PT
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1964 Aloha & 1962 Holiday House
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Post by PT on May 22, 2016 16:49:12 GMT -8
Hi all - I introduced myself and trailer over on the Talk About Your Trailer Board, but now that I'm getting the lower skins off and gearing up for repairs I figured I'd document the efforts here and get good advice from everyone. Hopefully, I'll learn quickly and get to give some advice myself one of these days :-). My primary goal is to get the trailer safe by replacing rotten framing, edge boards, sills, etc., fix the cosmetic issues that bother me most and get her water-tight and ready for camping. I don't have the facilities for a full restoration and am somewhat limited in that I'll have to move the trailer back and forth into a fabric carport during the project. Before cutting into any framing I'll be getting her onto the one level location in our driveway! Anyhow- here are pictures after one week of removing skins and accessing damage. Streetside with Quality Control Manager Delilah on the job Have not lifted the rear yet - looks like there is a factory seam down fairly low so will need to straighten roof edge tomorrow before lifting. I've not found anything too horrifying yet. Overall it doesn't seem to be as bad as I expected. I'm thinking I'll be replacing a couple of the skirt boards (I think those are the inner ones the sills screw into?) and all of the sills first so I can get a good foundation for the walls and updated framing. One challenge I have is that a few of the outriggers are pretty twisted up and digging into the bottom of the skirt/sill boards which will make replacing them a challenge unless I score the boards to fit the outrigger. I know a frame shop is the best answer - but has anyone had luck straightening outriggers at home without full on welding/frame shop equipment? Thanks and I appreciate any feedback!
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kirkadie
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'69 Serro Scotty Hilander
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Post by kirkadie on May 22, 2016 18:33:23 GMT -8
Delilah is using her megaphone to tell you that your frame is the skeleton for your trailer's body and you want it to be good and strong and straight, because that is what will keep your repairs in order down the road. Something caused that outrigger to bend; probably best to make friends with someone who can check whether the welds where they meet the long main members are still intact, and get them straightened out before redoing the sills. Is the last pic looking at the curbside? Was the trailer painted recently? Skins look really clean compared to what's underneath.
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on May 22, 2016 19:29:03 GMT -8
As hack as this may sound, I used a large pipe wrench to twist one (mostly) back in place. Heating with a torch is tricky around old wood, but may be possible.
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PT
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1964 Aloha & 1962 Holiday House
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Post by PT on May 22, 2016 20:35:33 GMT -8
Yep - last one's curbside. It's recently painted - but was not represented as restored and I knew parts of it were in rough shape when I picked it up. But the paint was SO shiny... I never was too bright. now I have my work cut out for me. The PO aimed for every boulder in the PNW and caught 1/2 the outriggers on them. I had an old time trailer fabricator check all of the welds and confirm that the frame is sound but rough. He mentioned that the outriggers could likely be coaxed back into position with a large pipe wrench and a little heat so good to hear that you've had some luck with the same technique nccamper. I'll carefully give it a shot and see if I can get things lined up a bit better for the new lumber. With luck I'll have some successful before and after pictures to show off.
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PT
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Post by PT on May 23, 2016 20:04:09 GMT -8
So one Harbor Freight 15" crescent wrench and a 4' section of angle iron later - I was pleasantly surprised with how well the outriggers straightened out. I tried a MAPP torch on the first one - but don't think it had any effect & did the rest with no heat. These are 3/16th angle iron. For the deeper bends - I clamped the 4' section of angle iron to the outriggers and had lots of leverage. They're not perfect - but pretty darn good. When I put the new skirt/sill boards on I can make a few more adjustments. I may take to a frame shop in the end to get new ones installed - but this helps keep the project moving. Some before and after shots of a couple I did. Curbside in front of door before After Front street-side was worst Crescent wrench got this done 4' Angle iron with clamps for final persuasion Final
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Post by vikx on May 24, 2016 21:21:36 GMT -8
Thanks for posting PT, good info here.
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PT
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Post by PT on Jun 12, 2016 20:24:49 GMT -8
Thanks to all that have provided guidance and feedback on the posts I've been making for the 64 Aloha. I spent the last 2 weeks addressing a few issues with the flooring and have managed to replace 3 of 4 skirt boards, all of the sill boards, door framing and fully attached the curbside cabinet and sink cabinetry to the walls as well. A few oddities I discovered along the way - at least to my way of thinking - is that not all of the sill boards were on top of the outriggers even when this Aloha left the factory. I have them as tight to the sides as possible right now and if they're catching 1/2 inch of outrigger in most spots they're lucky - a couple are hanging on air. If the outriggers had been 2 inches wider it sure seems like the walls would have been better supported over the years. Also - the cabinetry was held to the walls with about 3/4" of screw coming through the 1/8 inch wall paneling - not the framing. And couldn't Aloha have added a wood backer to the water fill? It was just screwed to the skin - so I added a backer. I know the gold standard for flooring issues is to replace the affected plywood and add framing as needed beneath - but I had great success with epoxy where I used it. I drilled 1/8 inch holes 1/2 way through the plywood near the entry door for instance, thinned the epoxy with acetone - poured it over the area - and it is now rock solid. I was fortunate that the area was in pretty good shape to begin with. The product is called liquid wood and is made by Abatron. The project has been a great excuse to buy some new tools as well - so the job-site table saw ripped lots of kiln dried 2x4's into the necessary pieces. Framing on this ALOHA is 1 1/8" thick - including the large wheel well pieces. No problem getting to this thickness for the thin framing - but it was a pain for the wheel wells without a tabletop planer. I cut as far into both sides of a 2"x10"x8' at 1 1/8" as possible with the table saw and then used a hand planer to get the remaining thickness removed along the center of the board... Any other tricks out there people use to achieve the needed thickness without a planer? All in all I'm pleased with the progress and think things have turned out well so far. I added some additional side framing and now have screws running through it into the framing for the cabinetry held by nuts on the inside of the cabinets. These will not be pulling loose in the near future... especially now that the rotten framing has been replaced. For the outriggers I bent back into place that were still below the level of the skirt/sill boards I've added 3/8" shims made out of the same type of steel as the outriggers. These will work in the short term - but I'll be taking to a frame shop once she's up and rolling again for a proper update of these issues. Next up later this summer will be the upper framing on the street side as needed - edge board pretty much everywhere and ceiling/wall paneling where needed along with dozens of other things. Really enjoying the process and thanks again to all for the support.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Jun 13, 2016 7:23:36 GMT -8
Looking great PT!
