by Bob Hammond » Mon Aug 27, 2018 1:32 pm
Since you asked -
The major seams on the exterior skin (it has an aluminum interior skin too) are sealed with Vulkem. The exterior rivets are bucked rivets, and vulkem is dabbed on the inside of them too. At the bottom is an aluminum extrusion U-channel that joins the exterior skin to the floor, with the floor fitting into a slot on the underside of the U channel. A bolt passes through the channel and floor. (This is where the bad things happen - water runs down the inside of the exterior skin, pools in the U channel and soaks the floor via the bolt holes. Over time the floor rots away if regular maintenance is not performed.) The roof vents are installed with Vulkem caulking too, but more modern materials are available. On mine, I use a 3M product similar to Eternabond tape to reseal the vents. I did make a new skylight that I can open to ventilate and get access to the roof for inspection (I'll tell you that crawling on top of a 9-1/2 foot tall aluminum twinkie can be daunting because it's slippery and easy to damage.
After the exterior shell is finished, it is dropped and bolted on to the frame, and then passed through a water spray chamber to find leaks. When it passes the test, then all of the mechanical systems (electrical, plumbing, gas, insulaiton) are passed through the door and installed, and then the interior aluminum skin is pop-riveted in place and 'mouse fur' (a carpet-like material) is glued on, and then the cabinet work is installed.
All in all, if the rot of the floor and frame rusting is caught early, it's certainly worth the time and money to renovate. Vintage Airstreams are always in demand, and so they're easy to sell if you don't want one to live in for weeks or months at a time.
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Museum of Unfinished Projects