theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
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Post by theresa on Aug 3, 2016 17:55:03 GMT -8
So, I guess I've made enough "progress" in recent weeks that I'm hopeful I may someday see my camper in a completed state. As such, I decided it was time for my own "project" thread. I brought Lola home two years ago, then quickly realized that there was no way I'd complete it before the Maine winter came. She would need a complete, frame off, ground up, replace every panel restoration. And at the time, we didn't have a place under cover to restore her. So, I worked on a few little projects, stripping paint from the skins, stripping paint from cabinets, purchasing necessary supplies, and that fall we began constructing a 30' x 40' 3-bay garage, with one of the bays dedicated to Lola. As most projects go, the garage took much longer and ate up much more of my budget than expected, and as my laborers were my brother and son, with free labor, you get it when you get it, not necessarily when you want it. SO, the garage build was finally finished, but without heat and adequate electricity for the first full summer ( last summer ) progress on Lola was still very minimal. We got her in the garage, got all the skins off (except the roof), got the appliances out, got some menial tasks completed, but no real work. So, this summer I decided I better speed up the progress. In May I got all of the windows out, apart, new seals, repaired glass, buffed and polished aluminum, etc. Still, Lola was shoved in a corner of the garage, with lots of "stuff" piled in around her. The past few weeks we've been working at getting the garage organized and making room for the walls to come down. SO, that's where I am currently.... I have some framing replaced and am very near to laying down the first wall. My current hurdle is removing the fan from the roof. As per usual, the PO gooped it with layer after layer of silicone. So, I'll try again tomorrow. For now, here are some photos of the slow progress. Lola on my first visit before bringing her home: The lovely painted interior, and PO's "fixes" and modifications: Interior dinette view: Discovering just how deep the damage goes: Lola's first gets to live inside the garage Removing skins and accessing the inside: Leveled, on stands and ready to start taking it down to the frame: Dinette cushions finished in near original colors: One of several windows being refurbished: Scraping goop and silicone from around the vent trying to get the screws out: Sorry to all of you who've seen these photos all before scattered throughout other threads over the past 2 years. This will hopefully be where I can continue to chronicle my slow but steady progress. My husband has proclaimed that we will need the garage space back by winter, so the push is on! SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
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theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
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Post by theresa on Aug 4, 2016 15:57:25 GMT -8
So, after a few hissy fits, a few trips inside to cool down and think about things, and a lot of curse words, I managed to get my fan removed so I could make the roof skin off. I wasn't able to revel in my victory for very long, as I soon realized that my PO had attached the roof skin to his new roof rafters with screws placed 1" apart all across one of the seams in the roof skin. SO, I got the skin removed with the rafter still attached, and am currently trying to price out a new, one-piece roof, shipped to northern Maine, without breaking the bank. Afterwards, my H and I got one wall braced in preparation of laying down the first wall. Every night I think this is the night to get a wall down, but I'm confident it will happen tomorrow.
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girlandcoconut
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1975 Skyline Layton
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Post by girlandcoconut on Aug 4, 2016 16:30:20 GMT -8
Awesome, a lot of work already done and will be fun to follow along as you work on her.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 18:11:12 GMT -8
Hmm. Theresa maybe CH campers in Chattanooga can help with the metal.
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theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
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Post by theresa on Aug 4, 2016 18:13:35 GMT -8
Hmm. Theresa maybe CH campers in Chattanooga can help with the metal. I definitely plan to get a quote from them. I'm hoping to find a tractor trailer repair shop a lot closer that would have the aluminum in the dimensions I need and within a reasonable drive to pick it up. SaveSave
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 18:44:14 GMT -8
Wow. I have never thought of a tractor trailer service center. Thats neat best wishes. Local always better.
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MarthaS
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1965 Friendship Vacationaire
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Post by MarthaS on Aug 5, 2016 10:03:50 GMT -8
We bought our roof from a tractor trailer shop at it ran approximately $13 a linear foot. We bought 12 feet. Here is a pic of it on.
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theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
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Post by theresa on Aug 5, 2016 10:12:17 GMT -8
We bought our roof from a tractor trailer shop at it ran approximately $13 a linear foot. We bought 12 feet. Here is a pic of it on. I can't see from the photo; did you re-use the front and rear, or does your piece run complete from lower front to lower rear? And if it seams in the front and rear, did the same place make the seams for you? And did you have to cut it to width or did they do that for you as well? Sorry for all the questions!! haha
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2016 14:08:49 GMT -8
This is really cool. I don't recall ever seeing anyone replacing their roof with this before here in the forum. It looks great.
