[VAC] Re: n the mend

[Chris Elliott <celliott@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

   howdy ,
Pleased to report that the bathroom floor in my 63 flying cloud is healing up
nicely , I replaced the whole four foot section
( at times I wished I had taken Bob`s advice -less is more ... but I wanted
the strength of  having the full section for and aft - more is more ! ) I put
a seam on top of the small angle iron between 2nd and 3rd crosspiece (about
1/3 of the distance side to side in my unit ) . I also welded in new 12 ga .
crosspieces bent on brake  which I lightened up by burning holes in to match
stamped originals . I could have used 14 ga. , the old ones were maybe 18 . So
I added 10 lbs or so there , but plan on batterys under front sofa which will
balance load . Used Por 15 paint on frame and west epoxy on edge of  plywood .
Cut a template of cardboard , then one of luan , then cut the real thing . I
allowed 1/8 inch fudge factor which was about right . I used fir marine
plywood because of the extra plys over regular cdx , I was going to use
meranti plywood for its durability , but decided against it for the increased
weight , (and cost !)
    All This maybe be of more interest to me , But it was from similar posts
here that I got brave enough to attempt the repair on my trailer . If  there
is anything learned to pass along , its that you can pound unmercilessly on
flooring to get it in without damaging anything - I thought for sure I`d get a
flat dent somewhere but all was ok . On a 63 , you can bend the tabs which
hold skin on up to let the new piece in over the one thats in already , for
that matter the verticals on my trailer were legged out in the rear with
smaller pieces at factory, I could have drilled out the rivets there and had
more room to slide under . The whole rear skin will self support itself while
you remove floor .
   I plan on using a piece on aluminium angle over the tabs in rear and
another under the flat strip that the rear bolts go thru underneath to to
insure that the rear end doesnt seperate ever , although my bumper was solid
even with the rotten floor .
   Next on with rewiring which leads me to a question - is the 110 wire
something special for RV use ? it seems like the ground wire is much skinnier
and easier to work with than regular 12 /2 w ground for houses. So I still
have the end caps to remove , but then she starts to go back together and I
can have the upstairs of the barn back - stuff takes up a lot of room for
fitting in a 22` trailer !
   Chris  - 63 flying Cloud