July Update

Well we have lots of progress to show as we have been busy trying to get her all done. The winter slowed progress quite a bit and has been exceptionally long...

In these photos you see the skin going on and the interior paneling completed for the most part. There were lots of detail items to attend to as the skin was reattached, insuring the wiring was all in place, planning for the furnace vent and the added gas water heater....and lots more.

I modified the floor in the bath so that the raised section was only for the potty area...this allows for standing where the mirror will be and we have thought of adding a sink down the road which will be easy to do - yeah easy.... like this project has not fought me every inch of the way!

I've not been as good at taking photos of the "during" so realize that there is a lot more going on behind the scenes then the photos reveal...

I used this cleaner as it has a mild acid in it, most of the paint came off the skin  as I washed it with this and steel wool, making sure to rinse thoroughly. 

As we cleaned/installed the skin the dings and dents became a lot more prevalent... I even priced ne skin  but decided that  - mostly due to time - we will live with the flaws that can't be repaired

Lori got adolescent with her art skills... yes Katrina now has a mate - Hugo!  A  project tow vehicle for tackling  later...

The 1st part reattached was the front

I decided on these cool LED marker lights

See how the paint seems to wash right off - pretty cool

The curb side front all on!

I decided to make sure the windows still fit, yup they do!

This area required the most thought, the shore power, water heater and Cable TV hookup all terminate here plus most of the plumbing is in this area so I didn't want to attach the skin and then realize I forgot to do something.

That is spray foam insulation that has expanded and before trimming, I am using it everywhere  in my attempt to make the trailer as dust free as possible.

Before the cutouts for the water heater and path light, all fitted and ready to  secure permanently.

You can get an idea of how well the aluminum will polish up here - that is an area I  used steel wool and lacquer thinner on before polishing...

The curb side is all attached - back and front of roof will be last - after I wire all the marker, stop and turn lights

I can actually see light - I am close to completion - (it may not appear that way to you but believe me it's close!)

Here are some highlights of the inside work...

The bath and light - I plan to put a long mirror here under the light

The power panel looks right at home here

I modified the bath floor again - the only raised area will be the potty - it looks much better this way

These confined areas are quite difficult to work in....

The light even works LOL

After moving a few things arounf on the panel I retested all the electric to make sure I had not mucked it up - all works great!

Working under the tarp one day - 

A reminder of what we started with just 10 months ago....

Another view of the front ceiling area.... I have had a real education on this....

Need to mount the fresh water tank after we put linoleum under the bench area here

This is what sold us on this trailer, with all the windows in the front it will be great to camp

Here you see the gas lamp re-mounted and the finish all applied to the "old wood" with the mirrors installed

Katrina gets a mate....

Meet Hugo.....

Barn fresh!  Bought from the 2nd owner who owned him since 1964, he is a 1961 International Travelall - believe it or not  he runs pretty well... a carb rebuild, new brakes and tires and I'm gonna take him to a couple of shows as a Barn Find

He has that ugly duck kinda cool charm!

Here is the inspiration and aspiration for him... 

Tongue work - Restoring Jalousie Windows

 In this entry I cover the painting of a very rusty tongue and the rebuilding process I followed on the Jalousie windows.

I thought I took a photo of the tongue only but this gives you an idea - rusted  and scaly , the old regulator was present as was the OE gas bottle rack and wiring junction box

The wiring junction box... I have all the wire to install a 7 pin connector someday very soon 

The OE gas bottle carrier, I had to cut the bolt off with a cut off wheel, same with the wiring box

With those things removed I used a wire wheel on my grinder to remove scale and old paint 

Hard to get in all the corners and tough to reach areas

Did find the Mfg serial number though

It took years of  unprotected weather to pit the steel like that - too bad

I bought this POR 15 kit that include the cleaner and metal etch needed for a good bond - I used a variety  of tools and attachments attempting to get the metal as clean as possible prior to the POR 15 application

The kit included all the supplies to complete a small job

Cleaned and etched

Another view, the cleaner and etch made a huge difference in appearance of the old iron

Coated with the rust encapsulating paint

Looks good except I want a white tongue

I was told by the rep that any good quality spray paint will adhere to the paint while tacky 

It looks okay enough to add the battery tray/box I'll be fabricating and then I'll repaint it with urethane automotive paint

I worked on the windows at home with the goal of doing one each evening.... I am an optimist aren't I?  It is simple work and I enjoy the detail but did require time to do correctly. 

This is the window AFTER washing it! These were filthy and barnacle encrusted!

I found a video on U tube that showed the simplicity of dismantling these 

Basic hand tools are all that is needed to do the job, you will need a clutch head  socket - which I already had due to my old car disease

I was able to clean these pretty well although they are a bit corroded in places

These rubber pads are all that hold in the panes of glass, simplu remove these and the glass comes right out

Here is one of the old rubber pads removed

There are several types of gaskets used in these window, felt along each side and rubber top and bottom as well as the rubber pads needed to re-install the glass, I got everything needed and great service at Vintage Trailer Supply.  They were great and I will buy from them again!

This was rubber at one time, as you can see the weather sealing capability as is would be NONE!

These are the clutch head screws needing removal to disassemble the frame

After washing but prior to barnacle abrading... 

I used SOS pads for this step, and then washed with detergent and rinsed well

Ta-da! No the SOS pads do not make it look like this - okay I skipped a few steps in the polishing process that I will cover in detail later when I do portions of the skin... it's the same process

Here is the same type of rubber installed to seal the bottom pane of glass

The louver mechanisms were all frozen, I doused them heavily in penetrating oil to  free them up, I then wire brushed the  rivets in an attempt to clean the rust from them with some success - they work great now

Removing the old felt from the sides

The felt and rubber come in cut ot length rolls (?)

Much nicer with new material installed

The new installation pad material is also cut to size, this works great as not every  window pane bracket  is the same

Installed...

Here is how the completed windows look - I am quite happy with the appearance and they now work great

A side view, all of the glass is original