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Putting sides and roof together

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With the sides up and fastened to the floor, I added the front and rear cross pieces to connect them. After the front and rear cross bracing was installed, I adhered the interior birch paneling to them. In this photo, you can see the cutout for the original (well, original to me, but not original to the trailer) refrigerator venting. Since I need to match the cutout in the original aluminum siding which I am planning to reuse, I figured I would add a nice aluminum compartment door, whether it was functional or not. Since I couldn’t put a new gas operating fridge back in (I couldn’t find one small enough to fit the area safely) I decided on a nice 12volt/120volt unit which doesn’t need exterior venting. Also, on a random note, you can see how nice the use of a Kreg pocket hole screw jig is when building the trailer. I added the necessary support blanks within the framing for the future solid screw anchoring of  exterior light fixtures and other random vents, etc. These were no
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Building the sides

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Time to construct the sidewall framing. I put together the aluminum siding so that I could use it as a template. When I compared both sides of the assembled aluminum siding, I noticed that the sides didn’t match. Since I wanted to make two identical frames (the perimeter), I knew I would need to fudge the aluminum siding on one side to fit the frame when that time came. Drivers side  This is the inside of the passenger side skinned with 1/8” birch. I used a polyuerathane construction adhesive to glue the birch plywood to the frame. I used bricks as weights to keep pressure on the frame against the birch until the adhesive dried. Passenger side frame. I used exterior type 3 wood glue and pocket hole screws for the joints. The frames are made of 3/4” marine grade plywood. I copied the original frames for the most part. I did add some bonus pieces in select areas for strength or where a hole might be drilled or a fixture attached.
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Down to the Frame

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Here you can see here the previous owner cut off the ends of the rotten stringers and added the cross piece between both frames. The cross piece is removed.  With the floor completely removed, it was easy to see the work that needed to be done to the frame. Some rust removal for sure, some straightening of bent supports, and some welding type of repairs. I noticed when pulling Otis to the shop that the trailer appeared to “bounce” or rock forward and backward. Once I got to this stage of the teardown, I realized why. The frame had two serious stress cracks in the wimpy c-channel where they were welded/attached to the front L-channel cross member support. It’s apparent that the weight of the body puts a lot of stress in this area. I would eventually repair this with an extra plate of steel in these areas. I would also weld some brackets in the areas of the leafspring eye supports the width of the c-channel, in a sense, boxing in those 4 areas. There were also seve
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Some more random rot photos of Otis

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Let the real demo begin!

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 After ripping out the kitchen counter assembly, I began tearing down sections of walls. It continues to be apparent that the structural integrity of Otis was gone long ago. With the entire passenger side and front dismantled, it was almost time for it all to come crashing down. The previous owner installed laminate flooring. It was pieced in pretty badly.  With all the walls torn down, the floor was next. The white plywood is in the rear where the last owner attempted to replace a rotten section. This photo also shows the cool galvanized fender wells removed. They were in great shape. 
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A little roof action

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These two photos show how whimpy the roof is built for light weight reasons. One would never want to put their full body weight on it, that’s for sure. The upper picture shows the vent cut out. The trailer  came with a basic crank open non powered vent. I would replace it with a powered unit for nice air circulation. Both photos show how the high voltage line was simply just draped over the roof spars and the aluminum roof just set on top of it. I’m derstand it’s hard to rout wire through 3/4” thick material, but man, this just seams like a bad idea for many reasons. I would route the new wire inside the trailer cabinetry via conduit for a much more protected path and easier accessibility.
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Entry Door

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 The door is in pretty good shape. I think it will clean up nicely. I would eventually figure out how to “beautify” the interior side. It’s wrapped in a textured aluminum painted a tan color that isn’t very nice looking.  I would replace the door screen with new aluminum screen and beading. The only minor defect with the door was the obvious damage left by someone trying to pry the door open. I look at that as history and will just let it be. The best part of the door is the original working door knob and lock. It’s a really nice piece of mechanical beauty that is unique in the way you twist the knob from the inside one direction in order to lock the door.
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