YUP-- Well, tommorrow we're taking off to pick up a Compact Jr..... I just can't resist--- it's getting like my affliction for cars. (But, since we're down to 20 cars, I think, what the heck) And, the Scamp is almost completely done. I've run out of things to do on it. This is the one I looked at last July, that I was afraid didn't have a title. I stopped Monday on the way home from Tacoma and inquired again. The old wheeler-dealer finally admitted it didn't have a title, so I low-balled him, and he took my offer. So the adventure begins. Larry

Well.......
Congrats!
I have done it again,and again,and again myself and I am still having fun!

I can stop ANYTIME,really but I anot going to.

It's an illness.... peterh has it too. Please keep this sickness in Washington State... I can't afford it!

Congratulations. I know that you have been thinking about this one for awhile. Good luck with all the fun with documentation.

WOW! How fun, I totally get it!

Ahhh, but you like to see others afflicted this way . . .

I know Im curious to see some pics! Before pics are always great!
Joe

Just got back with it and put it in the empty bay in the shop. Here's some photos... (even some wildlife we got with the deal...) Notice the fine patch on the screen area---- Brown tarp is one step above Blue tarp, by the way..... Larry

And some more shots... Even has a propane light, but am missing the screw-in schnozzle. Inside is pretty damp, but not soaked---it was covered with snow 2-3 weeks ago. Story that was told to me is that it has sat there for 5 years, but the old boy changed his story each I talked with him. Larry

Nice Bronco!

That's a pretty impressive rear bumper. Probably outweighs the whole rest of the trailer...

Have fun fixing it up--post lots of photos!

Actually, it's quite light. It's that thin square tubing that you find on the back of stickies to hold the black water dump hose--- now why it was put on there I'll never know. Ended up pulling the fridge last nite, 'cause after I removed the vent stack, it was full of bird nest. I filled a garbage sack with nesting material, and still couldn't get at all the sticks, twigs, etc, that was crammed around the tubes and fins..... Have the cushions dripping on the floor of my shop-- gonna have to replace them.
Getting ready to head for the Court House to start the title saga now.... Larry

Well, at least it came with some food!

And the saga continues..... Just about gutted-- gonna have to paint it inside and out- has been painted with interior house flat latex--- (BTW- it was one of those pukey green ones originally). Of course all the interior window wood is rotten, have some nice mahogany to replace that with. Made a new straight axle today - eliminated the 4" drop to raise it. Larry

More pictures--- had to take a quick lesson on resizing..... Carrie looks like she is looking to the sky and hoping it will all go back together again..... Have faith my dear.... Larry

OH, also have paper on it now-- it hadn't been licensed in over 7 years, so DOL computer came back with "no record found" So it is registered in my name now and old owner has 3 years to claim it-- (if he exists)

Are you keeping it or selling it when finished? Are you a camper collector or a fiber-flipper?

Cindy

Looking good! Congrats on the title.

Tom Trostel

I dunno what I am--- right now it is just a challenge to fix and not let it rot away. It also looks like it will make a better hunting camp than our Scamp--gonna try it for that this fall. Hopefully, I will not turn into a collecter as I am already struck with that affliction in relation to cars (but we are down to 20, I think ) Larry

I can tell you which screw-in schnozzle supposedly fits that lamp, but since mine still pulsates when lit, I'm not entirely sure it is the right one.

Bobbie Mayer,

When was your regulator checked/replaced last?

We had the pulsating problem with our camp lights. We thought it was the nozzles or restricted lines. The propane tech came out to check the fixtures, lines and pressures and it turned out that the pressure regulator was actually causing the pulsing. 1 new regulator and the pulsing lights was gone.

And the beat goes on...... It seems like every time I work on it, it's "Well this is hosed, I take that apart...." (just like redoing a car, it keeps getting deeper and deeper-- what a hoot!) Even got some deceased wildlife, evidently. And of course nothing is square, or plumb as a matter of fact. And I have a little dry rot, too (bottom of cabinets-floor is good) Maybe I'll just fab a galley out of stainless steel--betcha that won't deteriorate!!! Larry

Oooo! Harvest Gold!
Mine has a puke green stove. Probably the fiberglass portions were all harvest gold. The reverse of yours!

