Separating the frame from the body - phase one

Here are some views of the underside of the trailer. Note that the floor is plywood. Note also the places where someone has reinforced the frame by "scabbing" on thicker pieces of steel.

I had read in other peoples' web-postings that there were specific places to locate the bolts that fastened the body to the frame.  On my Boler, things were a little different -- I found that some of the bolts were actually screws that went through the thin sheet steel. In other places it was evident that extra bolts with nuts were added long after the trailer was built.

Job number one in the frame separation was to remove the laminate flooring.  This stuff came up really easily because it was held in by four small finishing nails and a lot of friction. Next, the two dinette benches and the front bunk bench had to be removed. These were just screwed from the top into a strip of plywood that is set into the fiberglass wall.

The plywood support strip in the front wall had begun to de-laminate. I think it will be strong enough if I use wood glue to mend it.  Otherwise, I may end up glassing-in some new wood.

Here's a picture of my water tank.  It looks like it holds about ten gallons, and it might still be a fine tank.  I'm not sure if I'll keep it or if I'll install a new one.  Of course, I don't have to decide on that right now.

The chromed steel rod that reinforces the door hinges had to be loosened so that the front bench could be lifted out.


Once the front bench was out, I got a better view of the plywood decking and the frame, and an answer to the question of why my doorway is wider at the bottom than at the top.  I appears that front decking had shifted forward and then it was re-fastened to the frame.  At the top of the frame near where my tape measure is, you can see that the edge of the plywood is about 5/8" back from the vertical line of the frame nearest the door -- at the other side, it is flush.  The fact that the deck and the front wall shifted at all has made me think that the body must be pretty flimsy once the frame is gone. I'll have to think further about how to hold everything together while the frame is coming off.
That's all the time I have for today -- stay tuned for more!