Frank's Trailer Works Blog

Is This Part 5? Who Cares, 1957 Caravaner

2012-01-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

I feel I am now caught up enough to stop the "updates". At FTW we have had the pleasure of working on Michael's 1957 Caravaner. We did a little stuff to get Michael set for camping earlier in the year. Now his trailer has come back to get ready for an even longer season that entails a cross country trip and many nights boon docking.

His 57 is in very original state, even though the previous owner did some work, it is fairly original.

Here you see the modern, stainless steel, 30 amp, power inlet that was part of updating the electrical system. Now a locking power cord can be used instead of just a extension cord. In 1957, the 12 volt system was a tractor battery connected to a single light bulb in the ceiling fixture. It was very basic lighting just really intended for setting up or while on the road. We installed a converter, fuse box, and a distribution box. Now the original 12 volt light is supplied, as are new under counter lights, and task lights.

All the exposed steel was first sand blasted, then treated with Por15 rust treatment. We then primed and top coated using a two stage automotive paint that matches Michael's tow vehicle.

This is the color. It is a metallic paint. I think it is called Deep Cherry.

We gave the rims the very same treatment. Rims are VERY hard to spray. Take my word for it!

They came out Fan Damn Tabulous if you ask me. They look super sharp with the baby moon hub caps offered by Vintage Trailer Supply. That, is also a very sexy wheel well cut out I might add.

The plumbing was, well, as I said earlier, ... the previous owner did some stuff.

The plumbing has all been converted to PEX. I like the solid copper band style as opposed to the crimp style rings. The blue and red lines allow for easy identification should an issue ever arrive. A new Whisper King pump, accumulator, and a winterization kit were also installed to make life even easier.

The battery and converter were tucked into the most unusable space possible. Just forward of it we installed the new water heater. This is not your normal water heater however. It is an RV 500 water on demand heater.

This is the unpainted aluminum door they offer. It will polish up like a mirror. This is the unit in a 1971 Overlander. I use this photo just to show what the door looks like.

In Michael's trailer we installed it with an eyebrow above it to make it blend with the original hatch next door. As you can see, the unit is very well constructed. The solid copper still on the left is where water meets flame. Everything about these units is impressive. The second you touch the water valve, it knows and fires up. Within one second hot water is at your spout. The moment you turn the water off, it turns off. Very efficient to say the least. You might also note the water fill tucked right up under there.

A drawer contains all the electrical stuff if an issue ever comes up. Like I said, a very well made item here. This makes trouble shooting easy and replacing any electronics easy. These units do cost about 3 times as much as a regular water heater, but I personally feel it well worth the extra cost. Want your own on demand water heater from Precision Temp? I am now a dealer and would be glad to hook you up(get it, hook you up?)!!!

Addendum To Long Awaited Update Part 1

2012-01-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

In order to clarify the replacement panel fiasco I talked about in one of my previous posts, I have decided to explain with better photos. They speak for themselves.

This is a #11(front street side corner) replacement segment installed in a 1971 Overlander. It is a factory original, produced from the exact molds, in the exact same factory, as the original panel were. It fits absolutely perfectly. The bottom edge came pre drilled for rivets and amazingly, 95% of the new holes matched up perfect to the ones drilled in 1971. Well, of course silly, I did say it was made from the same mold in the same factory. There is just one major problem.

The aluminum used today to build Airstreams is the same alloy as license plates are made from. In 1971 Airstream produced the trailers out of same aluminum as Boeing jets. Big difference folks. Unfortunately, as I was told by Airstream customer service "that is how we make them. It is close enough and you are just going to have to live with it." Well, "close enough" is good enough for Airstream, but not for me. I do not claim to know Wally Byam, but I am fairly certain that "close enough" would never be good enough. I seriously doubt, "good enough" was in his vocabulary. A man that led families across Africa to prove his product was the best, would never stand for good enough.

That panel is a factory original too. However it was pressed in 1973 and spent it's life on a 31 footer. Oh yeah, it is also the #3 segment(rear curb side corner), not the #11(front street side corner). I purchased this panel from Ryan at RV Revive. Ryan was very straight and honest with me. Ryan took a good deal of time understanding my needs. He first sent me photos of all the possible segments he had in the yard. He was VERY straight up about each and every flaw the choices had. Unfortunately, the #11 segments all had damage that deemed them not good enough for either of us. Ryan then went to plan B of using a #3 segment. Ryan was very hesitant about selling me the segment as he thought that there was not enough face metal to cover the need.

I told him I was willing to try it out and two days later a well constructed crate arrived from Waterloo, Iowa. Inside it was the entire segment, literally cut right out of the side. All the ribs and everything were still attached. We drilled it out, trimmed it down, fit it into the opening, then stripped it of the clear coat finish. We then riveted it into place for the rest of it's life. Guess what, about 90% of the rivet holes on the bottom edge lined up. No, this time it was serendipity.

Once the riveting was complete we went about polishing the segment. What is that cool saffron colored paste on the segment? I have never seen a polish that color before. Is that the super secret polish you are testing out? YYYUUUUUPPPPPPPP!!! However it is not super secret. It has a real fancy name too Aluminum Trailer Polish. Once I test it out a little more, I will probably become the North American distributor. The results I am seeing at present are very encouraging.

Well? Good enough now? Perfect match.

How about that polish job? Good enough now?

Long Awaited Update. Part 3 (the end of year bonus)

2012-01-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

How does the saying go? A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.

What if your boss takes you fishing? What if he takes you fishing and treats it like a regular work day? Kind of messes it all up right? Well, at FTW, we love to screw these things up.

Wayne has been an absolutely awesome employee! He has never been late, always sober, and more than willing to avoid mistakes. As a sign of my gratitude for his great service, I wanted to give Wayne a gift he would appreciate. I contacted my Brother in Law and with some long time friends, we chartered a day with Captain Bo to fish for rockfish(stripped bass to the rest of you) on the Bay.

This is far from the first time we have fished with Captain Bo. He has a super clean boat and ALWAYS puts us on the fish.

His report of the previous week was less than stellar.

But, hey, a bad day of fishing is better than a great day at work (unless you work at FTW. Fishing might be your job for the day. "Hey Boss, what do you want me to do today?" "Go fishing").

There were very few other boats to compete with for the fish. This late in the season is hard to be on the fish. Most of the big summer fish have migrated out to sea. This leaves many small fish too young to migrate. However, if the timing is just right, the big fish from up North, turn up the Chesapeake for a quick snack as they head South. These fish are generally monsters.

They make you work for it. "keep the tip up, wind as you drop, never let it go slack..." Hey that's Wayne up to bat!

Dang Dr Lou, what ya got bending that Ugly Stick like that?

Wow John, you loosing line or gaining?

Captain Bo has an awesome mate by the way. He knew his job well and made it feel as if we were doing the catching.

Not bad, everyone got a keeper...

Wayne's fish enjoys cigars too.

There are our two biggest. John, on left is holding a 41" fish while Wayne shows us his 42" fish. Incase you do not understand how much fish that is, one filet, was dinner four times, for my family of four. At each meal, the entire family devoured the rockfish. Without a doubt, this is one of the finest fish you can eat.

Everyone had a great time. It is kind of hard not to. I just want to take this opportunity to thank Wayne again for being such an awesome employee. Glad you enjoyed one of the fringe benefits of working at FTW.

I also want to take this opportunity to put in a plug for Captain Bo. Brawler Charters is probably one of the top ten charters working the Bay. This is probably the 10th trip on the Brawler and as usual we came home with big smiles on our faces and a cooler full of fish. Plans are ready in the works for the next season. Hopefully I will be taking another employee on that trip.

Does FTW seem like a great place to work? It is. Would you like to work here? I am looking for another talented person.

Long Awaited Update. Part 2

2012-01-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

Polishing, we LOVE POLISHING!!!!

We had the honor of polishing up this 1967 Caravel recently. Her owner had stripped and done the majority of the compounding in past years. FTW was hired to take it to the next step. We also pulled a significant dent and installed a new AC unit on the roof.

Somehow the removal of the original unit missed my camera lens. It is just as well, for it was a huge challenge to get it off. The original unit was installed to never be removed or replaced. First we had to cut an opening and then install a rib into the ceiling to support the new unit. The original shroud was riveted to the longitudinal ribs in the ceiling, so the weight had to be redirected for the new unit. On top of slipping a rib into the ceiling, we also boxed in the opening with some C channel I bent up.

The windows and many seams had to first have multiple layers of sealants removed. There were also a number of errant holes to deal with.

The hardest part of polishing these previously clear coated trailers, is that when said clear coat fails, it does it very very slowly. The failure allows aluminum oxide crystals to form under the clear surface and this is the resulting damage. This is called filiform corrosion and trust me, it is a bear.

Many many cuts with black rouge on a very stiff wheel are required to get it off. Often, we sand with 600 grit wet/ dry paper first, then go at it with the wheel.

100% removal is virtually impossible. With determination, one can put a serious hurtin on it though.

On the 1966-69 trailers it is VERY important to protect the glass. We put double layers of blue tape down. I do not want any heat from the polishers or even worse, any polishing chemicals to touch the glass. Remember, this glass is chemically tempered. You do not want to chance any unknown chemicals might un-temper that glass. I have heard that some of the acids in some polishes has caused damage to some windows. Fortunately, we have avoided this.

Wayne loves to chew on his cigar and watch his face get clearer and clearer in the aluminum. He often says, "I can see just how ugly I am now, time to move to the next section..."

When originally polished, one of the steps used was very aggressive. It took considerable effort to get through this stuff also.

Here is a good shot of the new AC unit on the roof. These little Caravels are so sexy!

I mentioned earlier a dent we pulled. How is that one? Right up front where you could not help but see it, over two feet wide.

We have some tricks up our sleeve though. Here you see it significantly reduced in size.

97% gone...

99.4% gone. My standards were missed by only 0.6%. I will have to try harder next time.

This Caravel is not the Shiny Hiney, but her hiney sure did take a shine!

Long Awaited Update. Part 1

2012-01-15T10:25:00.001-08:00

I know, I know... I have gotten the message, the emails, and now the snail mail letter asking what is going on and why there have been zero posts in quite a while. To be honest, a close friend told me I was giving too much away on this blog. Him telling me that kind of set me back. It had me evaluating and questioning if it was indeed true. The conclusion I have come to is that I enjoy sharing what I do. I have also come to find that there are many that really enjoy reading about what we do at Frank's Trailer Works. I have always prided myself in being an open book - why close the cover now?

Since I generally put in six-day work weeks, and four of them are with Wayne helping out, a huge amount has happened in the long gap between my last post. The main project in the shop is Michele and Larry's '71 Overlander. This post will focus on bringing you up to speed on what has been happening with that trailer.

When we removed the AC unit, we found that the steel pan had caused serious galvanic corrosion. The metal was so thin that I was able to stick my finger right through it in some spots.

We made a very large patch that overlapped the damaged area by a number of inches. All the original rivet holes were re-drilled and replaced with new bucked rivets. Great care was taken to match the rivet spacing so this patch will never be noticed by the casual observer.

At the same time we removed the astrodome curb, stove vent, and all the plumbing stacks and then installed them using new sealant and rivets. The goal is no leaks.

All three vent openings now have Fantastic Vents installed. All three are powered and have the rain sensor.

Some minor welding needed be done in the rear to accommodate a change. Yes, change. This change is an improvement, however. The Airstream bumper hatch causes water to actually run toward the plywood sub floor. We totally re-engineered it so this can no longer happen. All water goes straight down now.

Also, no longer can the bumper hatch double as a bath tub. It all drains out now.

The plywood in this trailer was remarkably good. We did have to replace the rear sheet earlier. The area under the right side of the door jamb was a little bit questionable. Most would had probably just let it go. I could not, however. This is the last rebuild this trailer is going to get, so it was taken care of now. We cut it back to just inside of the main frame rails so we could join the main sheet and also tie it together with some cross members. The area was cut out carefully so both ends lay firmly on top of outriggers. While we had this floor out, we took the time to fine tune the steps, which worked, but marginally.

Here you see Wayne drilling out for new elevator bolts.

I am very pleased with the final results. Yes the job did expand ever so slightly, but a lot of things were corrected in the same stretch of work.

Some of you may have followed this segment fiasco on Air Forums. The original segment was stretched out during polishing. In order to make it right, a new segment was needed. I went onto the internet and found that you can buy "factory original replacement panels" via Airstream dealers. I contacted the guy who has been in the business over 40 years and explained my situation. "Piece of cake," I was told. Same panel, made on the original forms, by Airstream. How could you ask for more? And look how well it fits. PERFECT FIT!!!! Of course you say, it was made from the original forms. Just one slight problem. The segments are pressed from the same alloy as new Airstreams are. No matter how hard you try, it will never be the same color or sheen as the original skin. The customer service response was "that's how we do it. It is close enough; live with it." Sorry Airstream, maybe it is good enough for you, but it far from good enough for me.

