Bruce Brown
Northern NY
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fulltimin wrote:Bruce Brown wrote:This continues to be an interesting thread.
On the structural part, if it were mine I'd be welding in some more supports, both horizontally and vertically. On the verticals I'd go 16" on centers, the horizontal I'd go with whatever I could get. I realize this will add some weight - I think it would be added weight well worth the effort. Make the box stronger and everything else should be easier to work with.
Yea, I've been considering that. I think a little extra support would be good.
I sat in the motorhome over the weekend just looking at the steel repair that needs to be done. Sometimes its good to just stop and survey the situation.
I think I might have a way to replace the steel that is bad, without exactly duplicating what the factory did, and maybe it won't be as difficult as it first looked.
Weight is always a consideration, as the way this was built, we did not have a huge amount of ccc as it was. Then again, I have the option to lighten some things as I put it back together.
I also like to run with a full fresh water tank as well, so that's another 400 lbs.
I'd think the steel repair would be one of the easier parts; get yourself some tubing (I think you've done that) a few cutoff wheels, and a mig welder then start cutting and welding. That part sounds like fun to me.
Then again when I did our TT 99% of the job was fun. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/biggrin.gif "biggrin")
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Bruce Brown wrote:fulltimin wrote:Bruce Brown wrote:This continues to be an interesting thread.
On the structural part, if it were mine I'd be welding in some more supports, both horizontally and vertically. On the verticals I'd go 16" on centers, the horizontal I'd go with whatever I could get. I realize this will add some weight - I think it would be added weight well worth the effort. Make the box stronger and everything else should be easier to work with.
Yea, I've been considering that. I think a little extra support would be good.
I sat in the motorhome over the weekend just looking at the steel repair that needs to be done. Sometimes its good to just stop and survey the situation.
I think I might have a way to replace the steel that is bad, without exactly duplicating what the factory did, and maybe it won't be as difficult as it first looked.
Weight is always a consideration, as the way this was built, we did not have a huge amount of ccc as it was. Then again, I have the option to lighten some things as I put it back together.
I also like to run with a full fresh water tank as well, so that's another 400 lbs.
I'd think the steel repair would be one of the easier parts; get yourself some tubing (I think you've done that) a few cutoff wheels, and a mig welder then start cutting and welding. That part sounds like fun to me.
Then again when I did our TT 99% of the job was fun.
That should go fairly quickly, compared to most of the other work that needs to be done.
Once the cutting is done, welding doesn't generally take all that long. Like anything else, correct measuring and cutting are the all important steps.
Once the steel is in, it's insulation and flooring time. The factory used 1/2" plywood, which was on 22 1/2" centers. Not sure how they came up with that number, but they did. Over time the floor became spongy, and not because all of it was wet.
Flooring did not appear to be glued to the blue board underneath. However, the blue board was glued to the aluminum under the floor joists.
That is one thing Fleetwood did right. Much sooner see lightweight aluminum sheeting under the floor, than plastic. Just my preference though. Only a couple of spots to repair the aluminum under the floor. Yay.....
If you want to do something, you will find a way.
If you don't, you will find an excuse.
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Good judgement comes from experience.
A lot of experience, comes from bad judgement.
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Ok. I know everyone is sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next post.....Lol
Please go easy on me. I have had to add 2 more tools to my list.
Tool 1...
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/stool.jpg)
And the second...
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/clamps.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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I finally decided that after all the doom and gloom of tearing this apart, it is finally time to do a little something towards putting this back together.
Even if it is only a small part, at least something to get moving in the right direction.
So, I thought I would start with the entrance step.
I needed something to support the 1.5" x 1.5" steel tubing that I bought. That is why the stool was brought out. I do not have a chop saw for steel, so I thought I would use my 18 volt cordless grinder with a cut off wheel, instead of a grinding wheel.
Anything u see here may or may not be dangerous. I am not giving advice, I am only showing u what I did. This is for educational purposes only. Do your own research, and make sure anything u do, is safe for u.
So, first is the hole that the step supports needed to go into. That would be right here........
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/steprebuild.jpg)
Next we have a view from the top. Notice the 4 holes in the sheet metal, that are inside the yellow circles.
The holes are actually a little too close to the side of the rv, so I think I will move the step in slightly, which means I will have to move the holes a little.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/steprebuild1.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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So, after taking a few measurements, it's time to get the steel out and start cutting. Using a portable grinder, with the cut off wheel, works well enough, if u take your time, and pay attention to what u are doing. NO MULTI-TASKING!
I don't know if I will get it accomplished or not, but I would like to do this rebuild using primarily hand tools and portable cordless tools. It's an interesting concept, and we'll see how it plays out.
One area that won't work with the 18 volt cordless, is the welding. That is going to be done with a mig welder, although portable, is not exactly what I had in mind, since it's 240 volt ac.
So, this first pic is how I started my cut. After measuring and marking where I needed to cut, this is how I started. I put the guard of the grinder up against the steel tubing, and very gently, WITH 2 HANDS, started the grinder and began my cut.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/steprebuild2.jpg)
After getting through the top side, I stopped, rolled the steel tubing 1/4 turn, and repeated the above procedure. Same for sides 3 and 4. The reason for doing it that way, is that the cut off wheel never gets more than about 1/8" into the slot, and, in my opinion, is safer, with less chance of a kick back. This is about as deep as I went.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/steprebuild3.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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And after a few cuts, grinds and re-grinding, we end up with this...
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/steprebuild4.jpg)
Here is a larger shot of the top of the supports that are towards the back of the step area. I cut all but the front side off of this. The back of the step support is going to have pressure upwards, and the front of the step support is going to have downward pressure.
This just gave me the ability of only welding this support at the top. The pressure will be underneath the horizontal steel at the top of this one, both left and right sides. When I weld this in, I only have to weld the front side, and it will not be going anywhere.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/steprebuild6.jpg)
Now the bottom side of these supports in this picture are labeled with yellow circles, and they will be welded together. That will hold the back end of the steps secure with no movement whatsoever. Yay.....
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/steprebuild7.jpg)
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msmith1199
Reno, NV
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Joined: 10/07/2001
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fulltimin wrote:Time to play - can u find the leak in the roof???
![[image]](http://www.paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/leak1.jpg)
Maybe a little closer.....
![[image]](http://www.paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/leak2.jpg)
Ah yes, there it is. Not even an 1/8th of an inch....and no, I have no idea how it got there.
![[image]](http://www.paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/leak3.jpg)
Looks like a bullet hole.
2021 Nexus Viper 27V. Class B+
2019 Ford Ranger 4x4
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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(Looks like a bullet hole.)
Good one. This hole looks bigger than it really was. A .22 caliber would have been much larger than this one.
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femailyetti
South of Disney World
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use some thin diamond tuff aluminum sheet for the floors, stronger and weighs less, never rots
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Ok, made it back out to the motor home over the weekend. Got to do a little more tearing apart as well as rebuilding the entry step.
The first picture is one that was posted before, but is to refresh your memory. This is the floor frame of the house, and the area inside the rectangle is the worst rust on the vehicle.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/driversidewallunderwindow1.jpg)
In this next photo, I have removed one of the floor joists. This was shown in the previous picture.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/driversidewallunderwindow2.jpg)
This is a better view of the rotted end of the floor joist.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/driversidewallunderwindow3.jpg)
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