Shastastic Vintage Camper Restoration

I guess Tim and I are a good match, or at least sick in some of the same ways, because some time ago I developed a need for a vintage trailer; think Airstreams and "canned ham" styles like Scottys and Shastas. Actually, think Shasta exactly. You know, the ones with silly shiny wings at the back? Aluminum outside, warm wood inside, not a lot in between? (My father-in-law, a premium motorhome guy to his dying day, used to refer to them as "a bag of sticks.")

I admit, they're crap, but they're cute, they're small, they seem like a good-sized project, and once I'm done I can go camp in the woods with a fluffy bed and a refrigerator for my beer. And Tim's on board, bless him.

We found our candidate last summer, and thanks to Aussie Steve we got it picked up in Indiana and back on the road so we could bring it home to Florida. It's a 1962 Shasta 16SC (16-foot "Self Contained"). Here's what it should look like:

Ours does not. After the trailer waited all year for the Tornado and Mini to move out of the shop, we finally started tearing it apart last month. Here's where it's at today:

Skin is off, inside is gutted, and we're starting to repair the rotten wood.

Project plan is to basically resto-mod it, bringing it back to original appearance--no glamping, ugh--but with some upgraded amenities tucked away, like modern water and electrical systems, and a slightly expanded bathroom since Tim literally does not fit in the original one. When it's done, we'll pull it behind the Edsel and be complete dipE36 M3s. We'll do a little feature in Classic about it as well as the trailer scene, but this one is pretty much for our personal enjoyment.

I'll update as we make progress. Right now, Tim's on his way to Panama City to pick up some new birch plywood panels. Yay! We've already learned a lot of new terms; my least favorite is "screw nails." Google it--they're evil incarnate.

Margie

I fully support this.

That bumper looks like it might be a great place to store water, or use as a tank for compressed air, store umbrellas or dispense an oil slick. Just seems a shame to leave it as a hollow square of steel.

In reply to Woody:

No, the lift fully supports it. Are you not seeing the photo?

Marjorie Suddard wrote: When it's done, we'll pull it behind the Edsel and be complete dipE36 M3s.

As I've said for years, every project needs to have that vision of the final result. And here it is. The mission statement of the camper project.

In reply to pinchvalve:

Yep, the bumper is coming off next (it's completely rotted), and new one will provide storage for the sewer hose as well as some bike-carrying capacity.

Margie

That's cool, but crap-a-mercy....Once you remove the skin and replace all the wood....Couldn't you have just built one from scratch?

But, yeah, looking forward to watching this....

But then it would be a replica, and not a restoration. Totally different.

Just a heads-up for the rot repair.

We sometimes run into parts of wood bodies that simply can't be removed and replaced to make a good repair.

I absolutely love this stuff: http://kwikpolyllc.com/

It's called Kwik Poly and it's a resin which you soak into the dry rot and when it hardens it can be drilled, tapped, etc. It makes a good, solid repair.

It's water thin so it flows into any crack or void without leaving an air pocket.

It sets FAST, you get a minute or two at most before it starts curing. I found if you keep the cans in the fridge it will extend the work time a couple minutes.

Because of the short work time, I only mix an ounce at a time.

Hope this helps you guys out.

Shawn

Jealous. Wife and I are looking for a 14 - 16 foot tow behind cause we're tired of looking for and dealing with hotels and our dogs. Following this intently. Awesome score.

So how is the siding attached?

I never see any exposed screws on those trailers, and it seems like it comes off pretty cleanly.

Another question- is the wood frame just a simple skeleton (like a house)? The reason I ask this question- if the siding on the inside is good, and stays in place- is there an option to spray in insulation instead of the fiberglass? The DIY two part kits for homes seems like it would work pretty well (being shaved to fit).

Ines and I ran past a few of these parked in driveways- she thought they were cool. But we don't have a vintage car to pull one with- I'd more have to put one of those European racks on my GTV....

In reply to pinchvalve: Hollow square steel for a reason. Bumpers on those are usually where the sewer hose is stored. Out of the way and easy access.

In reply to alfadriver. The aluminum siding is usually one piece so only fastened around the edges and covered with trim/seal.

Can we assume new/more insulation is also in the plan? Are any alterations to the overall shape/proportions in the works?

I'm excited to see/hear more about it. :)

Grew up around RV's. Dad started with a 63 Rambler wagon, utility trailer for tents, coolers, food, supplies and gear. Then moved to a 68 Dodge Polara wagon and an early 60's Shasta that had an overhang bunk in front. Kind like a pickup camper on a trailer. Then moved to a 21' Pace Arrow class A motor home and finally to a 25' Pace Arrow Class A. That one I got to drive when I was 16. Towing a small trailer with 2 motorcycles. After us kids grew up and moved away, parents had a pickup camper and a boat for a while but finally settled into a 5th wheel camper. Mom sold it when dad passed. I used to rent for Rec Services on military bases. Have rented popups, Scamps, Scotty's when my kids where young. SWMBO wants to get a 5th wheel as I near retirement. Only 9 more years till SS eligible. But I would rather get a class C or B. I like those new Sprinter van conversions. Not to big to be difficult to drive but big enough for the 2 of us and capable of towing a trailer with one of my cars.

