Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I was planning a foamie TD build and this lady came along this week. A '69 Cardinal Model 13 Standard. The cabin is 10X7 on the outside and around 6' tall on the inside. Big enough for my wife and I to do jumping jacks inside. Well I guess I can deal with a stand up kitchen and a closet where I can put a toilet. This is also what my wife preferred over a TD. So restoring the Cardinal is my current project.

This is all so new to me but I am pretty excited about it. There is water damage but I am not sure how extensive it is nor how much other work needs to be done. I know there is one bed missing, table missing, loft mostly missing and various other assorted adventures within. A previous owner cut up the loft and part of the bed to make a hideous table thingy. Not really appreciating the integrity of this lady as she was. Well I will help to bring her back to her previous glory. I may need help along the way so you may be hearing from me again.

Here are some pics from my album. BTW the paint job here is all wrong. The son of the previous owner was a painter and... well... this was his idea. The real graphics reflects the theme of a cardinal. The lip on the back roof is for the Cardinal crest.

Mark

Congrats on your new project. You can see where all the water has gotten in, which is nice as the previous owner didn't paint up the interior to hide it. The windows probably need to be removed and some new butyl tape installed if the wood isn't rotted, but in my experience, chances are you are going to have to replace it. Pull some exterior trim, lift the aluminum and poke at the structure on the back corners. It's surprising just how much can be hidden. Lay down under it and check out the floor where the walls attach and at the entrance. That's a typical location for rot to take ahold or the floor to get soft. Poke at it with a screw driver. Being in Loveland, it might be nice if it spent most of it's life in the area as it's fairly dry there. I used to live in Boulder and have checked out a lot of older trailers in the area. If the previous owner mopped on silicone anywhere, it probably needs to be removed and the repair made correctly. It looks like a great start to a fun trailer! Doug

Hi Doug,

I will post some more pics to address your concerns and mine. I have been exposing different areas of the trailer looking for rot. Yes my wife knew about banging it with a screwdriver. She has experience with horse trailers. So far, even though I have been focusing on areas that looked the worst I have not found any rot. It seems I am the third owner, at least, and I am guessing the water damage came from the first owner and the ones before me then sealed up the windows, etc. At least that is what it looks like. He was a painter and that is how the graphics came about. Unfortunately I did not get to talk to him since I bought it from his dad. I am still checking but so far so good. Yes Loveland is a pretty dry area. Nice. I still have to follow through on some of your incite-full suggestions. I did find a problem area that I need help with. I will post pics.


All the wood from this window to the back (the back had even worse staining) is solid.


This is the ice box area. The wood is solid but on pushing it I discovered that the wall was not attached to the metal on the bottom of the trailer. Yikes!!!


Front exterior separated from the metal under the trailer. I am lying on the ground here looking up under the front area.
Any ideas on how to fix this? BTW Larger versions of these images are in my album here.
gallery/album.php?album_id=3441

Mark

This is going to be a cute one. I'm with your wife. A standy is better.

Very very nice cardinal!! love the colors and the originality of it all!!

what are you going to do first to the trailer??

Dave

I rebuilt a 69 volunteer and my visible water damage wasn't nearly as extensive as this one. The rot on these is usually like an iceberg, you cant see the worst of it. The fiberglass insulation holds water against the wood like a sponge. The front and back were rotted out completely and were only held together by the paneling. The only thing left original on mine is the floor and the side walls. Don't even bother starting on the inside, most likely you will have to come from the outside in. It's a lot take lots of pictures and measurements because things tend to collapse when you pull the skin off.