Preparation for Zolatone! Walls, Overhead Cabinets, and End Caps

To remove the old paint, old Zolatone, and prepare for the new Zolatone, the interior aluminum skin is sanded.

And more old paint is removed using chemical stripper.

Paint was removed from the overhead cabinets.

Overhead cabinets are ready to paint.

The front end cap paint being removed.  The wall sconce will re-use the hole.

This rear whale tail end cap panel will be replaced due to the street side originally poorly located electrical outlet.

Double Draining - Planning the Bathroom Drains

We don't use a lot of water in our 2008 Airstream, we can go without a fresh water fill up for at least 5 days.  And I expect that our water use will remain the same for our 1955 vintage Airstream.
We do need a larger water tank than the missing original fresh tank that fit under the cabinet under the front window.

We are taking advantage of Vintage Trailer Supply's standardized water tanks, positioning the two tanks below the floor in between the frame rails.  Plumbing the fresh tanks in tandem will work really well for us.  The tandem gray tanks will hold the same amount of water, reducing the possibility of overflow which I really want to avoid!

Putting the tanks into their spots in the frame rails.

Close-up of the tank straps covered with a peel-and-stick waterproof membrane.

The street-side plumbing is for the bathroom lavatory sink and the shower drains.  They join together to drain into the new grey tanks.  Back in 1955 Airstream and other trailers did not have holding tanks for water coming from the sinks and shower, and water was just dumped on the ground.  Not very sanitary, and so I'm glad to upgrade our Flying Cloud.

 Cutting the cross members for the tandem tank fittings.

 










The cross members ready for the tank connector. Note: the step was painted with the gray topcoat over the POR15 rustproof paint.

Missed a Post - Sharing Now - More Frame Strength

When I wrote about our now-sturdy steps being installed on our Byam's 55 Flying Cloud - I missed some very important work also done at the same time.  Today I found my omission, and wanted to share.

We pull our 2008 Airstream with a Jeep Grand Cherokee including in the mountains of Colorado.  We are asked about our experiences and they have all been good with the Jeep's tow package and its V8 Hemi 5.7 liter.  Driving without our Airstream, the 4 cylinder "Eco" mode saves us gas too!

Anyway, the Jeep has some room in the back for Byam's kennel, and a lot of other stuff, but not enough room for a spare Airstream tire.  Also packing and moving around a gritty spare tire is not my idea of fun.  So we decided that we need a spot for the spare tire to always be with the trailer.   

Our frame was improved, adding another pair of bracing to provide support for the spare tire under the Airstream.  The bracing also adds more strength to the A-Frame.

The additional bracing is painted.  Below the frame is upside down and the trailer's front hold-down plate is facing the floor.

Shown with the sheet of aluminum that will be the attached to the frame as part of the belly pan and the aluminum bent to wrap around the frame also.

Step Attached to the Frame and Painted

 Our original step - refurbished - with new Slide-A-Way welded to the frame.
The metal on the outside of the cross members will be used to attach the belly pan.

 Painted to prevent rust.

Now I have a way to step into my trailer!  I am so looking to using this step!

Painting and Protecting the Frame with POR-15

First the frame was wire brushed.  Finally the steel was acid washed to remove any remaining rust. The chassis is being painted with POR-15 to prevent any future rust from happening.  Using the rotisserie made this part of the job faster, and is easier on the human body/back.  This POR-15, not original to the vintage Airstreams, should keep our 1955 Flying Cloud traveling down the road on Airstream adventures for years to come.