There is a very happy ending to this story however. I was able to find Ryan at RV Revive. He spent a good deal of time listening to my needs. He sent me photos of three possible segments and was very honest about all their faults. We agreed on the one and two days later Fedex dropped a crate off from Iowa. I am sorry I do not have a photo to prove it, but the segment fit perfectly and polished up so sweet. Ryan is an excellent resource and I suggest anyone reading this to bookmark the link to him.

We have also completed the first layer of insulation.

Ace Goldberg has been coming into town to lend a hand on many of the projects. He has a hell of a commute from Pittsburgh. Three people working on this really makes it roll. About 90% of the wiring has been completed as of this post.

I am also very pleased to have become a dealer for Precision Temp. This trailer has had an RV 500 on-demand water heater installed in it. We have installed a few of these units now and love them. I will try and get you all a photo of these units soon. I have been very impressed with every thing from PT. The units look and feel as if they are made with great pride. Even the box it comes in is impressive.

Once again, I want to apologize for this sabbatical of sorts from posting. I am back now and feeling energized.

I WANT TO BE RESTORED!!!!!!

2011-11-06T03:36:00.001-08:00

Frank's Trailer Works has purchased yet another trailer for restoration. Oddly, every year at this time, a 1966 Airstream has come looking for a new lease on life. 2011 has brought a 1966, 23' Safari. Just to stop many of you reading right now, this trailer is NOT for sale. We will be giving it to whoever commits to having it restored. The 1963 Shasta is in this same category. Free to you, if you have it restored.

She has been sitting in the woods for more than 15 years. Her owner is just not using her any more and would like to see her go to someone that will.

I post all these photos of her so you can see what these trailers look like at the very beginning of starting a new life. It does not show in the photos, but so much leaf mold as accumulated on the roof that a few seedlings are growing in it.

Take a good look, for next time you see photos of this trailer it will be all cleaned up.

I have been told it all works. Everything except the water heater.

Any of you vintage freaks recognize those curtains? Can you say "groovy baby?" We'll hold on to them as patterns when we clean her out.

The wisteria vine will be an extra charge if you want that.

All the Corning chemically tempered glass is there. All in all this is a totally complete trailer. She has never been molested. Virtually all her parts are there. Do not be fooled, she needs it all to be made new again, but with this unit, we are way ahead from the start.

If you are looking for a brand new 1966 23' Safari, FTW is looking to talk to you. We are here to make your dreams a reality.

The Office

2011-10-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

Have I ever shown you my office? At Frank's Trailer Works we use a vintage 1961 Fan as our office.

It has all the basics needed in an office. It has a place to answer the phone and do paper work, a sink, a refrigerator, a stove for cooking a lunch if needed, and even a double bed to sleep on if I pull an all nighter.

I really like her patterned skin. The patina is real nice too.

She also doubles as a fully functional camper. She is camp ready at any moment.

All of these reflections were brought to you by Michele and Larry's freshly polished 1971 Overlander.

I'm Gonna Be a Diamond Someday

2011-10-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

The trailer, her owner affectionately calls the Buddha Baby, came into the shop this week to get ready for a little marathon of sorts. Her running shoes have gotten a little worn out and it was time for some new ones.

I often have to wonder how old these tires must be. Since all four are different brands, I am sure they are not original. The split rims are original however.

We jumped right in cutting out all the original running gear and all the mounting hardware.

Old gear out, new gear waiting for installation.

New mounting plate, fabricated by Inland RV, to convert from leaf spring to torsion axles, being welded on by Tom of T&K Welding. Tack weld first, for the placement is VERY critical. Perfect alignment of the axles side to side, from each other, and height from the frame are all crucial to get 100% accurate.

Plates mounted, axles installed, shock mounts welded into place. Usually I would prime and paint all this next, but the Buddha Baby is coming back in a few months to get a complete shell off restoration and every thing will be sand blasted and treated then.

Here she is with her new Yokahoma custom white walls. These show tires were made by Diamond Back and really make the trailer pop. Some may look at these tires as being lip stick on a pig, or fancy new tires on a field find, but if the pig needs new running shoes, why not get a good pair, for she won't be a field find forever.

This project has a theme song to it. Want a a hear it?

I suspect Diamond Back will be seeing a small spike in trailer tire sales in the next few months.

Slackers 2

2011-09-24T16:29:00.001-07:00

During my goofing off period(see last post) we did some Airstream work on location in Bowie Maryland. Wayne and I commuted down a few days last week to replace the rear floor and reconnect the shell on a 1971 Overlander. The project was begun by her owner, but has been handed over to us to complete. Working on site allowed us to get the trailer ready to tow to the shop.

Michelle and Larry fell in love at first sight with their trailer. Their plate reads; LAFS It was spotted just a few miles from their house. An Airstream trailer has been a life long dream of Michelle's and now Larry is pretty well sold on it too. They have very unique ideas about the style they want and this project promises to be very fun.

Larry had all the frame repairs taken care of and took care of the priming and painting. We fabricated all new belly pan and Wayne did his best to make the highly abused banana wraps look as good as possible.

The belly work was all riveted into place while in Michelle and Larry's yard.

The bumper hatch was removed as it directly led to the major issues found in the back area. This entire area will be re engineered. I know I often tell people that there is no need to re invent the wheel, but the bumper hatch design of this era is a serious problem. Make no changes, only improvements...

Since not only was the floor rotted out, but so was all the aluminum in this area, I think an improvement will be no problem.

I love blank slates like this. I see nothing but pure potential.

I hate seeing damage like this however. That is what a crow bar does in the hands of a thief. Someone once tried to break in and this is the result. Not sure how I will make this one go away. I promise to do my best.

They all have road history. Some road history needs to be forgotten however.

It's just a little aluminum, so why not just remove it?

A new piece can just be made to fit and away go all those bad memories.

Slackers

2011-09-24T02:52:00.000-07:00

A close friend who reads this blog, commented that he thought I was goofing off due to the lack of posts lately. In all honesty, the lack of posts has been due to working hard, not slacking off.

Just to prove this, I will post about some of the things we have been doing here at Frank's Trailer Works in past few weeks.

Have you seen the 1950 Liner? This 1950 is about 95% completely original. Very little has been altered or changed over the years. This era of trailer was all built by hand. Airstream was still very much in it's infancy when this unit was built at 1755 North Main Street, Los Angeles California. Nothing was standard except making the customer very happy. One could walk into the show room and Wally would roll out a piece of paper and a full size layout could be done while the customer walked through their rig. Anything was possible back then.

She came in missing the back window. These windows were Plexiglass back in the day. Plastics was still an industry in it's infancy back then also and if an original piece of plexi is still in one of these units, it is toast. The plastic just gets brittle and it blows out when towing.

For a 62 year old trailer, she still looks very nice. There are a number of history marks on her, but from 15 feet back, you do not really see them.

The front window was a failed attempt at replacing the Plexiglass. Though in the opening, the shape is all wrong to make the curve. The 1/2" gaps at the edges is just not going to cut it either.

Good old pipe frame construction. Everything looks solid on the frame. The floor however, is not holding tight in the front end. Front end separation is very common in the pipe frame construction. Hopefully the green light shines my way to make this repair also.

It has such an odd shaped window. Honestly, the Silver Streaks, and Curtis Wrights have a much nicer appeal with two windows instead of the single.

When you walk in that door, you step right back in time. The urge to find the jigger and the martini glasses comes across me every time I cross the threshold. Every time I step out, I am rubbing my head however. The door is super low and I consistently bash my head right into it.

Here is is with new Optix acrylic in the opening.

I am very proud of the final results. It only took me a few(off the clock, all "learning" is done off the clock. Only actual work is billed) attempts to "learn" how to do it. I also want to point out that both the front and the back windows were made by hand. The two pieces of glass are totally different shapes and sizes. The frames show very clear signs of being shaped using a bender/ stretcher. Remember, this trailer was really hand made. There were not just some rivets bucked by hand, into computer drilled holes, these openings were fabricated by hand.

The shape is not an oval as it appears to the eye. The shape is kind of like a smile or a hotdog shape. The curve from center vertical line to the tops of the round ends is a few inches. Without this curve, the glass will not curve as you want it. It is a very good thing I found this out using a cardboard template and not an actual piece of acrylic like whoever made the front window did.

Another "learning experience" was the way the glass is held in. The retainer is that piece of aluminum tube bent to the pringle shape of the opening. The glass has a neoprene gasket over the edge, and the aluminum inner skin has a "u" channel over that, Everything is held in by pressure. No wonder these windows are notorious leakers. Not the best design, but cutting edge for the time.

Later in the day I will tell you about some other projects that have been coming through the Works. Can you say 1970's? How about a California 1970's trailer? I promise it will be groovy baby!

Previous Post Removed due to Me Dreaming Too Hard....

2011-09-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

You See the Shiny Hiney Once it Was Shiny Again?

2011-08-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we had a sexy 1966 Caravel come in for some repairs, but mostly to have her polish touched up. It had been three years since it was done last and this past Spring, tire wash was used at a car wash instead of pre wash. The tire cleaner had left very strong streaks down the sides.

We began by taping off all of the items not wanting to be polished or turned black by all the aluminum oxide we were going to sling around. The windows were a big concern as I did not want to risk damaging them. Every window in the Hiney were the original Corning chemically tempered glass.

We also removed all the vent stacks from the roof, because they were all toast due to too much sun and time. Many cracks and many leaks were a result.

Just look at all that crap under it. How is that supposed to keep the rain out?

Though three years ago she was polished, the job was not the best. The main areas were shiny, but the detail work was far from acceptable. Everything is in the details. In this era of trailer clear coat was used and it has all failed by now. Depending on when the owner realized this, depends on the severity of filiform corrosion caused by the clear coat failure. As you see above, a great deal of this stuff remained even after it was polished originally.

With a good deal of elbow grease and even more persistence it can all be made to go away. There still is some of this corrosion, but very little at eye level. Hopefully every touch up we do will remove more and more of this.

A word of advice, always start at the top and work down.

One panel at a time.

Persistence, perseverance, and determination will get you to the end.

It is a dirty job as this photo will verify. I am not doing a Vaudeville black face act. Very dirty work, there is just no way around it. However in the end, it is all worth it.

Free to Me, Free to You

2011-07-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

I love this ad from a 1962 Trail R News. That Compact is only 12 1/2 feet long. That would make a perfect Sisters on the Fly or Tin Can Tourist rig.

Well, guess what. Here it is in the flesh. Two owners, the second one owned it almost it's entire life. She towed on the Al-Can Highway and the Trans Canadian. During the time she did, there were long stretches that were just gravel. Her lower panel on the front shows testament to this adventure.

If only wasps made honey. The window is a solid block of nests.

I love the wide rise to the side sheets and the wide drop(opposite to the sides) on the ends.

The license plate is from 1977.

Natural birch interior. It is all complete, but will mostly be used for patterns. The ad says sleeps 6.

The two single beds join together to make a triple bed. Above it there are three single cots that suspend from a rail along the wall. All three cots are there.

Sorry, blurry, but needed.... she will take a little more than upholstery.

Front kitchen with ,YES, a toilet. All that in 12 1/2 feet. The body is only 10 feet.

Her owner found my web site and like the idea of a free trailer with a restoration. Now I just need to find some 13" trailer tires.

In the Out Door

2011-07-08T16:59:00.001-07:00

I am always so happy to see my customers drive away. I must be very lucky because in all my years of being in business(even in my previous cabinet making career) all of my customers have been very pleased with what I did for them. I have never had the experience of an unhappy customer and really do not know I would handle the situation if it were ever to arise. Christa was sure excited when she picked up her 1964 Globe Trotter last night. She is heading West. No real destination at this point. She showed up with a 4 x 6 UHaul loaded with all her stuff. She then loaded it all in the Globie and returned the UHaul just a few blocks up the road. She was so excited for her big adventure.

Her Globe Trotter is just an aluminum tent at this point. I got her new tires mounted and the bearings repacked. All the running lights were done and brakes wired into the four wire system. I also installed my last Bargman L100 lockset and a matching dead bolt. Her trailer needs it all except tires.

Godspeed to you Christa. I hope the road leads you to your dreams.

The very next morning a sexy little 1966 Caravelle slipped right into the space vacated by the Globie going out the in door.

Her name is the Shiney Hiney for good reason.

We will be polishing her back up and sealing all her seams. Stopping those pesky curved glass windows from leaking will be a challenge we will over come. All her hatches and vents will be sealed against leaks. There is also a list of things to correct that were done by a company with a very similar name to my company.

She looks pretty sexy to me as she sits now.

2,4,6,8 Who Do I Apreciate?

