Shop Time

Today I started welding up the frame cross member and support plate. I Klecko'd the support plate to the trailer skin, then positioned the cross member between the main frame rails.

Once everything was in place, I tack welded the cross member to the frame, and then tack welded the support plate to the cross member. That made sure everything was exactly where I wanted it. After that, it was a simple matter of grinding the tack welds off the cross member and bringing the cross member / plate into the shop for welding up solid.

My shop is currently, how you say, a mess. Interior skins are piled here, belly pan wraps are piled there, j-channel strewn about with a liberal sprinkling of interior window frame trim to add to the chaos. Add in your normal household fix-up projects, and you have a real dump. What the heck. I'm building things in there, not getting the space ready for a Better Homes and Gardens photo shoot. A clean shop is a shop that's not being used to it fullest potential.

Look at that stack of dimes. My little 110v MIG does a fine job of melting the metal. I could have welded 5 or 6 one inch welds along the seams and it would have been plenty stong enough, but I was having so much fun I decided to weld the entire seam up. I was talking to my friend Steve a while back about this little project (ByamCaravanner on AirForums), and he made a simple comment. He said something like "Metal does wierd things when you weld it". Well, Steve, you were right. The support plate developed a nice bit of warp from all the heat. Hopefully not enough to bother anything, but I'll find out when I go to mount it on the trailer. If I have to, I'll ditch my work, start over, and chaulk it up to experience. I know I can build this piece better, and better is the enemy of good enough.

Frame Fixin'

I'm working toward having my trailer campable by next June for the Wally Byam Birthday Bash in Central NY. I decided I better get moving or I'll never make it in time. So, today I got my butt in gear and got to work. This is where I left off after I cut out the rotten frame cross member and support plate.

I went to my local steel retailer, Steel Sales, in Sherburne, NY. They have a "drop room" that they'll let you poke around in. I was lucky and found a piece of 4 inch c-channel and a 24 x 12 inch piece of steel plate. Perfect! $17.00 later I was on my way. First thing I did back at the trailer was to fit a 2x4 piece of wood in where the cross member will sit so I could be sure to get the angles on the main frame rails set. The angle is 22.5 degrees, just in case anybody else is going to be doing this work.

Next, I transfered the angles from the wood onto the c-channel and cut it with the chop saw. This tool is indispensable for any kind of steel work. I cannot imagine making those cuts with a hack saw.

I was going to try to re-use the support plate, because it has so many holes that need to be aligned with the holes that are already in the skin of the trailer. Unfortunately, the plate was just too far gone. Also, I did not realize when I started that the plate actually goes all the way to the bottom of the c-channel and is not just welded along the top. In order to transfer the holes precisely, I tack welded the old plate to the new plate and used the old holes as a guide for drilling my new holes. Once I was done drilling, I carefully ground off the tack welds and I had an exact duplicate of the original plate.
Here is the almost finished piece, all mocked up. The next step will be to Klecko the plate to the skin of the Airstream, tack weld the frame cross member in place, and then once everything is lined up I'll tack weld the plate to the cross member. Then I'll grind the tack welds off the frame so I can bring the entire piece into the shop and weld it up solid. I don't want to weld it solid with it on the trailer, since I'm afraid the heat will hurt the aluminum skin. Once it's all welded solid, I'll do the final installation and welding of the new frame cross member / support plate onto the frame. Oh, I'll also cut the bottom inch of steel off the support plate that sticks down below the c-channel so it looks better. I needed a piece of steel plate that's 24 x 11, but the closest I could find in the drop room was 24 x 12. That's OK. I'll get my cutting wheel out and smile the entire time thinking of the money I save by not having Steel Sales cut me a piece to size.

We Can Rebuild It.

This section of frame has been weighing on my mind. The weather here has been nasty, and work has been absolutely nuts dealing with the flu outbreak. Today, however, it was a beautiful day and I had some free time on my hands. Time to get at it. I spent some time building a brace to hold the shell off the trailer for when I cut away the support plate. Much to my surprise, the shell actually lifted up about an inch rather than coming down. The support beam I put in place fell once the shell lifted up, barely missing hitting a window. The Airstream gods were watching over me, I guess.

Bad, bad rot. It's amazing what the tin worm can do.Tuesday I'll head to Steel Sales and buy replacement steel and begin fabrication. I have a few other small holes and weak areas to fix on the frame in other spots, too. I should be able to get that all fixed up pretty easily, then I'll POR-15 the frame and be ready to put down new wood for the sub-floor.

Heavy Lifting

I've got all of the floor pulled out of the front of the trailer and the frame exposed. Now the fun can begin. I have discovered that the front half of the trailer is a little bit more complex than the back half was, and is in pretty poor shape to boot. There is a lot of thin steel on the frame, the front cross member with it's support plate has deteriorated to the point of being scary, and the step out riggers are just about gone. Replacing all of this won't be too complicated, but making sure everything is fixed properly is critical. Unlike in the rear of the trailer, there is no "fudge factor". If I want the door to close and the steps to work, I'm going to have to be very precise.

