we have redone a 1964 Cardinal did every thing changed walls total rebuild back to original NOW HAVE a J.F. Kinney Caravan Cub small travel trailer have found one picture and very little info if anyone has pictures or information am trying to restore any help would be great Tks Butch have heard they are rare what i really need is inside pictures so i can redo like it was
Recommend this guys videos, Mobiltec trailer restoration. He has done several canned ham type trailers and documented every step. Here is a link to his first, there are newer ones too.
Contact Tim Hientz, he's a Tin Can Tourist member, on the FB page, and responds to every "I don't have any info on this____ " post. He has an encyclopedic knowledge about vintage trailers, his enthusiasm is unbelievable. Heintz Restorations in FL is his business.
Mobiltec (Larry) does a great job of restoring and is always willing to share his knowledge. You might think about joining the vintage trailer site also. HRP.
I did a quick look at the video, but here is what I learned after 20+ years working for an RV company. The older canned-hams and even up to the 80's, travel trailer were made with a wood skeleton and skinned with luan on the interior and then the aluminum skin outside. If you might be wondering how they got all the interior through the small doors, the norm of manufacturing was to start with the rolling chassis with the floor, including the lino installed, and add the cabinets, beds, heaters, water tanks, and everything else with no walls. Then when the interior is done the walls were installed last. The big problem with vintage trailer is that the sealant they used on the vent and windows has dried out, shrunk and harden. Not too bad for the windows, but for the single vent in the top, the vent is now a funnel for any water to leak inside and run down the interior wall between the luan and the skin. The water has no way to escape and it settles in the bottom, which start the skeleton to rot. If you look at trailer that have been sitting outside for years you will notice the roof and walls might settle over the frame. You can tell this by looking at the front where the frame come out and the skin is rolling over the metal and at the back the same, you might see the back buckle out from the body and if it has a access door it is twisted and unable to open. The proper way to restore a vintage trailer is to remove the roof, then the walls, then the interior, then reverse when rebuilt. So will all this gloom and doom, they are still fun to have. I hope with these couple of pointers, you will have a better vision when you buy a vintage trailer, ( I have four)
BTW,there is a social group here for campers but it's kinda inactive right now.HRP http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/vintage-trailers.170/
Yeah, it doesn't really matter who made it, they're all built the same (like crap). We have a '54 "Tini-Home" canned ham trailer, 13' body, which was totally rotten. Most of these should be considered patterns only, simply build a new body. They're referred to as "sticks and staples" trailers, 3/4" framing, no insulation when new, so it doesn't really matter who the builder was, they all need the same amount of work now.
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