Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hey folks. Thought to inquire. Your advice and opinion needed.

On our Kit Tears - They are now to the bare bone. Removed all and took apart everything nicely as we could. My question is this. On one of them the entire outer ceiling aluminum looks to us that it is in good shape and reusable.

Also the outer edge trim or moulding is fair to good.

Both the edge moulding and aluminum has however been painted. A beige or light brown. Is it worth the effort to remove all paint and start buffing the aluminum on both the moulding and aluminum?

And what is the best way to remove the old paint?

Or as one neighbor said here I should replace all with new aluminum or stainless.

What is your opinion on this?

Heikki
It is alot of work to remove the paint, but everyone has their own idea about how much to replace on these campers to keep them original as possible. I see no harm in replacing the aluminum. It is more expensive, but stripping paint is very time consuming. Is your time work less than the price of the aluminum? I just cleaned and polished a Scotty camper and if you have not done it, it is a real chore!!!

CFinn, seems like these restorations end up much better than the original product , because all the faults are exposed over the years, thus easily prevented in the future. So it may be best to go with all New replacement materials ... with the chance to rectify old problems ... cleaning/restoring old parts is usually not worth it , and you always have to add new material anyway to replace the damaged bits .

my $0.02

Hiya, Heikki!

I think we discussed this before, but, the only things "original" on that particular KIT are the frame/chassis, the skins, moldings, and some of the handle/latch hardware. I'm with others who have already commented ... as long as you are building a whole new box/body, you might as well replace all the aluminum skins & moldings, too! IMHO.

As always, my Friend ...

CHEERS!

Grant

Well heikki, I think you know my outlook on this, as seen on my restoration of the KIT that is the sister to your other KIT. The trim you may be able to clean up and polish with out to much trouble. But if there are dents and dings in it, then I'd also replace it. And as far as the skin goes, I'd replace it as long as you've already gone as far as you have. New skin with new holes will be easier to locate than old skin with existing holes. You'll be happier in the long run and besides, it should be maintenance free for at least 5 years.

Don't throw any of your aluminum away. Take it to a recycling outfit and get paid for it.

Thank You kindly for your replies and professional advice. The Jury has spoken so shall it be.

We are really excited to have the Kits brought back to life.

This is the material for the first Kit.

Stainless for roof material and anodized aluminum for the sides. Thus saving on hours of polishing ..

Also the frame or chassis is at the bead blaster at present it will be galvanized as well as powder coated. Color will either be black on the frame or a nice red.

Interior will be natural marine birch. With professionally made lightwieght cabinets inside to match.

Question and Advice part 2 - Can anyone of you gentleman tell me what the actual tongue weight is on the Kits in general? I have not had a chance to have it weighed..Or is it a possiblity that during the 40,s the towbars were made from different material and then causing different weight on the individual Kits?

Also the Beige Kit has a spare tire stand that has been welded to the towbar. The material or heavy duty piping looks to be the same as is the towbar itself. It does add quite a bit of weight to the towbar. In hopes it does not excede the weight requirement here.
Is this original or a standard item on the Kits or has it possibly been welded aftewards? I have not been able to contact the previous owner on this same question so thought to ask this here from you folks with more experience on the Kit in general.

Let me find a pic of the stand for you.

Gage wrote:Well heikki, I think you know my outlook on this, as seen on my restoration of the KIT that is the sister to your other KIT. The trim you may be able to clean up and polish with out to much trouble. But if there are dents and dings in it, then I'd also replace it. And as far as the skin goes, I'd replace it as long as you've already gone as far as you have. New skin with new holes will be easier to locate than old skin with existing holes. You'll be happier in the long run and besides, it should be maintenance free for at least 5 years.

Don't throw any of your aluminum away. Take it to a recycling outfit and get paid for it.

Yes sir my friend Gage I basically thought what your reply may be on this topic..and your advice is much appreciated. Thank You Gage.

Classic Finn wrote:Question and Advice part 2 -
Is this original or a standard item on the Kits or has it possibly been welded aftewards?

Heikki, I'm pretty sure it's an 'add on', not original to the Kit. Also as for the tongue weight. It's got to be less than a 100lbs. Not really sure, maybe between 50 & 75. I can lift mine so it can't be that much.

Gage, Grant, Dan .. Now we have a technical problem in which I dont know what to do or how to deal with it.. Reason is I am really against doing anything to the towbar however it may not be avoidable.

