Time to put the shell back on!

I've been lazy at posting lately, but we are pretty much ready to put the shell back on. Hopefully in the next week or so, Ryan and I can both find two consecutive days to set aside and get this trailer back in one piece.

Before we got around to installing the belly pan, we had a fair amount of work to do under the trailer this last few weeks. We started by installing 1 1/2" rigid insulation throughout the underside of the trailer. I struggled with what insulation to use in the belly as this is an area I'm concerned about trapping water and rotting out the new floor. There seem to be few good solutions to this problem. I know the rigid insulation could cause as many or more problems than the old fiberglass insulation if I don't keep on top of the inevitable leaks (they all leak no matter what we do), but I did not want to go the no insulation route since we live in the northwest and it gets friggen cold up here. To secure the insulation to the floor, we used construction adhesive and insulation nails with large plastic washers.

After finishing up the insulation, we had to finish the under belly rough plumbing for the gray water tanks. Although a perfect 1/4" per foot slope isn't all that necessary in an RV, we managed to get just that with the placement of the tanks and the holes Ryan had drilled in the cross members while doing the frame work.

The area shown above are the drain lines for the tub and the bathroom sink. We are leaving an access panel in the belly pan under the tub so we can complete that installation once everything is back together and to allow for maintenance to the p-trap.

After finishing up the insulation and plumbing work, Ryan completed the wiring for the brakes. No pictures here, but it is clean looking work that will surely stand the test of time. He also ran wiring for the emergency breakaway switch that will be installed on the tongue.

Finally, we were ready for the belly pan itself. We used the original belly pan material as template, but made several changes. Because the aluminum that Airstream used was much wider than what is available now, it was necessary to use more pieces. Airstream was able to simply rivet two pieces together and span the entire width of the trailer. Plus, we now have two gray water tanks hanging down through the belly as well as a spare tire carrier up front that breaks up the clean lines of the original Airstream belly. While it's not as smooth as the original, I'm perfectly willing to sacrifice a smooth belly for all the features we have added.

The stains on the aluminum in these pictures is baby powder that was on the sheets when I bought them. Unfortunately, I left the sheets out in the rain for a few days and the baby powder seems to have either stuck to the aluminium or possibly even etched it a little. I've tried soap and water and mineral spirits, but have not been able to remove the stain. So, even though I said I would never crawl under the trailer with a polisher, it looks like I might have to at least once to get these damn stains off.

And finally, the trailer is back on the ground with the axles in place. If you have been following my blog closely, you'll remember that I ordered the axles a little wider than original to provide more clearance for shocks later on. My original shock mounts were so close to the tires that they were rubbing against the front curb side tire. I was a little nervous about ordering the axle wider, but my measurements were fine. I probably could have added another inch overall.

The one thing we did not get to that I was hoping to have done before putting the shell down was painting the rims. I bought a nice yellow automotive paint for the wheels, but we just have not had time to pull the tires, set up the sprayer and shoot these. Hopefully they wont still be primer gray three years from now.

So, we are now at the moment of truth. Will the shell fit and how long will it take us to squeeze it into place? Wish us luck. I'm more than a little bit nervous, but also glad to know Ryan has already done this twice successfully.

Oh yeah, one final note. If you have not already found this blog - 1959 Airstream Overlander, "Someday" - you should check it out. Brian and Lynetta and their three kids down in Atlanta, are restoring another 59' Overlander that is nearly identical to the Captain. They have only owned their trailer since the end of January, but are on a record setting restoration pace similar to Katie and Ryan's work on the 59' Flying Cloud. I hope we get to camp with them someday and check out their trailer. It sure would be cool to see these two 50 year old Airstreams parked next to each other.