The Adventures of Zippy Lee

Sunday, February 21, 2010

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...

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

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!

Monday, February 8, 2010

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.