Our Aliner Restoration: Get Ready.......

Friday, March 19, 2010

Get Ready.......

Spring is here! At least on the calender and at least for this moment. It has been around 60 all week, normal for most parts of the country in the Spring....but here we usually still bracing for at least one more good storm. Maybe not this year? Shhhhh.... It will be over 70 tomorrow, the first day of Spring. I've been prepping all week doing an extra chore a night so I'm not stuck inside all weekend cleaning. Although the back yard is screaming for my attention and the flower beds despite being cleaned up a bit are still feeling neglected, I am working on the Aliner. I've been collecting trinkets and whatnots all winter. Yesterday I spotted a funky floral dustpan and broom at Ocean State Job Lots, something I could never carry off in the house, so I scooped that up for her too. I've gathered plastic kitchen ware and gadgets, pillows and linens, hooks and organizers, a blow up mattress, seam tape and other practical items even. I've also drove my family nuts all winter making comments whenever I basically see something a bit to unique for my practical home or something whimsy and outdoorsie ...."that would look good in the Aliner", like this thing was 15'x30' or something. Now I don't even have to say it, I just point and they say...."let me guess, that would look good in the Aliner?". Ha! I love New England and thrive on the change of season, letting every season motivate me to be something else because lets face it, I am not good at being just one thing. So I am done collecting and ready to get back to work. Those damn curtains need to be finished!! LOL, that was my one true winter project for this thing and I did not even touch it. Well I touched it, to move it out of view for the holidays, then to protect the fabric from dust from sitting around.....where are all those little clips I cut off of the old ones? I predict some searching and swearing tonight.
We are getting the main part of the driveway paved, not the side part where the Aliner is sitting....can't afford that much, nor do I want that much pavement in my corner of the world. It's just that with Billy with us and Taylor on her way to getting her license we are seriously running out of room to put all these things on wheels....my Jeep, his truck, Billy's car, the utility trailer, the Aliner, the plow and now Taylor's Jeep. I feel like a hillbilly :( Oh yeah, and the motorcycle! The pavement will give a good surface to work on too. Although right now Mike just wants to sell it and says he's not camping in it, lol.
This weekend....curtains at night, so should be done with them already! ....clean up and access where we are at, what needs to get done, what we still need....any winter damage, I hope not! I know I want to get some plastic restorer that I learned about over the winter on the Yahoo list. Probably just get some headlight restorer. I wonder how much less or more abraive it is than rubbing compound? Maybe I'll throw that question out to the list. I def want to thumb through Dave (the old guys) blog too. But I should be working right now....so off this for now. Just had to make note about Spring and my motivation....hope they are both still there when I get out of here!

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Future Plans

(Written shortly after bringing home the Aliner in June of 2009) I'm hoping at the end of the day to put together these blog entries and photos and publish some comprehensive notes and instructions that will help the next poor bastard out. There is a ton of knowledge out there, it's just really hard to find it in one place. We will most likely publish in google docs and link pdf or doc files here.

Our primary goal at this point is the floor. In our imaginations we can see the potential for this little unit and there is a lot of inspiration on the web. It's really hard (for me, I think Mike has his head on a bit tighter) to not want to look into the cool mods and daydream about crazy efficient cabinets and gadgets.

(May of 2011)

As of today we are working on getting into our second season of camping in the Aliner. Last year we only brought it local to Otter River State Forest in Templeton with plates off of our utility trailer and the old tires. This season after new tires we brought her to Myrtle Beach in April and have since removed the old decals and applied new ones. We love this camper, so don't ask to buy it unless you're looking to forkover 6-7k. It's pretty much a new camper now, even better it's made well....no stapled together cabinets or chintzy counter tops. It may not be the biggest thing but it is just right for the two of us!

Aliner Parts and Pieces

Aliner Owners Club on Floor Replacement

Here you can find the AOC write up on floor replacement with some helpful links, such as to the wood petrifier if you just need to fix a soft spot and links to pictures that show a floor replacement done by lifting the body of the camper and using the old floor as a template. We chose not to lift the camper and to replace piece by piece for a few reasons. The first was because the floor was so far gone it was pretty much dirt. There was no using the old floor as a template and no need to try to get it out in one piece. Second, we did not have the garage or other space to work on the camper and did all our work in our then gravel driveway. And lastly time, we didn't want to leave the camper up and apart for the length of time we thought this would all take. The main reason though was because our floor was so far gone. I think either method is fine but do realize when doing it a piece at a time you need to place the new floor in as you go or you will lose structural support. The walls are wrapped around the edges of the floor and stapled all the way around. When you remove the old flooring it will fall if you take it all off. Also doing it a piece at a time you will need to do the parameter first then the center of the floor rather than what would probably be three full sheets. We half lapped, used liquid nails and recessed bolts. We also did spray a rubberized undercoat and we added reinforcement to the rear of the frame.