We finally got everything prepared to put the shell back down on Maude's frame - so this weekend was a HUGE ONE! Aaaaaaaand of course it poured rain on us! ;)
We started by making sure the frame was level so that (HOPEFULLY!) the shell would go on evenly.
We learned a bit from lifting the shell off how to put the shell down a bit more safely and smoothly. We got taller jacks so that we didn't have to use as much blocking. And same as when we lifted the shell we had a jack stand at each of the four corners to act as fail-safes. We went back and forth from the front to the back of the trailer, inching each end down a notch or two.
Then we started getting close! We had to make sure that every one of those little tabs made it to the correct side of the outer skin!
We used a bunch of wood shims to help guide the tabs and shell into the correct positions. It worked REALLY well!
It took a bit of wiggling (okay, we jumped on the scaffolding on the inside!) to get the whole thing to settle into the correct place, BUT WE DID IT!!!! This was the most exciting day!! It was also one of the more stressful! Having that shell up in the air and wiggling around as we tried to lower it had me taking many deep breaths and uttering many curse words. ;)
We were able to move all of the cinder blocks that we had used to support the frame out of our way! There's so much room to move around Maude now!
I forgot to take pictures of much of the rest of what we did on Sunday. We were trying to get the door to close properly. As Maude sat for decades and the wood floor at the door was all rotten out, it made it so that the bottom of the shell was able to flare, so that the door frame was no longer plumb - the door frame was narrower at the top than at the bottom. We spent a lot of time using the chain and winch to pull the bottom of the door frame closer to each other. Throughout the process we gradually removed more and more of the scaffolding to allow for greater movement in the trailer shell - we were hoping that the shell would ease around the entire circumference of the trailer in order to make the door the proper width. We were able to gain MOST of it! We're probably still out about 1/4". With it that close, we're pretty sure we can make the door work properly by making adjustments to the hinges and to the locking mechanism.
So, as usual, we celebrated our win with a backyard campfire to relax and admire our work!
Our next steps are to put the decorative trim back on Maude, where the shell meets the frame and belly pan. We also need to retrim the wheel wells (somehow we were off by about an inch - c'est la vie!) so that they match the curve of the shell. We also need to fix the stairs - somehow they're not centered underneath the door! LOL! But other than that and polishing, we're about ready to move inside and get her ready for you all!! Next on our to do list is the electrical systems, the plumbing and figuring out the A/C unit! Super exciting stuff!
Until next time, you guys! <3 Becca
Our next steps are to put the decorative trim back on Maude, where the shell meets the frame and belly pan. We also need to retrim the wheel wells (somehow we were off by about an inch - c'est la vie!) so that they match the curve of the shell. We also need to fix the stairs - somehow they're not centered underneath the door! LOL! But other than that and polishing, we're about ready to move inside and get her ready for you all!! Next on our to do list is the electrical systems, the plumbing and figuring out the A/C unit! Super exciting stuff!
Until next time, you guys! <3 Becca