Nov 28 2018
Let’s make a floor !
I’ve been thinking of how to do this big job. Good thing I saved the old floor pieces. I’m going to use 5/8 GIS ply to build the floor. And the frame will be the template for the lower floor pieces. But the first step is to wheel it in the shop…
So I installed the wheels on the cradle and two of us pushed in in easily. And as you can see the windows disappeared quickly ! Aluminum rivets are easy to drill out.. Still a few bits to remove.
On the cradle it’s a tight fit.. but it must remain that way until the floor is secure. However I’m going to push it back out to the driveway and see if the pressure washer will remove whats left of the Thinsulate from the interior.
That’s about as much as I could clean off.. not bad. That glue is tough stuff. Which is ok.. whatever I stick on there will stay.
I carefully removed the upper fiberglass lip from where the floor WAS .. So now I can drop the new floor in and it will rest on what’s left of the bottom lip. Then the top of the floor gets glassed in..
I also very carefully cut out the new front and back floors. The body came back in the shop.. And with a wire wheel I finished what the wash didn’t.. Real messy so it’s better without the floor. Then I glued the floors in with PL 9000.
Glue is good.. But next I will glass in the top. Only then do I think the floor will support the body.
This is working out very good.. After I got two good coats of resin and cloth on the seams… and I repaired the crack over the door… it was time to set the body back on the frame.
And that’s exactly what I did.. Plus I could take the cradle away. Because now there’s enough floor to support the body. The fit is very good. Wow.. that doesn’t happen every day.
Even the “front to back” alignment is good. This will be a great way to accurately build the lower floor.
You can see I used the 12″ naked rims to roll the frame back under the body.. Lower is better ! Plus this fits under the garage door when I want to move it in or out for more room. It’s TIGHT in the shop..
But less tight then when the cradle was on the body. It’s nice to see the trailer straight , supported and back on the frame.. even if it’s temporary.
Jan 15 2019.… A new year !
And I’m back to work on the Acorn after a bit of a break..
Carefully piecing the floor back… Lot’s of gluing and fitting . As well I got the fenders back in and glassed in place. I was going back to work for the spring so I bundled up the Acorn and parked it in the RV carport … with plans to carry on in the late fall .