Lots Happening here!

Wow!  I can't believe it's been a month and a half since my last post!  Been busy with the camper, the other camper, kids and life.  "So, how's the Shasta coming along?" you ask.  Well, GREAT!  So far, so good!

Hubby has mostly finished the kitchenette.  Still need to put in the countertop once it's been painted and then we need to put in the sink.  We decided due to time constraints to put in a temporary countertop for now.  We'll use a stainless steel bar sink for the time being, so that we can take our time making the trim for the original sink.  We'll do the laminate countertop later, and also the tables.  Probably over the winter, when hubby's workshop is lacking for work.  haha.  Somewhere between Christmas and March, I think.

I am THRILLED to finally have pulled out our old popup to get it ready to sell.  It's been sitting behind the Shasta, neglected and forlorn.  We opened her up yesterday to check everything over, and she's going on Craigslist tomorrow.  Hopefully we can find a new family to love her soon.

It's very strange to be inside the popup now that we've spent so much time on the Shasta.  Even though the Shasta is technically smaller than the popup, the Shasta seems MUCH bigger.  The Shasta is narrower than the popup by almost a foot.  The ceiling height is also a few inches lower than the popup.  The Shasta doesn't have two expanded ends, either.  I think maybe the reason it FEELS bigger is because the walls are a solid material and there is so much floor space at the moment.  My sweet Hubby reminded me that the Shasta is going to get "really small" once the dinette and gaucho are made into beds and there are 4 people inside.  Hee hee.  I'm sure he's right!!

I am also very pleased at how much storage space our Shasta has.  I emptied everything from the popup and put it into the Shasta, and I still have plenty of room for more blankets, our clothes, the kids' water toys and lots of other things we might want to bring along.  I put the utensils away in a drawer, the dish towels in another, wraps and bags in another, then used the last drawer for a "junk drawer" with odd bits of things we need - like clothespins, flashlights, bug spray and bandaids. 

I still have a WHOLE cupboard for our bath items and another for our FOOD!!!  And a bookshelf!!  And there's only 2 pillows in one of the dinette benches.  Ooh LA LA!!  What LUXURY!!

Seriously, when taking a trip in the popup, it's like a finely tuned dance.  First, we open the camper and load the sand toys, linens, lawn chairs and boogie boards.  Then, we close it up and load everything else in the van.  Our clothes, a basket of food, the cooler, extra shoes, the kids.  Pool noodles, whatever else we might remember at the last minute goes into the van willy nilly.  We get to our campsite, and then we have to level the camper, move the van, open the camper, unload the previously mentioned toys, lawn chairs and boogie boards, flip up the sink, hook up the wire shelving on the bunk ends and over the kitchen, make up the dinette, take the stovetop outside and attach it to the side of the camper, then unload the van into the camper and put everything away where it belongs.  Are you tired yet?  That's the reason why we haven't done many trips that are less than a week.  The setup and tear down times are ridiculous!!  It can take us up to 2 hours on each end of the trip, let alone driving and keeping 2 cranky kids out of trouble.  

That was the impetus in looking for a travel trailer for our family.  That, and the fact that we think old stuff is just nifty.  Yeah, now that we're over the hump of getting this trailer ready to go, I think we can call it "nifty" and get excited again.

Photos to come.....

Spring Has Sprung

Another beautiful day in paradise - and we've been busy working on the Shasta!  We've done a lot of little things, mostly.  Here's an update:

The door is back!  It was removed to do the flooring, so that the bottom sill would sit over the replaced plywood, subfloor and new flooring.  Hubby had to cut down the side jamb pieces, by about 3/8 inch. 

While the door was off, we realized that the entire bottom piece was MISSING.  There was no exterior drip edge, which fits onto the bottom of the door.  So, handy hubby to the rescue once again!  He made the kick plate at the bottom, then bent it to fit the bottom edge of the door, and made a drip edge on the exterior.  Still needs paint on the outside, but it looks good!!  It will keep the water from dripping off the bottom of the door and destroying the floor again.

