#39 - I Want A Rear Hatch

The photo below shows the rear panel on my #2 shell (the good shell) all taped up for the winter with aluminum foil tape. You can see that the panel below the window is just a plain panel with no storage compartment access door. With a rear bedroom trailer, a rear storage compartment seems like a must-have to get access to all that great storage space. You will also notice there's a round vent in the panel. That vent may have been for the bathroom, but it is no longer necessary.



The next photo shows the rear panel on my #1 shell (the junker shell). The panel is in great condition and even has a hatch with a good door and drip cap. The rusty handle is bad, but that part is on my list of parts to find and add to the inventory at Vintage Trailer Supply.



Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Apparently Santo is. What an easy way to add a hatch. Just a few rivets and it will be finished. Gotta love having a parts trailer! (I know Santo looks miffed, but that's just because Colin is taking his photo and micro-managing him at the same time!)



The demise of the #1 shell continues, but now I'll have a rear hatch and a perfectly good panel on my trailer!



Here's the hatch being installed on my good shell. The framing in the wall will need to be modified to fit the opening. Notice that using buck rivets is a two-person job, with one person inside holding the bucking bar behind each rivet as it is installed. If the inside wall was already in place, buck rivets couldn't be used. That's why Olympic shave head blind rivets were invented.