All jacked up.......

After the constant nagging of mama Root, I decided to break down and buy some stabilizer jacks.  She says she feels like she is in a fun house.
 I don't like the looks of them on a vintage trailer, but I think they can be camoflagued, if done right. I am going to add them on the rear only, just because I think I can hide them under the rear bumper.
I like the scissor jack system, rather than the screw jack type.

Stopped by Camping World and picked these up. (OK Camping World, you can send a check anytime)

I wanted a big area to help distribute the load out over the frame, so I found some 3/16 plate I had laying around and cut it to size.

I used the jack to hold it in place, until I could tack weld it.

I tied the frame, the bumper and the rear crossmember together, then bolted on the jack.  I am going to build a close-out panel that will fill the gap between the bumper and the body.  That will have to be another day.

This is a pretty simple install on everything, except my trailer, but I expect no less.  It made a HUGE difference.

Now, I don't have to worry about Mama Root getting sea sick anymore.

Hit the showers, part Deux

When we last left our Super Hero, he had installed the shower but had no fixtures. 


 You were left on the edge of your seat, waiting with bated breath, anticipating his next move...........

What will Root do next?

After, a few measurements, I punched 2 holes in the newly covered bulkhead.  

Ye old box of crap.

I bought a shower manifold set complete with vintage looking handles.  I wanted the right look and no tub faucet.   I had to sort of modify the way it mounts, since there are no 2 x 4's  to mount it like you would have in a house.

Structurally engineered spacer, or scrap wood, whichever you prefer to call it.

Pex tubing fitting for shower head.  I had to build some spacers to take up the gap.

I still have the plumbing to contend with,but I plan on doing a lot of that over Spring Break.

Cool glass knobs.

Not so vintage looking shower head.

I am slowly chipping away at my "To Do" list........

I''m so buff.................

I know all of you ladies were excited to see the title, but I am sorry to have to let you down.  Root has to keep his shirt on.  Some guys have six pack abs, I have pony keg abs.

Can't hardly control yourselves can you?

Anyway,  we experimented with something I had been wondering about.  I have the window screens off due to all of the painting etc.
I was curious if I could buff them out and change the look of the frames.

These are sort of a milled finnish aluminum, nothing fancy.

I borrowed a buddy's grinder setup with a buffer wheel.  I tasked Mama Root with the project.  First we loaded the wheel up with some rouge. This particular one was made for stainless, but I figured it would get us close.

Buffing her little heart out....... 

Standing to the side is probably smart.

I had her standing to the side in case it grabbed it.  You don't wanna be walking around with a piece of travel trailer trim sticking out of your guts.

I should have read Root's blog.....

After, machine buffing we worked our mojo with some elbow grease and Met-All.  This is pretty labor intensive, but it wasn't really that hard.  It just takes a while.  We have a total of 7 windows and this one, is one of the largest.  Hopefully, the others will be quicker.


This window won't have any screen going back in, since it is the one that  previous owner's crazy new wife threw the cinder block through.  It was pretty jacked up and we ended up taking the roll out window out and replacing it with a solid window. 


I straightened the frame the best I could, and this is what the finished product looks like.

Not bad for a couple hours work.

This and That......Odds and Ends

I have been fretting over the fact that I am running out of time to get the camper done before the camping season arrives. 

It's warm and the trailer is unfinished!

 The weather here has been unseasonably warm and the trees are in full bloom.
I have been trying to scratch off things on the "to do" list.  Yes, I am a list maker.  Guys compartmentalize and that's how I gauge my progress.  I try and finish 2-3 things on the list every weekend.
These are some random projects I finished up.

Project #1

I wanted the potty area finished off, so I found a piece of trim designed for stairs and made it fit.  I added some brown non-skid shelf liner under the trim to keep the potty from sliding around.

We decided some time back that the bed was too small for the 2 of us.  People must have been smaller in 1964.  

These guys might fit ok on the old bed.

We decided to add 8.5 inches to the width.  That makes it a full size bed.  It still needs to fold up, to allow it to make into a couch.
I had my brother -in-law, (world famous carpenter,  known by all as "Little John"), cut me a piece of plywood and router the edges.

