Trailer Talk Tuesday: Third Edition-Paint & Seams (1967 PlayMor)

Beautiful, isn't it?  I know, I know--but you have to see the potential, right?  So, here's what's been going on with Jolene, our 1967 Play-Mor camper that we are restoring.  

• finished removing the first layer of vinyl flooring--still have another layer (that I know of) on two-thirds of the floor, under the dinette and seating area.
• started stripping the exterior paint
• found the logo!
• started the process of removing the eternabond seal tape from the seams
• convinced myself that this project was a good idea.  really.  ;-)

So, here are some photos of the paint job on Jolene.  It appears the previous owner used latex paint, bless them, because it's coming off easy with the CitriStrip paint remover I like to use.  I wanted to get the majority of it off and then finish off with the wire wheel or a buffer.

Under this paint was:

the logo from the dealer!

I was excited to find the dealer's logo to the left of the back window.  This one came from Little's Camper Sales & Rentals in Tulsa, OK.  I love that the phone number doesn't have 3 digits for the first part of the exchange.  Instead, it's AD4-3740.  I'm going to try to save that logo or trace on top of it when we do the final paint job.

And under this paint was:

the Play-Mor logo!

I'm glad I went with a milder paint stripper and was able to recover these two logos.  I haven't decided yet how I am going to incorporate them into the exterior paint scheme, but they will both be part of Jolene's final look.  So, the paint issues seem to be fairly easy.  Just a lot of stripper application and scraping.  Now, on to the challenging part:

This lovely stuff is called EternaBond and if you want to seal a seam on a trailer roof, this stuff is AWESOME.  Because it's permanent.  And ugly.  And hard to remove.  And ugly (did I mention ugly?)

The white vinyl part is easy to remove with a heat gun; it just peels right off.  What is left behind is a thick layer of gray goo that is something like tar and whatever that sticky stuff was that attacked Mr. Incredible:

Goo remover and acetone did absolutely nothing.  The only thing that works is the the heat gun and you have to just scrape a little section at a time.  It is definitely an exercise in perseverance.  Or patience.  Or insanity.  Take your pick.

Trusty old heat gun wins again.

If When we get all the seams cleaned up and the paint removed, we're going to remove the metal pieces holding the sides together, apply putty tape and then replace the metal strips.  After that, we'll caulk and it should be like it was meant to be.  You'll see the pretty metal seams again, instead of the white tape, and it will definitely look more original.

The other fun thing we found this week was some water damaged wood that had been covered up by vinyl wallpaper and paint.  Fun times!

This section is the left of the front window.  They apparently used whatever wood they had hanging around to replace the rotten wood.  Behind this is the wiring, so, this is actually a blessing in disguise. The camper only has two lights:  one bulb over the sink and the original propane gas light that looks like this:

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 I'm not crazy about a propane light, but I don't want to remove an original appliance.  Since we have to remove the wood anyway and it gives us access to the wiring, we are going to add three undermounted LED lights underneath the bulkhead, which is right over the front window.  This will give the whole trailer more light and especially the dinette area which is where I plan to have my writing table.

The other area we found to be a little bit sketchy is to the left of the door and above the door:

We found a local source for the bendable 1/8" plywood used in these campers and the plan is to cut out the portion that needs to be replaced and fit in the new wood with the old.  That particular plan makes me a wee bit anxious, but Mr. Blue Jeans & Turquoise assures me it's doable.  

I didn't want to leave you on a down note, so here are some inspiration pics from my Pinterest board!

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Thanks for traveling along with us on this little adventure!  Hopefully we'll have some prettier pics in next week's edition!  Happy Tuesday, friends!