Ta da!!  New floor!!  We removed 2 layers of vinyl tiles that had been put over the asbestos-laden 9x9 original tiles (we used a heat gun and lots of TIME to slowly lift the vinyl tiles without disturbing the original layer).  Then, we put down a lauan subfloor to cover the asbestos and any cracks.  The new tiles were laid over this subfloor.  I am not sure if I'm happy with my choice or not, as some of the tiles aren't adhering as well as they should.  However, they're inexpensive tiles, were easy to cut and install, and they really brighten everything up.  They're fine for now, but I think we may take these up and put down VCT after all - after we've had some rest!!

A view of the front!  The seat boxes have turned out beautifully!  Each seat has a lid that lifts up to access the storage below.  We'll keep bedding in the bench boxes - one side for the kids, and one side for us.  There will be a decorative end cap put on the bench by the door.  The other bench will be closed off by the kitchen cabinet that will sit next to it for the refrigerator.  I'm waiting on the foam to arrive so I can make the cushions now!!

A shot of the interior at the rear.  New panel from the window down to the floor, and a new potty closet.  Hubby rebuilt the small night table/book shelf, and the box for the long pole tunnel.  Both of these pieces will have a laminate top added once the kitchen is completed.  We removed the piece of 1/8" birch paneling from the gaucho base so we would have some of the original birch to patch pieces of the paneling.  The gaucho will have a new piece of lauan cut to fit.

The FABULOUS new POTTY CLOSET!!!!!  Seriously, this is the reason we bought this camper, ok?  Hubby expanded the closet by about 5" toward the front of the camper, using some of the space that had been the countertop.  This made the closet just big enough for all of us to be able to use it if needed.  He made a platform for the portapot to sit on, making it a more comfortable height, and also hinged it so we can store extra TP underneath.  The long pole storage tunnel links up to this platform, so the pole storage runs the entire length of the back of the trailer.  We may not need the entire length for our awning poles, but we have if it we need it for the bunk poles. 

You can sort of see the inside of the closet wall in this photo.  The frame was stripped, then reshellacked and screwed back in about 5" forward of where it was previously.  The inside of the closet was also shellacked and then a new panel was placed at the very top, to cover up the damage from the vent pipe.  Hubby used a piece of 1/8" birch cut from a panel taken from the gaucho platform and adhered it to the inside of the potty closet "ceiling."

Other things have been completed as well, including removing the old vent stack from the roof, and resealing the hole.  Still needs a bit of paint, but it looks great and is water tight now.  There are also small holes in the skin around the windows that need to be filled with aluminum filler (bondo), and repainted.  For now, we'll do a patch-up paint job with a rattle can.  Eventually, the house paint will need to be stripped, and we'll repaint the whole trailer, removing and cleaning the rest of the windows in the process. 

The back end is being battened up once again as well.  Lots of problems on that one, though.  After removing the skin, the boards spanning the width were also removed, and the back end spread apart slightly while they were off - about a half inch.  That was just enough to throw the whole thing off when trying to get the skin back on.  Lots of cussing and pushing, and I think we may have it back on in a day or two of good weather.  The edges have been shaved down a bit, and we'll make it work, then reinstall the rear window, which is still being repaired.  It will look a bit odd until we have new paint over it. 

Aside from that, all that we really need to finish before we can take her camping is the kitchenette, the table, the cushions, curtains and put on new rubber. Still need to cut the dinette windows, too.  There are a bazillion little odds and ends, such as painting the lights (the gold/brass color of the fixtures is coming off in places and just plain filthy), repaint the door handles, paint the tongue and bumper, strip the wings, remove the rock guard and find something more appropriate, oh - and update the electrical!  We have the parts and pieces, once hubby finishes the cabinetry for the kitchenette, he'll update the service to 30amp and install a separate circuit for running small appliances in the kitchenette.

I received the Indemnity Bond - FINALLY.  I figured going through a local agent would be more expedient and less likely to have a problem, but I was wrong.  The first bond that was issued didn't even have the vehicle listed!  It took almost a month to get a bond locally that an online service would have completed and sent to me overnight.  Lesson learned!  I also discovered that I could take the trailer TO the DMV to have it inspected by an agent to ensure the VIN matched for the title documentation.  Once the back end is buttoned up, we'll take it to the DMV and get that done. 

