'71 Starcraft Wanderstar- "The Hilton"

dodge guy wrote:
Yep, keep up the work and pictures! We like to watch other Peoples hard work!

Great minds think alike. I am going to replace the detiorated fiberglass that was on the shade with aluminum plate. I may insulate that in the process. I will use some 1/8' sheet around here from my other hobbies. I think the new front window will definitely be an improvement. It is less glass and is 3/4" argon filled, tempered, thermopane. I decided to mount it towards the top for privacy and better durability from road hazard.



Here are some more pictures, starting with the wheel well since I know some guys (that would be me)scratch there hair out trying to get a good solution. The passenger's side wheel well:



This is pretty much the stock plastic wheel well but I added some galvanized steel to reinforce it should it suffer a blowout. Next, I built a monkey coffin around it and insulated with R-11 fiberglass:



The frame was sheeted with 5/8" and 1/2" plywood.



The driver's side wheel well was beyond recovery and I wanted to end up with something that was blowout-proof. The electrical distribution, the kitchen plumbing, and other critical bits are adjacent to this wheel well. When I picked up the trailer, the breaker box had 2" of mud on the back of the box. That won't be happening again.

I removed what remained of the plastic wheel well:



I then fashioned a frame of 2 x 4's and 1 x 4's. The exteri or wall was flashed with aluminum coil and the outer skin of the trailer is now supported by solid wood:



Finally, I covered the inside surfaces of the frame and exterior wall with 16 ga. steel, screwing and using construction adhesive. I also caulked the seams and sprayed truck bed liner on the steel to prevent rust:



The finished wheel well:



Next post will cover the toilet relocation and new through tank fitting.