bullseye17
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Post by bullseye17 on Apr 5, 2016 7:04:18 GMT -8
Hi My name is Tom and I just picked up a mid-60's era travel trailer (unknown manufacturer/model) to rebuild. It's 7' wide by 13' long (not including tongue). It was already mostly gutted except for walls, and was being used as a snowmobile trailer (hence the horribly built rear door). My goal is to turn it into a fairly simple trailer with a queen size bed, some storage, lighting, possibly a galley, and that's about it. I am starting out by removing all internal wall/ceiling/floor panels to see how bad the rot and water damage is. The trailer frame looks good, along with the axle, wheels, etc. The frame is rusty, but not rotted, I think some POR 15 will be in it's future. The outside panels are separating in a few places due to rot in some of the wall framing. I think my best option will be to re-skin the roof/front/back once the internal wall framing and floors are complete - which will allow me to put a proper rear galley door in (or delete the option completely, depending how how my designs align with the rear windows). I'd like to use Aluminum Composite Panels, but I'm afraid they don't make them in wide enough sheets (7'). Any thoughts? Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/thomasmarks/albums/72157666808347995/with/26161371682/If anyone recognizes this trailer in terms of make/model, I would appreciate any insights as well.
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kirkadie
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Post by kirkadie on Apr 5, 2016 7:45:54 GMT -8
Cool looking trailer Tom. Wheel well openings might be a clue to the make, so maybe google something like '1960s canned ham', click 'images', and scroll for something similar. I would be hesitant to start removing interior panels before lifting the skins to check for rot. There isn't a lot holding these things together and there are some signs of inner framing rot due to the sag seen in the curb side photo. You don't want the whole thing collapsing on you, which it WILL do if you pull inside paneling and there's nothing left of the lower framing, so take a peek under the lower skins first and see what you're up against.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Apr 5, 2016 7:51:36 GMT -8
Do you have pics of the street side, front and back? If all that's left are the walls, it is not safe to tow any distance, even if you got it home that way. If the paneling inside s looks OK, then lift the skins around the.bottom to chech fo rot. You may have to lift them all, one at a time. You can't just add near cabinetry inside because the original design if most of these trailers used the cabinetry to provide structural integrity.
Welcome to the madness!
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Ten
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70 Shasta 16SC + 1964 Airflyte
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Post by Ten on Apr 5, 2016 8:11:02 GMT -8
Hi there Tom. South of Rochester here... Welcome to the madness. That is a cool trailer in a lot of ways, with a unique set of problems. I'm betting that vintagebruce will be able to take a pretty good stab at the make and era of the trailer. It has quite distinctive wheel cutouts, and the skin with the quilted aluminum at the top is also a telltale I am sure. I know I am getting ahead here a little bit, but your framing really should be done from the outside. I know that "gutted" changes the dynamics a bit though. Just guessing here, but I would think the original layout would be something with a front dinette, a rear pull-out gaucho, most likely a galley along the streetside, and closet and storage space along the curbside, rear of the entry door. Here is a real good example of one like that, about the same size: vintagetrailertalk.freeforums.net/thread/6391/new-member-aljoa-sporstman-questionYou may want to do something along those lines rather than leaving the rear door. Of course there are other ways and with a blank canvas for starters, it leaves much to your imagination. Just spitballin' here, but if I may suggest, rather than re-skinning the roof with panels, you may be better off ordering the replacement as one sheet. This trailer looks as though you could sheet it from the break at the front window, over the top, and all the way to the bumper as one sheet. No seams, no leaks. That would get rid of the rear door altogether, taking it to a more traditional rear wall. I think it would also add to the structural strength.
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desotogal
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Post by desotogal on Apr 5, 2016 9:40:25 GMT -8
Hi Tom!
We are a couple hours south east from you in the finger lakes region. Just passed through your area hauling our 60 Shasta project last week. Best of luck on your build!
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bullseye17
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Post by bullseye17 on Apr 5, 2016 11:14:19 GMT -8
Thanks for the insight and warm welcome everyone! Nice to see some locals on here too. The interior is just about fully gutted with the exception of a couple wall panels some ceiling board. It made it through a 65 mile journey home being towed over bumpy roads without falling apart, so there's that.
