The Shastah Disastah! 1961 "canned ham" camper

In reply to Marjorie Suddard:

You know, this seems like to perfect time to start another magazine. You've already started your first build project.

The camper world is really under served unless you are driving a $100,000+ rig and want to know what the latest doodad is that you "must" have for your next camping trip. I've had the devil of a time figuring out black water plumbing, and a lot of the new budget rigs are a joke from the standpoint of maintaining them.

Start out with quarterly issues and go from there.

In reply to Toyman01:

Blackwater? Looks like Margie is OK with a seat on top of a bucket. Is that the kind of budget you were thinking?

(that is the smallest blackwater tank I have ever seen- does each flush have a volume limit? )

We have actually been tempted, Toyman, which is a bad thing. We do not have the reserves, personal or otherwise, to start another magazine. So we will remain interested amateurs.

And Paul, yes, that tank is pretty much nonexistent. Toilet is there to be a middle-of-the-nighter for me, and pretty much me only, unless we're hooked up to sewer, which is all I want. I've had rigs that were "Sure, feel free to use the bathroom" sized, and the stuff people do with RV toilets is NOT cool. So this is actually one of the trailer's best features.

Margie

After some research, I've reasonably convinced whatever RV I buy or build will end up with a composting toilet and whatever black water tank it has will become a second grey water tank.

In reply to Ian F:

Have you compared composting to incinerator, i.e. incinolet?

In reply to bigdaddylee82:

Some. My main issue with an incinerating toilet is the additional fuel required for the burning process. Composting toilets require no power other than a very small ventilation fan.

More progress on the Shasta project! Stitches came out of Tim's thumb yesterday--here it is with just 2 of the 5 remaining. Kids, remember: Utility knives are sharp. Margie

Might I suggest buying Tim a pair of these.

I recommend going with the steel core. That's probably the only glove that will stop chainsaws as well as the usual assortment of knives.

Hey, I have a scar that looks just like that!

cmcgregor wrote: Hey, I have a scar that looks just like that!

I think we all do, right?

In reply to thewheelman:

i think weve all learned the hard way, a few times, not to use razor blades without utmost respect. My left index finger has a scar on every knuckle from something like this. Heck one even has a black line from my middle knuckle to fingertip like a tattoo, thats what happenes when you turn a kitchen knife into a shop knife into a shop screwdriver and slip. You get greasy E36 M3 and rust inside your finger thats never coming out

I went and applied for TSA pre-check a couple weeks ago and when they did my finger prints they were asking me about some scars on my finger tips where I have sliced them over the years. Apparently, they showed up as strange straight lines among all the swirls and whorls.

Into every project, a little blood must fall.

In reply to chiodos:

Indeed. I have a nice 25+ year old scar across my index finger from attempting to strip some wire with my pocket knife. Painful lesson learned that day: blade always goes away from other body parts.

I have scars on every finger around the joints. I also have problems with finger print scanners on my right index finger. A couple scars across the finger print area and worn finger print pad.

Trailer progress continues. The kitchen has gone from this:

To the image at right below:

Cabinets are starting to go back in, the ABS panels are going into the tiny wet bath, and all of the outside framing is repaired/replaced except for the roof--that doesn't go back on until all of the built-ins have been dropped through it to the inside, because the door is tiny.

The cooktop is a vintage/a.k.a. crappy old piece that is period-correct and will provide the rudiments of a kitchen once we get it restored and powder-coated a fun color. It and a microwave are replacing the space-gobbling 4-burner range that had to go in order to allow us to cheat enough room to expand the teensy toilet hellhole into a slightly-less-teensy toilet/wet shower not-hellhole.

Margie

I think we need more and larger pictures so we can fully appreciate the work that is going into this box on wheels.

Looking good. Are you going to add A/C? If so, how. I need some ideas so I can avoid mounting ugly roof units on SanFord.

In reply to Toyman01:

I just bought a floor standing a/c unit for my apartment. This 10K BTU one. I was looking at it and brainstorming of ways to fit it into a home-built RV. The air vent could go right out the side of the vehicle with the condensate drain out the bottom.

In reply to Ian F:

I have one of those as well. Mine is too tall to stick in a cabinet without taking up a lot of valuable real estate. I'm leaning toward chopping up a window unit to hang under the bus and duct into the living space.

Yeah, more better photos coming--just realized I hadn't put anything up in forever, and the work up to this point was pretty much endless framing. It will have A/C--Tim fabbed up a super-slick solution because we, too, do not want a big ugly thing sticking out and ruining the vintage look. I'll get some shots up later this week.

Margie

In reply to Marjorie Suddard:

Cool. Thanks.

Glad to share ideas--have been following SanFord's build. Oh, and a hint: your A/C plan is pretty close.

Margie

(low whisper)

...new magazine.

NOOOOOO

In reply to Marjorie Suddard:

Maybe an occasional "annual" issue?