2011-05-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

Wayne, that's who I appreciate. I am very fortunate to have such a talented employee as Wayne.

I briefly, mentioned to him how I wanted to see if we could resurrect this continental cover at some point. It looked rather hopeless to me at first glance.

It had been backed into, mashed down and treated like a red headed step child. My first thought was it would be heading to the scrap yard. When I set Wayne upon cleaning up the Buddha Baby (that is this trailers very fitting name) he had remembered me saying something about resurrection.

Wayne got out some PB Blaster and soaked the retaining nut while he went about cleaning out the interior and exterior. He made short work of the cleaning and some how found a few moments to surprise me.

I was astounded when he showed me this. He asked if maybe he might have an other 15 minutes with a sand bag and a rubber mallet at some point. Once again, Wayne has astounded me. He took the task at hand seriously, went the extra mile, and exceeded my expectations once again. Thank you Wayne for being such an outstanding employee.

Very Full House (you dent em, we fix em)

2011-05-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Currently, FTW is crushed with work. The yard is completely full of trailers waiting their turn at being fixed. Fortunately I have additional storage not too far away. A few of these trailers will also be heading out in the very near future. One that should be heading out soon is this 1954 Cruiser.

The 1954 Airstreams all have a serious design issue; short tongue syndrome. This causes one to dent the lower panels up front when jacking it too tight into a space. When these were towed by cars of the time, the issue was even worse due to the gigantic bumpers of the period. Sometimes the skin gets ripped also.

This Cruiser got it on both sides. She turned the other cheek and got a slap there too.

The only way this repair can be done properly is by removing the interior skins in that area. The original panel was removed and copied onto new Alclad. Just a little note of caution; if you measure the panel from seam to seam it is exactly 12 foot long. This would lead most, with sticker shock over Alclad prices, to order the minimum length of 12 foot. However the panel is longer due to the fact that it goes behind the side panels. A 13 foot piece is needed. A professional knows these things.

It is also worth the $2 extra per foot to have it wrapped in film. Though it does not guarantee a scratch free finished surface, it sure helps to minimize it.

One also needs a large number of cleckos to hold the panel before riveting. I own 750 1/8th" and 1000 5/32" cleckos. Every 5/32" was used today and a few more could have been handy. Next order to Air Parts Inc will include a request for 500 more.

The finished results are stunning.

A Visit From Tim the Tool man's Neighbor, Wilson AKA Wayne

2011-04-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

More work has been progressing on the Double Door since my last post. Wilson has been busy stripping, polishing, and painting the interiors of some 1954 overhead lockers that are being repurposed. They came out very well as you will see later in this post. While Wayne worked on the overheads I spent a good amount of time fabricating the interior cabinet structures.

Once fitted, it was all removed to be finished. The interiors of the cabinets and all the side panels were sanded and finished.

I use a professional line of products by ML Cambell. I shoot two coats of sealer followed by two topcoats. Everything is sanded to 150 before any sealer goes on and every layer of finish is scuff sanded with 320 in between. These finishing products require personal protective equipment. It is all solvent based and most likely illegal in California.

The photo never does the grain any justice. This finish is still wet in this photo, but it will dry out to a #20 sheen. That is not dead flat, but dull in sheen. My client likes a finish like this. I usually use a #45 sheen which most call a satin. I must say, I am becoming very fond of the dull sheen.

Very poor lighting, sorry. On a side tangent; Why do halogen shop bulbs only last a few days? I have purchased the cheap ones at Harbor Freight for $1.50 each and they last 1.5 weeks. I have purchased the expensive ones at Home Depot for $2.50 a bulb and they last 2.5 weeks. What I do know about Halogen shop lights is they always blow out at the wrong times. That, and the bulbs suck. Tom, there is an experiment in this for a curious fella like you....

Back to the cabinets. Here is the auxiliary water tank on the curb side. A Dickinson propane fireplace will hang on that end panel to the right. That will not only heat the rear, but will also create a nice ambiance to the bedroom area. Face frames are still to follow.

Here is more of Wayne's handwork. He did an awesome job turning some worn cabinets to new again.

For an Anonymous Reader

2011-04-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have been corrected by an anonymous reader. Someone out there does find axle swaps exciting. He or she asked I not post their comment, but it was along the lines of, "I find axle swapping exciting and you not posting pictures leaves me feeling like I missed out on something I wanted to see". Those are not the exact word, but more the jest of the comment. I hate to disapoint, so here are some before and after photos. Sorry, but I just did not take any "during" photos. One get really dirty changing axles and touching my camera during it is the last thing I want to do.

Here are the original axles on this sweet Sovereign that came in to the Works for a little swap out.

Wicked cool full moon hub caps! Wicked sagged out axles. -15 degree angle is not good.

Brand new #4000 Dexter axles. The axle tubes are 1/2" larger than the original #3400 axles and required a widening of the axle socket. Lots of sparks were flying while we cut out the metal. I like making sparks, it feels like mechanical victory.

Did you get a rise out of this? The trailer got a 4" rise and 800 pounds of extra carrying capacity.

I enjoy swapping axles. I enjoy it so much that, FTW is going to run a Spring/ Summer/ Fall Axle Swap Special. I will charge you $100/ axle to install them and the axles will be at cost. Measuring is easy as pie. I will hold your hand through all the info needed. When the axles arrive from Dexter you can drop off your trailer in the morning, go see Baltimore. Then pick up after lunch. I can send you off on any sort of adventure you desire in Baltimore, from a walking tour of the inner harbor, a museum tour, historic places, or my favorite off beat restaurants. I will even install Axis axles for the same price if they are ordered through Colin Hyde and drop shipped to my shop. I guarantee, you will not find a better deal for your money. Your trailer will be very glad too.

I do more than repair trailers

2011-04-07T16:59:00.001-07:00

I wear many hats and also provide more services than just trailer restoration and repair. I also do a bit of transport and inspection work. I have a very good client that asks me to do both services for him just about every month. Today he sent me to the Eastern Shore. To clarify, we, living West of the Chesapeake Bay, call it all the Eastern Shore. It is also known as DelMarVa for Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia combined. Some call it SlowMarva (a derogatory or compliment depending on your perspective) for it is still rather agrarian and under developed.

DelMarVa is good trailer hunting ground.

Many places have their bridges that they take great pride in. The Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate, the Verrenzano, the list goes on and on. A cool fact is all these major bridges use so many gallons of paint that they actually all have their own colors. In Maryland we have the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and yes, Chesapeake Bay Bridge gray is an actual color. I am always impressed with this bridge and have crossed it hundreds of time. Every single time, The Bridge gives me a wonderful photo.

I was sent to pick up this trailer my client had bought and to transport it back to Baltimore. A 1966 Globetrotter with very nice straight skin. The interior has seen much better times and three windows were gone, but it still towed like a champ. I was also sent to inspect and figure a course of restoration for the other two trailers my client purchased.

This is Chris. Chris is a trailer hunter. He finds em and gets them out of the woods. Chris has been hunting trailers for many years now and has a fairly large collection of trailers in his yard. He was real friendly and knowledgeable about what he had. I had intended to hook on and roll, but instead spent close to three hours talking shop. Now these next few photos are of one that I was to evaluate. This one is going to get more than a few of you VERY excited. I am beyond excited that this trailer is coming into FTW for work.

What has an edge beaded like that? A flat end cap panel does. Flat? Yes, a segment on a thirteen panel trailer is flat when all the rivets are removed.

But wait, a thirteen panel has narrower panels. Confused yet? Look at that sexy eyebrow over the window. That window, that is not a Herh Standard, it is an earlier one...

Oh my, a glass bee hive indicator lens. What year was that used?

And that wonderful patina on a brass plate. Brass? #1447? 1950 Liner. How cool is that?

Oh, my, I made it 2/3rds of the way around without finding anything wrong until that missing window. I know it is a complicated repair, but common Chris, cover that hole with some plastic.

Now those are some wicked cool Herh windows. They sit flush with the frame. On a scale of 1-10 I call this old girl an ELEVEN. The interior is almost perfect too.

These two ladies are my clients trailer. They are spoken for, but the rest of what you are about to see is looking for a new home.

Not that one...

Usually when I go over to the Eastern Shore I go the most direct route to get there. Coming back I take all back roads. I take it slow for this is SlowMarva. I do not take the back roads to avoid the law, I am on the hunt.

and usually, I find something interesting. A 68 Scotty Gaucho anyone? Too far gone and not early enough to be worth the cost of restoration. Pass..

Not sure what this is. The briars are leafing out and their canes are very stiff right now being swollen with water. I just could not get in close enough to identify it. The man who owns this is a hoarder. There was junk all over the place. I spent a good while visiting but anything he had was never going to leave his property.

I got to go over the Francis Scott Key bridge also on my way to the Port. This is another beautiful bridge. Unfortunately, this bridge does not have it's own color. It is just bridge green.

In and out of the Port with no issues today. I was kind of disappointed. I have come to expect huge hassles from the Longshoremen and got nothing but friendly attitude. No requests to search my truck or waiting on Union breaks to come to an end. I was even told to have a nice day as I left through the main gate.

Carpet Call

2011-04-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

I got an email today pointing out the lack of posts to this blog. Tom, I am sorry, I have been a slacker when it comes to this blog. We have been very busy at the Works though. I think some of you might like to see exactly what has happen since my last post.

P.S. Tom, thanks for the nudge...

The build out has begun. It is hard to see in the photo but a pan was fabricated to cover the entire bathroom area. Any falling water will go in the drain and no where else. There is a piece of plywood in the bottom of the pan to protect it while we walk in and out. The curb is also got a strip cover it while we walked in and out. We walked in and out literally 100's of times as you will soon see.

The side walls of the shower follow the curves of the trailer. How to get that curve perfect? Make a template. I used rips of luan and broke the curve into sections. I carefully scribe each section and joined them together...

then add in a vertical element perpendicular to the floor. I now have a perfect template of the entire wall. From this template I can make the actual panel that goes in this location. I can also make the aluminum panel that will face the interior wall of the bathroom and the maple panel that will face the salon.

Do you see how this works? I have the wall perfectly copied. Slick right? To make this template, it took about 150 trips to a bandsaw, jig saw, or belt sander. Once the copy is made, it only takes about 15 trips in and out to get a perfect fit.

This is not a good fit. A little scribing and a little belt sand...

until it is all gone. No gap, tight fit. This kind of attention to detail is what separates the boys from the men. Not to float my boat, but this kind of skill has taken me over 18 years to learn. Scribing is not an easy thing to learn and every time I do it, I feel challenged. I live for a good challenge.

And there you have it; the inner wall section. Next step is to cut out the inner aluminum then the outer wall section. Then to move on to the next wall and repeat. The template had to next be scribed to that location. Not one bulkhead is the same as the next. Each and every time, I had to reshape the curve before cutting out actual pieces.

Here you see some of the fir strips that stiffen the wall and act as studs. This has not been attached tight to the floor and wall and that is why you see light at the top. When in place, the gap is gone.

The same principle was used all the way around the trailer. You may notice the water tanks are sitting in place. The cabinets will be built around them.

This will be the refrigerator cabinet. It is a single panel of maple with fir supports on the inside face. A solid maple face frame will be fabricated once all the bases are made.

The space here is a comfortable 32 inches wide. I was concerned about constricting the view, but instead the eye is drawn into the space between the cabinets. A room divider will be utilized to make the front a private space when needed.

Hope you liked this little update. I have been working some other projects through the shop during the past few weeks also. I am not going to bore anyone with photos of axle swaps or replacing a refrigerator. I know some would enjoy it, but I will save it for some other time.

Officially an (insulated)Aluminum Tent.

2011-03-16T03:26:00.000-07:00

The long gaps in postings here may make it appear that nothing has been going on with the Double Door, however that could not be farther from the truth. We have been plowing through the project full steam ahead. A tail wind and the tides seem to be helping move us along to boot.

I had not really anticipated the amount of work required to get the skins stripped, cleaned up, and installed again. The end caps gave us a work out also. The flimsy front shelf was to go away and all the holes cut into them for lighting also.

The rear end cap had been gel coated originally for this served the rear bathroom. The front end cap did not have the same smooth surface. The original finish was Zolatone, and it being a very forgiving paint, allowed for the rough fiberglass finish.

Fortunately for me, Wayne is a very talented guy. He knows a little about body work and he made all the holes go away. I really cannot say enough good things about Wayne. He comes to work sober (and stays that way), he is always on time, and is willing to learn anything that comes his way. He chews his cigars, hums to the music I have blaring and just does his best at everything. This country needs more employees like Wayne.

