WEEK TWELVE: Interior Cabinetry Begins, Shower Pan Pitting & Work Flow
Work this week has been a bit diverse. I received a 3-part video tutorial on the construction of my ceiling (check it out here), seriously considered the final layout / started interior framing, and am finally starting to tackle the disaster of a bathroom I had (hallelujah!). So I'll try to break this down the best I can: Camper Demo: Disassembly & Storage For starters, lessons learned: while my floor was completely rotted out and ceiling framing almost non-existent to begin
TUTORIAL: Mobiltec & Trailer Construction
The past couple of weeks I’ve been chatting with someone who knows a whole lot more about trailer construction than I do – a guy out in California by the name of Larry (aka MobilTec) who's been reconstructing vintage trailers since the 70’s and was so willing to help. He has a diverse background and it’s been fun picking his brain. I wanted to reflect on the work I’d done thus far and verify construction techniques. Ends up the ceiling is the only thing I need to revisit. It
WEEK ELEVEN: Flooring Woes
In an effort to move forward with some interior framing I've been investigating flooring materials this week, though it's been a bit tricky. Wood? Thickness, cost and (mostly) weight are challenging aspects. Vinyl? Doesn't evoke great thoughts. Carpet? Yuck. Tile? Not great with movement. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I much prefer true wood. There are some REALLY great vinyl planks out there that mimic wood without the extra weight or thickness however the cost is ju
WEEK TEN: Roof Insights, Interior Veneer and New Wings
This week slowed down a little. I wanted to step back/evaluate upon closing in on exterior construction so I joined an online forum: Vintage Trailer Talk. I can confirm that I've arrived at this point in good shape however... I didn't get off scot-free. A few weeks ago a heavy rain passed through and the roof substantially leaked; the water was pooling around the vents since the roof wasn't properly intact so I hastily framed up the ceiling. While it's sturdy when stationary
TUTORIAL: DIY Shasta Wings
When I purchased my camper one of the missing components were the original Shasta wings. While it was unfortunate I figured of all the work that needed to be done I could handle obtaining a spare set (scouring Craigslist for people parting out their old campers, eBay, reproducers...). The biggest surprise was not the rarity of finding correctly-sized originals but how pricey the reproductions can be and how few renditions there were on making these (at least with the equipmen
WEEK NINE: Side Wall Insulation, End Wall Framing & Pause/Reflect
It’s been rainy off and on here so the camper spent much of its time tightly-tarped. I’ve been piecing in the insulation (3/4” DOW Styrofoam board) on the side walls and began taping all joints with Reflectix reflective insulation tape. The front wall is entirely framed/insulated and the lower rear wall panel is installed. I’ve built the wall panels, insulated and taped them before putting them in place from the inside and fastening them from the exterior with 2” screws. The