But, we're getting there!  That's half the fun, right??

What have you done for me lately?

Remember that song from the 80's?  Anyway, here we are, another beautiful week in NC, and the weather is messing with us once again.  Hubby took this week off, what with all the sunshine and heat we'd been having, he figured he'd have perfect working conditions to finish the inside of the Shasta.  Hmm.  Maybe not!  We've had a lot of wet weather, which we can sure use, but the freezing temps that came with it have been a hindrance.  One thing I love about that man - he doesn't complain about it, he just puts on another layer and gets on with it.  (me?  I'm inside typing this up while the heater in the camper toasts it up a bit!)

The good news is WE HAVE BENCHES!!! Yayyyy!!!  And the potty closet is almost finished!!!  The back interior panel has been replaced, and the hubster built a new nightstand/bookshelf and cover for the storage tunnel!!!  Yayyyy!!!!



Potty closet and rebuilt bookshelf/nightstand. The "box" to the left of the nightstand is a support for the gaucho which is hollow inside.  There is a full-width storage compartment that runs the width of the camper that is accessible from the storage door on the side of the trailer.  This was the storage for the awning poles or bunk poles.

We still haven't replaced the exterior skin yet - the weather is too unpredictable to untarp for any length of time.



Benches for the front dinette.  There will be lids that lift up to access the gobs of storage space these have.  We don't plan to replace the water tank that would have been under the right side bench, we'll keep the kids' bedding on the right side and our bedding on the left side.  Each bench is 24" deep, 14" high and 41" wide.  This was a test-fit, the bench on the left will be made like the one on the right side. 

A better view of the bench frame construction.  The lift-up lid will cover the open portion and be made of 5/8" plywood.  I think!

The plan for today is to dry-fit the benches, then put down the lauan subfloor, and put down the new tiles.  I had gone around and around about which tiles to use - inexpensive vinyl or use VCT.  I love the look and feel of the VCT tiles, and they aren't difficult to install, really.  The deciding factor was the weight, though.  We tow with a 6 cylinder, max towing capacity of 3500 lbs (a lot less once we factor in the kids and our gear).  We want to keep the weight down in this trailer, so that we are well within those maximums.  The difference in weight between VCT and vinyl was somewhere between 35 and 50 lbs.  So, we chose the vinyl.  It will also be easier to replace just one square if it becomes damaged. 

Well, it should be warmed up enough outside to get back to work.  I'll be dreaming of beaches and margaritas tonight, that's for sure!!

Big RV's versus Vintage Shasta

It's springtime here in NC, and there's a huge RV show at the fairgrounds that hubby and I go to every year.  In the past, we've always oooh'ed and ahhhh'ed at the big rigs and the cool features of the new RV's.  We get a lot of good info about campgrounds in the area, things to do and places to try.  We usually have to stand in line to look at some of the fancy Class A's in the $500K range.  We dream about buying a big new RV for our family and think about the features we'd want if we bought one.  It's a lot of fun.

Every year before this one, we've had the popup camper to compare the features to.  We see how much more room is in one of those big RV's and how much easier it would be to set one up compared to the popup.  But, we have a vintage Shasta this year.  Since we are renovating it, we were looking at the new RV's for features that we could incorporate into our camper.  We looked and looked for ideas.  We saw 32' RV's with 3 flat screen TV's, and an outside cooking area with another flatscreen.  We were amazed at the storage capacity of some of these behemoths.  We thought the kids would really like the RV that had a separate "kid's area" with sleeping bunks, a couch and a place to put a TV and gaming system.  We drooled a little bit, then came back to reality.

What would camping in one of those big rigs really look like for our family?  How would camping in one of those big luxurious campers enhance our enjoyment?  Would it improve our experience or detract from it?  What would the differences be between camping in our Shasta, and camping in a 32' RV with 4 TV sets?

My husband and I came to the conclusion that it would be much more convenient to have a place that the kids could hang out sometimes.  It would be nice to have a big bedroom area where we could watch TV and sleep in peace without kids tramping on us to get to the potty.  It would be great to have a camper with a big cooking kitchen and sink right outside, so we could sit around and socialize while preparing dinner.

