B. Scotty Deconstruction Begins

I was impressed this made it unscathed for over 50 years.

This will certainly go back over the door.

The water stained ceiling was what caused me the most concern and finalized my decision to rebuild the camper.

Then I started removing things from the interior. First I removed the front table, bed, shelves and the kitchen counter.

I left the closet just inside the door to help hold up the walls and ceiling. I stopped there to start removing the door, windows, trim and aluminum panels from from the outside.

Getting the roof panel off was the most challenging task. I made a slot in a small pry bar to use for pulling nails and staples. It was the tool of choice for most of the tear down.

Then getting the nails loose on the roof panel off proved difficult until I found the right tool to get the job done. I used this cutter to cut the aluminum nails. I just had to be sure to keep the cutter away from the aluminum skin as I cut the nails. It worked great!

I set up some sawhorses in the bay next to the camper for use as a table for the roof and side panels.

Then with my wife's help we removed the roof panel.

Next all the side panels were removed.

Now I took many pictures with a tape measure stretched over every opening in both directions so if the panels fall apart when they are removed I will have a record of where things go.

Next the closet, rear bed and the rear bunk was removed.

I found this tool stapled to the wall inside the access door. Not sure why it was there?

It is now 07/25/2016. It has taken several days to get to this point since I can only work about 4-5 hours each day in this heat. I really wanted to get the floor removed so I can start working on the trailer frame.

The mice have been coming and going at will. That has to change!

Next the rear bunk was removed.

I left the front seat to keep the side wall steady while removing the front wall.

The walls were removed. It proved difficult since there were staples into the plywood to attach the wheel well opening.

The front seat was removed and the floor cleaned up in preparation for removing the floor.

Removal of the floor bolt nuts around the edges was easy. But, the bolt in the center of the rear floor would spin instead of the nut coming off. I had to dig a hole around the bolt to try and hold it with a wrench to remove the nut. That did not work. So, I got out the cut off tool.

I did not know there were bolts in the drop down section of floor. They too only would spin and the nuts were stuck. This time I moved the trailer to my concrete in next to my shop so I would be more comfortable while I used an air cut off tool to remove the nuts.

The wheel wells were installed first and a flange was under the floor plywood and stapled. I could not reach the staples all the way around. So, I used the skill saw to cut them out. I will get the staples out of the wheel wells later.

I used a jack to help lift the floor until the drop down section could be supported by some old boards. Then my wife and I moved the floor to the rear and off the trailer frame.

The trailer jack needed to be repaired to allow me to better manage the trailer frame. The old jack was worn out and would slip down the lift screw. I bought a new jack at Tractor Supply. However, the new jack was 2-1/4" outside diameter and the original jack was only 1-3/4" outside diameter.

I looked to see if I could find one online that might fit, but could not. The only choice I had was to modify the trailer, or to rebuild the old jack. I removed the screw and nut from the new jack and modified it to install in the old jack.

The original screw nut was held in place by crimping the center tube. The new one was also crimped.

I was able to make some strategic cuts to remove the new screw nut.

I measured the foot end of the original center tube and turned the new screw nut down on my mini-lathe to fit.

I used heat and a chisel to remove the old screw nut from the tube and drove the nut out with a piece of conduit.

Then I ground a slot into the side of the new screw nut to fit the old center tube with the cut off tool.

The fit was tight, so I heated the old tube and hammered the new nut into place.

I tried to stake the nut in, but was not having much luck. I just used a few small welds to hold it in place. I also cleaned up the tube. Now it is ready for painting.

It is painted and ready to install.

First I installed the foot from the jack I had purchased. I wanted to use a wheel and remembered I had one tucked away. It will be much easier to move around by hand with the wheel.

Now I can begin repairs. The trailer frame mechanics will definitely be first.