Author Topic: Renovating a Vintage Camper- Tips or Advice?  (Read 1257 times)

tralfamadorian

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Renovating a Vintage Camper- Tips or Advice?
« on: April 26, 2019, 01:05:06 PM »
Not a very MMM related question but the forums here are populated by such a variety of knowledgeable people that I thought it was worth a shot.

I've recently had a 1960s Shasta Compact trailer fall onto my lap. It's been sitting in someone's back fields for at least 50 years or so and has provided a home for several hundred generations of mice. There's at least some water damage where the waterproofing has failed around the windows, roof vent and door.

A little Craigslist research suggests that I could flip it for about a $1k profit without making any changes. But it seems like it could be a fun project- especially once I get past the type 2 fun of repairing the water damage- and I want to give it a shot. I've started to google around for some ideas of how to approach this and have found some leads- mostly youtube videos and some archived forums.

Have any of you tackled a project like this? Any tips or guidance?

ixtap

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Re: Renovating a Vintage Camper- Tips or Advice?
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2019, 01:14:45 PM »
The water damage is the real bug bear, depending on initial construction. Many of these campers ( in general, not familiar with the Shasta, but it looks run of the mill) have fiberglass on the outside, some kind of stiffener, often plywood, then luan on the inside. If the water has seeped into the the walls, it could be a total gut and rebuild.

Have you looked for youtube videos yet? I have found the books, blogs, and even some videos tend to skip some crucial step (ie, just remove X, without telling you how to get access to X or that you need a special tool to actually remove it). As such, it is important to do lots of research with a variety of sources, hoping that they cover each others' gaps. A couple of hours

tralfamadorian

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Re: Renovating a Vintage Camper- Tips or Advice?
« Reply #2 on: April 26, 2019, 04:09:48 PM »
Thanks for the ideas @ixtap

I have found and watched some youtube videos and it is as you said. Some are pretty extensive and detailed but I'm not confident that all (any?) of those people actually know what they're doing. Then I'll see videos with someone who restores old campers as a hobby business and think- yes, this is the person! Those videos have been light on details. However, I do have an extension list of videos to watch so hopefully between all of them, I'll get somewhere.

From what I've learnt so far, this era of Shasta appears to be aluminum, 1x3 "framing" and birch luan.

ixtap

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Re: Renovating a Vintage Camper- Tips or Advice?
« Reply #3 on: April 26, 2019, 04:30:37 PM »
Thanks for the ideas @ixtap

I have found and watched some youtube videos and it is as you said. Some are pretty extensive and detailed but I'm not confident that all (any?) of those people actually know what they're doing. Then I'll see videos with someone who restores old campers as a hobby business and think- yes, this is the person! Those videos have been light on details. However, I do have an extension list of videos to watch so hopefully between all of them, I'll get somewhere.

From what I've learnt so far, this era of Shasta appears to be aluminum, 1x3 "framing" and birch luan.

Yeah, aluminum is more likely than fiberglass for the era. My brother was restoring an RV with similar issues, but it remains to be seen if they get back to it now that decent weather is returning to their region.

 

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