Replacing the floor

Sounds easy enough. Pull up the old stuff, put down some new stuff. Easy right? Um, 2 days later I am exhausted, and we didn't even get the new subfloor down! But we did get rid of all that asbestos tile (safely I hope) and all of that old, nasty insulation under the floor. While removing that gunk I found several abandoned lizard nurseries, but luckily nothing more gross than that. Interestingly, most of the floor supports were in good condition. On the interior we ended up only replacing 2. All the perimeter supports need to be replaced to some degree, but we have to put that part on hold - it seems they are stapled from underneath AND nailed from the underside of the skin, so getting them out is going to take some thought. All in all after 2 days of hard work, Zippy looks worse, smells better, and is nowhere near done. All in good time.

After taking out what was left of the bathroom (Front to back):

and back to front:

And after day 2:

Close up... supports look to be in good condition. Minimal rust on metal underside (nice surprise!)

But the perimeters and corners are shot:

Things to note: One of the panels from the ceiling caved in today, luckily I was a foot away from it's path! I keep getting harassed by wasps - I think they want to move in. The door is falling off. It has nothing to hold onto, the wood is so rotted it's just crumbling away! My dad wants to replace the skin. I feel like that's cheating. I wish I had more time to work on Zippy!

Next Time on The Adventures of Zippy Lee...

Continue to repair sub floor water damage, lay new subfloor. And I MAY take an 8 hour round trip to get a rear window and some other parts. I still don't know if it's worth the time and gas...

Color Schemes/Fabrics

I'm leaning towards cream and mint for Zippy. With maybe some aquas and browns?

This is pretty for curtains, or maybe even upholstery.

This is nice too:

I hope to paint mine something like this (Isn't this is the prettiest shasta EVER??)

Bed/Sofa/Daybed/Chair Ideas

AH, how much do I love this slide out day bed?? SO MUCH!

But this is what I'm really looking for! I'm going for something like this FOR SURE, but with the slide out feature from the one above...

Interior Paneling Ideas

I want Zippy's paneling to shine like this! PRETTY!

Storage/Cabinet Ideas

Love this...

This is cool, something similar would work well for me...

CUTE:

These are REALLY neat. Perfect for the store!

I want to find something like this for my kitchenette. LOVE IT.

these shelves are cute, they'd be good for the shop!

Missing the Zip

I'm so anxious to get my camper rolling that I'm finding it hard to sit here, so far away, doing nothing! 2 weeks before I can get back out there. In the mean time I'm obsessed with finding parts. I think I may have found a rear window, but it's 4 hours away... is it worth the drive? Maybe I'll go over to Lowes and get some "green' paint stripper to take care of the cabinet hardware. It'll give me something to do at least!

Gutting Zippy - Days 1 & 2

I'll admit I know nothing about trailer restoration, or anything automotive for that matter. My dad knows about cars and stuff, but I think this is his first trailer restoration, so we are sort of winging it. The plan for Day 1? Gut the interior.

Here's Zippy's insides BEFORE:

STUPID AC. I wish the window had been saved. :-(


Lot's of ugly 60's cabinets...


Stove is in pretty decent shape, but probably won't keep it...


Table looks good, it's a keeper!


AND HERE'S HIS INSIDES DURING...

We found a monstrosity of a water tank. This baby was HEAVY. Needless to say it's NOT going back in.


Front dinette removed. Looks like some water damage in that front street side corner.


Starting to take down those horrendous cabinets...

Pulled out the old water heater. The floor is so rotted under there!

Here's a better view of the floor where the water heater was after I got it all cleaned out. Well, if you can call that clean!

Pulled out the fridge and discovered more massive rotting. The wood crumbles like wet sand when you touch it. Also found a half dozen dead lizards who appear to have been the victims of a bug bomb, found numerous abandoned wasps nests, socks, papers, candy, forks, and lots of wire hangers. Mommy Dearest would not be happy.

After removing the heater (Had to cut through the tube at the back, cause we couldn't figure our how to take it apart) we were left with this mess... See the major rotting to the left of the wheel well? That's where the lizard graveyard was. :-( R.I.P.

Another view... That piece of wood just above the vent literally crumbled away right in front of me!

The whole area by the front door is in bad shape.

We decided to leave the shower/toilet room for another day, so the gut project is 90% complete!

And here are Zippy's insides AFTER:

View from front to back:

And back to front:

It's supposed to rain, so we tarped him up 'till next time, not that any more water would make a difference!

Next Time on The Adventures of Zippy Lee...

We plan to take out the old shower/toilet room, and pull up the floor, repair any damage under the sub floor, and lay a new subfloor.

Getting Zippy Home

I was scared. Zippy was all rotted out inside and I just wasn't sure he'd be safe to tow. But last Saturday we hooked him up to my Dad's truck, said goodbye to Mr. Lee (With a promise to come by if we ever get the trailer restored (he has his doubts)) and hit the road. Lucky for us, there was major construction on 46, so the speed limit was reduced to 45 the whole way. Zippy held up like a champ and we made it home without incident!

Meet Zippy Lee!

Hell's Belles needed a home, and I'd decided a vintage travel trailer would be perfect. I set my sights on a Shasta... relatively easy to come by, but not as common as an airstream, which are a dime a dozen out here. I want to stand out don't I? So after a few weeks of searching, a '58 appeared on Craigslist just a few hours away. At a whopping $2500 asking price, I expected it was in good condition with only moderate repairs needed, but it was $1500 over my budget.... Being a girl, I said well let's just go "LOOK at it"... yeah right. I had every intention of buying it. So we drove out and looked at Willie's Shasta. I was immediately disappointed. It was a poorly painted black and gray and looked sad, lifeless. No matter!! A new paint job will fix that! Show me the inside! I couldn't wait to see the birch... Um.... Black. Everything, painted black. Everything. I wasn't about to pay $2500 dollars for a trailer that I would need to gut. So we drove away. Just 2 blocks away my dad and I both said "STOP - there's anther one!" And there he was, a little 66 wings and all parked half hidden behind a shed. An old man was working on his truck in the yard, so I made my dad get out and ask him if he'd be interested in selling the trailer. Surprisingly he was. We looked inside and, well, he (I'm calling it a he since I'm a girl, and I just think it fits) was a rotted out wreck to say the least. But the windows, doors, screens, emblems, wings, etc. were all intact and immaculate. I figured those parts are hard to come by, so it might be worth it to gut it and fix all the rot. We made a deal with the man and bought the trailer for a mere $300.00. But now we have to figure out how to get it home...

Meet Zippy Lee: (Named after the street we found him on, and his former owner Mr. Lee!)