He had never stripped paint before meeting me. I unfortunately have stripped way too much paint in my life. I had originally planned to send the panels out to be stripped, but the cost was prohibitive on top of a very long lead time. Instead we did it in house. The panel you see is very typical of what we had to deal with. The blue(acrylic) and yellow(oil based) paint came off rather easily. The Zolatone however is another story. It was very stubborn, requiring two applications of material. The Zolatone primer was even more resilient than the top coat. Even with multiple applications of stripper, it still left 20% the primer on the skins.

We did not fool around with this. I do not feel a product like Citrus Strip is aggressive enough. We went right for the nuclear stripper. This is a Methyl Chloride based stripped and there really is nothing more powerful one can legally buy. It chewed right in.

Sorry for the big jump here, but we were just too busy working to take photos. Here all the skins have been installed and all the opening have been taped off. We sanded every square inch of aluminum.

This may seem like overkill, but for one, I learned a long time ago the paint will only look as good as the prep work. Once you start painting it is very hard to go back and fix it. I also do not want to see the paint fail. We sanded it all, vacuumed it all off and followed up with washing it all down with mineral spirits.

I next applied a Sherwin Williams primer that stated "ideal for aluminum and other non ferrous metals". You ask "why no Zolatone?" That was my preference, but Bruce does not like the textured surface Zolatone creates. He prefers a smooth flat surface.

Three coats of this primer were applied with sanding of every square inch in between. Remember, it will only look as good as your prep work. It might seem like overkill, but it was imperative. The top coat is a matte paint. Zero sheen, dead flat, Dove White.

Not a good lighting situation, but the top coat is a slightly warm white. You have probably been in many houses with this particular white, for it is Sherwin Williams best selling white. It sells so well that this white is available premixed in every line of paint they offer.

One serious issue with this paint is that every single time I touch it or lean against it, I leave a hand print. Trailer work is dirty and white loves to show dirt. A matte surface makes it even easier for the dirt to show.

The flooring had been stacked right outside the trailer to acclimate to the humidity levels in the shop for a couple of weeks. We moved it inside to let it condition close to where it would be laid.

A cork floating floor is being used. This brand goes down on a felt pad with a vapor barrier. The pieces actually lock together with a click.

Running the lines down the length make the trailer makes it look longer. As if 30 feet is not long enough visually already. This also allows for very little cutting. Less cutting equals less waste.

Cabinet building time is coming up soon.

The wet bath module will sit where the is no flooring right behind the door. This will be the next major phase moving forward.

Thanks for reading, please come back soon.

CardStream

2011-02-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

It is often wonderful to plan out how an interior will be built out. One can draw it out on paper to scale to see if the proportions will work. Visualize it, meditate on it, try as you might, until it is in three dimensions, you have no clue how it work in real life. I wanted to be sure the flow, the function, and fit will be all correct. I took a day and built a cardboard interior. I built a CardStream. I wonder if Michael De Praida will make me a shirt.

On a quick side note... I love Michael. He makes awesome shirts of really high quality materials. I am wearing one of his shirts as I type this. Please, buy a shirt from him and tell him "Frank asked me to buy a shirt." Lets flood him with orders.

OKAY, OKAY!!! I can shill for my friends. Back to the double door...

Mocking it up the interior offers many things to the build. Not only do I feel the actual flow through the space, it allows me to locate all the wiring that needs to be run. I can locate the outlets, switches, and light so that once the cabinet are built, everything will fall into place.

Here we are looking into the front window. The desk is in the foreground. There will be a gaucho under the street side windows. It will pull out to a double bed.

Bruce plans to full time in the Double Door and this will be his mobile office.

Next on the street side after the gaucho will be the refrigerator cabinet. The 110 volt breaker box will be located in the cabinet above it.

The wet bath will be opposite the galley.

The wet bath will have a composting toilet sitting within a stainless steel pan. The interior walls will all be aluminum. For the walls of the wet bath, we will be using aluminum sheets. The opening and wall you see here will be an oversized shower door that has a large panel of frosted glass next to it. This will allow light to pass through from both sides.

Next to the fridge is a long run of base cabinets. A stove will be to the far right. A sink will be centered on the middle window. A 37 gallon tank will be under this run of cabinets.

Though not in the mock up, a run of metal upper cabinets will be used. These are salvaged from a 1954 Safari. They will probably be stripped and polished. That is all for later though.

To the rear of the wet bath will be a large pantry and wardrobe unit. It will also have a second water tank with 27 gallons. Combined the Double Door will carry 64 gallons of fresh water.

The mocking up of the interior might seem like a lot of work, but it has proven a good deal to me. When one has a conversation that turns into an idea, which morphs into a concept, that needs to evolve into a layout, this makes seeing and feeling it a reality. You have no idea how many times a drawing was handed to me of something that was impossible to build. I was always told "but, I drew it out so it must work". A full size mock up proves it will work.

Now you don't see it in those mock up photos, but all the electric has been roughed in at this point. The second layer of insulation has been installed too. Skins are being prepped for reinstallation.

The water heater went in for good also. I just could not take the look of the white, Atwood supplied door. I made my own from Alclad. Airstream offers brushed stainless steel doors. The problem, Airstreams are aluminum not stainless steel and they are certainly not a brushed surface. The double doors hatch can be polished to a mirror if wanted.

We also installed two inlets through the side. One is for 30 amp shore power the other is for a co axial cable connection. Previously I have used Marinco brand inlets, but Steve at Vintage Trailer Supply now stocks this alternative by Furrion. The inlet is not as beefy as the Marinco brand but at 1/2 the price it is well worth the price. I think these inlets look super slick on the side of the Double Door.

I actually called the VAP voice mail line to ask for help earlier in the week. I could not wait and I solved it. The problem is the that the "Sovereign" name plate is made from white metal.

Over the years two of the four mounting posts had broken off. To drill into it is very difficult because it is so thin and also incredibly fragile.

I cut the head off of a machine screw to create a proper diameter stud.

I then JB Welded the new stud on. Amazingly the JB Weld is holding it tight. I did not feel it was enough to hold it on forever. Yes, I said forever. I work to those kind of standards.

To be sure of it not coming back off I used a double sided automotive tape. I have been advised that this will work very well.

By the next update I will have interior skins in. The forward progress has picked up dramatically. It won't be long now before you will see the Double Door on the road.

Sealers of Sorts and Sizes

2011-01-27T17:44:00.000-08:00

I got a lot of feed back asking to go into a bit more depth as to the sealers I have used on the Double Door. There are no trade secrets here. I honestly do not know if they are the best products for the job, but they sure do work well for me.

My favorite sealant is butyl tape. I love the stuff to be honest. Here you see where I used it behind the L-200 lock and the dead bolt. I like the way it bulges out over the edge. A sharp knife trims the excess right off. The wide variety of widths and thicknesses makes for a perfect fit. I use butyl behind window flanges, vent stacks, and such. I buy this at my RV Supply House. Your local RV Center with a store will have some sizes.

I have also become very fond of Acryl-R. I buy it from the Airstream Store. You buy a pump and a can of the product. One can will do a few trailers or your own for a number of seasons.

The applicator tip has a real fine orifice and once you learn how much pressure to pump and how fast to move the tip, it will give a real nice bead. I use this for the outside seams. The aluminum color helps it blend in real well.

The literature says it does up to 1/4", but I only use it on 1/8" or less. Something with a little more body, like Vulkem is good for the wider gaps.

The Acryl-R actually pulls into the seam. Capillary action helps wick the material into the seam. It is amazing to watch happen. I buy this from Airstream online.

Although very new to me, C-10 Flow Seal sealant has been used on all the interior seams. It also has a bit of capillary action going for it. I will warn you now, it has many products with "something ol u ene " in their name. If you are chemically sensitive or live in California, this is not a product for you. In good ventilation, and a 24 hour span for the product to fully cure, it is very safe and highly flexible material. It worked really well on the seams.

If two edges of aluminum join, they are sealed with the C-10.

You can see how it pulls in to the gap. I also used this to seal the Fantastic Vents to the roof and around their edge. This stuff flows slowly for about four minutes and then flashes off. To answer the inevitable: I buy it from my RV Supply House. I can ship it to you if you want. It is not cheap.

I also sealed areas using rubber gaskets. To stick the rubber to the skin, I used this adhesive.

I apply it by putting a thin bead on one surface. The bead is feathered out with a brush dipped in lacquer thinner. I then let it dry completely.

A thin bead is applied to the center of the gasket. The wet adhesive activates the dry film and the two are bonded together. You need to be sure of your placement, for once put down, it is down for good.

Well the most unusual sealant to roll through the Works has to be what I found on the back of one of the 54 Safari's. This trailer was part of a deer camp. So when sealing gaps, why not give the sealant some body and use deer fir. Yes that is deer fir and painters caulk. When it failed, hot tar filled in the pinch. You see it all on these old girls.

Hope this helps with some of the "Sealant Curious". Thanks for reading....

Rode Hard and Put Up Wet, Over and Over Again.

2011-01-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

I had strong suspicions that the Double Door had been ridden very hard over the years. The banana wraps were so beat that there were pits almost through them. The gauge of aluminum is fairly thick and it takes a lot of road debris to get to that extent.

Polishing brings out all the scratches big and small. The corners of the trailer have rubbed many bushes, branches, or barriers.

I chalk this up as road history. Unfortunately polishing accentuates these in a big way. Once cleaned out with solvent and you take a step or two back they go away visually. Any decal leaves a tell tale sign on the skin too. The edge of the decal tends to stay crisp and the exposed skin around it oxidizes leaving a permanent shadow in the Alclad.

Sometimes, you do not see this halo until you polish. Sometimes, this halo illuminates some history as to why she was rode so hard and put up so wet:

As a brand new rig she went with Howard and Matilda Ehmann on Caravan #34 to Western Canada with the Wally Byam Caravan Club. In the Winter of 1965 they went on Caravan #42 to Mexico. They must have loved Mexico because they went on Caravan #65 to Eastern Mexico in 1969. They also did a Canada Capital to USA Capitol Caravan in 1972. Canada is a lovely place so in 1982 they attended Caravan #142 to Eastern Canada. Howard passed away in 1983. I never once saw any of the Ehmann's decal on the trailer even in full direct sun light. The polishing highlighted the oxide around where years ago it had been. I am glad it did. The Double Door (then single door)passed into a new owners hands a while later. I am still working on the second owners history. Perhaps in my next post.

The second owners red numbers are fairly visible. The big push has been to button her up and make a weather tight shell. Here you can also see the new holes for the marker light. The base screw holes match perfectly, but the hole for the wire feed needed to be drilled in a new location. I added a rubber grommet to the hole also to prevent the possibility of chaffing.

The reproduction lights are a fairly good match to the originals. I just wish the bases could be a heavier gauge metal, and, uh, the lenses were glass also, just dreaming...

The new Airstream badges look sharp too. All dem stinkin badges are bucked on permanent now.

The jalousie windows got a good deal of attention. After cleaning as much oxidation as possible, it was time to start putting windows back together. There are a few seals that needed to be installed. At the top and bottom of the window there is an "O" profile. Along the sides is a fuzzy seal. Once the seals are installed, the glass can be slid into the retainers. Finding these retainers was a chore. Lucky for me, Scott in Yakima Washington, had a couple he could let me have.

The glass is held tight in the retainer by those little rubber bumpers.

Boy, do the jalousie window look sharp with new glass and all the parts bright and shiny.

A great deal of air will be passing through. Nice new porch light. Hey, that matches the one at the front door.

One negative aspect of the jalousie window is that they do not always seal up tight. I am working to over come this issue. I think the real problem is a design issue. The windows only use one operator to control the glass. On the side with the operator, it is nice and tight when closed.

However, on the side without the operator, the glass cannot pull down tight, there is always a gap. I have a trick up my sleeve. I just cut a slot into the window frame and add a left hand operator. Now, both sides can pull the glass tight against the seal.

1964 has a unique window type. The serial number begins with a "C". These were a one year run of windows. The present day demand for gaskets, operators, and such is very low so finding replacement becomes difficult. Sometimes one must be creative.

When the window sash is slid out of the frame, a little piece of plastic often falls to the ground and is lost. This little part is important in keeping the window from sliding back and forth in the opening. Out of six windows, I had three of these parts. Only one would meet my standards of being usable. Good luck finding replacements. Can you say "O B S O L E T E "? What to do?

Make it, just make your own. I went and purchased some nylon and just reproduce it. Problem solved, all windows now have brand new inserts to screw the keeper into. Next step, replace all the window cranks and install all new gaskets around the openings. With one more day the windows will all be 100% new again.

Some other things that happened since my last post was the sealing of all the interior and exterior seams. I did not have any photos of this. It is honestly not very exciting to see. I will try and cover this more, if anyone shows interest. Next week we will leak test her and start in on the insulation.