Cory
'72 Compact Jr. (which brother Steve is modifying a little more, even this week)

That is probably worth a try; the regulator came with the trailer so is not new. Was your gas stove fine with the old regulator? That was what made me think it was not the lines, but maybe the lamp is just much more sensitive to the gas pressure.

Bobbie

Sorry, I should re-explain. "The camp" is deer camp. The propane lights were the only propane fixtures we have ever really operated in several years. Other than to heat water for coffee, I don't think we've used the stove/oven for a bout 10-15 years. The stove never did work right. We upgraded our basement heat from wood to propane last year and had the tech out to do the install and check everything out then. The regulator was just a thought because it sounded exactly like what our lights did before. To bad the tech didn't tell the camp owners that the stove needed to be used more often, I might have been able to get a meal at deer camp without having to eat cold-cuts or driving 15 miles for a hot meal.

Hey there,
Its great to see your rebuild going so well. I've been enjoying seeing your progress as I have a Compact II, so seeing the similarities between the rigs at such a torn down level is really great. Are you going to have your pop-top canvas completely replaced? If so I'd love to hear all about that, as I think I'm going to have to do something with mine sometime soon. Keep up the good work, and know that there are curious eyes watching you guys! hehe Joe

Yep- well-- just got back from my shop.... And tonite.... the right side closet, ice box and that cabinent came out, along with the door frame (it had dry rot on the bottom also).
Yes, am replacing all the canvas (I have a goood upholstry man - Tijuana Tony-he comes up every summer from Mexiho), leaving the screens out. Will put another vent in the roof in the galley area after the pop top is rearched (thanx for the tip Steve Hilby) Larry

Wow You did what I did on my Compact II, competely dissambled. I went a little farther and removed whole floor as the dry rot had set in on the floor and door frame.. I used 2x2 aluminum square tubing for the door frame and to build the furniture. I also used 2 aluminum 2x2s to hold up the roof with a 2x2 truss to span lengthwise each side of the popup. It really opened up the space and allowed for a king size bed setup. See my build progress under "frameless restoration"

Keep up the good work.

PS What year is your Bronco. Mine is a 74 Ranger.

Darrel--- luckily, the floor is ok... (one of the few things....) I had thought of using aluminum, but I have a whole pile of 2x4 number 1 clear Douglas Fir from the 1940's.... Now that is wood!!! No knots, and so hard that one cannot drive a nail, everything has to be pre-drilled. So, that should outlast me. Yeah, the original frame is a little weak looking, so I will truss that same as I did my Scamp frame. Going to rebuild the cabinents (with the Doug Fir) pretty much like it was, leaving the fridge/ice box out, building an old fashioned pantry there instead, with the ventilation openings screened into the pantry for cooling.. (ya gotta realize the Pacific Northwest is a lot cooler than NV, and this will be used mostly in the fall for hunting trips---- besides if it is hot, we go to the mountains where it is cool).
Bronco is a 66, on a 72 frame, built SBF, car-type 4 speed... Have never painted it 'cause then I would be afraid to brush it retreiving a downed Elk.... Went back thru your post, and got some more ideas--THANX (oh picture of frame strengthening posted) Larry

Darrel--- luckily, the floor is ok... (one of the few things....) NOT!!!!!!!! I was inside yesterday and Roger (of Bonnie & Roger in WA--- AKA "Mr Perfection"-- his LIL Bigfoot is beautiful) pointed out to me that the floor was sagging when I was walking around... "it's only 8 bolts" he said "and the body comes off" And then he promptly left.... Weeellll- actually it's 16, but who's counting? So, Carrie came to the shop and we buzzed the bolts out, and then tilted the floor up and threw the blackened plywood out the back door. (and yes Darrel, it did need replacing) The reason the floor sags is a lack of crossmembers. So, now it has 4 more crossmembers. And the frame gets trussed on the bottom tomorrow to take the flex out of it.

So the saga continues.... Then the body goes back on, new floor made, then out the front door and the sanding and body prep starts. Filling holes, grinding out cracks, flaws, etc. Then the Interlux goes on. And of course, new cabinets.... More to follow. Larry

Larry - I've just jumped into my FIRST adventure with a Compact Jr. (Our first trailer of any sort!) I'm having some issues with finding "plumbing" (for lack of a better term) to hook up the water tank. I'm not a big plumber, though I have replaced two sinks in our home (woo hoo). I could use some pointers. Would you mind showing us your tank set up (fixtures, hoses, adapters, etc.)?

