S-280

[Karl kostman]

Good Morning Folks I have recently aquired a pristine S-280 shelter and have started working on it with the goal of making it inot a reasonably confortable camper, presently its residing in the bed a Deuce. My question is HOW do I remove the 4 main commo panels on the shelter, they are labeled telephone conn and Coaxial conn, I have drilled out every rivet both inside the shelter and on the outside around the inside of the frame that hold these components in place and after all this they are still in there hard as a rock, What am I missing? My goal is to take these components out and put windows in their place, any hints on what I am missing would sure be appreciated!
thanks
KK

 

[wreckerman893]

They could be held on with some industrial glue......that would be my guess.

 

[Karl kostman]

Wreckerman, I sure hope that is not the case, Do you have any ideas of something that couls dissolve this Industrial glue potential disaster?
KK

 

[drgreg]

The shelters are tough. You may need a larger window and cut the panels out.

 

[Karl kostman]

Gosh you guys are sure not telling me what I was hoping to hear, reality really stinks at times! Well the panels are coming out one way or another and if cutting them is the only way then so be it! I will keep an eye on this post till tomorrow and see if anybody pipes up with something more to what I want to hear, I will reside in my fantasy world till thne guys! Thanks very much for your input and it sounds like I should stock up on sawzall blades!
KK

 

[brianrbull]

Karl, I am pretty sure they are either glued or epoxied in there. I would cut the center out of the panel, Then take the remainder out one side at a time.... I dont know of any solvents that would dissolve whatever is there with out doing more damage than it is worth... (That is even if you could source such a solvent in this day and age). PLEASE take LOTS of photos of the process what ever you decide to do so others can benefit .....

 

[Karl kostman]

Brian great to hear from you AND in your views and everybody else here it appears that this is going to be the correct answer and guess what Brian, I can do this! Take care all ans this is going to be the way I proceed, NOW Exiting fantasy world!
KK

 

[SCSG-G4]

Remember, a lot of the stuff was assembled, then the foam was added in the walls. So the panels are adhering to the foam and that's what is holding them in, IMHO. Brian is right since you are not going to save the panels anyway. Cut from the middle out towards the edges and you will find out what is holding them. Good Luck, and take lots of pics!

 

[Srjeeper]

My guess....

Kk,

I re-did a S250 shelter this past winter and I eliminated some of the interior boxes and panels on inside of mine. The framework on the openings appeared to be put in half from the outside and half from the inside. Once in place they were welded together along the corners.

I do believe if you were to cut thru the weld on each corner (inside, middle, outside) then the frame work would come out after all the rivets are removed.

Follow the corner welds to see what I'm refering too.

I plazma cut my boxes out and that's an optiuon if you have access to one, also.

Good luck......measure twice....cut once....

 

[frodobaggins]

air chisel

 

[Karl kostman]

Good Morning Folks I wanted to let you know that yesterday at noon I started removing the 4 primary comm cabinets in my S-280, here is a step by step on how it went and I rpomise to have pictures on Monday!
First step is to drill ALL Rivets associated witht he cabinet, they are all along the edges around the cabinet and this is done from inside the shelter. When I say Drilling the rivets I am not just saying to drill the head pops free, you need to DRILL them OUT, on average I would guess I drilled from and 1 to 2 inches deep on each rivet! Next get your ladder out and drill (in the same manner) all the rivets associated with your cabinet to be removed outside, these rivets are on the inside of the outside frame and the rivets again are all along the INSIDE frame, they span out from the frame of the cabinet. Next go back inside the 280 and remove any sealant from around the cabinet and use a strong putty knife to work all along the edges loosening up anything that may be left holding it in place, after this is done go outside again and Somewhat gently with a 4 or 5 pound hammer start working around the edges and in my case I was BEYOND PLEASED when the whole cabinet popped loose and I just pushed it onto the inside floor of the shelter, completed all 4 of them in under 5 hrs and only 2 more smaller ones to go! Another git of info is to remove as much stuff from inside that cabinet before perfroming this task, it seems to just make life in the drilling process a lot easier! Note folks this is MY 280 and I found NO adhesive and all my rivets were aluminum! Take your time and be gentle with the hammer I was very pleasantly surprised! Pics will be posted on Monday it went so well they will be a little boring I am happy to say! Have a great weekend
KK

 

[brianrbull]

Rock On Brother.... I need one of the "Covers" for my shelter if you have not destroyed or scrapped them....

 

[Karl kostman]

Hello Brian what cover are your referring to??
KK

 

[Karl kostman]

As promised here are the pics from the Comm cabinet removal from my S-280 shelter, As stated before I am happy as a clam to say they are very Boring!

 

[Srjeeper]

Rock On Brother.... I need one of the "Covers" for my shelter if you have not destroyed or scrapped them....

What size (W" & L") covers ya need?

I have two small ones that I have no need for. If you or anybody else need them there yours, just pay shippin...

 

[drgreg]

Karl, Good to know they come out easy. If I ever get any ambition, I will take some out of my S250.