1947 Kenskill TD pseudo-restoration

[S. Heisley]

Glad your first trip was a success with relatively few problems. You'll get everything figured out and your next trip will be even better. The trailer looks great! Thanks for sharing your trip.

[3GKnight]

Thanks for the kudos y'all!

I took care of the front box's pile 'o stuff yesterday. We'll see how often this stuff actually gets used. Probably the hammer and dustpan far more than anything else. It's not the sturdiest setup with that wallboard but I guess we'll see how it holds up.

[ELM]

That looks nice and should help a lot.

[Originalspacerob]

Thanks for the kudos y'all!

I took care of the front box's pile 'o stuff yesterday. We'll see how often this stuff actually gets used. Probably the hammer and dustpan far more than anything else. It's not the sturdiest setup with that wallboard but I guess we'll see how it holds up.

Love the layout of your tools. Nice to have some of those along even if you don't need them. I think im gonna add a few of those to my supplies that stay in the teardrop. Never know.

[KCStudly]

Smart idea with the lid storage. What's the conical black thing in the middle? Looks like die cast aluminum.

[3GKnight]

Smart idea with the lid storage. What's the conical black thing in the middle? Looks like die cast aluminum.

Thanks. It's just a small propane bottle base. I had to get a flexible hose for the stove and it came with that. The bottle stands up by itself fine though. I'm thinking a roll of duct tape would be more useful there.

[KCStudly]

Ah, I see it now. Thanks for the explanation.

[John T. Hodgen]

Hey,
We have a '47 KenSkill also. Mostly original but I'm in need of at lest one suspension spring or both. I see from your frame it looks like you aren't using the original frame or suspension. I was wondering if you still had those and wanting to sell them?
Also, if those rims are 16 x 3.50, found by valve stem on the inside, I need a spare for our camper. Right now I have tire irons, tube/tire and would be fighting a roadside repair. I made 350 miles with a tire that I superglued a piece of clothe around the valve stem and pumped it up. My "tire guy" had to use a 5# sledge to get the stem out
The stove that you have is like ours and looks new, works great. We love our closets but I see your point if your L&T (long & tall) Ours doesn't have the same trailer latch as yours.
Right now your build found me and have inspired me to get ours ready. The original floor in the cabin dried so much that the bad suspension pulled all the bolts but one thru the plywood. Hence the need for suspension parts. Found the problem while greasing the bearings I still have alum brads that hold the trim down and they work out as the side wood is not as tight around the, not that the wood is bad. I spent 3 days polishing our alum out but I like what you did to your panels.
We're the 4th owners and the first one had it 40+ years. I got it in Conn. seven yrs ago. Also how many bolts in all held down the body to the frame, just in case I miss one while working on it. Replacement is alittle more than I may want to do now with no help. I know of a workshop in wood products that help disable people with jobs overseen by craftsmen so I may have them work on it.
Sorry to be long winded but I love KenSkills and your build is after my own heart. Good luck and I'm going to follow along. If you have a ?? that I may could get dimensions or whatever just ask. I'm on Facebook and have pictures there of ours and a woody that I first built and in my photobucket link in the signature, message or friend request me there...Thanks
Til Later By the Fire--John T. Hodgen...and Linda

[3GKnight]

Yer killin' me John! I talked with George at the Teardrop Fix It shop for the first painful conversation about me trashing all the old frame and suspension parts. They've been recycled. Just didn't know what I had. I knew from the start that I wasn't going to do a restoration, since it was so trashed, and once I found out the bearings had burned at one point and they replaced them with parts that didn't quite fit, I gave up and just built a new frame.

But still...

Good luck on your repairs though. Sorry I couldn't help!

[John T. Hodgen]

Hello again,
Oh Well It was a shot in the dark but if you had still had them we both could be tickled pink with that feather! Don't worry, my Lotto tickets don't come thru either
Til later by the fire--John T. & Linda

[3GKnight]

Got up to the hills again last weekend.

Had a tow vehicle failure the day before. Glad it happened then and not up on the mountain! And I'd tried so hard to keep that stinkin' thing clean. Not too bad though. A $6 fix.


