Support beam and closet

[Kriss55]

Hey guys!
I recently purchased a 1977 13' Scam fixer. I am in the process of gutting it so I can clean/paint the interior. The poor girl sat for a while and has a lot of mildew inside. My plan is to TSP the walls fill in the seams, Kilz then paint. I am wondering if I take out the support closet, kitchen cabinet and support bars for a few weeks. Will it will make the roof sag? I'm trying to get her cleaned up and put new flooring in before I put her back together. Thanks for the advice, I am a newbie so any advice is appreciated!

Kristen

[EricAllyn]

It will sag while there is no support there, but you should be able to get it back to where it belongs when you put the support back in. I put a support in before putting the fiberglass in, so that it will be where I want it, and then I fiberglassed the support in. Same with the walls and cabs. I don't like holes going through the shell if they don't have to.

[LyleB]

No actual personal experience, but lots of reading. Seems that most folks recommend constructing a simple, "T" brace to place between the floor and the ceiling while you are renovating the closet and/or kitchen cabinets.

Regarding painting the inside. The rat fur in Scamps and the Carpet in Casitas serves several purposes, nice appearance is only one. They also add insulation, block light so you don't become a glowing silhouette at night when the lights are on, and, very importantly, they prevent severe condensation on chilly nights when your breathing inside the trailer will condense on the cold walls and ceiling.

I'm sure others with some first hand experience will chime in soon. Good luck with your renovation.

Edit: Disregard part of the above if what you meant was that you were cleaning and painting the foam insulation that is in your trailer. Sorry.

[Kriss55]

Thanks for the advice! I've decided to leave the closet and tape it off when I paint. I will make a T-bar when I remove the kitchen area, if I can figure out how to remove the brads.

[Kai in Seattle]

Paul used fairly large pieces of plywood, one at the ceiling, one on the floor, and a 2 x 4 slightly taller than trailer height inside. He put it in finger-snug and then tapped it a bit each day for several days to gently raise the roof after ours had been without interior support walls for a few months during floor replacement. If you're leaving the closet in place, that'll be a big help in guiding you to the right height if you take the galley cabinets down.

Our trailer is a bit different in construction, but the principle is the same, don't let it sag too far before you prop it, and don't try to do any overly quick glass bending.

Best luck with your project!

Kai/Kathleen

[k0wtz]

Some of you guys have the neatest ideas. I look at every one of them!

bob