But - that's just not for us.  We spend our family vacations at campgrounds so that we can spend time together AS A FAMILY.  We do get on each other's nerves when we have to be cooped up in the camper due to rain.  But, we figure it out.  We pull out games or a movie on the 7" video player, make popcorn and sit at the dinette.  We get up in the morning, start a pot of coffee, walk to the bath house wearing our PJ's and holding the kids' hands.  That's what we do.  That's how we are.  And no fancy RV is going to change that.

Yeah, I guess the big rigs will just have to sit this one out.  We'll be the ones with the vintage Shasta, parked next to that $500,000 RV.  Feel free to knock on the door and say "hello" - we'll have a cup of coffee waiting for you.

The Wings of Shasta...

(Edited 3/30/2011:  The wings have a new home! They'll be on their way tomorrow!)

Before hubby and I moved to NC, we bought a popup camper.  I had always wanted a camper.  So, with the good luck and naivete of two novices, we found a popup camper which had served our family well for several years.  Hubby fixed the roof a few years ago, and everything seemed fine, until one day last spring when we opened up the camper to discover mold and mildew and a giant mushroom growing inside it....yeccch.  We thought it was a goner!

I'd been looking for a small camper for most of the previous year, and I figured it was serendipitous that popup would die just as I found a 1971 Starflyte which had been gutted.  I proposed that we use the parts from the popup to rebuild the Starflyte to our needs.  So, we bought the Starflyte.  We bought parts for it, including a used pair of wings (she had no wings when we got her) and a used Bargman 66 door handle.

As Fate would have it, the damage to our popup wasn't as bad as we thought.  My husband was able to spend the better part of a weekend doing the roof over, and I was able to clean and remove the giant mushroom and mildew.  We camped in her several times last season, and had a lot of fun.

Meanwhile, the 71 Shasta sat in our yard, unused and lonely.  We realized that we'd jumped the gun in buying her, and she wasn't the vintage "canned ham" type that I had really wanted in the first place.  She just wasn't going to work for our family, and she wasn't the "one" for us. 

So, we sold her to someone who is going to turn her into a rolling boutique.  Great idea, and she'll get a new lease on life.

Now we're left with a box of parts that we'd intended to use to remodel that Shasta.  Some of  the parts we will be able to use on Frankie.  But, not the wings.  So, here they are.  I'm aking $200 pluys your choice of shipping, Paypal or a money order with a 10% Paypal deposit.  Make me an offer I can't refuse so they don't end up on Ebay.  (PS - a pair sold recently on Ebay in the $180 range, these are in really good shape.   I'm certainly willing to listen to offers, though.)

Beauty is not skin deep...

We will be working more this weekend, trying to close up the gaping back end of Frankie.  The weather is cold today, so hubby is driving cross-country (seems like) to get some birch paneling so we can closer her back up.

We live in a pretty large city (Raleigh) and one would think there would be lots of hardwood distributors around here that carry 1/8" birch.  Well, after many phone calls, we found a place on the other side of the city that carries "bendable birch 1/8" plywood.   So, hubby took the van on a mission to get some.  He came home and we looked at what they loaded into the van.  It's bendable, all right!  A little too bendable.  The original birch was 1/8" and had 3 layers - two birch exterior good faces with an inner layer of inferior grade wood.  The "bendable" birch that we picked up had just one face layer and a back layer of inferior wood.  Two ply, not three, and barely 1/8 inch thick.  It just won't work as paneling.  So, he's returning it to the store.  While he's gone, I'll bring this blog up to where we're at in this process.

Last week, hubby removed a gazillion rusted, painted over screws so we could remove the dinette windows and also open up the back end.  The interior paneling was shot, a PO had used multiple layers of polyurethane to cover up the damage.  We decided to completely redo the back end before we take her camping this season.  It looked severely damaged and we were afraid of the rot we'd find behind the skin, with good reason!!

