Ten
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70 Shasta 16SC + 1964 Airflyte
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Post by Ten on Jul 23, 2015 12:05:58 GMT -8
Amen and amen.
The simplest jobs look like the simplest jobs, until you see what you are working with. Trailer builds are not like house builds, and gutting is the last thing one should consider. Once you take away the structural integrity it becomes impossible to perceive where it came from in the first place. Ross is right on your other thread, take the time to do it RIGHT, rather than the time to do it AGAIN.
I know it does not mean much to those that are starting out and anxious to get going, but "camping will always be there, even when your camper is ready for it". It is obviously difficult to plan work when you don't have the space and the indoors for it, but rushing through will cause you more problems in the long run. When you start to open things up you will really see why the advice is always to work from the outside in. It is possible to do patchwork from inside, but they aren't built like a house, they are put together just opposite of what you might expect, and lots of components of the structure, like the floor, are layered over, and tough to get at without a LOT of removal of stuff you were not counting on first.
Don't panic....explore. The more you know going in, the less scary it is when you get to her guts. One of the largest things I have had to deal with is my poor carpentry skills, and I still have some success... by knowing what to expect. So do take some time through some of the restoration threads and time to read some blogs....the information that you can gain in an evening of looking at pictures can be an absolute mental Xanex....the more you know what it is you see when you are looking at it, the easier to get through the process.
I hope the words of encouragement help. I say all this because I have seen some absolutely horrible cover-ups be passed off as restorations, and then seen some really frightening results. Patience is an absolute virtue with these ole gals. They need the TLC done right to last for another 45-55 years. my goal is always to have the camper outlive me...
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Post by bucketheadmn on Jul 23, 2015 19:29:47 GMT -8
Well it is going to be a work in progress that is for sure - thanks for the words of encouragement! And while we thought that we would just be doing some surface things and get out camping we are rolling with the punches - not rushing anything. I am going to use this thread to update my progress and keep a running update with visuals on where I am at. Of course throughout the process I am sure I will be starting other threads with specific questions. Any feedback or thoughts anyone has please speak up and let me know!! Today was the big day that I cut into the floor after finding a couple of rotted places (this is looking at street side with rear on the right and closet wall to the left just out of picture): Turns out that not as much of the back flooring is as rotted as I thought it was. I am not sure what they are called, but the 2x2's that the carriage bolts go through the metal bottom are rotted out on each side and the back - so I need to replace those. I am hoping that the carriage bolts come out ok and can put new ones in through the 2x2's that I replace - looks this needs to be done from the inside as they were in front of the wall panels. I went slow today and did not end up removing all the floor in the back today. However, I am going to finish cutting out the rest of the floor in the back tomorrow so it is a single sheet that I use to replace the floor. And after looking at some pictures that vikx pointed out on one of his previous builds that had a metal belly - I lucked out there, no big damage as there and most of the supports was still good, only the outer 2x2's in front of the walls are shot it seems.. Here is where I ended the day at: We are going to wait until I slide the skin up and see what is on the back of the paneling before deciding to keep or replace it - it would be very nice to keep it and be able to paint it. Looking at it from the inside there is some big time water damage on the bottom and some rot - though looks like a coat of Kilz would help with that if we keep the walls. Thoughts and concerns for moving forward: -How do I fix and replace the bad wood that is directly under the closet wall (pic below shows closet wall on the left) - maybe I just leave it and with good plywood flooring next to it the floor will be ok?
- Also - how will I lay down new flooring evenly throughout the camper with a new floor in the back and keeping the original floor in the front....will need to get that figured out.
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Post by bucketheadmn on Jul 25, 2015 19:21:15 GMT -8
Big day today. Started out with just planning on propping up one side - did not realize that our Airflyte has top and bottom skins so actually took the bottom skin off on the curb side: Not as much bad wood as I thought there would be. Most of it is right above the wheel well. It should not be too bad to replace and repair here. My only concern is the floor inside and maybe cutting that out as it is in the closet and such a small part. Kept plugging away and took of a couple of panels of the back as well: Did have a bit of a rain scare so had to run to home depot to pick up some tarps. I really did not want to have to work with tarps, but there was nothing that I could do today to get everything dried in before the end of the day. Also looks like rain tomorrow with some thunderstorms on Monday. I tried putting the tarps on such that all I have to do is 'roll' them to the top to work each day. I am a bit nervous that the tarps will not hold up to any strong winds - they are up there with duct tape currently. One on the side with skin off, one on the back, and another over the whole top of the camper.