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Post by danrhodes on Jun 13, 2016 9:15:46 GMT -8
Are the walls really required to rest on the outriggers? Mine never even had outriggers, relying on the floor and cabinet connections to hold the walls up.
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PT
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Post by PT on Jun 13, 2016 22:23:56 GMT -8
Sounds like there are plenty of instances where the walls don't sit on top of outriggers - but just seems odd to me that they wouldn't. But then again this trailer bounced around for 50+ years on rough roads in the PNW and the walls stayed mostly attached and upright the whole time and only started to have issues after the framing rotted.
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PT
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Post by PT on Sept 18, 2016 19:50:39 GMT -8
So after nearly 300 hours working on the Aloha I’ve figured out a few things about repairing a canned ham. 1. Once the project really gets going it will look like a vintage trailer bomb exploded in your driveway. The core of this bomb is made of rotten framing, hundreds of square feet of semi rotted veneer panels, hunks of curling linoleum and twisty nail shrapnel. 2. 25% of your time is spent wandering around looking for the tool you just had in your hand… Trailer detritus and tools waiting to be misplaced 3. It takes; pardon my potty-mouth, a crap-load of time to do this work. At least for me :-) So here is a list and some photo’s of what’s been accomplished over the last 30ish days – probably averaging about 4-5 hours a day. Hopefully it will help some poor misguided soul estimate how long things will take on their trailer rehab adventure. 1. Removed top half of skin and windows on curb side. 2. Pulled a jillion staples and rolled up and removed roof skin. 3. Rebuilt inner laminated roof edging at lower corners and a couple other spots 4. Removed and replaced all front/roof/rear paneling and rafter framing. Got close on matching the stain color. Keeping almost all original side and cabinet panels… Started with middle key panel as Larry calls it – buttoned up the front and then the rear. 5. Removed dinette benches and rear bed. Spruced up the original finish on these. 6. Removed old vinyl flooring – prepped floor and installed new vinyl sheet flooring . 7. Rewired all 110 electrical, ran new 12V wires and installed cool VTS LED Lights under cabinets. 8. Reinstalled bed and dinette seats. So this has turned into more than "Getting the Aloha Safe and Ready to Camp" but it's still nowhere near a complete renovation. I’m taking a few weeks off but crossing my fingers that I can have it ready to camp by Thanksgiving weekend. And I think I’m getting new roof skin. If this thing leaked after all this work I’d probably end up in the loony bin! Thanks for the support and feedback from the group :-)
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Post by vikx on Sept 18, 2016 20:27:12 GMT -8
Great tale of vintage trailer woes and repairs!
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jazw33
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Post by jazw33 on Oct 6, 2016 18:07:34 GMT -8
Looks like your doing a great job! I am anxiously awaiting mine to come home soon once framing and floor is done. I lucked out that the bumper is ugly as heck but the frame is straight and solid with spotless wheel wells. Next year I will get a new welded bumper with a tow hitch receiver for my bike carrier. My winter will be spent scrubbing windows frames!!
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PT
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Post by PT on Feb 9, 2017 12:59:11 GMT -8
So I was finally able to get the Aloha out for a brief shakedown cruise in Mid December. There was still plenty left to do - but I couldn't wait to actually do some camping :-). The best part of the entire project was when things started to go back together as opposed to coming apart. Putting up new cotton candy insulation and seeing the first pieces of side skin going back on was a great feeling... I replaced all of the front/roof and rear paneling along with a few sections of side panels so I was very pleased when all the skins lined up and the new Hemet Valley roof skin went on cleanly. And I went with the silver bubble insulation on the roof instead of cotton candy: And then it finally happened - the last piece of skin went back on after about 450 hours of work! Interior's looking much better - but I never claimed to have any interior design skills :-) If it will ever stop raining in SoCal I'll get the fantastic fan installed :-) Heaven in Joshua Tree Avoiding T-Rex A few more pieces of trim, some hubcaps and the Fantastic Fan and this rehab will pretty much be a wrap for me... But I do notice myself checking out every vintage trailer I pass when driving around so something tells me I'll be knee deep in another one in the not too distant future :-) Thanks to everyone on the forum for helping me figure things out!
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mrmarty51
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Post by mrmarty51 on Feb 9, 2017 13:37:24 GMT -8
What a great story. Lovely camper too. did You ever do anything with the outriggers ?
Your quote " But I do notice myself checking out every vintage trailer I pass when driving around so something tells me I'll be knee deep in another one in the not too distant future :-)"
YUP, I too have that feeling. LOL
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