The Assembly Plan

It was time to call in the reinforcements for the next step.

We planned a cookout with my two sons and daughter.

 Hopefully, some work would get done as well.

The crew and the grandkids were ready so let us get started!

The end caps were installed with those assistants not assigned to fix lunch.  

No pictures were taken of end cap installation. 

The first ceiling panel was carried to the trailer.

It was the smallest of the two and was more manageable.

It was rolled up and tied with a bungie cord.

My boys held the panel in place with the aid of some wooden props.

The holes in the panels from previous rivets were matched up with holes in the ribs of the trailer.  Even though the process looks hard it was obvious where the panels were previously fastened.

A manual pop rivet gun was used to attach the ceiling panels.  Hard work and persistence allowed the crew to mount the panels where they belonged.  Not every rivet was replaced during this process.  Enough rivets were installed to hold everything in it's proper place.

The second ceiling panel was larger and more difficult to manage.

The panel was gently folded in half and started through the door.

Almost in there!

Yes.  It fit!

Once inside the trailer the panel had to be maneuvered into place.

The wood props and muscle helped to coax the big panel into it’s proper place.

This picture shows the end caps and ceiling panels in place.  The center holes for lights and fans were already cut into the panels.  The new refrigerator vent hole on the left was cut after the panel was up in place.

We accomplished a great day's work.

 Everyone had a good visit and plenty to eat.

Insulation and Inner Wall Skins

Installing the insulation was finally finished.  It covered many of the details that once were visible and easily accessible.
The next major operation is to install the inner skins.
But first some preparations were made to help locate exposed wiring later down the road.

Fastening the inner skins inside is done by drilling holes and inserting all aluminum pop-rivets.  The plan is to relocate and reuse the existing holes in the ribs and skins.  The previous rivets were 1/8 inch in diameter and were drilled out to remove the inner skins.  Reinstallation will be with a wider 3/16 inch rivet and will do a better job of holding the parts together.

Red tape was used to mark important points where the electric wires passed through the ribs.

Drilling into a wire would be unacceptable.

End caps

The end caps are made of spun fiberglass and are a part of the inner skin system.  They cover the entire upper rounded part of the front and back of the trailer.
All of the other inner skin material is aluminum sheet metal.

The fiberglass end caps needed to be cleaned and repaired before being put back into place.

Here is a picture of the two end caps on my flat bed trailer.  They are thick fiberglass (about 1/8 inch thick) and are strong but flexible.

They are not too heavy but very bulky to maneuver.

Multiple coats of paint had to be stripped off before putting them back into the trailer.  Some repair was needed and some unnecessary holes had to be filled.  All this was best done outside.  I chose to sand the surfaces using an angle grinder and repair holes and cracks in the fiberglass using a repair kit purchased from an auto parts store.

All the surfaces were curved and required skill, knee pads and a face mask for the dust.

My flat bed work trailer was a good work area while being outside and up wind was an advantage.

These holes were from a tv antenna mechanism that will no longer to be used.

Many other similar
holes like these from screws and rivets will be filled using the fiberglass repair kit. 

Here are the two end caps all repaired and cleaned.

The two end caps do indeed fit through the door and are now ready to be installed.

Now how do we get them back into place?

I have a plan!

Ceiling Panels

I have a plan but first some more pieces need to be cleaned and prepared.

Once the end caps get installed the ceiling panels go in next.  There are two of them.  They are rather large and heavy.  For efficiency the factory made each of them from three separate pieces of aluminum.  They were buck riveted together to form a large canopy to cover the majority of the ceiling area.  They need to be cleaned and sanded.  Minor repairs will be made to make them ready for installation.

The angle grinder worked best with different grits of sand paper .

The goal was not to remove all of the paint but to sand the surface so that the new paint would adhere very well.

Hard to see here but one coat of paint was removed and the underlying paint was sanded smooth.

This is hard work! Fixing and cleaning.

Lots of maneuvering around these large pieces on the work area.

In the end the job was done and they are ready to be installed.

Inside the Trailer

The wall inside the trailer received two styles of insulation.  Reflectix and fiberglass batt insulation. Reflectix is a brand name sold by Lowes stores and is readily available in various widths and lengths.  It is an aluminum double faced bubble wrap about 1/4 inch thick.  Reflectix is a thin layer of insulation applied to the inner skin to reduce intense heat transfer from the exterior hot metal skin to the interior of the trailer in the summer time.   The other type of insulation is an unfaced fiberglass batt insulation that is 1 1/4 inches thick.   The wiring will also be placed inside the walls between the layers of insulation so space is limited within the walls.

I sourced the reflectix type insulation for a long time and was able to find a good deal on an overstocked job site.  The roll was more than enough for my trailer.

I chose to purchase a big roll 48 inches wide.

Each cavity between the ribs was measured and pieces were cut using a utility knife and straight edge.

3M Super 77 multipurpose spray-on glue was used to anchor the material directly onto the inner skin.

Looking good!

After finishing a plan was needed for the installation of the wiring.  Rebuilding a trailer is much like building a house.  The trailer wiring system requires three different systems.  They include wires for the exterior vehicle lights, the 12 volt system service and the 120 volt service.

Very interesting!

Where do all of these wires go?

It became necessary to design a wiring schematic for the 12 volt and 120 volt systems.  I will include these in a binder with the trailer for future trouble shooting.

Labeling of these wires was a must!

Duct tape helps hold things in order.

Planning well ahead was necessary.
This is one of three 12 volt switches installed.

This picture shows an extra wire loop for a future installation of a kitchen fan.  Locating the wire inside the wall will be much easier.

The black wire is a TV cable installed for future connectivity.

All of those lights, plugs, fans and etc. require wires to operate.

The fiberglass batt insulation roll was purchased from the Airstream factory and is the same as installed in all new Airstream trailers.  It is 48 inches wide and as stated on the package is 2 1/4 inches thick.

The insulation unrolled two batts at a time.

Each batt is over an inch thick and fit in the wall cavity just right along with the reflectix insulation.

The fiberglass insulation used in the Airstream factory is much less "itchy."

It made my job much more enjoyable.

The insulation was meticulously measured and cut to fit each wall cavity in the trailer.

A utility knife and straight edge made short work of the task.  

Knee pads were very helpful on the cement work space.

Once again I turned to the 3M spray adhesive to help hold the insulation in place.

Careful placement filled all the spaces.

The total thickness was just right.

All tucked in and ready for the inner skins!

The process works very well.

The ceiling and end caps are all that are left to do.

Look at the Bling

Time to hang all of the pretty items back onto the shiny body!

  

Original but refurbished Bargman tail lights.

 New Airstream nameplates on the front and back.

Refurbished license plate light with new red lens showing to the rear.

New LED clearance lights from Vintage Trailer Supply.

A 30 amp Marinco Shore Power Plug was added to the left rear of the trailer.

A receptacle for a portable porch light was reinstalled near the door on the curbside of the trailer.

 This type of light is powered by 120 volts and only used when the trailer is 

plugged into adequate shore power.

Several styles of this type of light were used originally.

The aluminum propane tanks were polished and mounted back onto the front of the trailer.

Polishing the tanks worked best by following the grain in the metal 

which goes up and down instead of side to side.

A new tank rack and regulator holder was added to the front hitch area.

 Here is the trailer all "blinged up."

Great reflections.

 Sunglasses were helpful while taking these pictures!

The outside of the Airstream is basically complete and waterproof.

I can now turn my attention to the inside of the trailer.