"WE" you say? "We" I say. I want to introduce Wayne. Wayne is the newest craftsman to come work at FTW. Wayne has many years experience are a shade tree mechanic and hot rod dabbler. He needed work and I needed help. He has been working out very well and is willing to learn how to do what ever it takes. Wayne, you like polishing? " I am just trying to do a good job for ya here. If it is what needs to be done, I'm all over it!"

On The Down Low

2011-01-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

It has been just a tad too long since I posted last. I had been trying to keep my posts corresponding to the new episodes of The Vintage Airstream Podcast. Due to the holidays, the Show has taken a little time off, but Frank's Trailer Works has been going full steam ahead. The Double Door is getting closer and closer to being a water tight shell.

A considerable amount of time has gone into cleaning all the openings. I can not be certain if it was a factory job, or a later upgrade, but the adhesive used to hold all the door seals was very thick and very resistant to removal. We actually had to melt it off with solvents. Usually a heat gun is all that is needed, but this stuff was nuclear. We persisted and the openings are now as clean as the day the trailer was built.

It is very important to me that when this trailer leave here, it not leak. I have no illusions that it never will. They all leak eventually, but this trailer is going out dry. Before I can get all my seams sealed 100%, I need the trailer to be polished. I had Charles and Tony from 1st Impressions come down and take care of this. The first step was to flash off the aluminum. I know, I just opened myself up to some serious criticism, but I will be doing EVERY seam over from the front and back. The flashing material is a diluted acid that reacts to the aluminum oxide. The surface, after washed off, is soft and silky...

... and after a little alchemy, and lots of dirt and grime, you have a polished shell.

I know I have not gotten too deep into details in this post. I just wanted to give a little peek into what has been going on. This Thursday is a taping of The Vintage Airstream Podcast and I promise to give a more in depth post of the prepping,the polishing, and working on those pesky 1964 Hehr Clear View windows. No wonder they were only used for one year. That could be a whole VAP show in it's self.

Till then, Happy New Year.

The Big Move

2010-12-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

After many years of working from my house, and most recently, Mike's yard, I have moved into a commercial space. Frank's Trailer Works now resides at 824-D Landay Street, in East Baltimore.

The space seemed so immense when I first took possession. I knew it would be filling up quickly.

My space includes a wrap around fenced yard.

Also a dock height door in the rear. The yard is big enough that I could park 4-5 trailers with out any problem.

I put the Fan up front as my office. The coffee maker lives in there and the dinette makes a nice spot to order parts, drink my coffee, and eat my lunch. I have become a huge fan of the Fan. It is a very cozy trailer. I was in the process of setting up the dust collection in this shot.

She is a pretty little thing. Polished up she will be a real head turner.

Here the dust collection pipes are all run and Sovereign is in the service bay. The interior end caps have been sitting next to the shop. They and all the interior skins for the 64 Double Door are now neatly stowed above the bathroom

The 64 Double Door fits in with lots of room to work around her. I still have plenty of room for a woodworking area and a metal area. I am so glad to be out of the cold and off the wet ground. There will be no more days of being shut down due rain or snow.

Hope you enjoyed the quick little tour of the new FTW shop. Come on by and pay me a visit now.

Just Cannot Get Enough..

2010-11-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

Ace came back to lend a hand at FTW this past week. He loves the work and getting paid to do a labor of love has big pay offs too. His timing was great, because I had gotten the jalousie windows to the front of the door taken care of and the windows and panels needed to be bucked back into place along with a new 20 foot awning rail and numerous errant holes from screws.

I had asked for your opinions on fixing the the 1 7/16" slope to front. Before even the first opinion had come in I had determined to correct this issue. A call from Bruce telling me to make it right confirmed the choice. Thank you all that posted your opinions on this issue, good to know everyone think doing it right is the only option.

I first removed everything from the opening. In this photo you can see how the roof panel trails down severely toward the front. That edge was trimmed so it runs parallel to to the floor. It was just a matter of re building it using new square material for the rest.

The narrow piece of skin at the door was cut with two parallel edges, unlike the original that was tapered 1 3/4" over 4 feet.

The window now sits parallel to the floor as you can see.

Looking at this photo as I write, it looks as if the windows go down down hill again. I assure you it is straight now. The wide angle lens I have on my camera must be distorting the angle a bit. I am still learning my new Lumex, Something Something 10 so please go easy on me...

The only un square part is the narrow panel to the right. It tapes 3/8" over 4 feet. I did the best I could. You can also see the new old stock banana wrap has been installed.

Ace went right at any task I asked him do. I got the door drip cap set and he pulled the monster rivets I had to use.

Another big achievement was getting all the Herh vents removed and new Fantastic Vents put in their place. The numerous attempts to seal seams made for a serious chore. A little heat, a little solvent, a little blood, and lots of elbow grease got it off. Remember, in painting and just about anything you build, it only will look as good as the prep. When replacing the vents, one little bit of old junk could break the water tight seal. Make sure it is very clean.

Bruce is opting to not install Air Conditioning in this trailer. Those three fans should do a great job moving the air. They have the rain sensor option in them. This is a feature I highly believe in. It has saved my bacon many times during a sudden rain storm.

I also managed to put together two perfectly functioning Ladue lifters from the eight that came on the trailer. This allowed me to install a new Astrodome. This Astrodome is a new product from Vintage Trailer Supply made from lexan. It does not have any metal in the lip to strengthen the rivets used to hold the lifters on like their earlier reproductions. I think it will still work very well. It also allows a great deal of white light in which is a vast improvement over the fiberglass version.

My main focus has been to get the shell tightened up and weather tight. As all the holes are closed in, the windows rise higher on the priority list.

I ordered up all new glass for every opening. The jalousie glass was the first to be completed. Maryland glass did a great job making me this laminated safety glass. They polished the long edges perfectly. Now I need to get the openings all ready to get accept the glass. A bit of info here, each pane will be a serious pain when the bill comes. 36 pieces adds up VERY QUICKLY. Polished edge, safety laminated glass is just not cheap. The six awning windows should be done any day. I opted to let a local Ace Hardware obtain all the glass and splines then put them back together. I will just have to slide them back into the openings.

There is a good amount of rusty metal that needs to be removed and replaced. The corrosion in the window jams needs to be dealt with also.

I could use some help with this part right here. This carrier is turning out to be very elusive. I contacted Blain Windows who seem to be the authority on jalousie windows and none of the carriers they offer are the right size. I had a friend send a few out of later models and none of those fit also. Maybe some 1964 owner will be able to help me out. I need at least one right and one left. I would also like to replace a second left, but can straighten the damage out.

There are so many minor details that did not make the photo cut. I managed to install the Bargram 99's and license plate holder salvaged from the 1961 parts trailer. Cleaning up window frames does not really make for exciting photos either. It does make for many hours of tedious work though. If I could just get Ace back for that...

By the next post I will be in my new shop space. I am going to work Friday on getting the 64 DoubleDoor ready to move over there and then the next week or two moving my business across town and getting set back up. After more than a few projects being done outside, all winter long, I look forward to a heated space. After many days spent laying in the mud or on frozen ground, I look forward to a smooth concrete floor to roll a creeper on.

Thanks for tuning in and thank you for listening to The Vintage Airstream Podcast

It Really is a 64 Double Door

2010-11-11T16:39:00.000-08:00

A ton of work took place over the past two weeks. I am very proud of the results achieved during this period. The Willows has really become a double door. A great deal of damaged skin has been replaced. I do not mean to sound lazy, but sometimes the photos just speak for themselves.

Next up is the repairs to the crooked front jalousie. The entire area will be torn down and rebuilt correctly. All the glass should be in and all the windows working, as new, by the next post. Perhaps a jalousie rebuild 101 might be good future post. Roof vents should be in also.

I also want to give a big thanks to Ace Goldberg. He was a champ at helping me buck a ton of rivets. I really could not have gotten all this done with out you.

Full Throttle Ahead

2010-10-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

If you are not aware, I am also documenting this project on the Vintage Airstream Podcast. You can hear some explanation that might add to what you read here. Go back to episode #120 to find the beginning.

Some days seem to go nowhere fast and others plow through full throttle. There are so many details to deal with before I could drop the shell back down.

An area of concern for me was where the frame rails and the plywood meet. There is this gap in the belly wrap. This is a serious weak spot in the amour. At all four spots where the frame meets the body this situation exists.

I made this plate to protect that spot. The back side is filled with Vulkem and there is no water going back under there now.

I am always blown away by how much supplies and tools accumulate doing the most simple of tasks. This is all associated with wiring the brakes and the emergency break away system.

I went with an independent break away system, not dependent on the trailer batteries. The unit has a battery and charger working off the umbilical cord. In the event the trailer falls off the ball, this will set the brakes fast to stop the trailer from rolling.

Eventually the time came to roll the chassis back under. I was fortunate to have the help of Ace Goldberg for this task. Ace came on down from Pittsburgh and gave me two solid days. He did an awesome job.

We got the chassis as close as possible before lowering the shell down.

Nice and slow. Push here, pull there. Wiggle, wiggle wiggle...

We got the front plate lined up and just started filling holes. With Ace's awesome help we managed to get the key areas riveted around the belt line . The only ones we did not do around the belt line, were where panels are being replaced. Ace was a huge help to me. Just like Steve, I wish he lived closer so we could work together more often.

Bruce, my client, came for two days. He stayed in Anna, our 62 Overlander, and we spent the time working out many of the details associated with layout. We sat and communed with the trailer a good deal. The layout will be very functional. More of that in the future. For now, the main focus is structure.

Here is an aspect of the project I thought the input of some of you readers might come in handy with this. At some point in the past this trailer was hit. The rib to the left of the jalousies window was replaced. When things were bucked back together, the left side of the window was bucked in 1/2" lower than the right side. Should I correct this? What would you do if you were me? Most people would never pick up on this down hill slope. I bothers me tremendously.

Here you can see the different sized ribs used to replace the damaged one. One was added under the original and a second was used as a splint. If it were you, would you correct this slanting jalousie. The window functions perfectly. The rivet lines all looks good from the outside, but what would you do. Reader votes solves my decision.

At some point this segment was replaced also. I think all this repair work was done at the factory or by an Airstream service center. It was done very well.

My next step was to launch into body work. I need to create a weather tight shell with all functioning windows and hatches. I also need to move a window, add a window, and install the second door, creating the one and only 1964 double door.

I am stripping the exterior of everything. All vent pipe penetrations are coming off and most are being patched over. The awning rail is being replaced with new straight stock so that also is being stripped. Look at all that dirt build up behind it. If it protrudes, it is getting removed.

We are going with three new Fantastic Fans up here. All three will have rain sensors in them. Bruce is forgoing air conditioning, so the Fantastic Fans will need to be able to move a good deal of air.

I also removed all the glass from the jalousie windows. All the glass will be new in every window throughout.

Even the porch light will be replaced. Ahhh.... BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY IN MARYLAND!!!!!

Another discovery was how the wheel wells shape had been raise up to give more tire changing clearance. I always thought it a weird shape, but had never studied it closely. This photo is a great "BEFORE" photo. Ready to see a big change? Seriously, are you ready?

Whoa... Where did that third safari style window come from? Nice look if you ask me. Much better balance with that one there. See the 12 foot panel under those three windows? It is getting replaced. So is the same one on the other side for that matter.

Bruce wanted a lot of air and light in his trailer. I made that desire come true for sure. With the curb side changes you will see in the next post, that dream is going to be an ELEVEN.

Now that is a nice set of windows. When that big crease is gone and the wheel wells are cut out this side will look tremendous. I am very proud of the direction this is heading.

For my next post, I should have the second door installed and the jalousie window next to it. By the next post, this Sovereign will be a double door for sure. Hopefully the next few weeks will be as productive as these were. Thanks for reading and listening. Send me your opinions on the slanted jalousie window....

Sneaking One In

2010-10-11T14:45:00.001-07:00

I have been doing a VAP exclusive with my current project, but I really felt the need to sneak this post in. FTW is moving into a rather large and somewhat spartan space. There is no office or break room, so I am bringing one in.

Here is the FTW office/ break room. She is a 1960 Fan. Aluminum skin, but not riveted like an Airstream. I know many of you think I am an Airstream dude(my nickname at the Port of Baltimore. A number of Port workers call me that as if they know me. I only know Diane. She is the nice lady that makes my paper work official. There is very little I would not do to keep her happy. My wife even knows, if the call comes, I might have to take one for the team) however I have a strong affection for many other brands. While I am being honest and direct, Airstream, well, how to phrase this kindly,... are not "THE BEST" as many think. There are some much nicer and much better built trailers out there. I just happen to like Airstreams the best, and have only worked on them so far. Moving on.

This little Fan is not however better built than an Airstream. It is a stick built, screw, nail, and staple trailer. Quality and longevity were not the motivation for it's construction, use was. Big bang for the buck. Functionality over design.

So many trailers are built in Indiana. Does anyone know why? I realize you think I have all the answers, but I do not know the correct answer to this one.