I'm not really sure where to start with pulling the skins off without damaging them, but I'll see what I can do. I believe I can make some of the repairs from the interior at this point, at least to stabilize it a bit more. There is also 3-4" of snow outside right now, and it's about 15 degrees. Oof.
Also, the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards removing the rear door while re-skinning the whole top/back/front with aluminum. A galley just isn't making a lot of sense given my timeline, as well as the rear window placement, etc. I also know that what's left of the ceiling board is sandwiched between the skin and the frame on the sides, and will not come out without pulling the aluminum off.
Does anyone know where I should look to find 7' wide aluminum sheeting to re-skin this? Would you lay down 1/8" or 1/4" plywood before skinning? Currently the outer aluminum on the front/roof/back has almost nothing inside of it other than some insulation and a few random short widths of plywood. It seems like it would be preferred to have something more solid to place the aluminum against...
-Tom
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bullseye17
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Post by bullseye17 on Apr 5, 2016 11:18:32 GMT -8
Also - I should note that this is NOT a restoration. I do not care to have cabinets, appliances or dining tables. The main motivation for this project is to have a place for my wife to feel comfortable at a few different family and friends properties that we go to, all which have facilities and everything else we need. This will essentially just be a place to sleep for us.
That said, I know I'll need to build some interior structure or cabinets, etc for structure soundness, and I'll get to that, eventually. Right now I'd just like to get the main things fixed and water tight.
Do you know of any good tutorials or walkthroughs of replacing the outer skin on the front/top/back?
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kirkadie
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Post by kirkadie on Apr 5, 2016 13:35:15 GMT -8
Tutorials, eh? Mobiltec (chief, well, mobil technician and in-house videographer) will show up here soon hopefully and will direct you to exactly the video you need for just about any given project. His vids make great 2nd-cuppa coffee-in-the-morning information and entertainment for whatever project you'll face that day.
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bullseye17
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Post by bullseye17 on Apr 6, 2016 7:42:48 GMT -8
Tutorials, eh? Mobiltec (chief, well, mobil technician and in-house videographer) will show up here soon hopefully and will direct you to exactly the video you need for just about any given project. His vids make great 2nd-cuppa coffee-in-the-morning information and entertainment for whatever project you'll face that day. Wow - I've been watching some of his videos and they are fantastic. Definitely have a different mindset about how to approach this now!
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Apr 6, 2016 17:18:20 GMT -8
I don't think my videos will help you much. There's nothing in there about building your own cabinets or re-engineering the trailer. But welcome anyhow!
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bullseye17
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Post by bullseye17 on Apr 8, 2016 14:21:25 GMT -8
I don't think my videos will help you much. There's nothing in there about building your own cabinets or re-engineering the trailer. But welcome anyhow! Actually they have been helping a lot. Unfortunately, the interior was already gone when I got it. I have no problems building out the interior, and don't need much direction with that. The things I don't know much about include re-skinning the trailer, replacing floors, and replacing the framing. Your videos have been a huge help. If you or anyone can suggest any sources for 7' or 8' wide aluminum to re-skin the roof, I don't even know where to start. There are a few metal shops out this way, but I don't know if I'm going to overpay or if they will even have anything. What is going rate for aluminum in .32 or .40 in that width at standard lengths? Is it something I can order online?
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trotwood56
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Post by trotwood56 on Apr 8, 2016 14:28:40 GMT -8
I don't know about your camper but mine a few others I've seen have aluminum skin on the sides and front but galvanized steel sheet on top.
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trotwood56
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Post by trotwood56 on Apr 8, 2016 14:36:29 GMT -8
Just a thought cause its way cheaper to buy especially if your gonna paint it. I paid about twice as much for my sheet aluminum as I did for the sheet per sheet. I went to a local (Indianapolis area) steel house for mine all the shops were about the same price for sheets of steel and aluminum.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Apr 8, 2016 18:41:40 GMT -8
.32 is the best for accomplishing a fold over on the edges. Are you going to do that and use j rail or go with butted corners and cap rail?
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bullseye17
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Post by bullseye17 on Apr 8, 2016 19:57:12 GMT -8
.32 is the best for accomplishing a fold over on the edges. Are you going to do that and use j rail or go with butted corners and cap rail? What do you recommend? I'm still in information absorbing phase. I'll post more photos of it soon. I am cool with buying new trim, I don't know how salvageable it all is, so I'm open to recommendations. -Tom
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