I scrounged up a piano hinge from my local hardware store

Hinge needs to be cut to length.

Project#2

I tried to match the stain, but it was a no go.  The 60's produced some weird shades of stain.  It almost looks like a translucent paint.  It doesn't really matter, you will only see it when it is made into a bed.


On to another project.  I needed to run a drain for the gray water.  I had no place for a gray water tank, due to the frame design.

The 45 degree angle that will be routed through the belly pan.

Project#3

I have pretty much decided that we will be tied to camping in RV parks, no provisions for boondocking.  With that in mind, I decided to tie it  into the existing drain and vent for the sink.  I only have a few inches of clearance between the floor and the belly pan, so fitting a p trap in was a trick.  I will route this out through the belly pan at a 45 degree angle and I will cap it with some sort of fitting that allows for a quick connect type of drain hose.  


This kind of stuff takes up a lot of time, but not much progress is shown.  Maybe, I can make some progress this next weekend.

Hit the shower......

I decided to tackle the biggest thing I had left to do on the trailer, the shower.  The Avalair originally came with a shower, but not much was left of it.  The original pan had been removed some time back and had been replaced with a welded galvanized pan.  Probably would have worked functionally, but it looked odd.

This was the before shot.  

Basically, there isn't  lot of room for design change. It is what it is.

I ordered up a fiberglass shower pan from PPL motorhomes.  It's a pretty beefy unit.  I was impressed with the quality. The sales people at PPL probably won't be joining Mensa, but the parts worked out.

 After mocking up the pan, I marked the drain hole on the floor.  I had pondered this for a while and I ordered the center drain, hoping it would clear the braces below the floor.

 I drilled a small hole and crawled under the trailer to see where it landed.  Luckily, it was where I had hoped for.  Right in the center.

 So, I grabbed a hole saw and went to work.

I was curious how the floor layers being glued together would work out.  According to this core sample, it was a success.

Now I had to form up a base for the pan to rest in and a support for the port-a-potty.

 I fabricated a top out of a scrap piece of MDF I had laying around.  It was lightweight and just about the right size.

 For the walls, I decided on a sheet of FRP, Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic.  This is probably not necessary, since the trailer lasted 50 years with just wood, but if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

This stuff is .090" thick and can be cut with sheet metal shears.  It's not easy, but it can be done.  It's quite the workout.

I snapped a pic before cutting the board and one after to illustrate.

Before

After

The glue is only available in  3.5 gallon bucket and it costs $53.  I even checked with the company to see if I could get it in a quart.  Nope.  Sorry pal, you're screwed.

It has texture like drywall mud, but it costs about 10 times as much.

 You need a trowel, like you use on tile to apply the adhesive.

This is the aftermath of the trimming of the FRP.  Can I get a clean up on aisle 7?

This is the way I like my women....holding cleaning utensils.

Here is a pic of the FRP installed.  The port-a-potty is added for size.  Looks like it will fit well. It needs some sort of edge trim, I'll figure something out.

The adhesive worked well on the plywood bulkhead, but it didn't want to stick to the aluminum wall.  I ended up putting some 3/16" rivets in strategic locations to help hold it in place.

I found a drain kit for a utility sink fits well and has a removable strainer.

I tiled the top and front of the platform.  


I need to add something to hold the port-a-potty in place while traveling.  I would hate to come in and find the Go-Go juice all over the walls and floor.

Tie that Port-a-Potty Down!

 With the help of my brother in law and my Buddy Chuck, we fabbed up a picture frame styled box.

 Chuck had a cool little hootis that made pocket screw holes.

hootis
	noun: A synonym for any object you forget the name of or simply prefer to call hootis. "Have you seen the hootis we use to open jars?" I thought I put the hootis away.

This should work right about here........
I'll screw it down and seal the inside of the box.  I think a piece of the rubber non-slip shelf liner stuff will help as well.  I still have a few pieces of trim to add, but for now, I think it will work.  


This was my first design, but I opted for the port-a-potty instead.

 I am still trying to figure out which shower head unit I am going to buy.  That will have to be another blog post and another time.