Trailer Talk Tuesday: Shasta Edition: Our Trip to Red River, New Mexico

Hello, friends!  I hope all of you had a lovely Labor Day vacation.  We took a little break from renovating Jolene, our 1967 PlayMor camper and took our 2015 Shasta Airflyte for an end of summer trip.  This camper's name is Sundance and I'm having a little vinyl decal made of her name to put by the door.  We've had her almost 18 months and she always gets lots of looks and comments when we take her out (because she's so cute!!!)  When Forest River came out with these reissues of their 1961 Shasta Airflyte 16SC Travel Trailer, I got camper fever.  They made 1,941 of these to commemorate their 75th anniversary and they came in three colors:  Matador Red, Seafoam Green and Butternut Yellow.  Ours is the 19 foot version; there's also a smaller 16' edition.  It's not super heavy and we pull it with our Ford Expedition.  Here's the blueprint of our trailer:

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Here are some more interior photos.  I grabbed these off the internet, because my photos turned out too dark.  It's hard to get interior photos of these little campers!

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This past weekend we went to Red River, New Mexico.  We go to Ruidoso, NM, a couple of times a year and we've been to Santa Fe several times, but we hadn't ever made it to Red River.  It was absolutely delightful!  It's a small village with a population of 477 and the whole town is only a few streets wide.  The ski lifts are right off the main street and there are some really cute shops and restaurants.  There are so many things to do there, that we will definitely be back!

We stayed at the Road Runner RV Resort.

Road Runner RV Resort

There were a lot of campers there for the holiday weekend, but it didn't seem crowded at all.  Our campsite was right next to the river and we fished for trout, walked over the bridges and really just enjoyed the campground.  There was a road rally of some sort at Goose Lake, so, I'm glad we had a quiet place to hang out and enjoy the outdoors.  We cooked over campfires and inside the trailer and built a fire each night to roast marshmallows.  It was the perfect camp site!

On Saturday, we strolled through the town and ate at Anchovies Pizza (with a name like that, it's got to be good, right?)  The food was really good and the people there were very nice. 

After doing some souvenir shopping and exploring Main Street, we went back to the camp to relax and get ready for our evening adventure.  We had tickets for a chuckwagon BBQ dinner and Michael Martin Murphey concert at his Rockin' 3M amphitheater.  He has purchased the historic Bitter Creek Guest Ranch and has concerts up there periodically during the warmer months.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  You drive for what seems forever on  Bitter Creek Trail off of Main Street.  You eventually end up in this beautiful valley on the mountain with a lake and some cabins dating back to the 1930s.  The food was delicious and he played his hits like "Wildfire" and "Carolina in the Pines" during the first half of the concert and then his cowboy music during the last half.  My husband and I really enjoyed it and the kids seemed to, as well.  The scenery was just breathtaking and I can't think of a prettier place to eat and listen to music.

The next day we got up and went to church.  We try to do that in different towns we visit and our children get to see how other Christians worship and do things.  One of the most memorable services we have attended while on vacation was Easter Vigil at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM.  Red River only has 3 churches that I could see on the internet, so, we chose one of them and attended their Sunday morning service.  The people there were super friendly--I think half of the people in attendance were visitors!--and really showed wonderful hospitality.  They were from a less liturgical tradition than we come from, but the pastor said "We might worship differently, but we're all the Body of Christ, so, you're stuck with us.  Forever."  That drew a big laugh from the congregation, but it's true and it was a good reminder to celebrate what we have in common and learn from our differences.

After church and lunch, we geared up and headed out for an hour long horseback ride up the mountain.  We chose Red River Stables and were very pleased.  The horses were easy to ride and the wranglers did a great job with helping people from various levels of expertise have a good experience on the ride.  The views we had of the upper pass were spectacular and watching a fast summer storm roll in was beautiful, too.  We got caught in a pretty good rain storm, but it wasn't too cold and it didn't really put a damper on anything.  My husband grew up with horses and we had them when we first got married.  The kids were busy with their activities, so, we haven't had any for several years.  After this ride, they're ready for us to saddle up again!

Red River was a wonderful place to camp and visit. We're already planning our next visit there!  

Thank you for sticking with me through all the photos!  Spending time with the family on a trip like this is precious--thank you for letting me share it with you!

Trailer Talk Tuesday: Second Edition (1967 PlayMor 140)

Here is Jolene in all of her pre-renovation beauty.  We got her bonded title and registration done and she has legal Texas tags now.  Yea!  Another thing that Jolene didn't come with was a key to the door.  It's just a regular house door knob and you would think one of the TONS of keys we have would have fit it.  That would have been a simple fix, but nothing's simple, is it?

