1988 Skyline Aljo Rebuild/Resto

I look forward to seeing your updates.

Looks like fun! Look forward to seeing updates and the finished job.

FWIW, here's a link to my cousin's bus rebuild: http://beginningfromthismorning.com/. Any time you think you've got a problem, just check out their blog and count your blessings! :B

Lyle

It appears to be in pretty good condition so, you have a good base for a restoration.
It's also a neat little rig. Please keep us updated.

Looks good. Do yourself a favor though. If the age of the tires (based on the date stamp on the tire) is 7+years, then just replace them all. RV tires don't wear out like on your vehicle, and one good trip, and a blowout will cause a lot of damage to the trailer.

djousma wrote:
Looks good. Do yourself a favor though. If the age of the tires (based on the date stamp on the tire) is 7+years, then just replace them all. RV tires don't wear out like on your vehicle, and one good trip, and a blowout will cause a lot of damage to the trailer.

Dave, you have no idea how bad those tires on there are! They are actually just car tires, I think. We were concerned about puling it the 40 or so miles home.

Thanks for the kind replies guys, and I will be posting more recaps and pictures soon.

Scott

My family's first foray into camping was in the '70's and we got a 16' Aljo. So many fun memories.

Dale

Our 1st 5th wheel trailer was a 26' 1984 Aljo. We towed doubles (3400 lb bass boat rig) with the Aljo for eight years. Great trailer for the bucks.
P tires work fine on lighter weight trailers. Most can be pumped to 44 psi or the extra load to 51 psi. Keeps the tires bead seated to the wheels. Our older passenger tires were 32 psi max. The tires beads could come unseated (popped the beads like we called it) while making sharp corners and backing maneuvers.

Let's update where I am in the process. The first job I tackled was to repair the rusted out fender-wells. During my first inspection with the water connected, I discovered the kitchen sink baskets were leaking. So to facilitate working on the fender-well (which is partly under the sink), I decided to remove the sink. More on that later.

The fender-wells were galvanized steel, which is great, but this one did not survive the leaks it was subjected to. I was able to slavage part of the fender-well, but most was rebuilt. At the same time, I replaced parts of the rotten wall plates I discovered.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of any of this, as I was not planning on blogging about it at the time. I'll post more details of what I have done soon.

Okay, another project I have already completed (without pics of the progress :( ) was the water pump. It was completely locked up. I suspect that was from sitting for a while on hook-ups. I was told that some one had been living in it, although I don't really see how.

While I had the pump out, I decided to add a bladder/reserve tank to reduce the percussion while using the pump for fresh water. I must say, that was a great idea. The freshwater system while using the pump is very smooth and quiet.

I do have a picture of the finished install, but not the most easy to see. The freshwater tank and the pump is under the sofa.

As you might have seen in my previous post about the freshwater system, I made a little modification to the frame of the sofa. The sofa does make a bed by sliding out the base. Here is a pic of the base as it would be in the seating position.

To make a bed, you just slide out the top part. It is incredibly simple construction, no "drawer" slides or any other hardware, just notched wood.

So, when I removed a piece of the plywood to access the pump, I saw all the space around the tank and decided I should be able to access it. So I attached a piano hinge to each section to be able to use for storage of seldom used items.

I can see hot dog roasting forks living here:

With the limited space in our little trailer, I felt that I have to use every little cubby hole. With the help of my mother, we made some slip covers to hide the terrible dye job the previous owner did on the cushions.


This sofa makes a bed just shy of a queen size mattress. The dinette also makes a bed. This allows this little RV to sleep 4 adults and 2 kids or maybe 2 adults and 4-6 kids. Pretty impressive in my opinion.