Past Post Upgrade - Strapping Tanks

Colin Hyde provided more information which I've used to update the 1/25/2014 post Strapping Tanks.

Belly Pan - Panels to Access Plumbing

Colin worked with us to determine the best way to have an Airstream that looks vintage, and still has the modern conveniences that we will use to make our life comfortable.

The curb side and street side belly pan panels are riveted - using the larger belly pan rivets.

Situated in the belly pan, the combination grey water and black water dump valve will be accessible through an access panel on the street side belly panel.  The second access panel will allow maintenance on the grey and black water drain pipes, if needed, without cutting open the belly pan.

Using 5052 Aluminum at 032 thick, another street side panel provides maintenance access to the bathroom lavatory sink and shower drains.  While we've never had troubles with our 2008 Airstream's plumbing, we have worked on home plumbing a few times.  The panels will make any work much easier.  Insulated with Reflextix.

Warming Up - Insulating the Belly Pan

Reflectix reflective insulation is cut to fit under the plywood floor between the frame rails including above the water tanks.   It will also be used to insulate under the water tanks.
Note:  The step is painted with a UV resistant topcoat over the black POR 15.
The visible portions of the rails will topcoat painted soon. 

The portions of the frame that are cut out for the plumbing connections - all will be strong!  Each cross member will be strengthened at the bottom with a heavy steel bolt-on bridge.  The bolts will allow access to the plumbing if needed at a later date.

 









The dump valve is installed & valve handles extended through the main rail into an are that will be accessible through a flip down hatch.

 












 Gray tanks installed!

 









Fiberglass Insulation to really keep us warm! 

The end of the cross members have the added anti-chaffing strips.
First piece of the belly pan is cut!!!!  We are moving forward again!

Adding Grey Tanks - First in 58 Years! Part 2

At Colin Hyde Trailer Restorations, Reid has been working on our plumbing - thanks Reid!

The bathroom lavatory sink and shower join to drain down to the first (forward) tandem grey tan.
 First checking the fit of all parts before they are attached/glued together permanently

 









Adding gray tanks to our vintage Airstream for the first time in 58 years! 
During travel, trailers move and flex.  While it is not legal or safe to ride in a moving trailer, someday I'd like to get a video set up to see the movement that happens.  The movement can break areas that are too stiff.  To be sure that our tandem tanks maintain a secure and dry connection, a flexible link is added between grey the two tanks.  Thick rigid foam insulation is added to further protect the link and will keep the tanks from shifting forward and backward within the frame.  A similar link will be added to the tandem fresh water tanks.

 









From the back of the rear grey tank, the used water will exit the trailer through the combination black and gray water valve.  Unlike modern trailers, the dump valve will not hang below the belly pan.  I just realized I have very few photos showing our dump valve - just not photogenic!   Because in 1955 we had no dump valve, our Flying Cloud valve handle will not show on the exterior of the trailer. The valve handle will be accessible through a hatch in the belly pan.  This decision will also keep our restoration with the beautiful clean design of 1955.

 








Both the fresh & grey water tanks with plumbing connections.
  
The portions of the frame that are cut out for the plumbing connections - all will be strong!  Each cross member will be strengthened at the bottom with a heavy steel bolt-on bridge.  The bolts will allow access to the plumbing if needed at a later date.

 








The shower pan's drain trap will fit inside the frame, hidden by the belly pan.

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.

Position the Plumbing and Narrow the Wheel Well

I need a shower and we also want to keep the living space as open as possible so we need to crowd the bathroom.  Before when we checked the fit, there is very little room between the toilet and the wheel wheel. 

 As new plywood is cut for a floor, the size and shape of the trailer can tweak a little bit.  Now our 1955 Flying Cloud final size of the Airstream is defined by the floor attached to the chassis.  With the wheel wells attached between the plywood and the frame, the bathroom plumbing needed to be double checked. 

Axle and tires on, the chassis is flipped over.

Great news!  The shell still fits on the floor/frame!

Next the plumbing parts are laid out in their approximate positions.

The mock-up wall is brought back into our trailer to check the fit.

With the new axle and tire in place, we could check that all would still fit, and as expected the wheel well needed to be slightly adjusted.

Strapping Tanks

Below the floor, will be two gray water tanks, and also 2 fresh water tanks.  These are standard 16 gallon tanks, now available at Vintage Trailer Supply - saves lots of money!  The metal straps, fabricated by Colin Hyde,  will keep the tanks secured in between the main rails.

UPDATE 2/6/2014 -  Colin Hyde's reply to Gary's question.

I have a 55 Flying Cloud also. I'm in the process of installing the water tanks now. Why do the straps have a loop in them? They don't have a "loop" in them. They are formed like a "C" with short legs on either end. This allows us to install the bolts longitudinally instead of vertically, causing protrusions in the bellypan. It also allows us to put tension on the straps.  How are they secured on the topside (is it just pressure against the bottom of the floor)? The tanks are up against the underside of the floor & foam blocks minimize lateral movement. 
Coli

Frame was 3" - Now 4" Deep - Or is it???

Prior to 1955 Vintage Airstream Frames were 3" deep.

The change to a stronger 4" frame was started in 1955.

Unfortunately, our Flying Cloud was manufactured in California with the 3" frame.  Our gray water and fresh water tanks from Vintage Trailer Supply are 4" deep.  As planned - to fit the tanks into the frame, Colin Hyde changed our frame to be 4" deep.

The longer frame will allow us to add a bumper trunk also.

With the small angle cut from the frame, the 3" bumper remains the original depth!

Welded closed, this also prevents water from sitting inside the frame causing rust.

And eliminates a way for mice and other critters to enter the trailer.

In 1955 and many other years, Airstream built trailers with  no rear cross member.  So the plywood floor was not directly supported by the frame, rather the floor was cantilevered from the next forward cross member.  And the plywood was originally attached through the C-Channel only to the aluminum shell.  

No wonder that attaching accessories to the back of an Airstream is a bad idea.  Spare tires, generators, even bike racks should not be attached to the trailer rear without significant frame work.

Colin beefed up our structure by adding a rear cross-member.  The aluminum shell, plywood floor, C-Channel, and shell will all be securely attached together with elevator bolts.

 

 

 

Rotisserie!

The front hold-down plate was removed, but will be replaced.  The hold down plate strengthens the connection of the frame to shell at the higher stress front area.

Shell Off - Frame Off - Axle Off!!!

The shell is separated from the frame!

Although our vintage airstream is still being deconstructed, this seems like such huge progress!! 

 

 

Above is the top of the floor with the parquet wood flooring that covered all the floor rot.  Below the photo is of the bottom of the subfloor - with all the rotted edges.

 

 The old axle with leaf springs is coming off - to be replaced with a torsion axle for a smoother kinder ride for our 1955 Airstream Flying Cloud.

The great news is that the tire fits into the "A" portion of the frame.  The new fresh water tanks will not fit into the angled main frame rails.  The change will give us the 2 tanks at 17 gallons each - for a total of 34 gallons of fresh water up front and capacity for 34 gallons of gray water.  These are the new Vintage Trailer Supply tanks - item # VTS-851.

Tanks A Lot!

So here it is - one of the tandem tanks to hold our grey water.
As a gift, gray is better than black.