Wakarusa Indiana. Wakarusa is right next door to Elkhart. Elkhart seems to be the epicenter of trailer fabrication. Why?

I really dig this aluminum siding. The Hehr Standard windows are a big hit with me too. The steel screws, not so hot on those.

Kind of a nice pedunka dunk...

That is the smallest Herh window I have ever seen. 6" tall including the frame.

Nice big window in the door.

A small but efficient galley. A good place to make coffee, heat up some soup. Heck with a nice cast iron griddle, I could fix anything on that stove top Princess. Hopefully the Dometic works so that I can keep some Natty Boh cold. For when clients and visitors come, not for me, I would never have a cold one at the end of a hard day.

A nice spot to eat lunch, go over details, shop for parts...

Cold water washing of dishes. Might need a grey tank for that. The space does have hot and cold water. Maybe I can pipe it in..

And if I get too tired, a place to lay my head.

If either of my daughters are rendered into indentured servitude to me, I have a bunk for them.

I will have Saintly protection. Is Saint Anne the patron Saint of trailer restorers?

The Fan has or has had a few leaks. They all leak ya know.

If the power ever goes out I can fire up the Humphry lamp and keep right on going.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my soon to be office trailer. My next post will be back on track with the 64 double door.

Back on Her Own Four Feet(Wheels, but that does not sound as catchy)

2010-10-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have not seen as much production as I would have cared for. I am not going to make excuses, but a major reason for slow forward progress has been the weather. Fall is here now and with it comes many rainy days. Lost days has lead me to find a solution. The solution is leasing a commercial space. Finding the right space, negotiating a lease, and lining up the required trades to make the space fully functional has also taken me away from working on the Double Door. As of December 1 Frank's Trailer Works will have a large facility so that there will no longer be lost days due to the weather.

I have not been a total slacker however. Things have happened that were highly productive. Bruce came for a day and a half visit. We spent a good deal of time doing a conceptual layout that we both feel will work very well for his needs. Both of us made some compromises in our visions so that we can create a highly functional trailer.

Something that has caused slight delays was the waiting on axles. The time delay ultimately falls on me for not creating enough lead time. I ordered these Axis axles through Colin Hyde Trailer Restorations. Colin was extremely helpful in ordering and held my hand through the whole thing. You do have to do some measuring, careful measuring I might add. It is not difficult and he will walk you right through it. My total came rather quickly via email as to the cost with shipping. I simply mailed off a check and a few days later received a build date of the following week. From the time Colin received my check to the delivery was exactly three weeks. The axles came well protected on a pallet. All hardware was included with the order. I only had to acquire the shocks and that was very easy.

The chassis is now back on the ground sitting on her tires. The wires you see are for the brakes. Once the belly is installed they will all drop down at the hub through a rubber grommet.

Another delay has been the grey water tank. The manufacturer punched in the wrong model number and sent me a 53 gallon tank instead of the 30 gallon, I not only ordered, but altered the frame to accommodate. I was held up many days waiting for the wrong tank to come and even more days for the correct one to show up. They finally got it right, and the tank went into the frame as if it was made for it. Oh, yeah, it was made for it.

From the side of the tank I ran the drain line forward for the shower. The entire Bathroom will be a wet bath configuration. More details on all of this will come forth in the near future.

I also drilled into the top of the tank for the feed from the kitchen. This will also serve as the vent for the tank.

Originally all the umbilical wires connected to the trailer wires in the belly. I hate laying on my back messing with trouble shooting wires, so I eliminated the need to do that by bringing all the wires up in the front. In this area we will have a wiring compartment. Trouble shooting will be very easy.

All of these things needed to take place before I can install the belly pan. The installation of the belly pan began this afternoon but did not get to point that much can be said about it. Perhaps in my next post, this will be highlighted.

By next post, I feel confident that the shell will be back into place. Please stay tuned...

More Than Meets the Eye

2010-09-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

I wish there was more to see in these photos, but a good deal really has taken place over the past two weeks.

When I last posted we had a primed frame. Everything from that point on is all reconstruction. She is now being put back together and it feels great. I will highlight some of the things that got us to this point. The exposed areas were painted FTW grey. I prewired all the brake lines through the frame first. The brake wiring included the runs for the break away safety switch to the tongue. A new umbilical cord was also installed while it was easy to work from above.

Marine grade plywood was bolted down to the frame and the outside shape was cut using the template I fabricated during deconstruction. The template assured me everything would line up perfectly. The new wheel wells were also installed and sealed to the frame. I reused the curved extrusion sections of "C" channel for the front and rear curves, but all straight sections were fabricated using new material. There was just no reason to reuse something that was beat up and full of holes. I can now drill new holes into virgin materials when riveting the shell in place.

2 inch of polyisocyanurate foam insulation was carefully cut and glued to the underside of the plywood floor. This gives a full 12R of insulation down there. Mice are not very fond of it as nesting and it does not absorb water. I have used this insulation a number of times now. I would like to go ahead and install the belly pans which have also been fabricated using the originals as templates. The hold up is waiting on the grey water tank. It needs to go in and all the lines run to it before I button it all up down there. It is very important to have all that complete before it is buttoned up.

I also could really stand to get the new axles mounted under these new wheel wells. Axis built them on the 16th so hopefully they are on a truck heading towards me. The tank and waste lines are more important than axles but having things on hand makes me most comfortable for work flow.

I know none of this is very exciting to see, but it is all steps forward toward reuniting the shell and chassis. Hopefully by next posting the belly has been installed and the shell has joined back where it should be. That should offer some visual interest.

Shell Off!!!!!

2010-09-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been tremendous with Steve coming into town for six of those days. I will go through some of what has happened since my last post...

After my last shell off I decided to go about things a little differently. I had seen how a friend in the UK lifted the shell from above instead of from below. Doing the lifting from below is easy, but the lowering it back down is rather precarious. I adopted Chris's method, for it offers a good deal of safety and ease. Since I do not have a gantry in an old warehouse to use, I needed to either buy one or build my own. I went with the "do it yourself, build your own" gantry.

The gantry I constructed is basically two sets of saw horses. They are giant saw horses though, at 12 feet high. I should be able to use these over and over for many lifts to come. They could actually lift the entire trailer I think.

I made sure both sides of the gantry were level with each other before connecting the dead fall chain to a beam below the front and back vents. The shell, once released, just dangles in the air. It is amazing how little weight these shells have in their raw form.

Literally the pull of two fingers sent it right up in the air. There are a lot of rivets to find and shear before it can happen though. The term blind rivet is no exaggeration, many are so obscure you would never think them to be there. Once they are all cut, it just lifts up very easily.

We just rolled the entire chassis right out from under her. I will tell you, seeing the shell hanging there was a very unusual sight.

Getting the shell down on the ground quickly was important. The slightest breeze caused it to sway back and forth like the sail on a wind chime. Fortunately, Steve held it still till we could lower it down with the chain fall. I think this method of lifting and lowering worked very well. It was safe and very efficient. The next major task was to take the belly pan off.

Folks, the belly pan on any vintage Airstream is a nasty ugly place. This may look extra dirty, this may look very unusual, but this is exactly what I find every single time. Even in those cute, well taken care of units, this is what it looks like. It is best to remain ignorant in my opinion, and not look in.

Once the belly was down and cleaned off it did not look as bad. It will only serve as templates though, for just about every out rigger has sawn through. I think a previous owner had an affection for running over large objects also, for it has many major dents.

Here is a good indication of the condition of the floor. You can see the plywood that was screwed down over the rotting original. A few nails were also used for good measures.

For real secure flooring you might want to use a Hilti gun (sarcasm for those unable to recognize it). For those not familiar with a Hilti gun, it uses a 22 caliber load to literally shoot a nail. This tool is typically used to shoot(yes, shoot BANG) a nail into concrete or steel in commercial applications. You can buy them at your local orange or blue box, but you are supposed to be certified to use them. There have been many cases of this tool being used incorrectly and the nail going through the intended location and into an innocent victim. I am continuously baffled by what some people do. A HILTI GUN IS NOT AN AIRSTREAM RESTORATION TOOL. Okay, moving on.

The wheel wells look fairly good in this photo but they are very torn up at the seams. There are many holes where they have rusted through from the outside in. Like the belly pans, the originals will serve as patterns for new ones.

A big surprise was the condition of the frame. Looking at the floor, I would have guessed major damage. I told Bruce to cross his fingers as to the state of the frame and he must have crossed all his fingers and all his toes. There were four quarter sized holes and nothing else. No cross members or outriggers needing replacement. We were able to just focus on cleaning it up and make alterations for the grey water system, install the second set of steps, and repair the bumper.

Sometimes in a restoration parts can only be found by taking them from another trailer. Originally this 1960 Tradewind was bought to use the door for this project. Unfortunately, the door decided it liked Tennessee and jumped off along the road. The overall condition is very poor, so it really is good for parts only. All you purists calm down, I am being respectful. Many trailers will benefit from the sacrifice of this one.

Steve cut the entire step assembly out of the Tradewind and welded it onto the Sovereign frame. He made it fit and operate perfectly. I was very impressed with how he made this happen. It took a little effort, but it really paid off.

Another thing we took off of the Tradewind was the bumper. The Sovereign's was beat to hell. We contemplated trying to straighten it out, but it always would have looked imperfect. The one from the Tradewind even had a spare tire mount on it. A huge bonus if you ask me.

A bunch of you are getting all worked up now by this. I know, some of you are thinking that there should not be all that weight hanging on the bumper, but I have thought this through a great deal. We are loosing the rear bathroom. There was a rather large black tank back here and that is gone along with all the other stuff. We observed the frame when the wheel was put on and the frame did not move. The frame is very flexible and rather weak by itself. I feel strongly that the spare tire will be no problem at all. The reenforcement won't hurt either. Mr Byam took trailers through Africa in 1959 with two tires hanging off the back. It will be all good.

Here is the frame all cleaned up and ready for primer...

I love the way that second step looks. I am very excited to see what the rear door will look like once the shell is put back. This project has me very excited in general.

So the next step is treating the frame to minimize the possibility of rusting out in the future. Being always on the hunt for new technology to improve the process I went to my local paint store. I am not going to mention names, but this company is known world wide. I have always been very happy with their products and know that the real bulk of their business is industrial coatings. I let the fella there talk me into an oil based product designed for metal structures such as oil wells and bridges. The product went on very well and flowed through my cup gun perfectly. When I left for the day I was very pleased with the results.

Unfortunately 14 hours later I found this to be the results. Showing up for work and seeing this was like a swift kick to the groan. It said boldly on the label "CONTAINS RUST INHIBITORS"... Uhm, was that a typo? Did they mean to say "CONTAINS RAPID ACTION RUST INCUBATORS" Now I have been thrust into this position before where I try something and it fails. My failures are not the responsibility of my client, they are mine. So I clocked out, got out the wire brush and the sand blaster, and removed all the primer. Next I used a product I know works. If Eastwood ever becomes a sponsor, I will mention their name.

Black is a more fitting frame color anyhow. I learned a great deal during this process. Colin Hyde actually gave me a lead on something to try out the next time around. For now, this is a proven rust treatment that I know works well. I just need to top coat the parts you will see with FTW grey and we will be set. Some might view this as a lost day of work, but for me it was a good learning experience. Learning is priceless ya know. That is unless it is college learning, that is very costly. Just ask my neighbor who's daughter started at BU this year.

Next post: New floor, new wheel wells, new "C" channel, grey tank, wiring for the brakes, new belly pan, and most likely a reuniting of chassis and shell.

Sixty-Four Double Door

2010-08-26T02:51:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to be able to finally go public with this newest project. Not only will you be able to read about my progress here on this blog, but you can also listen to the commentary on a revamped Restoration Update segment on The Vintage Airstream Podcast. I cannot promise this will be as good as The Ambassador Update that Tim Shephard did, but I sure will give it my very best. So with no more a do, I want to present, The Sixty-Four Double Door.

I know, you are saying "Frank, it only has one door..." or "Frank the Factory never built a double door trailer in 1964..." On both accounts you are absolutely correct. This 1964 Sovereign only has one door at present, but when the project is finished, it will have two doors. It will also be re badged with "of the Road." This is sure to be a very interesting project for anyone curious about a complete restoration/ customization from the axles all the way through. The final product is going to have the look of a factory original, but have many modern conveniences. There will be no real changes, just a series of improvements made to make this trailer function better for my client Bruce.

Bruce gave me a hand by removing all the furniture from the walls. It came to me in a jumble stuffed inside the trailer. I was going to try and offer up some of the furniture to other people working on their own trailers, but once I took a good survey of the wood work, it was destine for the dump. The condition of things was horrible. The wood was moldy, damaged by water, and worst of all, URINE SOAKED. Yes, I had to say it. I know the VAP is a family show and I will be very good about not using too much adult language, but URINE SOAKED is the proper description.

