progress

well, we've made some progress on the trailer although it has been slow going. i started the fall semester and even though i only have one class it is taking up a considerable amount of time (evenings) that i would normally use to work on the trailer. why is an education that important anyway... isn't life really all about fixing up old stuff that end up being up endless money pits?? who knows. i assume someday i'll be glad i finished my degree, but right now all i want to do is have the radio on in my trailer at 11 pm while i cut in some 1/8" birch and envision the perfect trip... here are some pics of what's been done recently:

did some polising of individual components including the shasta badge, water inlet, and door catch:

installed replacement insulation where water damaged paneling had been removed:

installed replacement 1/8" birch paneling. in turns out that the original wood is ash. i found this out after i purchased the birch :(. however, i called around and couldn't find any 1/8" ash, so i kept the birch and will try to match the color with clear shellac. installing the wood was difficult and ended up not being as precise as i wanted. trim pieces will help clean up the uneven edges, etc... i used 5/8" brad nails and my brad nailer to attach the panels to the support wood:

we think we have narrowed down the flooring options. proabably going to go with the congoleum cx series vct tile. you can see a good pic of them here. in the pic below we are leaning towards the one in the bottom left hand corner. i believe it is called the white/light pebble.

i had hired an electrician to help run some new wiring off of craigslist. when i was away he cut an awful hole in the side of the trailer to put a plug. it was gruesome, all jagged and uneven. it was painful to look at and ended up being unnecessary. to cover it up i fastened a piece of aluminum over it and sealed it with puddy tape and silicone. then i put a flush mount vent cover over the aluminum. once painted i'm hoping it will look like it has an actual purpose and no one (except me) will be the wiser. wait... i just told everyone... oh well

and finally, i purchased some white upholstery welt from mesa sales to replace the welt i cut out to remove the bad wood. i had originally hoped to find some light yellow welt to match the original stuff, but after close inspection it appears the original welt was some kind of white and was then just shellaced along with the wood which gave it the yellow color. i tested my new stuff with clear shellac and sure enough it yellowed up real nice.

well that's it for now. i hope to get some sanding done on the interior soon so i can start refinishing all of the wood. here's a general list of things we have left to do before we can take it out camping:

- sand all wood and shellac

- install 1/8" sub floor cover for flooring

- install flooring

- sand and paint exterior

- update plumbing

- finish electrical upgrade

- repack bearings

- inspect axel and repair as needed

- inspect brakes and repair as needed

- sand and paint tongue and bumper

- polish and re-install window drip caps

- re-install dinette seat support wood

- re-install rear bed support wood

holy crap... that's a lot. anyone who wants to volunteer their time will be paid handsomely in dr peppers.

ttfn

paul and darcy