonia to fume it. By leaving the wood unfinished and putting a couple of trays of Ammonia in an enclosed space with your cabinets it will darken the wood from a light rich Brown color all the way to an almost Black/brown depending on the length of exposure. That was the original Craftsman finish and one that I still use. The woodwork in your Bubble looks great.

[the544man]

hello again friends,
schools back in session and i bet you all are running around too. but we had another beautiful day in oregon so i pulled the bubble out after work, hooked up the new battery to the water pump, filled the gravity fed water tank and performed the first test. No leaks at the tank! then no leaks in the fittings, but alas one tiny weep from one of the union joints. I retaped it and tightened it up and all is well. The water pump works when it's supposed to, shuts off when shore water is turned on, the sink seal holds, and no leaks in the drain. Sweet! That made for a great end of the day! I couldn't wait till spring to test the water system as I want to permantly screw the cabinetry down and finish the electrical runs. And I couldn't take not knowing anymore!

On to the next thing--I have a 12 volt question for you guys. If I run my battery to a ground on the frame (along with my ground busses) for the 12 volt accesories, will that cause any storage non-usage drain? It doesn't seem necessary to ground the battery since the 12 volt system is a closed system, except the battery receives a charge and tending from the converter. What do the experts say on this?

have a great day and talk to you soon--TED

[the544man]

I've finally found the 12 volt switches I want to use and had 2 bezels custom made out of aluminum and lazer scripted. I cut a small hole in the wall next to the interior door and mounted it at a comfortable height. Just so you know--I found right angle and insulated lowprofile wire connectors that work with the wire I'm using. I had to have them do to the thickness of the trailer wall and switch assembly. typical connectors make the assembly too wide to fit in the trailer wall depth. I never knew they even made connectors like this. I just made it! Here's a pic of the illuminated carling switch that will control my cabin lights. It will light up green when on.


the bezel for my other 12 volt switches.

Lighted Switches for my vent fan, a circulation fan for the fridge, h20 pump, and hatch lights. I wanted to be able to know if my 3 year old turns stuff on without me knowing!

Here's a pic of the "guts" for the Progressive Dynamics all in one unit. I'm running my shore power into a 30 amp breaker, the PD unit powers itself through the the first installed 20 amp breaker, and then I'm running my exterior outlet, and interior duplex outlets through seperate 20 amp breakers. I have one free spot for future needs. the middle part of this unit houses all of the 12 volt power and fuses.

[ddstech]

You have out done yourself again.

Matt

[the544man]

thanks matt--someone said that "beauty's in the details" --i want to agree.

[the544man]

My suggestions to everyone: buy a big roll of 12 gauge wire from lowes and use a label maker when you run all of your wiring. It makes for an easy trouble free/no brainer when you install everything into the fuse box. The fuses are in and all of the 12 volt switches and accesories checked out--sweet! Now I can buy my cabin and hatch lights.

I ran the outlet wiring and a cabin light wire under the dinette seat...and behind the fridge cabinet I have 2 big conduits: one full of 12 gauge wires and the other the outlet wiring. I've got one more outlet to hook up and that will be ready to test.

I tried the cheap nylon battery tie downs that come with batteries and tossed it quickly. I like my own much better. It's really easy to bend some alluminum and insulate it with a thick piece of rubber molding on the backside. I used 8 gauge wire to my converter and 12 volt ground bus.

I highly recomend the Kreg jig system for holding cabinet and braces down. They're very easy to use and you get a clean finish. After you drill--remoove the blue jig and screw it down--simple. This is the upper cabinet that will be screwed down soon.

[Dave Park]

As a cabinetmaker, I am a HUGE fan of the kreg jig system. I have two full sets, but one is missing the guide. My Dad is a (retired) Irish cabinet maker, and he taught me the old school ways of assembling cabinets for boats. Even back then, they used a similar jig system, though they were always homemade one-offs.

It's probably the best $150 or so you can buy. Make sure you get the in-hole clamp - get an extra!

When drilling for Airstreams, ignore the depth guide and gut for 1/4" thinner material, then use a 1/4" longer screw for more bite. Also, remember to use the fine threaded screws in hardwood, but use the wide threaded screws going into ply, MDF or etc. Tightbond II wood glue has the best characteristics for the Airstream environment.

If I keep this up, the forum mods will probably ask me to become a professional/commercial member, since that does seem to be a part of my work these days.

