Where to put the skins???

Apr 11, 2014 7:01:14 GMT -8 JimD said:

So a lot of you pull the skins to do your resto.... Question do you do one side at a time?? pull all the skins?? AND... Where do you put the skins as your working on the camper? My 64 Beeline Wasp will be inside my barn luckily and PLAN on pulling the skins to do it right  ... just trying to figure out where to put them... hang them? stack them? Lean them?   

Jim

Assuming your planning on re-using the old skins.......it really does not matter if you remove all or just some at a time.  Sometimes you need to leave some side skin on for a pattern, until you see how much edge wood is missing.  It all has to come off eventually.  But the roof skin (same as front and rear skins) needs to be "removed first". The single "most important" thing to do is to straighten the roof edge and make it "completely flat", before you try to lift or move it. This will prevent tears in the metal as you move it around.

I work solo without helpers, and usually do not take the roof skin down off the trailer during a rebuild.  After you fully straighten the edge, I just roll the roof skin back over itself "clamp it with wood blocks", rebuild one end of the trailer, then reverse the process for the other half.  Just make sure the skin is secured to the trailer in case a wind comes up.

I use "autobody hammers and dolley's" to straighten my skin edges.  Others have used wide grip pliers.