Air Conditioner - Plan - PhotoShop Version

Scott's Air Conditioner Plan - Photoshop Photo of Location

Rotisserie. Rotisserie. Rotisserie.

The title is in honor of another great idea by Steve Dancin' Hansen...

This is the last Rotisserie use for our 1955 Flying Cloud, as Colin and his guys turn our belly pan down to the ground.

At the center rear, the belly pan will be fabricated after our air conditioner is installed.

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.

Floor Attached to Frame!

Construction!
No longer pulling things apart!
All the preparation work is complete, things are going back together again, and I could not be any happier!!

The old leaf spring axle is gone, white the new smoother riding torsion axle is positioned and the bracket is attached to the frame.

Glue is used to attach the plywood floor is to the frame.

Elevator bolts are used by the Airstream factory to attach the C-Channel to the outriggers only - so they are spaced widely apart, approximately every 2 feet.  Then the factory used (uses) self taping screws are used to attach the C-Channel to the plywood between the outriggers.  
Our 1955 Flying Cloud has Colin's added strength by using elevator bolts inside the C-channel - all along the C-Channel to more securely attach the frame to the floor and therefore lessen stress to the trailer.  The elevator bolts are attached to the outriggers and to the plywood floor.  Colin used self-taping screws to further secure the plywood floor to the outriggers and the cross members.
Improved again!  Even the curves are attached with elevator bolts - every 8" to 10".

Using the rotisserie, our Airstream is moved to comfortable positions for securely bolting the floor and chassis together. Shown with the hold-down plate welded to the front of the frame.  The extra elevator bolts are best seen in the photo from the under-side of the plywood floor.

All is Well!

The bottom flange of the wheel well was rusted and needed replacement.

The balance of the wheel well is in good shape. 
We are fortunate to have a vintage Airstream with metal wheel wells.  Changed sometime in the 1970's, some later model trailers have wheel wells instead made with a thermoform plastic.  Some of the thermoform plastic wheel wells have over time cracked or degraded.

New galvanized steel was used to form the flange.

Positioned on the trailer for size.

Clamped and attached. 

Our new wheel wells are positioned on the frame, ready to be sealed with Vulkem, caulk, and then painted.  The hold-down plate is ready for the C-Channel, and then the shell!

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.

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.

Rotted Floor Be Gone

Reid removed the plywood floor from the frame.

The frame is attached to the rotisserie. 

Below you can see the missing rear outrigger

And the frame is rotated!

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.