It seemed so simple... at first.

[Felix_Esq]

I am moving my updates to this Build Journal. I have been posting pics to my gallery, here: gallery/album.php?album_id=5180

The pics are numbered, so if you sort them by "imagename" and "ascending" you will get them in the order they were taken.

I bought an old trashed teardrop on the cheap. Not sure what you folks would call it design-wise. Here's a pic:



I got it home to find a lot of rotten wood underneath the aluminum. Figured I would just do nearly everything from scratch. If you go to the gallery you can see the extent of the mess.

In its original (to me) condition I found the following problems:
1. Rotten exterior wood, and an especially rotten hatch.
2. Incorrect piano hinge on the hatch.
3. A badly jury-rigged suspension, and an axle that was really too short for the project.
4. incorrectly installed subfloor.
5. the abundant use of roofing repair tape everywhere that the prior owner could not do things correctly.
6. incorrectly installed water tank, which doesn't make sense because. . .
7. The prior owner apparently ripped out the galley.
8. Also, while he very nicely lengthened the tongue, he did a terrible job of installing the lengthened tongue.
9. Missing brake/running lights.
10. Total mess of wiring.
11. Badly installed aluminum skin.

I first tore down everything until all the rotten wood was gone, and further removed everything that was just the wrong materials, even if those things would work in a pinch. I was left with:
1. The trailer frame.
2. The side walls.
3. Interior wall paneling.
4. an uninstalled water tank.

Then I started rebuilding stuff from there. After ripping out the subfloor, I started from the bottom up.
1. I re-installed the water tank using steel straps that you would use to hold your water heater to the wall in the garage (this may just be a California thing due to earthquakes).
1a. I installed a new, longer axle, which put the tires outside the body of the trailer. I intend to get larger diameter tires (and I want to make them up as rally wheels with a hubcap and beauty ring, if I can!).
2. I added supports into the frame under the floor.
3. I replaced the insulation in the floor.
4. I cut holes to install plumbing to fill the tank and feed a potential faucet. I left space for a drain.
5. I installed new subfloor that actually goes all the way across the floor, rather than leaving about 3 inches of frame exposed on each side.
6. I installed a sheet vinyl floor onto the subfloor.
7. I replaced a lot of poorly installed/rotten 1X2 ribs with 2X2 ribs.
8. I replaced the interior plywood. The prior owner had used laminate flooring planks as the interior ceiling, just forcing it into place and nailing it to the ribs.
9. I took a diamond-plate truck bedbox that I had laying around and turned it into a tongue box.
10. I built a battery box to go into the tongue box, cut and installed louvred vents, and then installed the battery box into the tongue box.
11. I installed posts and a main battery kill switch.
12. I installed basic wiring, a fusebox, a negative busbar.
13. I started installing a cabinet to hide all the wiring, and to use for storage, above the head of the cabin.

That's where I am for now. Take a look at the gallery for some of the good stuff.

[Philip]

Its looking good.

To bad you had so many of the PI's finger prints to remove. PI= previous idiot.

[Juneaudave]

I hate redoing work, especially if it is the handiwork of someone else. Here's to you for having the patience of Job!

[Sparksalot]

Once you get over the initial steps, it’s a project you can use and upgrade at your leisure.

[Sparksalot]

Once you get over the initial steps, it’s a project you can use and upgrade at your leisure.

Uh oh, this is thread # 666 I've posted in. I need another post stat.

[Felix_Esq]

First of all, the term PI is new to me . . . and greatly appreciated! I will be using this for all manner of things, in my personal and professional life from now on.

Second, "patience" is not the word I would use. I have a horrible--possibly codependent--relationship on vehicles in my life. Some of my daily drivers through history include:

(1) '79 Volvo 240. Mostly bulletproof, but it was well over 200000 miles when I got it, so it needed a lot of maintenance.
(2) '64 Corvair. I loved this car, but again it required a lot of maintenance. Worst was when it blew a u-joint while I was driving to class during college... right in the middle of a busy intersection. The swing axle then flopped around, taking out the speedo cable, bending a rear control arm, bending itself, etc.
(3) '74 MGB. I didn't own this one long. I think you can all guess why.
(4) '84 Mercedes 190E. Great highway car. Again, required a lot of attention.
(5) '01 BMW 530i Sport. Possibly the greatest iteration of any BMW sedan is the E39. (or maybe the E3 "New Six"/Bavaria).

What did all these cars have in common? My own horrible codependent relationship. I show love by fixing them. They show love by being cool, and by giving me something to fix. "Patience" is really more "compulsion" to have something mechanical to tinker with.

The BMW was a particularly deleterious relationship. It was like having an incredibly hot girlfriend, who was "romantically aggressive" we shall say, who had really expensive tastes, and who hated you and used you for your money. I would drive it fast, take corners at dangerous speeds, and it would reward me with amazing performance and handling. Then a further reward of a check engine light, fluid leak, broken part, or malfunctioning electronic bit. Which I would fix. And the parts were expensive.

