Just a quick look at the condition of the frame. Took some measurements. Found a repair at the bend under the door that leads to the tounge. Thinking to replace the frame instead of just adding reenforcement.
Hitch receiver was a bolted add-on.
Measured the frame:
bumper
bumper height
long side frame
long side frame
Total frame width
Safety chain welded to the frame
This is what held the spare tire
under the hitch, side frames are 3/16" thick
Doesn't really look like a good repair weld
bend in drive side
deep pocket in the bend. the reason its a failure point on these campers
Looking at the axle mounting:
Overall, the frame looks mostly sound and thought to add some additonal metal to strengthen the frame before replacing the floor. After measuring the frame, I'm now looking more at replacing it. 3/16" metal thickness doesn't sound like much. I think 1/8" would be better. Looking to change the 1.5" x 3" frame sides to 2"x4" but best to talk with a trailer shop to see what they think as well.
Of course, with all this work, axle would need to be replaced. I have some thoughts on that I'm listing in the Renovation Ideas tab above.
The picture in this post is from two different visits to the trailer. Some might be all over the place but I'll try mentioning what I'm looking at. At first I wasn't sure, but now I am. This camper will need to come off the frame and get back to having a solid foundation.
Sink drain fitting is leaking
Leaks again just above the
Wheel well, under sink
Green tape indication where
I might cut area inner shell to
Fix inside of outer shell.
Looking at where to brace interior
for off-frame support
Removed table support...
Table support screws were in bad shape
Area of floor rotted out. I cut
fiberglass to see its condition.
Part of seating area is sagging
Could use a wire brush and repainted
Removed battery box and propane tank
Removed diamond plate to look underneath
Many screws are rusted but many still hold tightly
Rotted floor by bench.
Is easy to push through here.
In some of the following pictures, you can see where many areas along the edges, the plywood used for the floor is not protected with fiberglass causing a lot of soft areas and rot.
Hard to tell in the picture but the
center part of the floor is sagging.
This is under the dinette.
Bad patch work under the bench
Big source of rot.
Axle name plate:
HENSCHEN INC. CAP 1500 LBS. SER NO. 2-142562 JACKSON CTR O. 45334
Now the trailer is covered up and tucked away for winter in it's storage space. Not sure when I'll get to this project. It will need a lot of work.
Went to the camper early this morning. Took some stuff out that I didn't and will help clear things out for updating the interior, and electrical. Some of the pics below are before/after. Like removing lights and a few AC outlets.
another outlet by the bunks but will have to
remove later when I can get to the nuts holding it in place
One of these lights on each side was removed as
well as the sticky thing beside it. (there was a few
of those things scattered around the inside)
Looking to remove this light with something newer/updated.
Any lights I install will be LED
small piece of veneer covering the hole, likely an old AC outlet
papertowl holder was removed, along with the
block of wood behind it
Got this outlet out
old wires and inverter in the trash box
Might be hard to see in this photo below, but the hose has two hose clamps, but only one was actually doing anything
general view of damaged area
Water tank pulled out form under the seat it sits on
tank measured 12"x12"x20"
13 Aug 1982, probably the date it was made or installed
space water tank sat
trailer wiring in the water tank space
The next four pictures were just to get a look of the trailer lighting hooked up to the tail/running lights.
painted area is the closet space
Looking at the damaged space, I came to a realization that all the original resin in the camper was cured green but I kept looking at these yellow spots then realized that's were previous damage was repaired. Some of it doesn't look too good and it looks like when the shell broke, they kept some areas overlapped and just laid glass over it and probably used filler to smooth out the outside. Doing that, I think, left the outside pushed in and deformed. Not sure if I'll be able to fix the shape of the shell but it might be possible. I've seen pictures of people with worse damage come back to looking good again, although the ones I saw didn't have them undoing someone elses "repair" work in order to fix it.
some fiberglass work needed on the door edge
Not sure how this picture ended upside down
but I had to get new bolts to mount the handle as I
only had one holding it in the door.
A little bit of work and some discovery thrown in the mix. Gotta tear things down before building it back up. It's getting colder. While I had thought of getting a cover, it was nice seeing one was already on the camper. I may just pull that out, cover it and wait for warmer weather before doing too much else on it.
Lastly, I leave you with a video showing my discovery of the repaired damage from the inside.
