kempy

A few of the tons of profiles for window surrounds, each coated with a corrosion killing etch primer on both sides which the original panels didn't feature.

Starting to find it's faster make new profiles than treat and repaint old stuff.

Fresh cut top panel for the right hand side, I deliberately put a 50mm overlap on the new panels in case the seams ever leaked. ( bottom panel, bottom edge)

Front panel back on now, this was a bit of a challenge as the caravan had to be exactly square for it to fit, it came right with the aid of a jack, some timber and adjusting the temporary bracing inside

Apart from some tidy up work and the door area the right hand side is finished ready for painting prep.

Wee bit more progress this week.

Moved the caravan to under the shade of a tree as the heat was getting a bit much.

Bottom panels for the right hand side ready to go

They're a bit of a nightmare putting them on by yourself as they want to curl over and spring out, I also wanted to avoid buckles and ripples , so a couple of wood offcuts and some clamps came to the rescue

That might be a slightly controversial method

But certainly worth a crack!

The 745i.... tempting, although an 8.8l diesel does too

Was an experience to visit the shed of wonders!

14 times!?!? Someone had a grudge

You may want to chuck in some PVC conduit with a couple of network and a draw cable, always nice to be able to hook the shed up to the internet, streaming music, burglar alarm etc... if you're that way inclined

Water is always good to throw in as well..er I mean that's a spare conduit pipe Mr. Inspector

Looks awesome btw.

Cheers Man, starting to think brave is another word for bonkers 

The paint issue came up today in fact, I had already purchased some spray enamel and 1k high build primer on the advice from the guys at the paint shop as I was going to attack it myself, it seemed sound enough but everyone else I spoke to thought I should go 2k.

A bit if a re-think and decided to use a professional as I'm no painter.

The advice to use 2k was firmly put across by the guy who's going to spray it for me, he paints Aluminium boats for a living so I reckon he should know his stuff.(thanks to nvmyvl for the contact, and Rustisize for offering to help)

He's going to supply the primer and the paint shop swapped the enamel/primer and solvents back which was really good of them so I'm hoping for a finish I know I never would have had the patience nor skill to obtain.

Had a chuckle to myself when I saw your caravan frame only remaining..

Thoughts on this one,  just for a bit of general mucking about?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farming-industry/industrial/manufacturing-metalwork/lathes-accessories/auction-851146707.htm

Awesome thread, man after my own heart with this stuff.

In place for a trial fitting, It's not completed yet as I'm going to spot weld it and remove the rivets/ corrosion treat etc..

Here's the replacement bottom guard and  door frame support once the new sub frame goes back in.

Last lot of problems I know of (fingers crossed) is the door area and wheel arch, seems that it was previously a weak point and a wet area leading to severe corrosion

Here's the guard, not a great photo but the door frame connects to it as well and the whole side just flaps around in the wind, the only thing keeping it there before was a few corroded rivets interfaced with some powdery aluminium.

Pic of the Door well, what's left of it.

Chopped the ply out, it was a bit average in that area and also cut the end off the rectangle tubing so I could get at the sub frame and start the side repair, tubing offcut is sitting on top of the angle iron.

The angle Iron was supposed to support the front edge of the step, the fact that it was about 80mm too short could have been causing problems

Oddly enough, on the guards they didnt cap off the sub frame tubes so they just filled up with dirt/sand off the wheels and rusted out, same on both sides.

Last corner dealt to.

Only the door area to rebuild then it's time to complete the exterior panels and paint.

Nice to have feedback from a boat builder who thought I was doing a great job, hard to know how well you are doing and what consequences you'll suffer later on when you attack one of these as a one off.

Cheers to ThreeontheTree for the sand blasting garnet.

Look Ma, no frame!

Did the last corner today, was probably one of the worst when I was expecting it to be the least corroded.

Same scenario as before, Bottom of the Ali was like rice biscuits and the galv steel had more than 1/2 disappeared.

Another close up for those that enjoy looking at rusty caravans

The aluminium corrosion was really thick and to a degree had saved part of the steel underneath by encasing it with a thick (4-5mm) coating of aluminium oxide

Where did you get that paneling from? Looks great!

Mahurangi Sheet Metals in Warkworth did the work.

Couldn't rave about them enough really, they were really busy but still gave a toss even though they had some big projects on the go, almost down to 1/3 of the price of 3 companies I priced up in Auckland which really surprised me.

Only downside was that I felt that I got ripped off by a previous company that was supposedly doing stuff at mates rates.

I have nothing constructive to add, but I find it ironic that your avatar is a picture of a caravan and you have opened up a can of worms.

disclaimer: my experience may have been altered by inhalation of aluminum corrosion and alcohol.

Jesus christ! Coulda just built one from scratch

Mate...  Or just bought a good one.

Oh well,  in donkey deep now!

Still the R/H rear corner to deal to but I just couldn't help a trial fitting and marking out the new sides.

Buying some decent L/H and R/H offset shears made cutting the curves much easier.

Was wondering why the door step was a bit spongy and the door itself a bit loose

Found out why when I pulled the cap off...

You would be tempted to think that the sub frame itself is in a bad condition, Ironically it's not ans although it looks crappy, the paint looks worse than it actually is.

The only rusty bits are on the draw bar and a couple of small supports that will both be replaced.

I quickly folded up a replacement of the rusty bit above and a new cover as well

Note the wooden bracing inside , didnt want the caravan to pancake while there were no windows or panels on the ends

New side support.

Theres a 2mm thick steel strip that runs from the bottom all the way up the front of the curve to be added yet, looking a bit nicer now.

A bit more detail on the process

Front Right Hand corner before any work

The white powdery coating is Aluminum oxide, up to 5mm thick, lots of steel missing...

Another shot of the same place

Sand Blasted and replacement bottom rail going in, san blasted parts treated with a couple of coats of Brunox, great stuff for this you can literally watch it creeping into the corners so it needs a couple of coats and it leaves an epoxy coating, top coat of Cold Galv, just as a barrier.

Shocks finished

More of a hand really.

OK here's the progress from a couple of days work

I decided that after finding more and more corrosion around the bottom of the caravan that any patch up attempts would only end in tears and look bad, so I'm ripping into it, literally

Left hand side work starts

Some of the bits remaining from the corners

The matching panels after years of sitting on a beach section without regular washing etc..

Good idea that and I'll use it, it'll save space inside and avoid having to buy ducting to exhaust it outside.

Opening up a new can of worms every day. The bottom corners are all stuffed so im replacing them all one by one, one to go!

The step seemed a bit bouncy and the door a bit loose, found out why when I removed the panelling, nothing but rust so that's another job to the list.

Will post picks tomorrow