Vintage Camper, "The Canned HAMB" trailer project.

Vintage RV restoration can be addictive, this example started life as a 64 Bluebird Transit Home, I suspect the wonderful noise the 520 BB Chevy dynoed @ 450hp made makes it OK on HAMB. Got 'almost' 6mpg.

 

ALRIGHT!
Another canned HAMBer. Looks like it should keep you busy for a while.
That era is my favorite for the teardrop shape

I've been working on a 10 foot '61 Siesta.
My interior is about complete. Now for the outside....
http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=599025&page=27

The workmanship in these old campers is laughable. Mine had Masonite barely holding up the oven with a big scorched spot under the center. I'm talking almost burnt.

It had very few staples, all hand? nailed and a bunch of straight slot screws.

I had to replace the paneling on one inside wall. Found some Birch by accident that was a really close match and reasonably priced on the BACKSIDE of a better grade wood paneling. The front of the panel was prefinished but the back was raw Birch. 1/2 the cost of Birch plywood.

OK..... get busy!

 

I think you need to adopt a 42 yo son !!!! man you have some cool stuff !! will this be done in time to roll it out to some shows this summer?

 

Mark, I agree on the laughable build quality. This thing is so cheaply built, I'm surprised it didn't completely fall apart 40 years ago. The frame rails don't extend all the way to the back of the trailer, like your's, it's nailed together. When I first brought it home, I parked in the back yard. A couple of nights later, we had a big windstorm, and the aluminum skin on the door side peeled loose all the way to the door! I pused it back and put a self tapping screw in the only spot I found that had any wood behind it. It's still the only thing holding that on from the door back. I told my wife I didn't think all I'd have to do to tear it down was leave it out in the wind!

I've seen that birch your're talking about. Finding good stuff is a crap shoot, but some Luan underlayment has a pretty backside as well. Kim thinks we're going to be able to salveage the cabinetry and booth, but I think it'll still smell bad unless we replace everything. We'll see.

Brian

 

According to Kim, who plans on taking it on a cross country tip behind the Diamond T, yes. I'm a little less optomistic, but then, it looks like it was built in a weekend by a retarded chimpanzee when it was new anyway. It shouldn't be much more difficult than framing in a closet, it's so small, right?

My project list just got bigger yesterday, I bought a used snowplow for my dually, which turns out to also have a leaky gas tank (great, now that I have the box on it, I find that out), the alternator took a crap, and the heater doesn't work. Nothing is easy.

Brian

 

dont let your wife see this

http://bringatrailer.com/2011/02/12...ampaign=Feed:+BringATrailer+(Bring+a+Trailer)

 

Wow - that thing's cool as hell !!!!

 

Hi there got hooked on the canned ham several years ago, Bought this 1970 Scotty on e-bay and it has served us well. Looks like a fifties style diner and coka cola theme inside. The wife does all the interior stuff in it an. We go on the road all the time with it to car shows all over the south west and it's a hoot going down the road. we actually camp in it and sometimes it's al lot of work going from actually camping mode to car show mode. It just freaks people out. It's like 13' long 10'living and 3'tounge. Painted it myself to match the 56 lol runs and all.( not too many.Learned how to wet sand and buff) The wife and I have made many fond memories camping in her. And shes a real sport to camp with me in it. Although 3 or 4 days are about the limit and we stay near the facilities at the camp ground sere how we aren't fully contained.Oh yes weighs about 1300 lbs. Enjoy YRUHOT.........Doug

 

Cool trailer bro, love these babies and man does that thing look uber cool hooked to that sweet wagon. Best of luck with the project. ~sololobo~

 

I also have subscribed. Having done a frame on wall/ roof restoration on our 14" Bonair I will be interested on how CHEAP you can get it done for.

 

Brian
How far are you from East Lansing? Tim Hastert with Timeless Travel Vintage camper restorations has birch in 4x8 and 4x10 I think. Timelesstravel@yahoo.com

 

Brian, thanx for the info - that's one HEAVY little trailer. Just FYI, ifn you are thinking about a major rebuild, you might want to consider some of the features of this trailer. I'd love to have one, but so far they are only sold in Canada. Later, Gary

See http://www.safaricondo.com/altoTech/index-en.php

 

Yep, you've gotta do it now!!
Keep those pics coming!