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Post by vikx on Jul 25, 2015 21:49:30 GMT -8
Grab yourself some cheap ratchet straps from Harbor Freight or similar. You can wrap them around the entire trailer and tie it all down.
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Post by bucketheadmn on Jul 29, 2015 5:45:46 GMT -8
I ended up buying some rope and using that - much more cost effective than ratchet straps that I would not use again. The rope has ended up working well - couple of days of rain and it stayed dry inside. What a pain to remove the tarps to start to work and then put back when done. I have been plugging away and have one side pretty much done! All rot has been cut out and replaced with new solid wood (before picture in a previous post): The part around the wheel well was the worst - it was like Shasta went staple happy. It took me over an hour just to remove all of the staples from the underside so I could put new wood in!! Also my minimal carpenter skills were on full show when replacing the wheel well wood - a much better job could have been done by others, but I got it done. The underside metal did not wrap all the way around the new plywood I put in there so I ended up screwing directly into the trailer and a couple went through the wheel well (will be putting some roofing sealer on the inside on the wheel well to help waterproof it), and a couple ended up on the inside of the closet as well.....ooops! I did use gold screws with some of the heads on the outside so they would be up against the skin - I reused some of the old putty from the door and windows I have taken out to cover the heads. Not sure if the gold screw would react with the aluminum skin, but figured better safe than sorry. I not have a chance to work on her for over a week so I am not going to take the other side skin off yet, one less thing to worry about when it rains. I am hoping in the next couple of days that I can get the inside rear floor framed back up and maybe a new sheet of plywood put in. I will then be putting down some peel and stick tiles to even the rear floor up with the rest so we can put in VCT.
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RinTin
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Post by RinTin on Jul 29, 2015 6:05:42 GMT -8
I have great respect for those who manage their projects under tarps. Minimal skills is all it takes, as long as you take the time to do it right. Lookin good. So tell us, how do you now feel about doing the repairs from the outside versus the inside?
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Post by bucketheadmn on Jul 29, 2015 6:41:19 GMT -8
I have great respect for those who manage their projects under tarps. Minimal skills is all it takes, as long as you take the time to do it right. Lookin good. So tell us, how do you now feel about doing the repairs from the outside versus the inside? Much easier to work from the outside, especially with all of the skirt boards being rotted. The curb side has not been so bad -I am much more nervous to see the street side. I know I will have to figure out how to fix the rear support board as the bottom is completely rotted with no way to get a good connection to the rear support 2x4 I put in, I can tell that without the skin off yet. It would have been nice to only have interior repairs and not have to do any of the structure repair, but I am glad I took the lower skin off.
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Post by bucketheadmn on Aug 13, 2015 4:33:03 GMT -8
I have made some progress! The last couple of weeks have been more vacation than anything else so Clementine as my wife has taken to caller her has sat a bunch. I was finally able to put some time into it the last couple of days: I ended up taking the street side lower skin off as well (did that solo and in hindsight would have used some help): The rear support board was rotted and not even connect at the bottom so I had to do more woodworking then I ever had before. Turns out the rear board is a solid 1x8 from floor to ceiling so no easy replacing (not taking roof off, no where to put it). And then I was able to get the skins on each side back on and now I am almost back to where I was originally going to start at - building a new gaucho bed. If someone has some pictures of how to properly build a gauche bed that would be awesome. I have a few ideas, but honestly I am not 100% sure how to get the rear portion secured to the trailer 100%.
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Post by bucketheadmn on Oct 12, 2015 6:14:42 GMT -8
So I have not stopped working on this! I teach and school started so my time goes to about nil. It has been tough going at a few points - at one point I was close to selling it with how much work there has been. Trying to figure out how to get a new ceiling in has been a exercise in fruition - cannot take the roof off as I do not have a place to do it and keep it safe/dry.
We are using the camper for the first time this weekend. Few things that we still need to complete (ceiling, flooring, new vent), but it is usable in the meantime. I will take some pictures this weekend while we are out and update the post.
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Post by vikx on Oct 12, 2015 21:46:43 GMT -8
You've done great so far!
And you CAN "float" the roof. That involves loosening the edges, straightening the bend and sliding the whole roof to one side. Getting access to the edge wood is critical for sealing the J rail/edge trim against the skin. Good wood is need for the screws to bite and squeeze the putty...
The ceiling panels can be done from the inside by adding supports to the edge wood. (glue and tack)It's a pain. Just be sure every edge has support. (takes a couple of days to do inside supports; glue needs to dry)
Looking forward to your photos.
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