We had her parked on the side of the house and someone (I have my suspicions, but no one is 'fessing up) turned the knob from the inside and locked it.  We tried the windows and even crawling through the area where the spare tire is stored, but no dice.  Pop-A-Lock came to the rescue and even installed a new door knob for free because he said the old one was "jickey".  Side note:  Is "jickey" a west Texas word or has anyone else ever heard of it?

We now have two keys and we decided to pull her into the garage to start the reno.  We measured and eyeballed and Jolene is about 2 inches too tall to fit.  My husband came up with the ingenious idea to let some air out of the tires and my son had the equally ingenious idea to stand on her bumper and pull her down just a bit more.  My job was to stand on the ladder and yell if I thought he was going to run her into the top of the garage.   (We all have our talents.)

Here are some photos and  I apologize for the blurriness.  I used my nice camera, but didn't notice how blurry they were until I downloaded them this morning (may be time for another visit to the optometrist...)

We let a little air out of the tires...

...and now there's a little daylight between the camper and door...

So, with the flat tires and 140 lb. weight on the back, we were able to squeeze her in our garage and get to work.

Still a tight squeeze!

See those super fancy black racing stripes?  Electrical tape.  Little sister's job was to pull that off.  Mr. Blue Jeans and Turquoise and I started pulling off the painted tape over the seams so we could see what was under there.  The metal seems to be in good shape, so, we're going to clean up the seams, buff the metal  and re-caulk, instead of taking it apart.  I think the paint used was just latex, so, I'm going to try my favorite paint stripper to remove that lovely paint job:

purchase here

My husband is not convinced it will be that easy.  My plan B is an electric wheel and wire wheel attachment.

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I found this great tutorial on painting a vintage camper at whippycake.com.  You HAVE to go see the vintage camper she's redone!

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She's supposed to post again about the interior renovation and I can't wait to read it!

After we assessed the exterior and pulled off the black tape, we got to work on the inside.  Big brother was in charge of removing the shag carpeting stapled to the walls.  Fortunately, the carpet on the floor was just laid in there.

Again--sorry for the fuzzy images!  I blame the shag carpet.  It hurt my eyes.

Once we got the carpet out, the walls seem to be in good shape.  A little wood filler and paint and we should be fine there.  

Under the carpet we found this:

This vinyl sheet was glued down really well, but it wasn't anything my trusty heat gun and scraper couldn't take care of.  I got most of it removed and the plywood floor is very sound.  We have some leftover flooring that the previous homeowner had installed in our kitchen and laundry room and we plan to install it over the plywood.  It's vinyl plank wood flooring and is light weight.  In our house it has held up well to water, dirt and traffic.  Here's a similar flooring being installed on the Bob Vila website:

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My design plan (my, didn't that sound fancy!) is warm white cabinets and backsplash and a wood floor.  Here's my inspiration pic:

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Here's another flooring option I considered.  If we didn't have the flooring already, I would be very torn between wood and this vinyl floor cloth:

she looks pretty happy about it

I also jumped ahead a little and purchased a little 8x10 piece of art for Jolene.  Every home needs art--even the tiny ones!

Dolly!

Can't wait to make some more progress on the interior and share it with you.  Happy Tuesday, friends!

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For more camper inspiration, check out my Pinterest board!

*Some affiliate links are used in this post at no extra cost to you. 

Be Brave Saturday: Jump Scared (from Edie Wadsworth's All The Pretty Things)

Edie Wadsworth's blog, Life in Grace, is one I have read for years. I started reading it first for the beautiful photos of Edie's house and her great recipes. I continue to read it, though, because of her heart and her beautiful writing. I am beyond privileged to get to be a part of her book launch team for her memoir, "All The Pretty Things". The stories of her poor Appalachian family, her relationship with her alcoholic father and the redemption found in the midst of it is heartbreaking and glory-filled. Edie is a beautiful soul and has shared her story so that others can find healing and so that still others will feel the freedom to share their own story.

It is available now for pre-order at Amazon.  If you order it now, go to http://alltheprettythingsbook.com/ and sign up for the pre-order bonuses available.

