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Post by danrhodes on Jul 16, 2014 15:09:27 GMT -8
I've been lurking this place for a few weeks, since we got our little project. Can't start on it until my bathroom renovation is done, but I've been thinking a lot about how this little guy is constructed in preparation. Many of the videos showing damaged flooring repairs show it being removed from the metal chassis and replaced, but I don't have any metal to attach it to...there are just a couple 2x4 sorta floating back there (not even sure what they are attached to or why? Does this mean I will need to remove the walls and replace the whole floor in one piece?
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Post by danrhodes on Jul 16, 2014 18:36:28 GMT -8
Mobile site doesn't seem to allow image embeds, but here's a shot from the wheel backwards. It's not rotten, but the plywood is a bit delaminated, possibly slightly saggy and something I would replace if possible. imgur.com/I7iwWpa |
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jul 16, 2014 19:12:12 GMT -8
Mobile site doesn't seem to allow image embeds, but here's a shot from the wheel backwards. It's not rotten, but the plywood is a bit delaminated, possibly slightly saggy and something I would replace if possible. imgur.com/I7iwWpaWow, and I was amazed at the Shasta back end but they do have vertical angle iron in the middle and one horizontal at the back. I think I would add some if I were you.  |
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Post by danrhodes on Jul 16, 2014 19:25:31 GMT -8
Mobile site doesn't seem to allow image embeds, but here's a shot from the wheel backwards. It's not rotten, but the plywood is a bit delaminated, possibly slightly saggy and something I would replace if possible. imgur.com/I7iwWpaWow, and I was amazed at the Shasta back end but they do have vertical angle iron in the middle and one horizontal at the back. I think I would add some if I were you. Well, that's the last thing I wanted to hear. So you'd strip down to the chassis and add more frame? I have seen others on here mentioning trailers with this configuration (I think John Palmer in a thread about how they don't make them like they used to) , but nothing much on what to do about it. |
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jul 16, 2014 19:46:40 GMT -8
I'm not an expert in undercarriage. I suppose if it has lasted all these years, then it is engineered to hold its weight as is. If the floor was in good condition, I'd consider adding extra support to the frame. From the pic, it appears to me that a large percentage of the floor is rotten. In most trailers, the floor is not attached to walls and can be removed, repaired, replaced without taking all the way down. But also consider if you have that much rot in the floor, how much rot do you have behind your walls in your framing, skirting and wood panels, the things that are attached to the frame and/or hold the trailer together. Once you get a chance to take a look at the big picture, you'll be able to determine what needs to be repaired and how. Believe me, it never goes the way you plan in the beginning.
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Jul 16, 2014 19:56:35 GMT -8
I had a 1953 13' Aljoa that was built with a short frame which ended at the rear shackles. It was just a cheap way to build a "low price point" trailer. The rear of the trailer is supported by the 2 by 3 framing that is cantilevered back to the rear.
During the restoration of that trailer, I extended the rear of the steel channel framing back by two feet to properly support the rear of the trailer. I also added rear corner stabilizers, and a receiver for a bicycle rack. Since you need to replace some flooring anyway, and you would be removing the rear skin, it's not really much more in labor, or materials to do it correctly at one time. The flooring should be pulled up so you can weld the top of the channel, and keep the remaining wood floor wet so you don't catch it on fire. You can weld it with a 110v MIG welder, but a 220v MIG is better for the heavier metal. Add a couple of fish plates on the side of the frame for extra strength.
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Post by danrhodes on Jul 16, 2014 20:21:20 GMT -8
I had a 1953 13' Aljoa that was built with a short frame which ended at the rear shackles. It was just a cheap way to build a "low price point" trailer. The rear of the trailer is supported by the 2 by 3 framing that is cantilevered back to the rear. During the restoration of that trailer, I extended the rear of the steel channel framing back by two feet to properly support the rear of the trailer. I also added rear corner stabilizers, and a receiver for a bicycle rack. Since you need to replace some flooring anyway, and you would be removing the rear skin, it's not really much more in labor, or materials to do it correctly at one time. The flooring should be pulled up so you can weld the top of the channel, and keep the remaining wood floor wet so you don't catch it on fire. You can weld it with a 110v MIG welder, but a 220v MIG is better for the heavier metal. Add a couple of fish plates on the side of the frame for extra strength. Sounds like good advice, but I'm still unclear on how this lower floor can be removed with the walls in place. The lower ply seems to extend the full width of the trailer and also seems to have no seams front to back, so the walls must be resting on top, if not fully attached to the floor? Also, as I'm new to this, I see a lot of restoration is outside in, but with an area like this, you'd obviously need to remove the bed from the inside. Is there a trick to this? I've tried removing the cabinet above the dinette, but can't determine how it's even attached... No obvious screws, nails or staples from the inside. |
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Jul 16, 2014 20:40:24 GMT -8
The "most likely" way your trailer was built is the plywood floor is sitting on the frame cross members, and it has a couple of 2 by 4's nailed to the plywood floor at edges. These extend out to "almost" the end of the steel cross members. There's a "exposed end, maybe 1/2" on the cross members that supports the side wall (weight). After you remove the side skins, you will find lag screws, carriage bolts, or maybe just some huge nails that hold the side walls to the side board on the flooring. You have to look closely, but it's very doubtful that the walls are sitting on the flooring.
Just pull the rear apart, put some side supports on at a X for diagonal support, and pull up the plywood flooring. Leave the side boards in place if they are still good (very doubtful).
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Post by danrhodes on Jul 16, 2014 21:02:15 GMT -8
Argh... Now I really want to pull those skins and check this out. If I had a garage tall enough and my bathroom didn't look like this, I would be all over it this weekend imgur.com/q1G14uZIs there much I can do from the inside to get that bed out and see underneath? |
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on Jul 16, 2014 21:43:46 GMT -8
Argh... Now I really want to pull those skins and check this out. If I had a garage tall enough and my bathroom didn't look like this, I would be all over it this weekend imgur.com/q1G14uZIs there much I can do from the inside to get that bed out and see underneath? NO, Don''t take it apart from the INSIDE!
If your working on any trailer with Stick and Tin construction, it was built from the inside out. To repair it, it has to be done in "the reverse to the way it was originally assembled". Roof and rear skin come off first, then lower side skin comes off next.
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