New insulation is in the menu. We'll go rigid foam panels; the spray foam stuff is a nightmare if you need to go back in and repair wiring, for example, which is a definite possibility on a rattling old camper.

The siding is composed of 2-3 sections per side. The pieces are crimped together with a J- or S-fold to keep water out, and fastened by screw-nails and screws on folded edges along each side's perimeter. A final edge piece called a J-rail is screwed over butyl tape to keep those seams watertight.

The construction makes ample use of the skin's tensile strength, thanks to a crapload of fasteners, with strategically located interior pieces (cabinets, closet walls, a single trim board under the front window) providing rigidity in the nearly complete absence of solid materials underneath that skin. Most of the wall area is just skin, insulation, and 1/8-in. birch plywood.

It's genius, in a sick sort of way.

Margie

alfadriver wrote: So how is the siding attached?

Good intentions, wishful thinking a and poorly hacked together repairs from my experience. My parents had a small trailer for a couple years when they got married then moved on to a big tent. We tented a few times a year until a storm in Myrtle Beach swept our tent away. We came home and they bought an old but barely used Wilderness trailer. Much of what I learned about halfassing something well enough to get home I learned on that trailer. The trailer connector fell apart on the Jersey Turnpike? No problem. We'll patch it up with some pieces from the patio lights. The awning started to unroll itself on the way to Lake George I got to climb on the roof and figure out how to bungee cord it in place in the pouring rain. When we weren't using it I would have to fix the roof or plumbing or whatever else died, which something always did.

There were some great bonding times though. Once we reached our destination while my mom would take my sister and brother to do some boring activity like play in a park or swim dad and I would go to town and see what kind of crusty old timer hardware or truck supply shop we could visit to round up supplies to fix our home away from home. Looking back it would have made for great reality TV. Kind of like Survivor meets HGTV. "The entire front of your rolling hut fell off in the Wendy's parking lot on a Sunday night. You need to reattach it using a the remaining contents a Popeil Pocket Fishermen kit, a roll of ten year old electric tape, and whatever you can get from the XXX bookstore, the only place in town open at this hour. GO!"

There were some good times, but every time I think I'd like a trailer I think about how nice a hotel room I could get just for what I'd spend in gas dragging a trailer around behind my nonexistent tow vehicle and that I have no preteen son I could assign the task of questionable repairs to.

Wally wrote: "The entire front of your rolling hut fell off in the Wendy's parking lot on a Sunday night. You need to reattach it using a the remaining contents a Popeil Pocket Fishermen kit, a roll of ten year old electric tape, and whatever you can get from the XXX bookstore, the only place in town open at this hour. GO!" There were some good times, but every time I think I'd like a trailer I think about how nice a hotel room I could get just for what I'd spend in gas dragging a trailer around behind my nonexistent tow vehicle and that I have no preteen son I could assign the task of questionable repairs to.

Wise words. Our own preteen son learned many of his MacGyver-ish skills on various collapsing RVs, and both my kids are well-practiced in the art of exiting a burning motorhome. (By the end of our ownership of a particularly heinous Class C, telling the kids "we're on fire, let's all get out" prompted little more than sighs and eye-rolls.)

Not sure why I'm diving back into this particular pool, but I suspect it has to do with my own childhood memories of camping in a 14-foot trailer, along with fond reminiscences of our adventures with Tom and Katie when they were little.

Margie

Ahh, storing the sewer hose inside not a good idea. I get that. Can we start suggesting rims?

No

Classic!

Also good.

Marjorie Suddard wrote: Not sure why I'm diving back into this particular pool, but I suspect it has to do with my own childhood memories of camping in a 14-foot trailer, along with fond reminiscences of our adventures with Tom and Katie when they were little. Margie

Ah, so you have the positive memories.

The negative ones were for someone else in your family. Almost surprised that Tim agreed to take this one on. Wait- maybe all of the car projects you've had have buffered all of those memories.

Looks cool, though. In the cool, ideal sense of having a good time camping. Sort of like the romantic ideal of Venice- which in appearance is still correct. The smell, flooding, high cost, and crowded nature of it is never thought of.

(and no matter how much I try to talk myself of being interested, I still am... damn it)

Marjorie Suddard wrote: By the end of our ownership of a particularly heinous Class C, telling the kids "we're on fire, let's all get out" prompted little more than sighs and eye-rolls.

This needs its own thread!

In reply to pinchvalve: Much more appropriate

Will the finished product look like this?

Sealander

Oh hell, no.

Margie

OH LORDY. "Let's combine suspect trailer construction, DIY resto-mod, and salt water boating! What could possibly go wrong?!"

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