Tin Tiny - a 1940's rebuild

[crdouger]

So I've started a project now and there's no turning back. This was a recent ebay purchase that I'm stripping down and rebuilding from the shell back up. I'm curious if anybody knows of similar type trailers or knows anything about the history or past of this trailer or this type of trailer. The previous owner says that it was in their family for a few decades and to the best of their knowlege it was home made in 40's by somebody in the aircraft industry. That could be true or it could be bunk. It definitely shows its age.

I've decided to ditch the steel frame. It's way too heavy. I'll be pulling this with a Corolla and need to keep it light. There's no galley, so I'll be adding a fridge, stove and cupboards. I'm open to advice and suggestions.

This is my first post and build journal and I hopefully won't violate too many etiquette rules. Thanks for any advice and feedback.

crdouger
P.S. I'll get pictures up soon. I'm in the process of learning how to do that.

[Gage]

crdouger
P.S. I need to figure out how to insert pictures into this yet, anybody want to help me figure that one out?

Upload them to your album then it's just a mater of copy & paste.

When you get ready to post the pic in your posting, Just paste the pic URL, highlight the whole addy and hit the 'Img' button. It should put the correct tags at the beginning and end of the addy.

[doug hodder]

Check the "help with photos" topic in the above header, dead center

Just thinking, if you junk the existing frame, you will lose the vintage VIN numbers on it and may not be able to title/license it for the vintage year, states may vary. Not a big deal to some, but it could be a selling point in the future. Some will pay just to have the correct year on the title and frame. Might be an idea to get it weighed and find out what you are starting with. Just a thought. Doug

[crdouger]

I've been fighting photoshop to reduce the size of the picture. Here's at least one of them. I'll post more tomorrow.

[High Desert]

hey thats a neat looking little rig. Do you know yet if the body framing is wood or metal? All those rivets makes me wonder. Very unique look, should be a fun project. Good luck

[tinksdad]

Just the thought of replacing all those rivets by hand make my fingers and wrists ache. A pneumatic pop rivet gun would be a good investment.

[crdouger]

The frame is welded steel angle iron with aluminum sheeting on the exterior. I'm a little dissappointed about the aluminum on steel thing, but it survived 60 years, it will surive for a while longer. I've removed the lower frame and I plan to custom make an aluminum frame with a torsion axle to keep it as light as possible. I'd like to build it completely with out wood so that any future possible leaks won't be able to rott anything and to keep it as light as possible.

[crdouger]

So here's how the project started. After towing the thing back from Kansas to Michigan. I parked it in the garage and then started tearing it apart. I'm only really happy when I've gotten rid of anything that isn't right or the way I want it.



Here's my main man helping me disassemble it. He loves anything to do with a cordless drill.



Once I removed the wood and styrofoam insulation it revealed an angle iron welded frame with aluminum sheething. It's all heald together with aluminum buck rivets (just like airtstreams...I have one of those too.)



It looks kind of nasty, but most of that is old paint and glue used to attache the styrofoam. I removed the wolmanized plywood floor so I can replace it with lightweight rot resistance aluminum sheeting. I've got a lot of pop-riveting ahead of me. I'll buck rivet any structural parts.



Next to be removed is the amazingly solid over built steel chassis. I've made a utility trailer out of it and that's for sale now on craigslist. So I lived the body off the frame. The angle iron frame is so rigid and strong, that the chassis is pretty much a mute point. I should be able to make the new aluminum chassis very light wieght.





I'll post more when I get the new chassis built.

[crdouger]

I'm about to start buying insulation for the interior walls. Does anybody have any advice on what 1" thick insulation would be best. I'm planning on running my wires, then piecing together the 1" foam board, and then filling every crack and "glueing" the wiring in place with great stuff. Then I'll put the finish surface on my walls. Any advice?

[Alfred]

Man! I think that is a really cool looking camper! I really like the look of it. Was this a manufactured camper, or I'm assuming it is someone's unique creation? Looking forward to watching your progress on the restoration.

AL in Asheville

[crdouger]

I think it is a unique creation. The story that has been passed down with the trailer was that it was made in the 40's by somebody in the airplane construction business. Hence aluminum and rivits are everywhere. I'm a bit of an airstream fan (my other trailer) so that kind of drew me to it. I'll post more pictures soon. I'm slowly making progress.

Doug

[crdouger]

This picture shows the trailer at point where I think I'm done with destruction and now will start with construction. The floor and frame is gone. I have new aluminum I-beam that I will weld a new floor out of. The internal frame in the body is so strong that the trailer frame is almost a mute point. I'm planning some aluminum angle across the floor and a sheet of aluminum skin over it, so there won't be any wood to be exposed to road or weather.



I cut out the two small windows that were originally there because they leaked and didn't open very well. I have a new window that will help with airflow significantly on hot days. It will run almost the full width across the trailer.



Most of the time our two kids are going to sleep in an attached tent. My wife and I would like to have an alternate plan if the weather drops below freezing or if we have a horrific rain storm. The trailer is only 4' wide, so all four of us sleeping together would be a challenge. So I'm building hammocks that can be suspended about 24" above the floor. There will be two of them, one for each kid. They will be strung by rope and there will be hooks on the wall that you hang them on. It should take about 10 seconds to string them up when needed and the canvas and rope won't weigh much or take up much space when not in use. The kids love them already. This pic shows my daughter testing out one of them. I sewed them from duck canvas.



Here's the view looking through the galley to where Anne is hanging out in one of the hammocks. Eventually the galley will have a Dometic fridge there, so you won't be able to see inside it from the back.

[crdouger]

I've wire brushed the entire interior to get rid of old paint, glue and rust. I primed the bare steel with a rusty metal primer and now everything has received a coat of underbody. It should help muffle sound and seal things up a bit. It's nice to have covered all of the random paint and scratches and such.





Next step: hang the second hammock and then start wiring. Any tips on wiring anyone?

[pbrunicorn]

How thick is the aluminum skin? What are the dimensions of the trailer?

I am framing my trailer with steel much like this one so I will be keeping my eye on this thread

[prohandyman]

I agree with Alfred. I really like that profile. Sort a like Doug's American Voyager. Definately a one off design! Did you post the dimensions already?