So, we began the task of removing the back skin, taking off the lights first, which had gobs of silicone caulk on them, removing drip rails on both edges, and the rear window.  The offending screw was just the tip of the iceberg, evidently.  Eeek.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's my novel:

Eyebrow removed over the rear window, rear Hehr window removed.  The original caulk is still in place under the eyebrow.  It's different from the putty tape we'd expected.  It's more like plumber's putty, and it's still soft.



Our first glance at the damage under the skin.

Here's the back lower skin removed, we tried everything to get this thing loose, turns out it just lifts off.  We see some damage, but it's not as bad as we feared....yet.

This is where the Shasta assemblers nailed through the exterior into the potty closet frame.

Streetside back end.

Curbside back end.  Lotsa rot.

We found this symbol stamped all over the back of the paneling - Made In Canada.  Eh?

Peeled away the insulation and you can see the problem right away. 

Left side.  Lots of problems here, too.  Don't worry, we'll fix it!



This is where the water ran down inside the wall from the nail that protruded through the skin.  There were a couple more pinholes near the window frame on this side, also from the roofing nails that a PO used to secure some plastic sheeting over a broken window.  The PO had covered this damage up on the inside with some lauan and some polyurethane.  We'll rebuild this whole area.





Here's the majority of the back end removed.  We'll finish tearing out the interior paneling from this part of the camper, and replace it with new birch, shellacked to match. 

Just a heads-up for anyone who is reading this blog and thinks that you would "see" damage right away and know if a trailer is in good shape before you buy it, or that you can take a seller's word for the condition of a trailer.  This trailer looked pretty good in photos.  The owners had done some cosmetic fixes, and we were enticed enough to drive an hour to look at it.  When we arrived, we did a more thorough inspection, and we were aware of what damage probably lay behind the walls.  We knew that the wrinkled paneling meant that water had gotten into the walls, and probably damaged the framing.  The owner told us she was "solid."  I'm sure that the owner didn't mean to mislead us, he was probably just not aware that these things will hold together and defy gravity regardless of the condition of the framing.  She certainly is a gravity - defying piece of work, isn't she?? 

We were aware that she would need a few months of work and quite a bit of cash to fix her.  We bought her anyway.  We'll make her strong and sturdy, and she'll bring many years of enjoyment for our family.  She may never be a showpiece, but she'll be a lot of fun!!



Frankie's Butt Lift Begins

One of the major concerns that we had about the Shasta is that her back end shows a lot of water damage.  We discovered how bad the interior was after we brought her home and poked at her with a screwdriver.  The screwdriver went through the paneling into nothingness.  Eeek.  Can't be a good sign, right?

So, part of this renovation will be devoted to fixing her back end properly.  We planned to remove the aluminum skin from the window down to the skirt and replace the interior paneling and the framing.

One of the things that made me very angry about this camper is that a PO covered the windows with plastic and used roofing nails to secure it.  They drove the nails through the interior birch, the window trim, and the nails poked through the trailer in lots of places around the windows.  This caused not only immediate damage, but also allowed water to penetrate and destroy the paneling and the interior of the trailer.  Ugh.  Here's a good shot of the nail poking through the back skin by the window. 

left side of the rear window.  Nice nailhead poking through, covered by paint.

We removed the rear window, then hubby got to work removing all the screws from the eyebrow and the lower edge of the rear panel.   When we started this project, hubby bought a few new tools (gotta have new tools for a new project, right?)  He got a multi tool.  It's pretty cool and now I want one, too!  The screws on the exterior had rusted, using a screwdriver was impossible.  He used the multitool to cut a new straight slot in the phillips screws, then he was able to just unscrew them.  Smart guy....you'd never know he takes stuff apart for a living, right?

On the interior, the nightstand and the boxed-in area for long pole storage was removed.  I'm not sure if all of the 62-64 SC's had this box or not, but I haven't seen it on earlier SC's.  We discussed not replacing it when we're finished, but came to the conclusion that it would really be handy to have a 7' long storage area for bunk poles or other long items.  We'll replace it when we're done.  It's accessible through the side storage door that opens beneath the gaucho.  It ran across the entire back end and terminated behind the black water tank.  We removed the tank, but hubby will build a box in the potty closet to sit the portapottie on, so it will run the back length again.