With the entire front half of the trailer gutted and the back end still complete, the tongue does not have enough weight on it to allow the trailer to be cranked down to level where I need it to be. The trailer would balance on it's axles with the tongue jack off the ground. 250 pounds of barbell weight took care of the floating tongue.

Thin, thin steel. Strange that the plywood just above this section was solid and showed no signs of rot. It will be a process of welding additional steel underneath this crossmember to make it solid once again.

Both step outriggers look like this. I'll be replacing them with new ones, and also buying a new step for the trailer. The step that's on there has rust holes through the tread and the studs that ride in the track are just about worn away. I just hope I can find a step that looks right on a 1961 Airstream and not one that looks like a take off of a new SOB trailer.

That front cross piece? Yeah, it's bad. I'll be cutting it out and fabricating a new piece to go in there. The support plate is welded to the cross piece. The trick is going to be getting everything back in the exact same location after I take it all apart. That's okay, I enjoy a challenge.

Moving Day

After getting the carpet out, I started pulling all the cabinetry out to get it ready to send to Frank. It's amazing how much easier it was to get this end of the trailer apart than it was to do the back end. Having already experienced it once, I was able to get the screws apart with minimal frustration. I knew which screws would be a bugger, and I knew how to handle them. All of the furniture came out without damage, and will make great platforms for Frank to work his magic on.

The cabinets held up quite well, considering the fact that they are nearly 50 years old. Here's a couple tips for anyone who will be pulling their old furnace out: 1) Make sure there are no active wasp nests living in the exhaust shroud. 2) The furnace exits the trailer through the cut in the skin, and not through the door.

I have 2 spots of floor rot. This one was hiding behind the pantry cabinet in the galley. I will be pulling all of the old subfloor back to the wheel wells, and possibly pulling the piece between the wheel wells. Further investigation with my screwdriver will tell me what I need to do.

All of the cabinetry is out of the trailer and taking up space in my garage. I'll get this flooring replaced, then get the trailer over to Don Stanton's for Zolatone, and in October get the cabinets to Franks Trailer Works for rebuilding. That will give me through the cold of winter to get the cabinets installed, and springtime to get ready to camp.

Let Me Take Care of This...

When Rob and I picked my Airstream up in Cape Cod in February of 2007, one of the first things I noticed when I walked inside was this piece of plywood up where the Astrodome should be. Funny how over time my eye has stopped noticing it. Well, I was in the trailer doing some work the other day, and a drop of rain landed on me. I looked up and saw the wood, and decided it was time to do something about it.

It doesn't stick out as bad from the outside. Must be something to do woth the fact that it is a good 3 feet above eye level.

I don't have an Astrodome, but I do have a sheet of aluminum. I measured the opening, but the sheet to fit, and drilled it for rivets. I tried to do as much work in the shop as opposed to trying to do the entire job while standing on the roof of my trailer.

It doesn't look as good as when I will have an Astrodome installed, but it looks 100% better than it did.

The Beginning of the Front

After spending all that time and energy getting the back half of the trailer looking good, I decided it was time to do something about the front. The back half still needs lots of stuff to be finished, but it's mainly detail work, trim, and some veneering that Frank's Trailer Works will be handling. However, the back looks good enough that that front now looks worse than horrible. Last night, after the rain storms blew through and brought the temperature down from about 90 to a more survivable 78, I decided to get to work.Originally, my plan was to get rid of the goucho and build a dinette. After spending a weekend camping with it, we have decided that we are going to stay with the goucho. We'll be eating outside, and the goucho is actually in really good shape. In fact, most of the front end is in really good shape.

I was expecting to see floor rot in the front end corners like I've seen in so many other trailers. I also have a very rusted cross piece on the frame right underneath the front window which led me to believe I would find "issues" up here. This was a pleasant surprise.
Walter of Wabash. Cool.

This picture is being included to increase my degree of Airstream Into-It-Ness. I didn't want anyone to think I just sent my trailer away to Colin's to get this stuff done. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Look at those beautiful old tiles. I would love to have seen this trailer back when it was new. To have seen it before it was filthy, and the Zolatone had been painted over with white latex, and the floor covered with carpet. I wish Airstream would make a model like this new today. Simple, no frills, utilitarian, function ahead of form. I would buy one in a heartbeat. My trailer will be better than new in every way when I'm finished, and built to my tastes with the wood, fabrics, and flooring that we choose. I still think it would be awesome if Airstream offered a "camper" you could buy off the showroom floor rather than rolling luxury apartments.