Our Aliner Restoration: Finished?

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Finished?

Seems to be just about finished....not that these things ever are, but she's road worthy and camping worthy, so in my book that is finished. Mike undercoated the bottom the other weekend, and I've finished sewing the curtains. Two sets of curtains need to be installed, but that won't take more than 15 minutes. Mike also needs to add some screws to the outside lower edge that we had taken out when we were first trying to figure out how we were going to do the floor. There is one edge that needs weather stripping too. Okay, maybe it's not done, done....technically, lol. Yeah, like it's ever going to be?! It's little stuff. Either way I will try to take some pictures later today or more likely after I get the rest of the curtains in.
In two weeks we are taking to our home away from home, Otter River State Forest. It's going to be so nice to use it and enjoy all this hard work. It will be nice to be up off the ground (although I still plan on my fair share of tenting) and it will be nice to have the option of heat if it dips down below 40F at night. And it will be awesome if Alan and Sue make it out to camp too. I don't think they are camping, but I did shot them an email asking them to come out if they can.
Pictures later, promise.

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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.