Well, not exactly.  After drilling out many rivets with my new Makita (lost count how many) and the removal of electric switches, curtain hardware, window screen, and interior door trim (tricky one), the wall eventually comes out after you de-stick it from its siblings.  The insulation wasn’t in as bad a shape as I thought it would be.  Next section, I’ll take a picture before removing the “pink”, I was overly anxious to see the inside of the outside wall.

I started replacing the screens while I wait to go to the Vintage Trailer Jam 2009. I’m hoping to talk to infamous Colin Hyde of “Colin Hyde Trailer Restoration”.

For the OCD or purists in the crowd, you may not want to read this post. It may even be illegal. As I mentioned before, the backup lights had no socket left to replace the bulb into and the canister in the mounting base was so rusted there was nothing to screw the lens onto. I searched the local auto and tractor stores and online sites with no luck finding a replacement. So in the spirit of my enterprising father, I used some things not meant for the job, including a tuna fish can. See the step-by-step process in my web album.

I’m still working on the back up lights dilemna, but I did get 10 marker lights replaced with new LED lights this weekend. There were many challenges with getting the old ones off and the new ones on due to rusted, broken screws and rivets and inexperience. The good news was that they all tested positive for voltage.

The LED lights are not as easy to mount as the old style ones, especially since I was going to do it with connectors or twisted wire caps, but there’s NO space behind the flush mounted ones. The lower ones have a mount, so four of them were done nicely, the rest were wired with electrical tape and heat shrink tubes. You can see the pictures from the 1970’s Airstream type marker lights installation if you’re interested.

The trailer has not been plugged into a vehicle since Fletch delivered it 3 years ago. I guess its not surprising that only 4 of the 20 running lights work. The left blinker and tail light works, but not the right. The backup lights didn’t work at all. The picture below is how I found it when I took off the lense – do’ya think thats why? There is no socket remaining on either side. I’m debating whether to jerry-rig (as opposed to jimmy-rig) a closed unit that I found at Northern Tool or re-wire a socket.

I made a list of the bulb numbers based on the owners manual for running, tail/blinker, backup, and license plate lights. I was able to find them all at Advance Auto (bought a few at Camping World since I bought out the entire stock of running light bulbs at Advance).

I sure hope there is a VTJ09 (VTJ08). The folks at Airstream Life, GSM Vehicles, and Vintage Trailer Supply did a G-R-E-A-T job of getting this first jam organized. Feel free to take a look at my VTJ photos from the weekend and if you see an errant caption, let me know.

I was a “walk-in” and went without a trailer (sorry, Rosie) and stayed with my daughter in Albany. I learned a great deal from Rich (photos and life on the road), Colin (left – talking about structural integrity), Steve (finding parts) and Suzanne (designing the interior). The generator and satellite seminars were also interesting.

One of the highlights of my weekend was getting to meet Rich’s daughter Emma. I wish I had my camera when Rich invited 8 yo Emma to come up and talk about home schooling and full timing. She has such a wonderful grace about her. I feel as though I know these folks from reading Rich’s “Tour of America” blog and it was a joy to see them in person.

I got to meet lots of friendly people (many from Canada) and dogs and to see over 80 trailers, most of them vintage.

So the floor. I’ve spoken of it many times and its what’s kept me from making any forward progress. I talked to Colin Hyde and may take the trailer up there sometime soon.

In a previous post, there are pictures of the area near the door that has the water damage and the floor we cut away. Here is a close-up of the frame and the rust damage that I’m concerned about.

To do:

1. Tim reminds me that I need to check the tires. I’m pretty sure I need to replace them. They were borderline 2 years ago and the trailer hasn’t moved out of the driveway since Fletch delivered it.
2. Fix the lights (some are totally disintegrated).
3. Replace the break away brake switch.
4. Find a tow vehicle to borrow (Tim?, Dean’s truck?, rental?).