The BMW blew its power steering pump and dumped half a gallon of ATF on my driveway only a couple hours before my son's soon-to-be in-laws visited my home for the first time. I got mad and "broke up" with it. I still regret selling it. I bought a Ford Flex for its utility in the mountains, its apparent reliability, and its not being physically huge or a gas hog. (FWIW, the wife drives a Prius, and the teenagers drive my wife's previous Prius, which are both effectively maintenance free.)

But what fun is a reliable car?

This is where the trailer comes in. It is not "unreliable," per se, but it certainly comes full of delightful problems to solve after the PI "fixed" a bunch of things! And a whole new skillset to learn, too. I find this a very satisfying adventure!

-Felix

[Shadow Catcher]

It is now truly all yours.

[Felix_Esq]

Worked a lot this weekend. There are a couple pics in my gallery showing what I did.

With my cars, I do "the best possible job I can afford." I am pretty capable of doing a lot of things to a car, short of [quality] body work. The limiting factor has always been cost.

With this trailer, I have changed my approach to "the best possible job I can learn how to do in about an hour of watching YouTube, and that will work well enough." This because woodwork is really a different challenge. I am enjoying it, but I will forever know the flaws in my own work!

Edit to add: I went to one of those "For Sale By Owner" used car lots with my friend this weekend. In the RV section there was a TAB brand trailer with all the bells and whistles, including a TV, air conditioner, built-in stereo, and a window over the bed. It was spectacular, but also, where is the fun in that? My rig may not be perfect or fancy, but it'll be mine. Oh, and the owner of that TAB trailer wanted $14,000 for it . . . so yeah, I am going to keep working on my own rig.

[working on it]

...With my cars, I do "the best possible job I can afford". I am pretty capable of doing a lot of things to a car, short of [quality] body work. The limiting factor has always been cost.

With this trailer, I have changed my approach to "the best possible job I can learn how to do in about an hour of watching YouTube, and that will work well enough." This because woodwork is really a different challenge. I am enjoying it, but I will forever know the flaws in my own work!...

* My past avocation was working on cars, always doing "the best possible job I can afford", not skimping too much on good parts. I've owned/modded/restored/"built"

not in order by date
• three VW's ('64, '72, '73 Super Beetle),
• '67 Dodge Monaco 500,
• '73 Volvo 142,
• '85 Chrysler Lebaron Turbo Coupe,
• '87 Nissan Sentra 2-door,
• '92 Olds Achieva SC (Quad 4),
• '88 Pontiac Fiero,
• '81 Ford Courier pickup,
• '98 GMC 1500,
• four Chevy pickups ('86 S-10, '75 C-10, '69 C-10, '04 2500HD),
• '09 Chevy HHR Panel,
• three Chevy cars ('56 "210" 4-door..my first car, '08 Cobalt LS/SE coupe, and the '66 Chevelle Malibu coupe (street car turned to drag car...327/375hp, 427/500hp, 427/600+hp).

There's also a possible '01 BMW X5 to be added, later, but not definitely (being restored by a friend).

* At age 70, with a fixed income, bad back/knees, etc., I no longer have the drive to work on my vehicles much, and gave up dragracing a few years back when facing a layoff (I survived to retirement 7 years later). I still do my own maintenance on the HHR, Cobalt, GMC, and 2500HD, while the Chevelle gathers dust in the garage.

* But, at age 61, I caught the bug to build my own camper (substituting for my racing habit, I guess), but nearing retirement (or possible further layoffs), I had to build it cheaply as I could (or as secretly as I could with more pricey items). It took two years, building it away from home, then in the garage here (mostly hidden), before I unveiled it to the wife. Though many parts were inexpensive, later ones weren't, so again, I did as good work as I could, adapting my car-building skills to wood-working. As you might expect, it wasn't as perfect as it could've been, but it was "the best possible job I can learn to do...." in secret, under a tight budget, with little prior expertise in woodworking.

* I enjoyed building it, perhaps more than I like camping in it (I felt much the same about my "building the car vs. racing the car" activities, though I was good at it). I still modify it after each camping trip, though those trips are few and far apart in time, lately. Yes, there are many flaws in my work, but I'm quite proud of my trailer, as I was with my vehicles. I'll be "working on it" forever, as is my nature.

[Felix_Esq]

and the '66 Chevelle Malibu coupe (street car turned to drag car...327/375hp, 427/500hp, 427/600+hp).

* At age 70, with a fixed income, bad back/knees, etc., I no longer have the drive to work on my vehicles much, and gave up dragracing a few years back when facing a layoff (I survived to retirement 7 years later). I still do my own maintenance on the HHR, Cobalt, GMC, and 2500HD, while the Chevelle gathers dust in the garage.

* But, at age 61, I caught the bug to build my own camper (substituting for my racing habit, I guess), but nearing retirement (or possible further layoffs), I had to build it cheaply as I could (or as secretly as I could with more pricey items). It took two years, building it away from home, then in the garage here (mostly hidden), before I unveiled it to the wife. Though many parts were inexpensive, later ones weren't, so again, I did as good work as I could, adapting my car-building skills to wood-working. As you might expect, it wasn't as perfect as it could've been, but it was "the best possible job I can learn to do...." in secret, under a tight budget, with little prior expertise in woodworking.

