We Made It home

[Phano]

We dropped off the camper to my parents house in Illinois. After the trip we have realized a few things.
-The frame is generally bent
-The bent frame has caused the fiberglass to bow out and separate from the structural walls and such inside
-The axles are bent
-The frame is not attached in several places to the fiberglass
-We will be doing a full restoration and are excited to do so
-None of the appliances work... Well, the stove/oven does, but it has seen better days
-The insulation/vinyl walls and ceiling are shot. What should we replace with?
-The roof is in pretty rough shape.
-I will be needing lots of advice on how to reinforce/fix the frame. This is the part I'm most concerned about. We will likely be taking the shell off the frame to replace any bad bits/sandblast and recoat the frame.

Any general advice for me before getting started? We will tear everything out and take lots of photos and save bits to recreate the camper as it was. We love the layout and want to give it new life!

[WaltP]

Wow, sounds like you have a huge job on your hands. Kudos for resurrecting one of my very favorite vintage models.

Walt

[thrifty bill]

When you tow, the trailer needs to be level to slightly nose down or you tend to be too light on tongue weight. Not enough tongue weight induces sway.

Sounds like a great project. These Fiberstreams are pretty special!

On these molded FG trailers, realize the wood interior provides structural strength to the trailer. So when you remove anything inside, be sure to add temporary support, and plan on an interior with adequate support. Anything vertical is structural, stuff next to door supports door opening. Even horizontal cabinets can provide some structural. The walls and roof of these trailers cannot support themselves. Think of it as a bowl of jello.....

[OR335d]

Another reason to keep the tongue flat or lower: Only the front axle has brakes. If the tongue is up too much, the braking axle will have less weight and could skid? Not sure, but seems it could.

A couple of us have done the gut, or nearly gut, of the trailer. Lot's of work. I'll be posting pictures of my journey in a couple days.

It looks like you are dealing with someone having done the same rooftop a/c mod as mine had: A 4'x4' sheet of plywood screwed into the ridges above the back vent, with an A/C mounted on top. A couple problems: You can't seal at the vent hole, and it's just bad where the a/c mounts. Very flexible and prone to leak. My advise is no roof top a/c on Fiberstream, but that's not very acceptable to some. When this extra weight is put on the roof, it causes the walls to try to bend outward. As the screws holding the shell into the back of the fridge and the kitchen walls and cabinets have been weakened from moisture/age/rot, the structure can't take the weight. The kitchen wall and fridge wall need to pass the roof load to the floor, but there's no steel in the floor where it needs to be. This leads to bowing of the floor with moisture. It's a domino's effect. One thing that may lead to the impression of the walls bowing is the shape of the trailer. In order to get it out of the mold, they designed the top of the trailer walls tipped in from the bottom. The bottom of the trailer is wider than the top. Don't try to make the outside walls level. It's impossible.

Wow! Too much venting from experience. We are loving our rebuilt trailer, and just used it this weekend. I wish you well!

RI

[canyon Rafter]

Hello and welcome to the fiber stream group. These trailers pull like a dream with the dual axels and is pretty safe as far as tow trailers are concerned. If you think your frame is bent I would suggest removing everything from the inside of the trailer and put down a 3/4 inch floor. This will make your trailer a lot more stable. Look into straightening the frame when you have it apart also. Have fun with your remodel and take your time, it will be well worth the effort!
After rereading your post it looks like you are going to tear everything out, my only suggestion that would be any help would to put down a 3/4 inch floor and have fun! I really enjoyed the remodel of my Fiber Stream.