Long story short but four years ago we
discovered floor rot in the rear of the Airstream. At that time we re-sealed
everything to keep the water out and to keep from creating any more damage.
Then we had to wait for the house additions to be finished and wait for a long gap
of time between trips to make the repair. As soon as we found out four years
ago we were both sick to our stomachs about it. But a good friend who restores
and rebuilds all kinds of vintage RV’s told me … IF MAN MADE IT, MAN CAN
FIX IT. So since then I knew it could be done and I have felt better about the
entire process. This will also help us in making that jump to buying another
Airstream. Vintage! A complete shell
off restoration of one does not scare me now. I still see a fleet in my future!
The reality of it is that no matter what
you have a house, car, Airstream or a multi-million dollar RV coach . . . they will
all leak at some point. It does not matter how much or how little you paid for
it or what brand it is. If you think yours doesn’t have issues then that could
be called denial. If you say “Oh I’ll put that preventative maintenance off
until next winter.” Laziness. Let me tell you, that is a mistake. It takes no
time at all for water to wreak havoc on your Airstream or any RV for that
matter. The sun drying out your sealants doesn’t help either. They are moving
wobbling objects bouncing down the road. At some point due to age of the
sealants and calking, the skill and time taken from the factory to begin with
and the normal movement of your rig and something will fail. Preventative maintenance is key.
As the ‘Project Coordinator’ it is my
job to keep Tim on schedule. Other duties include keeping all needed materials
ordered in advance and on hand. That way we have them when the next stage of
the project arrives. At the factory all the interior items of an Airstream go
in through the entry door. So we know everything inside will come out. It
takes both of us to carry pieces out, maneuvering around other interior objects
to keep from damaging anything.
Everything is cleaned and placed inside for storage. That would be my
dining room. I am also making the final window treatments for the interior side
windows of the bedroom. However now I can’t install them or blog about them until
the rest of the bedroom has been re-installed.
So far this has been quite the project.
Tim has had to remove the entire bedroom interior and pull back the floor
covering. We hope we can reuse it because we are so not ready to recover the
entire floor. Now we can see the true extent of the damage. What water you see in these pictures we got while returning from Charleston during our drive through a tropical storm to get home. A skill saw will be used inside the Airstream
to cut out the old flooring. So we have completely draped everything inside. I tend to stay away when the grinding, cutting and other loud noises are happening. This won’t be a quick repair. Work and
available time plays a big factor here as well. Many hours of research for each
phase will be needed. Our resources are plentiful. Between the Air Forums, The
VAP, other blogs and good knowledgeable A/S friends we’ve got it made. The plan is to do the repair RIGHT. Our
Airstream is now nine years old and it will be better than new when it originally
left the factory. Belly pan will be removed and a new one installed. Frame will
be repainted. The bumper has always needed repaired and tweaked since we got it.
New sealants, caulking and gaskets replaced again. Rivets galore and stainless steel
screws will be needed. Elevator bolts to secure the new floor to the refinished
frame. All new insulation underneath replaced. The old stuff was all water logged. And so many more little things
that we hope we have time prior to the next scheduled trip to finish. That will
be in September to the Keys.
Both Tim and I have been very excited
about this project. It really makes me happy to know it will be finished under
our hands. The knowledge gained
will be priceless to us. All the furniture from the rear bedroom is inside the
house now. Funny how all that takes up more room in the dining room than in the
Airstream. Good times . . .
.JPG)
(I know ... GASP)
Wow! Looks like a huge job, but think of all the experience you are gaining. I think I may have a leak in our gray tank. Whenever it's nearly full, I hear a boink, boink, boink underneath on the belly pan. Probably the best place to have a leak since it's doesn't appear to be doing any damage, but will require the belly pan to be removed to check it out. I'll probably have it checked next time we are at JC.
ReplyDeleteI had similar challenges with an 87 32' Excella which had huge delayed maintenance issues. Discovered were quite a few design flaws to lay at the hands and feet of Airstream production. First and foremost is the seeping of water into the belly pan from the back bumper and particularly through the horizontal bottom hinge of an access door with 1/8 inch opening. Once the water accumulates in the belly pan it has nowhere to drain, so it slowly evaporates into the sub-floor above. In this case it was particle board which swelled up like a wet sponge and created a ripe environment for mold. The former owner had fallen through the floor providing me with a good purchase price with a summer project I could do. The most difficult part was the removal of the particle board from the c channel. Then there was the removal of excess caulking smeared over all imaginable exterior seams and interior window joints. Replacing all that with judicial application of top grade caulk ($18.00/per) at the top edge of the rub rail and filling the offending opening below the access door hinge was sufficient to pass the no-leak high pressure water hose dowsing before closing it up. I am really proud of the finished job which allowed for significant improvements in insulation and weather tightness which should last.
ReplyDelete