One thing I have started is making balsa 1:12 scale models of a lot of the furniture found in Airstreams (photos in the new year - I'm not finished yet) so people can easily template and see in real space how things can fit together.

[ddstech]

The right angle drill has proven to be priceless for me. I am also a big fan of the kreg system. It has taken a lot of complexity out of projects without sacrificing strength.

[Dave Park]

The one way I don't like to use the kreg jig, the one weak join it does is shelves into side walls when using chipboard or MDF. I always do a light dado in those cases, just to distribute the load into the side wall. With MDF each screw in that orientation and loading can only support around 30-50 lb. In an Airstream on the road, the load can push down on the shelf with transients of 1.5G to 2G, and over time it can fail with a load of around 15 lb per screw. For our needs, a dado provides a stronger, more durable and more rigid joint with those materials.

[the544man]

hey dave (and others), I secured my cabinets to the floor with screws and they are very sturdy. And when I build my rear bed they will get more support at 16 " up so they're definitely not going to move or rock over the bumps. however I'm trying to figure out how i want to add extra strength to the small cabinet that sits on top of my fridge counter. I'll first kreg them into the 3/4" plywood countertop where it sits but I want to add some type of brace to the top of the cab (on the inside) so it doesn't stress things over time. also, based on where the cab is placed I don't "see" an alluminum rib to go through at the very top inside where I'd like too. so i'll have to be creative. have any ideas? I feel that I have to attatch some type of brace to a rib wherever I find one behind the cab--even if way lower than desired. You can see the top cab picture on i think it would be page 3 of my thread here. Any thoughts are appreciated. best regards.

[flyfshr]

As for the upper cabinet, can you run an oak cross piece along the inner top and then secure that to a rib? Is there a rib behind this cabinet at all?

Brad
FF

[the544man]

I had a few hours to work today and made some progress. I put the final hardware on the lower hatch and door and finally brought the drawers back in the trailer and installed them for good.

I also finished the last few things on the electrical and all checked out perfect. I used an outlet tester to make sure everything was sweet before going hot with something in the duplexes.

And I tested the 12 volt stove igniter, opened the propane and click click click--I'm cooking in grease! It's a great feeling to get the 12 volt and shore power electrical all done!

So you can see the 12 volt cabin light switch illuminating green. With everything up and running--I have the converter tending the battery and put a couple tap lights to all of the light wires to test them.


before i go--this is just a shot from under the other cab before I put its drawers back in so I have a record of my conduits and power. The yellow line is going to the 2 duplex outlets in the upper cab and the orange line is going up into the wall--to the 12 volt vent fan.

for some reason i can't delete this duplicate picture-sorry about that-have a great night friends!

Now i've got to find some money and buy 4 cool (12 volt compatible) lights for the cabin. something definitely in brushed nickel and the two over the dinette have to be very low profile. The one by the stove cab might be a reading type.

Cheers and Merry Christmas friends! Ted

[the544man]

yes flyfisher,
i was finally able to locate a rib. i drilled a small instpection hole out of sight behind the cab and used my fish tape. So the top cab is in today and "kreg-ed" to the countertop with 12 screws and then i added 2 small metal braces inside the top attatched to the wall inside the cab. all is well.

[the544man]

I decided to put in an 18" deep x 48" wide divided hatch under the rear bed. I realized that this was a great functional way of providing extra support in the middle and making a neat and clean dual cubby storage spot accessable from the inside. And--I still have room to fit in a spare tire from the rear external hatch so i'm commited and just screwed it all in tonight.



I made a mock-up bed shape using cardboard. I'll probably have to trim it down a 1/4" or more on the plywood itself because that's going to be an awkward tight fitting puzzle piece to fit in-- Especially since the sides of the trailer slope. Then a nice 3 1/2" finish piece will get installed along the front of the bed to be a lip for the mattress and keep things looking tidy.


Ps--i want to encourage all of you who are doing water and electrical from scratch. first of all it's not brain surgery. A good book from lowes helps a lot. But ....it takes much longer to accomplish everything because everything has to be calculated out, run through, around, above, beside all the cabinetry, walls, floors, and ceiling, etc. I had the cabinets done a long time ago but because you need constant access behind everything--I just last week got everything screwed down for good. Also-when you use the best materials--it costs a lot more than you think too. However-- Airstream rebuilding is definitely a great creative outlet. I'm having a good time doing this. I'm right at the 9 month point.