The main issue seems to be the oddball sizes of everything. The filler neck of the tank is smooth and 1 1/2" (O.D.), while the fitting on the trailer wall is a pressure fit 1 1/8". Seems to me I need to reduce the line somehow along the way.

How do you tie the tank down to the floor? I have been considering a strap like that shown on your latest project (front to back), but not sure whether to install eye screws/bolts through floor or not. That seems the OBVIOUS solution to me, but obvious doesn't always prove best.

And finally, I'd like to use one of these for the gray water drain, but it appears to be for a 1 1/2" outlet. Mine measures a clear 1 3/4". What do you use out there?

Jen
nOOb in California

JEN----Hmmmm I am going to have to take a drive to my shop (couple of miles) and measure everything... I just took everything apart and it is scattered aaallll over. The tank was held down with a strap- screwed into the sidewall (seat brace) and the floor with a couple of pieces of wood fore and aft screwed to the floor, to keep it from sliding. Sort of primitive, but the Compact had already had one "hurry-up" rebuild about 10 or so years ago. I'll post the measurements later for the pipes. Larry

It is now later---- Let's see if I can answer your questions in order....
#1 yup-filler neck of tank is smooth and about 1 1/2" and inlet filler (which I am going to replace) is about1 1/8 -see added tape? - here is what I have:

#2- I think I already answered

#3 Yes- the fitting you are looking at is for 1 1/2" pipe--- That is I.D.-- outer measurement will be approx 1 3/4". Attached is photo of what I have.

Make sense? Hope this has helped. LARRY

Weeelllll---- After a little procrastination (was gonna join the Society of Procrastinators once, but never have gotten around to it ), and a little sidetrack or two (refurbing and putting a new floor in a 30 foot office trailer), I am back on it...... Slipped the body on the frame this morning (six new crossmembers to ensure no sagging, and treated w/POR 15, trussed, etc). Oh, did I mention that I installed a new straight axle that I built to raise the trailer 4 inches? Then, cut the plywood for a new floor, treated it w/asphalt sealer. After that, I ran out of things to do, so I started to rip the plywood out of the pop-up so I can re arch it. Felt like an early Native American building a canoe, except I was using water instead of fire to get the wood out. That's all for today--- more to follow. Larry (and yes, Steve, I did scarf that ugly bumper off...)

Man, it looks hot in Ephrata.

Not bad----- high 80', low 90's...... I spent a year in a much hotter place, so this is bearable. And, it is not as oppressive as on your side of the Mountain. Larry (sent ya a PM)

One thing occurs to me. Sis had her Compact weighed at the Oregon Gathering, and she's seriously light on the tongue (60/1600). I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation and figured that she could get 10% on the tongue by moving the axle six or seven inches aft. It's impractical for her trailer, but since you're doing a frame-off and seem to know what you're doing with metal fabrication and fiberglass, you might think about doing something of the sort...

Steve--- I thought about that the first time you mentioned it----- In my mind almost impossible. It would involve major structure changes (and a lot of time) Moving wheel wells, which would put them right under the stove and in the closet under the ice box/fridge, rebuilding cabinents, etc. Quicker solution would be to put battery, spare, propane, etc on reinforced tongue.
Then, do what we did on race cars to add weight where we wanted it. Gather up all the wheel weights in the world, melt them into a vlave cover (off an engine), make a big lead ingot, drill a couple hole in it and bolt somewhere it can't be seen. I betcha if you didn't tell Cory, it would take her a while to discover them......... (of course, I've let the cat out of the bag now) at 1600# her trailer is still not very heavy, and that might be the solution.. Larry

For some reason that 1600 lb seems a bit high.

I had a Compact Jr. in the '70s and it weighed 850 lb dry and around 1150 loaded.

It was pretty bare-bones, though, with only a 2 burner cook top, a small ice box and a porta-potty as the appliance load.

I never had any problems with sway towing with an old Peugeot 404. Was pretty underpowered, though.

Dunno---- when I brought the project home, I ran it across a WSP scale, 1350# on the axle, and about 35# tongue weight. It had a fridge, normal galley, empty water tank, battery and a couple spares inside. It'll prob weigh more when I'm done. Larry

Sounds like your project is coming along great. We took off for our trip Monday (7/28), so I didn't catch this latest update 'til we regained internet tonight upon arrival in Washington (hot shower, too...woo hoo!).

