Ironing out the Wrinkles

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try and take out some of the dents from my "accident." While I will probably have to completely replace the front piece of aluminum, I noticed the side piece that was damaged was quite small.

Just a reminder of how it looked:

So, I removed the corner trim and all the screws and revealed this:

Next step: beat it into submission:

Then, I had to remove the window to make sure it all sealed properly:

Finished product:

Not perfect...but not bad! All in one day, too. Next step: the roof.

Removing the Bathroom

We decided we wouldn't be keeping the bathroom in the Yellowstone. I want to keep this one as simple as possible and we need more 'living' room any way.

Now, the bed will extend from the back (left in the picture) to the wall at the edge of the shower (on the right side). I'm actually going to make it a 'u-shaped' couch that turns into a bed. Hopefully : )

"The Water Damage is Worse Than I Thought"

That statement, no doubt, has been uttered (yelled, shouted) by many vintage camper owners. I knew this fact, but still it sucks. The PO (previous owner) fixes these up regularly and suggested just paneling over the damaged birch ply, but I'm a demolition addict. I like to see what is behind the walls! I used to go in my basement and 'just look,' seeing how it is all put together and what is good and what is bad.

Well, I found some bad:

As you can see, the rear window frame needs to be replaced, the cross beams have actually rotted away on the left, and the taillight mounts need to be addressed. I plan on just 'sistering' the bottom two cross beams and replacing the stud that goes along the bottom of the window. One thing that is nice is the fact that I'll be able to inspect all the wiring connections with the back wall off. Yeah, I think on that; )

Back On It Again

It's been a while, huh? Remodeling a bathroom, the holidays, and countless other things had come between me and my Yellowstone. The bathroom is (almost) done ; ); the holidays are over; and I legally own the trailer...Finally got the title transferred. It had not been titled in over 25 years and had changed hands a few times since then so I had to get a signature of a previous owner to finalize the deal. I am ready to work on it again!

What It Could Look Like

I found this 1955 version of my camper and it is awesome. Granted it is done by a professional restoration service, but it is still motivating. Here are a couple of pics and here is a link to the rest.

From the Inside Out

The interiors of these vintage campers are what really got me interested; all the wood, old fixtures and good old ingenuity. This one is no different. At first glance it is a little rough, but I see the potential.

Here is the view from the back looking forward. The layout of this one had the dinette up front and the bed and bathroom at the back. The table folds down and makes a bed. Notice all the cabinets along the top. Pictured here, are at least 18 linear feet of upper cabinets. All of the catches are original and work.

Here is the kitchen. The original Dixie gas oven is there and in great shape. The inside and broiler drawer are darn near spotless. Apparently this trailer has sat in a field since the early 80’s as a hunting camper and not been used for much else than sleeping. The vent fan above the stove works. The sink and counter tops are in great shape. There is a little delaminating on the bottom of the sink cabinets. Not sure if I’ll repair or rebuild that yet. I’ll get into my plans a little later.

Check out this light fixture! Awesome. There are two of these at the front of the trailer on both side walls. Both work and look great. I would love to find two more for the back of the trailer, but that may prove quite difficult. I’ll probably be looking for two that contrast them.

Just above the dinette is this little beauty. This is actually a gas light. It runs off the propane, so if you are away from electric hookups, you still have light. It works just like a Coleman lantern – it has a mantle. Even if the gas line is still hooked up to this and working we won’t use this regularly. But I will keep it either way.

All the windows open.

And just for fun - the back end. I love this camper.

Finding, Buying and (almost) Dying

The wife and I, well, mainly I, had been looking for a camper this year. I was at first thinking of a pop up for the ease of towing and amount of beds, but I really never found one that would work. I had discovered vintage camper restorations earlier this year, but had never seen them for sale in this area. Then, about 3 weeks ago, after months of daily craigslist monitoring, I found a 1960 Yellowstone 19' camper. It needed some work, but the outside was in great shape and most of the original parts were there. I went and looked at it and bought it the next week. The previous owner is really helpful and has fixed up quite a few of these. He offered to be a resource for me as I renovate this and I’m sure I’ll be using him. (Thanks, L!)

So, to explain the title…I described the search and the purchase…now the ride home! We hitched it up to the Suburban with the temporary lights and I headed home for the 3 mile drive home. It was definitely the heaviest trailer I have towed, but I was high off the experience and quite excited. Then after about a mile…BAM! I looked in the rear view mirror to see the camper about 10 feet behind me, riding on the tongue, sparking like crazy…Oh sh*t. Naturally, I let off the gas and hit the brakes…guess what…the trailer didn’t slow down. That is, until it hit me. It had gone perfectly straight and after it hit me, it went to the side of the road and stopped. It broke the back window of the Suburban and dented the front corner of the camper. It could have been so much worse. Thank you, Jesus. One of the front propane tanks had the regulator broke off and bent the main valve up.

How did it happen, you ask? This is where I should lie and tell you the old camper just came undone, but it is funny enough now, I can speak of it. When I put the hitch in the receiver, it was dark and I actually put the pin in behind the hitch. The weight of the trailer held it in until I hit a big enough bump and then…wow, I still can’t believe it. All is well. Next - a look inside!