Bertha Gets Her Shell Back

 Last weekend we continued our deep dive into Bertha's new underbelly construction. Aluminum sheet and pop rivets were purchased from AirpartsInc.com, and the results were spectacular.  

Bertha came with a spare tire recess and clamp, and we decided to maintain this handy feature. The clamp is currently coated with the same Eastwood paint that we used for the frame, but we're thinking a Raptor bedliner coating might be a good idea given the clamp's underworld location. 

This weekend, we reinstalled Bertha's shell. First, we had to disassemble our gantry system and move the parts over to where her shell has been patiently waiting for several months. 

In May, we removed and stored Bertha's shell between our shipping containers to keep it safe while we worked on her frame. The containers also provided excellent rigidity to our gantry system for the reinstall.

 

We used two Harbor Freight chain hoists running through the front and rear vent holes for the lift. We put our I-Beam in place Saturday afternoon and gave the system a quick test run to determine the best placement of the beam. Given the door side was significantly heavier, we set the beam off-center toward the door to provide the most even lift. 

Saturday was a long hot and exhausting day!

After a busy morning installing the threshold and final pieces of C-Channel to the sides of the trailer (not as easy as we'd hoped), we were ready for an afternoon of shell installation.

This was the MOMENT OF TRUTH.

If the shell didn't fit, we had wasted a lot of time and money on a very intense project!

I am happy to report that Bertha got her shell back and we're still in the Airstream game. 

Lots more work to come. The shell still needs to be buck riveted, banana wraps installed, trim and shell patching after that, but I think we've passed a major milestone for sure. 

Until next time!