The site was ok. It was certainly busier this weekend but not as bad as I'd prepared for, with it being a holiday weekend. Not sure why I chose to park the camper directly under that tree though.


Finally decided that there is a severe lack of counter space in our galley. I plan on building some side tables that will hang off the back and to the sides, behind the cooler and stove, and then fold up for storage.


Brought the new toy up too. (Forgot to take a pic of it on the hitch carrier off the back of the camper.)


Which resulted in some injuries. It looks like she got the worst of it, which she did in one spot, but I found scrapes all up my left side along with a pulled muscle. Fun times! It was a low speed spill and could have happened to the best of us but I'll need some more practice by myself and then stick to flat roads with passengers.

[3GKnight]

Finally got around to taking a picture of the whole rig, including the rear bike rack. It tows better with the bike on it. It's pretty tongue heavy otherwise.

This was the first solo trip I've taken it on. While I had to do a little permanent work before I left ( like adjusting the axles,) and therefore don't have an exact time, I do believe I could hook up and get out of town within an hour. Assuming all the proper clean up work had been done after getting back the last time. Most of that hour would be gathering the food.



I didn't actually stay overnight on this trip. Wasn't terribly impressed with that location. Very dry, windy, dusty, and a whole lotta beetle kill trees. I found a very secluded spot that just barely fit the rig. I'd go back there with the kids but this time, once I'd had lunch, tooled around on the bike a little, and got some target practice in, I was bored enough to just go home. On the way home, I thought I'd take the scenic route. That route was very rough and I tore the tongue jack right off. That thing has been a pain. The windows also need to be replaced. The hardware on those is a pain. Hopefully I can find a small slider that will fit.

[KCStudly]

Got bored? Isn't that the whole point of going to a secluded location like that? Kick back and relax, take your riding boots off, stick your feet in the crick' and crack open a cold one.
(I'm razzing you a little, in case it wasn't obvious.)

Still, looks like a good campsite. Care to share the location?

On the tongue jack, can you make it easily removable for travel? Some of the swivel style ones have a snap ring. Mine is the 3-bolt center mount type with a separate bolt to remove the sand foot. I plan on removing and stowing it in the TB while underway... at least when going over rough terrain.

[3GKnight]

Got bored? Isn't that the whole point of going to a secluded location like that? Kick back and relax, take your riding boots off, stick your feet in the crick' and crack open a cold one.
(I'm razzing you a little, in case it wasn't obvious.)

Still, looks like a good campsite. Care to share the location?

On the tongue jack, can you make it easily removable for travel? Some of the swivel style ones have a snap ring. Mine is the 3-bolt center mount type with a separate bolt to remove the sand foot. I plan on removing and stowing it in the TB while underway... at least when going over rough terrain.

Yeah, the kids were away at the grandparents and I tend to get moody and far too thoughtful when that happens. I'm sure I would have been better off staying. lol

This is near Rob Roy Reservoir, above Albany, WY. That's the first time I'd been up there. My intention was to explore and I did some, but the road I was on required crawling, with a few 10 mph patches here and there. Didn't see much that afternoon. There are some nice places just north of there, off the road out of Centennial, WY. Those I know about but I'm sure it would just take some driving around to find the campsite 'jewels' near Rob Roy. Before moving to Wyoming, my typical camping experience was in CA, at developed campgrounds. All the secluded dispersed camping options near here has spoiled me. I spent a few nights at a developed campground in CO and it helped me appreciate my WY options even more. Even the Vedauwoo area, which is much closer than Rob Roy, has a lot to offer. Not much in the way of tall trees, but don't look up and it feels the same.

That specific site is right here:



My intention is to mount a new tongue jack so the lowermost point is in line with the bottom of the frame, leaving the jack tube above the frame or maybe even cutting part of the foot off so the tube can be lower, hopefully in line with the frame. There's nothing else in the way, so it should work. We'll see how that looks before I weld it all together though. Another problem I've had with the snap ring is setting it on uneven ground at a site. Some of the places I go are pretty uneven and the snap ring on this one didn't like that at all. One way or another, I need to solve both of those problems. And I'm glad you mentioned the drop leg idea (with the removable foot.) I'd thought about that a while ago but forgot. Thanks!