I have a friend named Vern. Vern has spent his 10,000 hours in the wilderness camping, hunting and trekking all over the world. He qualifies as an expert outdoorsman. On a trip with him last fall, he said that wilderness camping is one big giant problem solving expedition. That was my experience with him on a laaaaaarge lake in northern BC.
Well, I've discovered a new correlation: renovating an Airstream is just like wilderness camping. It's one gigantic problem solving expedition. Gotta weld up the frame, gotta grind off rust, gotta find the best rust-proofing solution, gotta find new axles, gotta find....well, when you're rebuilding a '74 travel trailer, you pretty much have to find everything. Thank the good Lord above for all the Facebook groups, chat rooms and people who have gone before me who point out places to get said supplies. And when the retro suppliers don't have it, then creativity must be exercised.
Take the inner wheel wells, for example. They're 44 years old (everything on the trailer was 44 years old except the fridge). They cost $200 USD (for two) but shipping to Sumas, WA (a five hour drive one way) costs another $200 USD. This isn't including gas (unfortunately paid with CAD). So I thought and I thought 'till my puzzler was sore. Maybe Christmas itself doesn't come from a store... Sorry, wrong story.
I took some scrap pieces of belly pan aluminum and began remanufacturing the correct angles, fixing rips and holes. It's not necessarily pretty but (A) neither you nor I will ever see them unless (B) I have to fix them in another 44 years. I'll be 102. Hopefully six feet under long before that.
In addition, the four level-jacks all got a facelift. I removed all the rust and gunk, old bolts and replaced with new bolts, lock nuts and washers. I'd hate to get to a campground some day and find one or more jack having disappeared somewhere down the road.
And finally, we have new aluminum on the belly pan. Since I'm not going for best-in-show, I've decided to use some of the old aluminum. Not much actually, once the corrosion is cut away, but it was enough to save me the cost of at least an 8 x 12 sheet. And that's money in the bank. And my wife likes that.
So, since the axles are the next big push and they're still somewhere en-route in the USA, I guess I'll return to gathering wood for the winter. And researching plumbing systems (hot water tank, water pump, back flow valves, etc), propane system (model of stove, furnace), electrical (converter, inverter, lights, switches, wire, batteries [AGM, lithium, blah blah blah]). You get the the picture.
One giant problem-solving exercise. And for the life of me I can't figure out why I'm enjoying this.
Well, I've discovered a new correlation: renovating an Airstream is just like wilderness camping. It's one gigantic problem solving expedition. Gotta weld up the frame, gotta grind off rust, gotta find the best rust-proofing solution, gotta find new axles, gotta find....well, when you're rebuilding a '74 travel trailer, you pretty much have to find everything. Thank the good Lord above for all the Facebook groups, chat rooms and people who have gone before me who point out places to get said supplies. And when the retro suppliers don't have it, then creativity must be exercised.
Take the inner wheel wells, for example. They're 44 years old (everything on the trailer was 44 years old except the fridge). They cost $200 USD (for two) but shipping to Sumas, WA (a five hour drive one way) costs another $200 USD. This isn't including gas (unfortunately paid with CAD). So I thought and I thought 'till my puzzler was sore. Maybe Christmas itself doesn't come from a store... Sorry, wrong story.
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| Aluminum patches held in with Clicos prior to riveting. |
I took some scrap pieces of belly pan aluminum and began remanufacturing the correct angles, fixing rips and holes. It's not necessarily pretty but (A) neither you nor I will ever see them unless (B) I have to fix them in another 44 years. I'll be 102. Hopefully six feet under long before that.
In addition, the four level-jacks all got a facelift. I removed all the rust and gunk, old bolts and replaced with new bolts, lock nuts and washers. I'd hate to get to a campground some day and find one or more jack having disappeared somewhere down the road.
Now comes the biggest puzzler so far. Almost as puzzling as trying to get off said northern BC lake while sitting in a trapper's cabin for sixty hours, enduring a massive wind storm. Sorry! Digression!
Before I could start working on the frame rust, I needed to flip the frame. Smart-neighbor-Pat suggested painting the bottom first, that way the belly pan material could be affixed. When the axles arrive, we'll flip it back over. There is relatively little to paint on the top side since I was able to access most of the frame as is. So, to flip the frame, I had to build two gantries. Did I tell you about this already? (Sorry, brain injury). I also purchased a chain hoist. Pat came over when I was finished building the gantries. He put is Smart-neighbor-Pat-pants on and together, we flipped the framed without incident (or loud expletives).
After all the rust was removed from the frame, I purchased a rust-prevention system from POR15. Initially, I went to a local business enquiring about their rust paint (and mentioned I had looked into POR15). The salesperson said to not even bother with theirs. He knew of the efficacy of POR15 and said that was the ticket. It is the ticket. After using POR15's degreaser/cleaner I applied the metal preparation liquid. It eats rust and prepares the metal. Sure, not all rust was eaten, but a large majority disappeared. Then came the paint. Very sticky stuff. Don't get it on your hands—you may have silver fingers for the remainder of your days. The paint dried to a hard coating and the rust has been safely put to bed. I might even make the claim the frame is entombed as well as Tutankhamen.
And finally, we have new aluminum on the belly pan. Since I'm not going for best-in-show, I've decided to use some of the old aluminum. Not much actually, once the corrosion is cut away, but it was enough to save me the cost of at least an 8 x 12 sheet. And that's money in the bank. And my wife likes that.
So, since the axles are the next big push and they're still somewhere en-route in the USA, I guess I'll return to gathering wood for the winter. And researching plumbing systems (hot water tank, water pump, back flow valves, etc), propane system (model of stove, furnace), electrical (converter, inverter, lights, switches, wire, batteries [AGM, lithium, blah blah blah]). You get the the picture.
One giant problem-solving exercise. And for the life of me I can't figure out why I'm enjoying this.
Well done, that man!!
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