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glg72
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Post by glg72 on Aug 5, 2016 15:32:40 GMT -8
I used the semi trailer roof material, too. It was about 1/3 the cost of a 'real' roof from Hemet Valley, and no shipping since I picked it up at a local shop. Be advised that this is what some refer to as 'mill finish' aluminum. It's not as shiny and won't polish to the same degree that real RV aluminum will. But that's a trade off I was willing to take.
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MarthaS
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1965 Friendship Vacationaire
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Post by MarthaS on Aug 6, 2016 6:00:03 GMT -8
We bought our roof from a tractor trailer shop at it ran approximately $13 a linear foot. We bought 12 feet. Here is a pic of it on. I can't see from the photo; did you re-use the front and rear, or does your piece run complete from lower front to lower rear? And if it seams in the front and rear, did the same place make the seams for you? And did you have to cut it to width or did they do that for you as well? Sorry for all the questions!! haha I'll post a couple more pics. I didn't post the pic with my fiance installing the roof because he is being naughty and standing on the top of his ladder. LOL. Don't try this at home. It is one piece that we cut down to meet up to the front and rear panels. The roof we took off did the same thing so we replicated it. The roof butts-up to the front and rear skin seams and then he screwed it down and added a strip of white sealant tape to cover both pieces. We've had it on over a year now and so far so good. The width just needed to be trimmed to fit.
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theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
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Post by theresa on Aug 10, 2016 16:56:30 GMT -8
So, in the few days since my last update on this thread, I managed to remove first one wall: I braced the other: Then I fought to remove the wheel wells to take them to the fabricator for an estimate to make new ones: I used the Sawzall to cut the carriage bolts off: Discovered a nice little "patch" in the floor (I forgot to take a picture of it when I discovered it, before I removed the "fix". There was either a soft spot in the floor or the camper was used as an ice fishing shack. Needless to say, they cut right through the floor stringers. Discovered these evil things attaching the flooring to the wooden stringers that span the length of the trailer. Long twisty nails, they were created by the Devil himself: And with a lot of sweat, curse words, and a few drops of blood (note to self: check with Dr. to update tetanus), I managed to get the plywood off. All the remains is the soundboard. I have already purchased the replacement plywood panels (I am going to forego the soundboard on my rebuilt, opting instead for two layers of plywood, placed in opposite directions for structural integrity). I have purchased the roofing tar/emulsion to coat the underneath layers. I will scuff down the frame and spray it with some sort of industrial implement paint to inhibit rust hopefully. I will attend to the hitch at this point while waiting for the wheel wells to be manufactured. I have ordered my VCT tiles from Lowes, which won't arrive until approximately 8/26 or somewhere in there, so I have time to get everything prepped for the new flooring, which I plan to cut into 6" x 6" squares (or just shy of that to account for the blade) and lay in a diamond pattern rather than the typical checkerboard. The colors will be a light teal and grayish white. I had considered a coral/orangey tile paired with a cream/off-white, but figured that with the orangey glow of the birch, and the brown appliances, it might be too "warm" in color. So I chose the teal which will hopefully pair well with the dinette seats:
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Post by danrhodes on Aug 10, 2016 17:08:05 GMT -8
I love the confidence of doing your seats so early. I haven't even tended to my wheels and bearings, as I still have that "haul it to the dump" mentality even towards the end of my project
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theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
Posts: 1,055
Likes: 347
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Post by theresa on Aug 10, 2016 17:14:40 GMT -8
I love the confidence of doing your seats so early. I haven't even tended to my wheels and bearings, as I still have that "haul it to the dump" mentality even towards the end of my project I have just the right combination of female persistence to prove all the naysayers wrong, and Irish pigheadedness that I WILL finish it; regardless of the fact that it's already been 2 years. I took the seats to the upholsterer over the winter and told her no hurry, and she finished them a week or so ago. It kind of boosted me into speeding things up on my end. SaveSave
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mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Aug 10, 2016 18:51:57 GMT -8
Those floor twisty nails were the worst, we left them in when we prayed the floor slowly, then my husband cut them with the saw today.
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