I wadded in and began salvaging what could be reused by others or in future projects.

Everything was reduced down to a full size pickup bed of debris. The guy at the dump gave a step back when he smelled this load.

Once everything was out, I got a real good look at the floor. At some point, an owner had nailed plywood over the rotting floor. In some areas, the top layer is beginning to rot also. Most of all the perimeter is rotted.

The rear end is totally gone.

All the way around there is nothing but black, soft rotting plywood. The smell is a rather unbelievable blend of mold, rotting wood, and mouse urine. My kids even tell me how bad I smell at the end of the day.

That smell has got to go, so out come all the skins followed by all the insulation. It looks like a mouse hotel in there. I think this was an apartment unit for them. Everywhere in the insulation there is evidence of their occupying the space.

But not only where the mice at work, but so was water. Many serious leaks have been allowed to go on for many years. The windows on these 64's have a little design flaw that allows for water to seep in with every rain if not monitored. I will address windows in a future segment.

All the interior panels were carefully drilled off and engraved with their location on the backside.

With so many coats of paint on them, they will need to be stripped before new zolatone can be applied. I want to make sure I know where they go when reinstalling them.

With all the insulation gone, the smell was remarkably better. Once I power washed the entire thing with a serious disinfectant, it was almost odor free, well, sort of. There was still the rotting plywood and the URINE SOAKED insulation under the floor.

The space seems so vast with everything out of her. So much potential here, a total blank slate. The next step is to get the shell off of the chassis. My biggest concern is that when I remove the "C" channel from the deck, that too much wood will be missing and I do not want to have to extrapolate the curves or any element when putting down a new floor. I felt it best to template the channel. By creating a clear map of where all the channel sits at present, I will know where to put it in the future.

I used my scribes to mark out the 5 mm Luan I am using. I draw the curve and use a jig saw to cut the waste off. Fine adjustments to the line are made using a belt sander.

And that is how to templates the curve. These pieces will be glued together mapping out the entire inside edge of the channel all the way around the trailer.

By creating this pattern of the curves and all the cutouts, I can put this down on my new floor and know exactly where the channel should be. I will do the entire perimeter of the trailer this way and know with confidence I have it all correct.

My next post will not be until the next taping of The VAP, in two weeks. Between now and then you will have to wonder if I have lifted the shell yet, if the frame has been fixed and painted. You will need to wonder about grey water tanks, and black tanks or the lack of actually needing them. No black tank? What? You will also be wondering if Steve flew back in for another week of work. Please stay tuned for the next segment. And please help support The VAP by listening, calling in your questions, and making a periodic donation so the Boys can keep it going.

2010-08-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

That song always seems to come on the radio in the wee hours of a trailer recovery. It comes blaring out of radio late in the night, in between the Jesus stations vying for my salvation and BBC World News that runs in a continuous loop through out the night on the lower end of the radio dial. It is a fitting song, for I left Baltimore at 1am heading to pick up a trailer I had bought a year ago. This is yet another free trailer available to anyone willing to have her restored.

The Smoky Mountains are in North Carolina, but I was far from them. The clouds were totally engulfing the road as I went through Fancy Gap and down into North Carolina.

I arrived to a very nice assortment of vintage Airstreams and Avions. I had bought this little 54 Safari over a year ago and actually never set eyes on her. Kevin was kind enough to store her for me till I could get down to fetch her. After a year, I thought I had better just make the time.

I stopped in a rest area after about a half hour and the bearings were warm, but not hot. I pushed on toward Maryland.

She towed like an absolute dream. Straight as an arrow and never a single sound from the rear.

Those three windows and thirteen panels are just such an eye catcher.

I have to say at about 925 miles I hit a serious wall. I had been drinking copious amounts of coffee, I had a Mountain Dew or two, and even a Five Hour Energy. I was just feeling zapped by such a long drive. I was about to pull over to take a nap, but then I crossed the Shenandoah River and I caught a fourth wind.

When I crossed the Potomac, I actually felt revived. I knew I had less than an hour to go.

Just as the sun was going down I pulled off the highway and a few minutes later I pulled into the yard. 21 hours on the road, a few miles shy of 1000, and lots of coffee later I was home. A very long day for sure, for "it was an early morning yesterday... I was up before the dawn... I really have enjoyed my stay... but I must be moving on..."

I promise some good detail shots of this new addition to the harem soon. It was rainy today and I do not want her to look gloomy in the photos.

The current project in the shop is kind of under wraps. The plan is to revel the project in a very special way. You will all just have to remain patient till I am able start talking about it. It will be worth the wait I promise.

Shift Change to the Willows

2010-08-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

There comes a time when all projects come to an end. Today was Rosie's day.

I get rather attached to my jobs as I do them. However, there is also a certain amount of relief to see how happy the owners are to see their long awaited projects come back to them. Rosie is just beginning the trip, for now her entire interior needs to be put back. The plumbing, the electrical, the finished surfaces all need to be done. Lots of little bites eats an elephant sandwich. Just remember that as you go Elly.

See you down the road Rosie. Thank's for stopping by...

One of the good things about a project leaving is I get to start a new one. Look at that sad looking 1964 Sovereign of the Road. Jalousie windows trying to fall out, dent in the end cap. I bet the floor is all rotted out that was nailed down OVER the rotten original floor. Probably even has sagged out axles. Bet it doesn't leak though.

I would tell you more about this project, but at this time, I cannot... I do not want to spoil the surprise, so just please wait patiently till I can say more.

Migrant Worker

2010-08-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

Rosie is standing very proud these days. All of her structural work is complete at this point. She has had so much done over the past couple of weeks that it has been a total whirl wind. Only a few minor tasks are still to be done before her owner comes pick her up to take over the rest of the work.

In order to reunite the shell and the chassis a lot of riveting needed to be done. Riveting requires two people to do it correctly. Frank's Trailer Works has hired it's first employee...

He is a migrant worker of sorts, for Steve has come on board to help on a part time basis. I flew him in from Wisconsin for a 6 day stretch. His attention to detail is beyond expectation and he does only quality work. The fit is perfect for me. Steve will be coming again soon to work on the next project.

I got most of all the body drilled and set for rivets. I wanted the time Steve was here to be as productive as possible.

Inca Plastics came through on an exact match for the black tank. They even put sensors in the end for me. It is pretty cool that the company that manufactured the original was still around to build an exact match. The installation of this tank is one of my loose ends.

An area in the original design that I have issues with is the wheel wells. The entire system is plastic and there is a huge void where the wheel well cutout, and the skin, and the channel, and the floor all come together. I worry that water from the road could easily get into this area. There was nothing really tying the exterior skin to the plastic pans or to keep them rigid. I decided to make an "improvement." I got out some sheet aluminum and cut out some shapes.

Did some bending and some folding

And some drilling and some clecoing. All to be followed by some riveting.

And now all that area is stout as can be. No gaps for water to get in or anywhere near the the plywood. A very good "improvement " if you ask me. You can also see the water heater hanging proudly in the opening I added mini ribs to. The fit was perfect as if it was made for it.

We shot a ton of solid rivets. Thousands for sure. Steve bucked every one of them. We also replaced a good number of rivets. There is nothing that I loath more than re doing other people's shoddy repairs.

At some point two end cap segments had been replaced using "the Airstream approved" overlaid, panel replacement done from the outside using Olympic rivets*. Well, it might be allowed, but it sucks and is a failure, not an "improvement" at all. Here you see conclusive proof that Olympic rivets leak. Actually 12 in a row leaked, there were many others scattered in other areas also.

Two of the rear segments had been replaced in the past. Steve and I worked together drilling out every other rivet, using the remaining ones to hold things for us. I might point out that the sun is blazing down on us and the thermometer on the shop is reading 98 when this photo was taken. Rosie's skin is so hot that one could barely touch it.

We leap frogged the new solid rivets in and then reversed the process until all the bad rivets were gone. See how easily you can see the center of the Olympic? Well, so can water. The sheets are also not as tight together as they could be with the Olympics. See how where every solid rivet is, the sheets are so much closer together.

This is up top on the two replaced segments. It is a shame to see this big dent, but fortunately it cannot be seen from the ground. It looks as if someone slammed a chain down on the roof with tremendous force. There actually appears to be dents like links in a chain. The seams in this area are not perfect, but they are drastically improved over what we started with. Hopefully the next rain will reveal that the leaks in this area are gone.

Having Steve is a huge asset. He is willing to work on any task I need him to. He approaches everything with great pride and the results show. He does not hesitate on getting down on the ground and crawling under or going up on the roof. For a first employee, even if it is part time and he is a migrant worker, I could not had gotten more lucky.

So here she sits. Looking ready to hit the road again. I will have a wrap up post in a couple of days once I finish the little list of minor tasks.

*"the Airstream approved"overlaid, panel replacement done from the outside using Olympic rivets.

This is just a descriptive name I call this process. It is not necessarily what Airstream Service calls it. The name came from various heated discussions on the AirForums. New skins are mounted over the damaged ones and riveted using Olympic rivets from the outside. This saves on removing the interior to properly install buck rivets.

Airstream Service does however, approve of the use of Olympic rivets for repairs even structural ones.

Frank's Trailer Works does not approve of the use of Olympic rivets for anything except installing trim or accessories. When used, copious amounts of sealant are used. Future use of these rivets is in serious question right now and all previous work done using them is being monitored closely.

Never say Never

2010-07-31T07:03:00.000-07:00

Music plays a huge role in my life. I have the Ipod going all day long while I work. It is always on shuffle so with 80 gigs of music, you just never know what will pop up. On Monday the first song of the day was this Moody Blues song. For some reason, it set the tone for the entire week...

A lot happened to Rosie this week. Here is a little low down for all those interested.

Panel replacement has continued. Two of them here on the street side front. This area was hit once upon a time and new segments were installed using Olympic type rivets. The rib has a serious twist to it and I just do not like the way it sets the curve of the side. Now a new one is going to be fitted in and bucked properly.

She has gotten real bare bones up front. All that Vulkem put in recently by Rosie's stewart to stop the copious amounts of leaks must be dug out to shoot rivets back in. Rosie leaks very badly in a number of areas. I hung out in her during a major rain storm and watched both tail lights cascading water in. I also watched ten Olympic rivets all leak in a row. Most of the window seals are shot also, so a good amount water comes in there. I wrote "LEAK" in Sharpie with arrows all over the place. Some of these I will correct and some will be done by her owner as the next step. I digress, we were looking at panel replacements...

Upper panel in place. Every hole was drilled and Clecoed, I am just running out and needed to steal them to do other areas.

Lower panel dry fitted into place...

Lots and lots of clecos in place. I used all 300 I currently own and 500 more are on the way...

The new rib will fix that dimple in the side...

This is an area that always makes me curious as to the recommended installation. Just cut a hole and screw through the side. Yeah right...maybe that works for the engineers, but not for me. I take things to ELEVEN MAN! These skins have a great amount of flex to them and a water heater is not all that light.

I first cleaned all the putty, Vulkem, Parbond, and even some silicon off the old opening. I then wanted this to be beefed up so when the water heater hangs there, the opening is actually rigid. Mini ribs seemed to be the solution. I just bent some .040 that has been collecting dust in a corner waiting to find a use.

This should work very well to make a nice firm side and transfer most of the weight down to the floor.

More to come in my next post. We are actually getting real close now.

Another 10 at 5

2010-07-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

The general rule of thumb for a polish job is a "10" from 10 feet away. The folks at 1st Impressions gave Ace a "10" at 5 feet. That is twice the expected shine at less than half the normal price. I talked to Charles this morning and he has three trailer stacked up to be converted to a shiny vintage rig. If you all are contemplating having your trailers polished by 1st Impressions Polishing and Detailing, you had better not wait too long. I think Charles and Toni are going to be knee deep in Airstreams before they know it.

Ace was most impressed for sure. His 1966 Caravel was converted from a drab old trailer to a shiny vintage beauty. I was very impressed also.

The transformation is astounding.

This polish will just get better and better each time it is done. Ace, just like me has already gotten on the calendar for next year in late Winter/ early Spring to get it done again.

Before you ask: 1st Impressions Polishing and Detailing, Hanover Pa, 443-277-0509 ask for Charles and tell him I sent you so he knows who the referral is from.

Hot as Hades

2010-07-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

FTW had a visitor yesterday. Bruce is back with his 64 Sovereign of the Road. The Willows is what he calls her. She is going to be having significant work performed as soon as I finish up Rosie.

Bruce was shocked by the heat wave too.

Today I had to pack the tools in early. Once the thermometer goes past 100 I stop working. Call me what you want, but I just cannot hang in the full sun when it is that hot. Aluminum reflecting the sun light adds to the affect.