Number 1 is that the towbar hitch itself has a name (Fulton) on it. Also the original Id Tag or Vin number equivalent is on the triangular welded plate. These are original. Now no matter at what angles we have looked at this, We must either cut off the Fulton hitch and replace it with a so called Euro hitch in order to make it work on our car or any vehicle for that matter. It will not fit onto the (ball) on our car or any other no matter how we have tested to see on many vehicles.

On our cars that ball is permanent and cannot be exchanged. The only place I have seen the same size ball is on some American Pickup Trucks. On these the ball can be changed however not on any of our normal passenger cars.

I really dread in cutting off the Fulton hitch and removing the Id Plate.
However I noticed the towbar on the Kits is held onto the frame with 2 bolts on each side. Seeing this I was thinking that having the original towbar removed and have a total new so called Clone Towbar made.
Ive found several places that can make the exact bending on the new towbar thus helping to solve the problem. Also being that both Kits have been registered before January 1st of 2007 the new towbar law here does not apply which of course is in our favor. Thank God.
Also the lighting issue or law here does not apply on these either.

We do have a nice set of lights from Grant at Lil Bear.. Thank You Grant

So another must of a question is this. Would you cut off the fulton hitch and weld a new hitch directly onto the original towbar or would you have an entirely Clone Towbar made with the new hitch? Has anyone made a clone towbar for a Kit? I dont know for sure but if I remember correctly it was bubbas garage in Indiana that made almost identical Kit Clones with new towbars? Lindners Garage?

The other reason for this is also that at least if we make another towbar the same as the original I can save the original as it actually was..dont know if this is sensible or not ..but at least it wont be destroyed.And if we ever sell these we can supply the original towbar.. But I dont think these will be sold in my life time.

Here is a pic of our hitch that fits any vehicle here. I will post a pic or 2 of our vehicle trailer hitch for you to view in the evening our time tomorrow.To show you folks what they look like what Im trying to explain.




Thank You once again Gage and others who have replied to us. Its 02:23 on Wednsday morn so must git to bed before the wife comes and gits me. So Good Night from Finland.

My thoughts...Seeing as how you have a special style hitch over there, I would have no trouble in cutting the old Fulton hitch off and re-welding the new style. That is one instance where you should be updated and completely safe. I have 3 '47 frames, 1 has had a new style latching hitch (2" ball) welded right over the top of the Fulton (less tightening knob), the other still have original Fulton. I will weld a new style over each, 1 for modern safety standards, but just as importantly the old 1 7/8" balls are seldom used here in the states any more. And it sounds like not at all over there!
Additionally, the reason the industry changed from the screw down Fulton style to the modern latch was, the screw down style always had the possibility of being too loose or too tight every time a person hitched it up. The latch style, once adjusted, always connects with the same amount of tension to the ball,...ie. a safer option!
You can always take the ID plate off and re-rivot it to the new hitch!

IMHO, and since you have someone who can duplicate the original tongue with the EU-appropriate hitch, would be to go that route, and keep the originals stowed away for when you want to do a "museum display" or something. Contact George W. at the Teardrop Fix-It Shop regarding reproduction I.D. tags and simply stamp the correct numbers for each trailer onto the new tags and rivet them to the new tongues ... then you'll be as correct as you can be for over there and still be as original as possible.

Just my thoughts ...

CHEERS!

Grant

Greetings Grant or Gage or... What is the cause for the torn aluminum and scrapes inside of the hub area (wall) ? When we tore down the kits we found this on both tears? Is it due to the walls swelling or coming apart or is the wall too close to the axles hubs?

Is this somthing I should be worried about?


Do I need to build the floor a little narrower?

I am one of those that will say use as much as you can from the original as possible, warts and all. As an anthropologist I hate to see history destroyed, one of the jokes, this is Washington's hachette of course the head has been replaced twice and the handle is been replaced five times.
The Smithsonian when it is restoring say, an aircraft, will use all of the original parts that they can. They will then label clearly all replacement parts as being reproductions. What is the point in buying something old if you're going to replace everything in it you might as well start from scratch.

Classic Finn wrote:Greetings Grant or Gage or... What is the cause for the torn aluminum and scrapes inside of the hub area (wall) ? When we tore down the kits we found this on both tears? Is it due to the walls swelling or coming apart or is the wall too close to the axles hubs?

Is this somthing I should be worried about?


Do I need to build the floor a little narrower?

Still be wondering about this.