Ended up cutting off the original tank filler neck, using a hole saw to cut the hole for a really cool compression fitting with a standard neck, connecting standard flexible RV water hose, discovering the old filler inlet wasn't modern standard either so replacing that, then moving the filler inlet up about 4" so there's a fall to the tank. Works great.

Now I'll a fiberglass refresher course so I can fill the old hole. For now, there's a cleanout cover (black to match the black paint) to fill the hole.

Lots of stuff to do with this pup, but it works for now! We've been happy to have it on the road this first of 9 weeks on the road!

Jen in Washington (this week)

Weellll It's sitting on the frame again--sorta bolted on--- took it home to TSP the inside walls so I could paint the inside Friday... Just got back from putting down the vinyl floor covering. Doesn't look too bad. sure glad my friend Mike knows what he is doing..... Larry

Wow...that looks really nice. I like how you built the wood floor all the way out to the sidewalls (I don't really care for that odd drop to the fiberglass floor on mine, and the idea of the thinner floor area). The linoleum/vinyl to the edges'll be nice, too!

And the SAGA continues....... Rebuilt the galley cabinent yesterday (didn't remove it- just rebuilt, reinforced, and replaced dry-rotted supports), new bed/couch wood, and new closet/cupboard frame. (will skin it Monday). Carrie is happy as she will gain a cutting board and one more cupboard for pots and pans... Pressure is mounting to be finished, as it is already scheduled to be "rented out" for my good friend's Elk trip....... (I'll use the Scamp for mine) Also, Carrie & my goal is to take it to the Grayland campout in the end of SEP. Larry

Where's the cutting board going to be?

So there's going to be a fridge in the upper forward spot on the passenger side? Sis has an icebox there.

On Sis' Compact, we hinged the two doors for the lower passenger-side cabinet at their bottom edges, so they drop flat on the floor when opened, and I put a false floor in the cabinet. That way she can pack two laundry baskets full o' stuff, then cart them out to the trailer and just slide them into place.

Steve- No, no icebox or fridge.... If you look back at the picture, we added a 7 inch opening below (was wasted space before) that will have a drop down door and be for pots & pans. above that is the original 5 inch drawer. Then above that will be the cutting board (had to put it there to be waist high for the wench. Then above that where the ice box/fridge was, will be a pantry (for want of a better name) that will be vented to the outside via the side vent and the stack vent for the fridge. I'll insulate it a bit with that pink rigid styro. This will (I hope ) provide a cool place to store bread, etc that needs to stay cool. Yeah, I know it won't do this in hot weather, but we don't go to hot spots to camp.... And in the fall, early winter in hunting camps, should work.... Larry (besides, we like ice chests--more efficent storage space-- just throw it out the door when we park)

Okay, I see; I saw the vent holes and thought there'd be a fridge there. The pantry-and-ice chest scheme sounds interesting--load the ice chest inside the house, tote it out to the trailer. No unpacking and repacking. Hmmm.

On Sis' trailer, we eliminated the drawer under the icebox and put in a microwave. Of course, that presupposes you're going to camp where there's electricity...

Yeah-- we're "Boondockers"-- no provision for 120 volt or 12 volt in our Scamp-- prob won't be in the Compact either-- we don't miss it- just use LED puck lites and a couple LED lantrens. (and have a propane backup) Here's a couple pictures of the cutting board, drawer, storage shelf mockup. Also, my solution to the sagging popup--- fiberglassed in 1/2 inch square tubing contoured to the main roof.
Larry

Cabinents are back in, refaced, doors-drawers repainted to a light sand color to complement the wood. It just keeps slowly going on..... Larry

I like your glassed-in reinforcements for the popup roof.

Are you fastening the interior cabinetry to the shell in any way?

Steve--- only using the factory screw hole that were there-- If I remember correctly, two?, (I'll check tommorrow) and they are covered by the pop-up. And of course, to the deck by way of metal "L" brackets. The new closet-cupboard is solid enough to almost be free-standing by itself. Larry
later..... I just went and checked--make that 4-right below where the canvas attaches... no reason why they should leak, especially after being wrapped in butyl tape before installation... Larry

SOme seriously nice work there, Larry!