This is not an easy read, but I think it's an important read. My heart ached for her while I read her story, but her life glows with forgiveness and grace and that's the most important part of her story.

Whatever has been holding you back from sharing your story or living the life you've always wanted to live, let go of it.  Let's all take a page from Edie's new book and  Jump Scared.

Trailer Talk Tuesday: 1st edition

Say hello to Jolene!  I bought this little 1967 Playmor 140 a couple of weeks ago and asked for some name ideas on Instagram and Facebook.  Jolene was the winner and I can't wait to get going on tearing into this little gem and giving her a total makeover!

But, you have to get through the boring stuff first.  Paperwork.  When you buy an older camper like this one, it's not unusual for it to not have a title.  In some states, a camper over a certain age doesn't require one.  In other states, a camper under a certain weight doesn't require one, either.  My camper is both old and small, but in the great state of Texas, a title is required for registration.  I thought I'd walk you through the steps of getting a bonded title.  It sounds scary, but it's really pretty easy.  Just a disclaimer here--these steps are what works in Texas.  Your mileage may vary.

So, your first stop is the DMV.   Cue all the jokes, but I just want to say that the people at our DMV were super helpful.  They explained the process repeatedly and answered all of my stupid questions.

Your first step after leaving the DMV is to make an appointment with the county auto theft division.  They will inspect your vehicle/trailer and verify your VIN.  Our county only does this on Mondays and you have to make an appointment.  This took a couple of weeks, so be aware of this since you only have a month after your bill of sale to get the registration completed without a penalty.

Most older campers or trailers have the VIN stamped on the tongue of the curbside (door-side) of the camper.  I had to sand off some paint and rust to see our number:

Playmor's VINs are the model (140), the production number and then the year (67).  The officers' verified that the VIN was what I thought it was and ran it to make sure it wasn't stolen.  I probably did this backward--if you're not sure about the seller, you might want to make the appointment with this office and have them run the VIN before you purchase the camper.  I was lucky and there weren't any records on the camper at all.  A couple of years back, Texas started purging records after they're ten years old, so, if the camper you want to purchase has been sitting out in someone's pasture or in someone's backyard (like mine was), there probably won't be any records.

You will leave the county office with a statement of inspection and a verified VIN number.  You will take this back to the DMV and pay $15 and turn it in with your bonded title application.  This is a 1-2 day process and you'll go back and pick up your paperwork.  They will give you the approved application (hopefully) along with the value of your camper.  The state will determine this value--it doesn't have anything to do with the Bill of Sale you should have that shows what you paid.

After you have these three things--inspection, bonded title application and value, you will go to your insurance dealer and have them issue a surety bond.  My agent said it would probably run around $150.  Once you have that, you are ready to register your camper and get your tags!

I'm ready to get going on the demo/reno of this little camper, but I wanted to make sure I had the title just in case I ever want to sell her.  My sweet husband is on board with taking her apart and we're reading up on all the how-tos.  There are lots of opinions out there, as you can imagine.

Here's the original floor plan.  I think this may be a slightly later model, but it's almost exactly like Jolene.  We missed out on the psychedelic flowers on the cushions.  Ours are the original ones and are a gorgeous avocado green, harvest gold and woodtone brown plaid and I believe the icebox and stove were originally harvest gold.  (Don't be jealous.)  The previous owner painted the whitewashed birch paneling white and all the metal pieces and appliances a bright blue.  I see a lot of paint stripping in my immediate future.

Check out my Pinterest board for some of the ideas I'm collecting for the redo!  I'm thinking a Pendleton/Southwest/National Parks kind of theme, but that changes every time I see a new pic on Instagram or Pinterest.  Next week, I hope to have some actual demo photos to share.

I'm so glad you stopped by!  I'd love for you to follow me at Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.  Also, if you'd like to have these blogposts delivered to your inbox, please subscribe to this blog (link in upper right hand corner of page.)  It's super easy and I do not sell your name to anyone or spam you in any way.

Here's a little traveling music for you...have a great day!

Be Brave: Creativity and Courage

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainty--Erich Fromm

What brave thing will you do TODAY?