Projects Canned Ham..... Yum!

That is about what happened on the first one I bought. The first one was a Serro Scotty that leaked. I had to replace what wood I could from the inside. Everyone was always trying to buy it from me until I decided to sell it. The one I have now was not a leaker, it's a 63 Kencraft. I looked all over for a short Airstream when I found the Kencraft. The smaller trailers are worth more than the big ones because they are easier to park. There is a blue book for the vintage trailers. When you find one that needs work they are maybe worth $300. I could see how someone could have way more tied up in one then you could ever sell it for. I looked at a bunch of vintage trailers in AZ before I found when that didn't need a lot of work.

 

That's a cool Shasta. It looks like a fun project. I helped on a '59 at one point but we didn't go too deep. Vintage travel trailers are like Pandora's Box. Once you peel back a layer there are 10 more rotten parts. Sometimes gutting it is the only way. Have fun!

 

Hey its only wood, very easy project than a car and less money. hahaha lol

 

I've wanted to restore an old camper but most of them I find around here have to roofs coated in black roofing sealer. Looks like getting the roof leak proof might be a chore.

 

there are a couple good deals here in Northern California right now for about $1,000 or less

 

i worked with a couple of country boys who still use one for hunting. propane stove, electrical hookup and a small window a/c--beats the hell out of a mouse- and scorpion- infested cabin!

 

This trailer as we suspected, while in pretty good shape suffers a case of the "May as well just"

Nothing is real bad , but it is just as easy to build a new one as fix the old one.

Here's the screen door... It looks OK at first glance, but the screen has been poorly replaced, the wood is torn and weathered, and all the joints are loose. It would take 3 hours to fix, or we could build a new one in the same amount of time.








Here's the new door. This took less time than the repairs would have





At the same time we are making a full set of blueprints for each piece and cabinet we re-make (all of them) They will be exact duplicates of the originals.




We are just fascinated by this trailer and how it was built. a full set of blueprints for the entire interior may just come in handy some day.

 

Will the blueprints be available at some time?
They would help all of the vintage trailer rebuilders.

 

Cool, working on a Shasta Compact model myself, 10 foot camper and only 13 including the tongue.

 

I can see where this could help a lot of guys wanting to restore a old Shasta,,and who better that you guys at Strange Days Garage....woodworkers extraordinaire. HRP

 

blue prints would be nice if i only had a Shasta. lol
Here is some more pics of my build, i went a little crazy fixing and improving it. haha lol But my shit will be warm in the cold and be solid !!!

 

There's a lot of cool art deco touches on this Shasta trailer . One of the coolest is this magazine rack that attaches to the wall.





Of course it was broken sometime in the past. Its just too neat not to re-produce and use again.


We made a bunch of faces out of oak and birch to replace the broken one and handed them to the owner so he could pick the stain color he wanted for the inside of the trailer. They chose the light brown on birch. We'll probably go ahead and finish all the racks.

 

The magazine rack has been copied by a lot of owners of other manufactures trailers,,,because the are just a cool piece. HRP

 

Oh Man, I had to stubble across this thread.Makes mine look primo.The nice thing about these is you can upgrade the inside to what ever you want and still keep the look of a old timer outside.They tow great and are easy in my state to register.
I have been trying to sell mine but am getting to the point of just going through it if it doesnt leave by winter.Why did I open this Thread?????

 

you got pic's of your trailer fedcospeed??? Let's see them trailer pictures ! anybody else?

 

There's already a huge thread,,Please don't hijack this build thread! HRP

If you want to see campers go here.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=368140&highlight=campers

 

WOW !!! This looks like a great candidate for restoration, but Im a little bias. Here's a few pics of mine. We love this thing and try to get out in it as much as possible. Gary

 

I love seeing your in progress pictures. They bring back good memories as my buddy and I restored a 1949 Boles-Aero in about 1990. What I loved about restoring it was the fact of how easy it was to improve it. We stayed true to the original looks, while upgrading the performance! Just like Sparky13 talked about; we insulated it, used marine grade plywood, undercoating, stainless screws, etc.

 

Hey Hot Rod Roadster....
I'm presuming you painted the stove/oven.... Does the paint hold up near the burners? What paint did you use?

 

Very awesome restore!!! Something about this makes me want to pack up and head for the beach though. Can't wait to see the end result, are you keeping the green color or modernizing it?

 

Yes, It was originally brown. Theres a local company here that does electrostatic painting and I took the pieces over to them for the repaint. Its amazing with no problems around the burners or oven. I wouldn't use anything else. Gary

 

I'm presuming "electrostatic painting" is the same as powdercoating? Or am I way off as usual?
Mine are brown also, but I'm thinking cherry red would be killer.

 

Campers are fun!

 

Two different process's. Im pretty sure powder coating won't hold up around the burners. Red would look pretty cool. Gary

 

You just never know what you're going to find on a project until you open it up.
We removed the 1/8 inch paneling on one inside wall of the trailer. It is framed in 3/4 by 1 3/4 stock. The crosspieces ARE NOT ATTACHED TO THE VERTICALS. Its obvious that the framing was set in a horizontal jig, and the paneling nailed to it. The paneling is the only thing holding the framing together. The framing is not connected to any other piece of framing by anything but the paneling and the outside tin.
We couldn't help ourselves, so we went about gluing nailing and screwing the framing together. This probably isn't necessary, but it is a good building practice.



Metal rusts, wood rots. Here is the framing below the window where water leaked in.



We removed the rotted piece and replaced it with new.

.

By the end of the day the framing looked pretty good and was Much more substantial...
Oh boy, only 3 more walls and a ceiling to go!

 

Chuck,I remember you saying you cleared it with the boss to post this build but with the new site update I fear this thread may be a causality and be lost forever,,have you thought about posting this in the vintage trailer social group?

Another good place would be the Vintage Trailer site,,or the Strange Days Garage site. HRP

 

I'm surprised that sawzall hasn't chimed in yet- doesn't he have a Shasta?

 

How big of a Shasta do you have to get before you get a potty?

 

It depends on the trailer. Some of the old trailers had the shower in with the toilet. Does a bear shit in the woods?

 

The earlier ones were 16 foot I think. HRP