 

dig it! i had a 1952 hand built camper that was built in san fransisco. I sadly sold it... Maybe i will build another one day

 

The Home Depot here has birch luan for about $22/sheet. We got to looking to make a couple small repairs to our '59 13' FAN we bought last year.

Cool camper Brian!

 

Yeah... That's not going to happen. Thanks for the enthusiasm though. I'm not a fan of the "whiz-bang", slide out, pull out, pop-up thing. This little trailer is going to be done period correct, tiny little trailer with Birch ply from Home Depot or Lowes, stuff I have laying around or left over from the two Spartan Manor projects, and decor items from those as well. We'll keep it as original looking as possible. I used Birch ply from HD in our Spartan Manor, it's stunning inside, and affordable. We have the Manor if we want a big trailer, and we'll have the Tini-Home for those occasions we want cozy camping.

 

And some of you thought I wans't going to do anything with this! Yesterday my wife and I started tearing into the "Tini-Home", and the results are disturbing. What in the Hell are we thinking?

I told here before we started we'd be better off just stating from scratch, but I don't listen to my own advice. It's rotten. Really, REALLY rotten (which we knew), but it's amazing it didn't fall apart on it's own.

What little framing it had as originally built is largely gone, crumbled into smelly black dust. It is easy to take apart, however, which is a plus.
Today I'm planning on getting the skin all off, and then we'll go to Home Depot and get a pile of stuff to build a new trailer.

Here are a couple of "teaser" pictures, more at my blog, just click on the link, shake your head and wonder...

http://flynbrian48.wordpress.com/

 

Wow! Pretty ambitious project, but it'll be worth the work. I'm just getting started on my little 4' x 8' teardrop that I picked up in November from a fellow HAMBer in Wichita.

 

Wow...
Looks like you're restoring George Washington's axe... all it needed was a new handle, a new head, and a fresh wedge to hold the handle to the head!

Like everyone else, I too have dreams of finding a vintage trailer to pull behind my '61 Suburban. It'd be perfect for toting to the shows I go to for work... bed across the back, kitchen, and an office in the front for writing and downloading my pics.

Oh it'd be sweet...

-Brad

 

Remember my cute little camper, the "Canned HAMB" seen just a few days ago hitched up behind the '51 Pontiac wagon? Here's what it looks like after today "deconstruction" session. Yikes.

It's actually (I THINK) going to be pretty easy to put back together. Amazingly, the floor isn't rotten, nor are the white oak stringers which hang from the outside edge of the floor to which the side walls are attatched. The birch paneling is simply nailed to these stringers, and the 3/4" pine framing which forms the perimeter is then screwed and glued to the paneling. The paneling then is the main structural element of the walls. I'll add more cross stringers than the 3 (aside from the front and rear window frames) and make trusses for the ceiling ala newer RV construction so the roof has a slight crown. It was unbievably flimsily built.

Anyway, here's a couple pics, more commentary and pics at "Cool McCool's Garage": http://flynbrian48.wordpress.com/

 

Yup, same old axe, just a couple new handles and new head.

Brian

 

Not to high jack, but that looks like a modern version of the Wild Goose from the April 1953 Popular Mechanics. We are building one for my son's 4H project this spring. I believe they were also built by Kampmaster.

 

i always loved old travel trailers. i keep dreaming of doing a frame off resto mod of my 65 monitor trailer. i want to 4 link and bag it to set flat on the ground behind my bagged 64 ford f100. it will prolly never come true but i think it would be one hell of a sweet trailer if i could ever pull it off.

 

Always wanted one of those, seems very practical for a weekend.

 

Great project A CAN-dominium on wheels SO COOL

 

Wow, and I thought I had a project ahead of me. At least I'm not trying to save anything except maybe the bathroom sink. I'll be following this on close from now on.

 

Brian,
Have you considered making patterns / drawings as you rebuild that can be reproduced / sold later to us dummies? Gary

 

Drawings? Pattern? Plans? Who, ME? You mean you can't tell how it goes together from the pictures I posted? One friend posted on FB asking if it had blown up. Seriously.

Looking just now at the photo of it apart, I realize there's a box under the bed platform that says "Sleeping Bag". I didn't know that was under there!

Brian

 

Looks like you have your work cut out for you .... good luck and have fun! The Blog was great!

 

Whoa! Looks like the aftermath of a tornado! How much of that is actually savable?