Speaking of reflecting... look what 1st Impressions is up to.

This is a close friend who took his trailer to them. He got right in line behind me. His trailer was clear coated and Charles and Toni stripped her down and are bringing her back up to a nice shine. The cost per foot has gone up to strip Charles tells me. The price of the chemicals has risen significantly, so please ask him for the cost and do not rely on me for pricing.

What a transformation...

Smile boys, you should be proud....

I love this one for sure. Kind of hard to get a proper perspective at first. Someone is going to have a huge smile when he picks up this weekend. I know 1st Impressions has two more coming in the very near future. I know you will ask so here ya go...Charles @ 443-277-0509 or Terri @ 717-817-0796. Let em know Frank sent you....

The Mundane Is Exciting To Some

2010-07-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am hitting her hard this week and taking no prisoners. I am showing no mercy either. Well, actually that is a lie, I am showing a great deal of mercy and a tremendous amount of compassion.

However, the most exciting things usually require a good deal of the mundane first. Many projects begin with the drilling of a few rivets. That usually follows a few more, which eventually leads to few hundred more.

Rosie does not have the best skin. She has had a fairly hard life as you have ascertain by reading. Unmentioned people have mistreated her in the past and it is time for me to set that right. A few panel replacements were on the ticket to fix some of this abuse she has endured. There are thousands of rock dents in this curb side lower panel not to mention a serious dent that does not really show up too well in this photo.

There is also this rather nasty dent. Rosie deserves better and she is going to get a serious transformation by drilling a few hundred rivets.

Both the curb side and road side lower segments were drilled off.

One of my neighbors stopped by and was absolutely shocked at the work being done here. He has become a serious wanna bee.

It is quite a site seeing her sitting there with those two big holes in her.

There is nothing left to do, but put a new panel in. This is just a dry fit. More to come...

Touch Down

2010-07-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

After too many days of waiting in limbo, I finally got the shell back down into it's original position. I was held up waiting to put enough strong backs and weak minds together at one time so we could just lift it up and put it on. We all got together on a 100 degree, 98% humidity afternoon and put the shell back on. It took less than a minute to do this. Only one of the five guys I hired would stay around and eat some food and drink my beer in order to show my gratitude.

The next step was to lower her down off of the cross beams and into the channel. For this task I went back to working solo. There is a whole rant hidden in that comment. It hinges off of individuals not showing up, not being on time, and generally 100% unreliable. I guess that is why for the past 10 years I have worked alone, without an employee. I need about three right now.

Sorry, back on track now... I jacked the shell up a bit and disconnected the beams and most of the cross bracing. Then slowly lowered her down. There was a great deal of up again and shifting, then lowering, to be followed by more lifting and shifting and more lowering. There was lots of sweat, lots of cursing, a few "taking a walk", and a good deal of blood. The blood was a good thing. Almost everything went right into place when the blood came.

Everything went right into place except this rear corner. There was no way I was getting that down and around the plywood. This corner was all gone on my original piece of plywood. I had to extrapolate(fancy word for fly by the seat of my pants) the curve. So, some more lifting, some trimming, some sanding, some sealing, and a little more blood, it went right into place.

You can't see it so well in the photo, but "ooh, nice straight lines Rosie". In case your wondering why her tires are flat... I pulled the valves to lower her down. Amazing what it takes to lift a shell 4 extra inches.

Everything just slid right back into place. I did however, reinstall all the side channel slightly off the original location so that the holes in the skin would not align with the originals. I wanted as many fresh rivet holes as possible. Less hole slop makes for a better rivet set.

She is coming right back together. Now that I got the shell on, she should go back together rather rapidly. I will post some riveting photos in few days. There are a few panels being replace also, for those that find all that stuff stimulating.

Stay tuned for more excitement.

I will be putting Rosie aside for a few days to go on a consulting job. I hate to do this since I just got rolling again. The offer of a free ticket and being able to use rebate points for the family made a work trip into a family holiday. I will be hopefully helping a friend in New Mexico make the purchase he has been dreaming of for a long time. Tim has found about 12 that he wants me to inspect. His favorite he says is a 1973 Safari he found less than two miles from his house in Madrid. It may be Rosie's long lost sister.

Way out of real time documentation

2010-07-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

I apologize, but the first 2/3 of this post is old information. The work was completed a good time ago and I have been remise in posting. I was pre occupied with hosting the First Annual Birthday Bash. The event took me away from the shop for 9 days and even after I returned I spent 4 days trying to catch up to my personal life that I seemed to drop when I went off towing North. Lots took place before I left though, so I will try and bring you up to speed.

There was a great deal of corrosion issues due to dissimilar metals, water, and a slight electric current. Some areas were real bad. In order to not repeat this problem, I decided that every where steel touched aluminum, I would place a barrier between the two metals. The bolts and screws were easy, for I could just use a washer that had a neoprene liner. They work very well in this application. The tricky areas were where steel plates connect the channel, floor, and frame together. For this I used a product out of it's intended application. I used some rubber roofing membrane. The rectangles at the top of the photos were made for under the hold down plates.

The steel ones are furthest away from you in this photo. I used some Por 15 on them, and then the membrane under those. It is now not possible for the steel to touch the aluminum. Across the rear you see some aluminum plates I made because the original elevator bolts had corroded the aluminum so badly.

To create a barrier between the steel angle in the back and the aluminum hatch cover I used more membrane. A bunch of vulkem was also used to impede any water from flowing under the floor as it has since 1973. The membrane really flattens out thin and fills all the gaps when bolted down. I believe this might be an excellent misuse of a product. Time will tell.

So with that, all the channel is in and ready to accept the shell again.

While dangling in mid air it seemed a good time to put on the new set of Henchen Axles. They just bolt right in. 40 minutes it took me to have both axles bolted in and shocks mounted. I am amazed at the ease of installation a few extra dollars gets you. I just gave Inland RV the serial number and they sent out a perfect fitting axle.

She sits rather pretty back on the ground. And at this point, she is ready to have the shell put back on. I took it off all alone. I will get some help to put it back on.

Someone asked what I do with the old axles. I would love to say I save them all, but that is not true. I scrap them is what I do. Someday these axles might be new axles or something someone could use.

This was my first time at this scrap yard. This was actually my first time taking in scrap steel. It takes a lot to make it worth ones while. The rate is a whopping $7.89/ 100 pounds. At this facility they grind it all up. A full sized car is shredded into golf ball sized chunks in about 15 seconds. Amazing thing to see take place.

It starts off looking something like this...

and ends up like this. This is a genuine form of recycling. All new steel has a certain proportion of old metal in it. I would like to believe that someday the axles will become new ones or maybe the frame of a new Airstream. The guy at the scale house said most of it goes to China or India though. Wishful thinking.

Batten down the hatches and plywood

2010-06-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

There are many little details to deal with before the deck it set in place. The steps were on that list of under floor systems. This is actually the top step of a two step system. Not sure where the bottom step went in the past. Anyone have one of these kicking around, let me know.

The roof of the step compartment needed a new piece of aluminum cut and installed. I was careful to put a thin even layer of vulkem between the frame and the aluminum. I want to make sure the steel does not eat up the aluminum like the original one fell victim to.

Another thing that needed to be dealt with is the bumper compartment. This is an area that had a great deal of damage due mostly to water. Three coats of Por 15 were applied in this area. Next two coats of industrial enamel were applied.

I bent some sheet aluminum up to fit the space snuggly. All contact with steel was separated by more vulkem.

The lid was installed first with clecos. I then buck riveted the hinge on.

The rear steel plate was next located. The original was so eaten up that a new one needed to be fabricated. The underside of the plywood was routed out to allow the sheet to sit flat against the frame

And there you have a nice crisp new bumper hatch.

I wanted to get all the waste line fittings on hand. When seeing how I needed to tie into the black tank, I discovered that the plastic tank is cracking apart. The entire drop part of the tank is covered by thin cracks.

Some of the cracks go all the way though. Welding plastic is just not very successful. I will need to find a replacement.

Odd thing about this tank is, it has the a date of 10/29/80 written on the top of the tank. A 1980 tank in a 1973?

And on this end is the shipping address to Jackson Center Ohio. I can only guess that in 1980 the tank was replaced.

Inca Plastics has been contacted. Wonder if it still under warranty.

The fresh water tank has been cleaned out and reinstalled in it's bay under the floor. Plumbing can be easily hooked up off of it now. The new 22 gallon grey tank has also been installed, and will be drilled for a vent and tied into the sinks and tub in the future. The tongue has been painted with industrial enamel just like the back.

I next dry fitted all the sheets. Thinks look ago now to begin bolting it down.

The plywood was next machined for Lamelos. You probably call them biscuits. When these first came into use only Lamelo made the system. I learned to call them Lamelos. Anyway, the front two sheets were glued together and fastened to the frame. Once the plumbing fittings come in, I will get the rear sheets glued together and bolted down. It is so much easier to work from above. Before the channel is installed, I will put yet another coat of sealer on the edges and the top.

Pour on the Por... fifteen that is.

2010-05-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

Rosie's frame was painted with two very solid coats of Por 15, the ultra special rust preventative paint. I had intended to do three coats, but realized during the second coat that it was totally unnessary. The way the product covers makes one feel confident it is working to protect the metal like nothing else would.

The areas that are most exposed did get a third coat just to finish off the can. The Por 15 does not hold up well once exposed to air. The tongue will next be painted it's final color using an industrial oil based paint.

That will happen as soon as the weather allows me too and my rally hosting stops getting in the way. The plywood will be going on tomorrow and things will progress rapidly now.

Taking it to 11... ELEVEN MAN

2010-05-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorite movies is the 1984 cult classic This is Spinal Tap. The movie is one of the earliest mockumentories made. In the movie you learn why a amplifier that goes to 11 is so much better than one that only goes to 10.

For years I have been saying "I am going to take it to eleven" in describing tasks I am about to preform. Rosie has been taken to ELEVEN folks.

She has been striped down as far as she can be. The only removable item now is the tongue jack. I might remove that too so that I can treat every single square centimeter for rust. Having gone this far, I might as well right? All the compromised metal has been cut out and new steel has been welded in. The restraining system for the new grey water tank has been fabricated and also welded in. The entire frame was aggressively wire brushed to remove all loose rust and original paint. She is bare bones folks, naked as the King in his new clothes. My next move will be to use a metal prep product by Por 15 then three, yes three, I am taking this to ELEVEN, coats of Por 15 frame treatment. All this material was supplied to me super fast by the very fine people at Vintage Trailer Supply. I will then follow up with two coats of oil based paint on the visible frame areas. Rosie will never be back for rust issues I can promise that. The weather is always in control, so I need to make sure I have two nice clear days to do this next step...

Sun

73°F | 62°F

Mon

75°F | 63°F

Tue

80°F | 64°F

But lookie here... Rosie, ya ready for a new set of underwear? Monday they are being put on you. That sounded kind of dirty, but the frame coating is a lot like under wear. You get the idea...

To jump forward and not let the weather hold me up I have obtained the new sub floor. I have cut all the sheets to width and length, but not cut out the curved ends, wheel wells, or plumbing access yet. I am using a marine grade plywood called Aquatex. This is an 18mm sheet made up of 15 ply of wood. The glue they use is 100% water proof and because all the ply it is very stable and flat. The wood they use for the plywood is a tropical species called Meranti. Though a marine plywood is a bit more costly than the CDX plywood most people use, it is worth the few extra dollars in the way it performs. Just to take it to ELEVEN, I then went on to seal all the edges and faces with a special sealer. Not telling what brand because they do not offer me any special service. Once the curves, etc, are cut those edges will be treated also.

Hope you liked this update, stay tuned for more progress this week.

2010-05-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

I continued on with Rosie by drilling out the all the rivets holding the shell down in preparation of lifting it off.

At the rear I started to get a little concerned with the condition of the skin. There were many signs of serious corrosion. There are a few pin holes in the rear. It is all behind the belt line, much of the skin has been eaten away.

As the rivets were drilled more and more chunks of both aluminum oxide and iron oxide began falling out. This is a clear indication of water, dissimilar metals, and a slight electric current having mixed together. Behind the skin is a plate that aids in firmly attaching the shell to the frame.

I did manage to lift the shell off and roll the frame out from under.

There is that steel plate in the bottom left of the photo. You can also see a good deal of compromised plywood. I next removed all the "C" channel off the deck and pulled up the plywood.

This is what I found under the rear angle plate. Real nice blue color to that oxide.

And this is what remained of the top of the bumper hatch. I wonder if that kept the water out...

So here is the frame without the plywood. There is a lot of cancer in the frame. Fortunately the main frame rails are all fairly solid. Well time for some surgery...

Out comes all the bad metal.

A new cross member and seven new out riggers put back in. Hopefully the rain will stop here soon and I can finish wire brushing and get the whole thing painted again.