* I enjoyed building it, perhaps more than I like camping in it (I felt much the same about my "building the car vs. racing the car" activities, though I was good at it). I still modify it after each camping trip, though those trips are few and far apart in time, lately. Yes, there are many flaws in my work, but I'm quite proud of my trailer, as I was with my vehicles. I'll be "working on it" forever, as is my nature.

Your story is relatively familiar so far, except (1) I am a bit younger than you are; (2) I stopped drag racing with my friends when I was very young; and (3) we have a little different tastes in cars. That I married very young, started having kids young, and then decided that I wanted to be my own boss relatively young, all conspired against me for drag racing purposes. Between raising kids and running a business, there wasn't much time or money left for a race car. Especially since every time I raced a street/strip car, I broke something.

This trailer is designed to serve two purposes: First, to give me something less expensive than restoring a BMW. Second, to give me a way to escape from life from time to time. The goal is to stick backpacks into it, drive it to the last point of civilization and use it as a base camp while hiking one- or two-day hikes around the Sierras/Cascades/Rockies.

A bit of advice about the potential BMW resto you mentioned. I loved bringing my E39 back from the dead (no crank, no start, busted radiator, tons of engine issues to sort out, brake problems, body damage, etc., when I got it). But every part on that car had like a 40% premium over any other manufacturer, except maybe a Mercedes. I did struts on the front end: $120 each. I did shocks on my son's Chevy S-10: $100 for all four. I know I am comparing apples and oranges, but sheesh. If you are on a limited budget, think carefully before buying a BMW. It will be the best and worst car you ever owned.

[working on it]

...
A bit of advice about the potential BMW resto you mentioned. I loved bringing my E39 back from the dead (no crank, no start, busted radiator, tons of engine issues to sort out, brake problems, body damage, etc., when I got it). But every part on that car had like a 40% premium over any other manufacturer, except maybe a Mercedes. I did struts on the front end: $120 each. I did shocks on my son's Chevy S-10: $100 for all four. I know I am comparing apples and oranges, but sheesh. If you are on a limited budget, think carefully before buying a BMW. It will be the best and worst car you ever owned.

* I'm conflicted about the BMW acquisition, also. My experience with modern German car parts prices (from helping at a friend's shop) says you're right (even VW parts are too high). But, I've always wanted a BMW (nearly bought a new 2002 in the mid 70's, but kept my Volvo instead), and the early X5 was a favorite SUV body style.

* It belongs to my ex-next-door neighbor, who bought it to restore as an AWD car earmarked for me and my wife. It was to be in trade for years of helping us with our house build & electrical wiring problems, and with help on other projects, in conjunction with the swap of my old drag car.

* The trade would be good for both of us, since at 45 and and being an EE, he's a lot more able to do some things I can't, as well as being a mechanical wiz (he's rebuilt many types of engines, both car and motorcycle). Better than I was, I think. He's wanted my old Chevelle, for many years, to put it back on the street as a Pro Mod, since I told him I wanted to see it saved (not parted out, junked, or given to an unappreciative person...i.e. "relatives"). So, he's been working on the BMW for 2+ years, from stem to stern, all systems, in prep for a trade. It's almost ready, but he's had other things come up lately, on his front, that may delay/negate the swap. We'll see....

* UPDATE 6/12/2021: The 2001 BMW X5 for 1966 Chevelle swap was done three weeks ago, and included swapping my beat-up car-hauler (with 4 wheel brakes...good for his use) for his 4.5' x 12' single-axle trailer (no brakes, but with mesh loading gate and 3' tall mesh sides...better for my purposes). I haven't done a road-trip in it yet, while I was fixing the dead remote key (I cut it open and replaced the deceased rechargeable battery inside...it died two days after the swap, and he never had a second key), registering, licensing, insuring, restoring headlights and fixing a missing license-plate light, and he's still got a couple of parts at his house (and I've still got some Chevelle parts at mine), so I'll probably take a road test within the week.

* Other than the license light, and completely fogged-over headlight lenses, I haven't found anything out-of-sorts with it, while the Chevelle will take a top-to-bottom check-out, having sat for 13 years. I wouldn't even consider turning the key on it, before then. He wanted a classic restomod project, and I wanted the Chevelle to live on, so there you go.... The X5 received was just a minor compensation for the friendship and help he'd given over the years, so be it.

[featherliteCT1]

"an unappreciative person...i.e. "relatives"

[S. Heisley]

You're doing really good, Felix.

[Felix_Esq]

Headboard Cabinet is mostly done! I will probably paint the cabinets, but I have not decided yet.

Pretty happy with how this all worked out. The switch panel is behind the right cabinet so that we can turn on a switch for, say, the fan, then close the cabinet and keep things dark inside the trailer for a nap or something.

[Philip]

keep things dark inside the trailer for a nap or something.

Oh gotta watch out there. Some of the little snowflakes out there might call this profiling. You don't want to give us old folks a bad rep.

PS don't try to contact me around 3:00 PM on any day of the week.