Mending the Structure

The last time I posted, the Santa Fe looked like this. We have done a lot of work on her since then and she is almost ready for wiring and the new flooring. I am anxious to start working on the interior, Kimberly and I are Internet junkies and we are not above including every ones great ideas in our little rig. Slide out Porto Potties, recessed TVs, solar battery charger, who knows what we will be able to comfortably cram into the little 12' travel trailer.

 

We removed the floor to expose the undercarriage and the 2x3 that the entire back end of the trailer balances on. Seems like a lot of stress for the piece of 1.5" angle iron that the 2X3 rests on...

My father reminds me to check things that would not occur to me. The bolts holding the leaf springs and repacking bearings while the floor is off and the tires are off the ground. The bolts are in great shape. In fact most all of the 40 year old bolts and nuts will be reused on the project.

It took a couple of attempts (a day and a half) but we managed to get everything on the right rear corner lined up and solid.

After our success, we moved on to the other side. Pounds of screws and oodles of staples later, we had the skin removed. It looks a little rough but it's really not that bad.

We put in a few support pieces on the back wall to keep the trailer square and then measured and cut the replacement pieces for the left side. Kimberly using the brad nailer to secure the new lumber to the original frame pieces. The square blocks are added for support where there was minor damage on the ends of frame pieces.

The back end is looking brand new. Rear wall and side walls are solid and square. The skin matches up with the frame and that was no easy feat... It is amazing how much trouble that being a quarter inch off is sometimes. Once Kimberly saw that we had to move a bolt everything came together nicely.

We dismantled the kitchen cabinetry and the closet so that we could get to the floor and replace the front wall. We are feeling fairly intimate with our little 1967 Santa Fe Cub about now...

A new piece of Masonite and a couple 1X2 boards square up the front end and allow for a dry fit of the door. It took my dad, Kimberly, and I several hours to get everything to line up properly. Without precise alignment, the aluminum skin will buckle or fall short.

The rear of the trailer seemed to have minimal support and my father suggested I beef up the area that supported the doorway and step. The pictures above show four new pieces of angle iron and the areas they reinforce.

My Folk's neighbor, Gene, came by with his welder and attached the new steel for me. Gene lays a really nice weld. When the electricity sounds like frying bacon in a cast iron skillet you know its gonna be pretty. He's damn limber for a guy in his 70's.

Until next time,