command and shop trailers both made the trip to the new camp.  i give thanks to the goddess of bearings and axles.

so the 1961 electric brakes still work, and we got down hathaway creek crossing smooth and under control.  

 
  new campsite is very nice, but guess who is evereywhere underfoot? organc herbicide = torch or 20% vinegar?

plywood is f’n expensive these days, shylocked the last three sheets, called a sundown deadline on getting the floor in, done.

i added a stringer across the 3 foot stretch, must have been a tank here they left out any support under the shower or something.

and the drain required a notch cut in the frame.  not sure if this was a factory thing, might weld a replacement gusset, but for now at least the floor is supported.

ok, i think we’re ready to sheet.

hardest one in.  yes, it goes 1.5″ under the wall channels.  lets just say “bigger hammer” kept playing in my head.

measuring from back to front, there’s 1/64″ delta side to side.  might work.

how i got the second piece in is a trade secret.  popeye would have been proud of both my bashing and cursing.  the center piece between the wheels required all my “negotiation” skills to squish everybody in snug.

tada! aprox 24′ x 7′ of shop space now has a floor!!!  still have to drill and bolt everything down, and maybe some more negotiations here and there, but ima gonna call this project officially “over the hump”.

i was told a complete re-floor could not be done without removing the shell completely.  i’m rather pleased with how well (get it? wheel well?) this actually worked out with the shell “floating” on the front and rear end sheets and wheel wells.

found the door again.  there isn’t a snug rivet in the whole assembly.  i think my future has a lot of drilling in it and take it all the way down to the pieces.

so looks like the rear frame had some rust and bad-installer damage.  the outrigger pieces hold the shells weight so need to be somewhat integral.  i cut out 2 damaged ones, replaced 2, and added 2 more in the back.

one of the new outriggers in the back.

this one the center stringer was “torn” loose at the top weld.  not exactly a quality job, but re-welded enough to BE STIFF.

replaced, repaired, modified, bones DONE !!!

now just need some cash for more plywood :)

front is floored, door frame is all drilled out,

first go at patching all the little holes, and a few not so little holes, closed-ended aluminum pop-rivets, working from the front to the back,

now it’s time to rip out the ass of this project.

previous owner covered the floor with chipboard, that did not go under the shell, not even all the way to the edge even!

the whole back end of the trailer is held together with the galvanized sheet floor cover and a few rivets in the steel side trim piece.   there is no wood connecting the shell to the frame, just this galvanized finger trim.

at least it will be easy to remove!

there’s something to be said for momentum, something like “if you keep pushing at just the right time…” at least get half the new floor installed.

nothing bolted down, still nudging and budging (technical term for “bigger hammer”) but within 1/4″ all around.

still need to deal with the wheel covers, they are galvanized steel, and completely corroded away at the sides.  another reason not to bolt down yet, i’ll slide some new steel under and then bend and rivet to the original.

second sheet in,

and third sheet (of six) in.

not sure what, if anything, i’ll cover it with, for right now it starts to feel like a workshop.  can you see it yet?

on the longest day, i finally got over the halfway point with the project fondly named “Two”.  i am now officially “putting back together” more than i am “taking apart”.  There is still plenty of floor to remove in the back still, but here is the first and hardest sheet of new plywood floor installed.

but first, the torn swing out step frame had to be fixed.

one of those things easier to work with on a bench, so cut out the whole thing, along with the frame pieces it was attached (sorta) to.

i could see making this a lift-gate door now, or a drop ramp…

but no, lets go with sturdy box tube door frame that i can add a step to later.

sorry, no closeups of the flux-core 120vac welds, you can just imagine yucky gross blobs and splatter. will hit it with gas mig when i do the step.  after its rolling again.

tomorrow, weld a brace at the 2/3 seam, sheet #2 then goes in, and #4 can come out.  this project is Zen forcing my “lots of littles” discipline game.