'74 Ventura Fix-up - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-10-2019, 02:18 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Name: Chelsea
Trailer: Ventura
Manitoba
Posts: 10
'74 Ventura Fix-up

Hi everybody,

My partner and I just lucked into a family owned '74 Ventura that was sitting for a few years, and now it's our turn to fix it up and put some use into it!

Luckily it looks to be in pretty good shape, but in need of some new tires which we're picking up this weekend. The inside is another story-- that will take some work, but I'm hoping to not gut it completely as we'd like to use it July 10-14.

One thing we weren't sure about is the brakes- it looks like they're disconnected and haven't been used in a long time. If we keep the weight down they might not be necessary (being on the prairies and all).
Also the appliances and most cupboards are gone from the inside, so that would lighten it up a bit too. If anyone could offer some brake advise that would be helpful!

I'll post some pics once we get it onto our property!

Thanks, Chelsea
Chelsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-10-2019, 06:12 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Name: bill
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
The Mountains of North Carolina
Posts: 4,136
Registry
Given age of the trailer, a new axle with brakes is the way to go. Stopping is important, and depending on your tow vehicle, brakes may well be a requirement. In addition, it varies state to state, but some states require brakes even on a relatively light weight FG trailer.
thrifty bill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-10-2019, 08:41 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
Name: Chelsea
Trailer: Ventura
Manitoba
Posts: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrifty bill View Post
Given age of the trailer, a new axle with brakes is the way to go. Stopping is important, and depending on your tow vehicle, brakes may well be a requirement. In addition, it varies state to state, but some states require brakes even on a relatively light weight FG trailer.
Thanks for the advice! In Manitoba, brakes aren't required for trailers under 2000lbs, so they're not a requirement. Also for now, everywhere that we'd be camping is within a 60 minute drive, and it's all flat! So we might be ok. A new axle with brakes does not sound thrifty!
Chelsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-11-2019, 12:06 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Borrego Dave's Avatar
 
Name: Dave
Trailer: Casita SD17 2006 "Missing Link"
California
Posts: 3,738
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelsea View Post
Thanks for the advice! In Manitoba, brakes aren't required for trailers under 2000lbs, so they're not a requirement. Also for now, everywhere that we'd be camping is within a 60 minute drive, and it's all flat! So we might be ok. A new axle with brakes does not sound thrifty!
Welcome to the forum Chelsea. No idea of what type axle you have but torsion types tend to wear out around 20 years. Yup, they can be a bit pricey but without good working one...guest room or yard art . Post some pics when you have some time, we love pics.
Borrego Dave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-11-2019, 08:07 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Dudley's Avatar
 
Name: David
Trailer: 1998 Casita 17 SD
Alberta
Posts: 786
Registry
The whole brake assemblies are cheap (at least here in Edmonton) zThis is an old post about changing out the brakes in my old Ventura Brakes
Dudley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-2019, 11:46 AM   #6
Junior Member
 
Name: Chelsea
Trailer: Ventura
Manitoba
Posts: 10
Well, we have at long last picked up the Ventura and brought it to its new home!
We're both very excited to start fixing it up. I took a couple of outside pics (before I had cleaned it, naturally lol).

All that has happened so far is checking the bearings for grease, putting the new tires on, putting it on the parking pad, and last night I attempted to clean the outside a bit. I used 6 Magic Erasers and it's a lot less black and spotty in places.

Anybody know how to remove tuck tape? Someone went a little crazy with it. I tried using a bit of Goo Gone last night but it just took the red away, the adhesive is still there.
Attached Thumbnails
Ventura Front.jpg   Trailer Back2.jpg  

Chelsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-2019, 04:06 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Dudley's Avatar
 
Name: David
Trailer: 1998 Casita 17 SD
Alberta
Posts: 786
Registry
Go-gone usually works well for me. As for the black stuff, its probably mold. Try a mixture of Javex and warm water. Not too strong and use rubber gloves. It should come clean. If that doesn't clean it up , go to Canadian Tire and look for Barkeepers Friend in the cleaning supplies section. It will be in a gold shaker can. It will also work great on the sink.
Dudley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2019, 12:29 PM   #8
Junior Member
 
Name: Chelsea
Trailer: Ventura
Manitoba
Posts: 10
Thanks for the tip! I'll try Goo-Gone again, maybe with a bit more elbow grease. As for the black stuff, the magic erasers worked very well, even though I went through a ton of them. I'll keep diluted bleach in mind if I find any more.

Our next step is to fix up some of the wiring for the lights, replace bulbs, and take the fabric out of the insides (it's stapled to the walls, of course!). There's so much to do it's hard to know where to begin!

Any tips on ceiling materials? I'm taking as much info as I can from this message board, but again, there's so much information that it's overwhelming! We're thinking some plywood would be a quick fix that would make it usable sooner, and we can do something more permanent after our July weekend use.
-Chels
Chelsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2019, 01:13 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Dudley's Avatar
 
Name: David
Trailer: 1998 Casita 17 SD
Alberta
Posts: 786
Registry
For the ceiling I used some 1/8 mahogany plywood that I painted white. Just be aware that there are 1x2 wood strips that have been cut (kerf cut) to allow them to conform to the roof but they break on a lot of the Ventura trailers and they need to be reinforced. I used some 3/4 aluminum square tubing that was arched to match the roof arch which were screwed to the sides of the roof supports. I am sure that you have some surprises ahead of you. If the taillights
are the same as my old Vertura, they just tucked the ground wire behind a galvanized plate and you are probably getting a bad ground. I crimped on connectors and screwed it to the plate.
Dudley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2019, 01:39 PM   #10
Junior Member
 
Name: Chelsea
Trailer: Ventura
Manitoba
Posts: 10
I actually got to those roof supports last night (the fabric was stapled directly onto them??) and that was a suprise, but not as alarming as when a woodtick fell onto my leg while I was in there.

That's a great tip on the roof supports- I'll check around to see where I could find those parts. And I'll pass the wiring tip on to my boyfriend- I'm not going anywhere near that stuff! lol
Chelsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2019, 06:53 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Dudley's Avatar
 
Name: David
Trailer: 1998 Casita 17 SD
Alberta
Posts: 786
Registry
Here is what I did to my 76 Ventura. I sold it 5 years ago and still kind of miss it.
Dudley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2019, 12:10 PM   #12
Junior Member
 
Name: Chelsea
Trailer: Ventura
Manitoba
Posts: 10
What a beauty, I would miss it too! I really like the colours you went with
Chelsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-05-2019, 02:44 PM   #13
Junior Member
 
Name: Chelsea
Trailer: Ventura
Manitoba
Posts: 10
Well, 2 months into owning this beauty and here's what we've accomplished:

-replace tires
-grease bearings
-replace tail lights, and remove both old and temporary tail lights
-replace some bulbs in the clearance lights
-replace 7-pin trailer electrical hookup to car
-affix handle and lubricate trailer jack
-clean the exterior VERY well
-remove loose ceiling boards and fabric from previous owner
-cut and affix additional curved ceiling support beam in front of the vent
-cut and affix 1/8" panel to ceiling in 4 "quadrants"
-seal all electrical holes in floors, walls of interior
-make new curtains for back windows
-cut and affix pine boards to complete interior siding

It's been a challenge to work on this without a workshop, not to mention working around the weather and our full-time jobs. But we have real progress and will have it comfortable enough for our first camping trip in it next week. I'll post some pictures soon, I'd love to hear some feedback.
Chelsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
ventura


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Ventura fix-up MurrayC General Chat 3 11-19-2017 01:40 PM
Stuipid Ventura door . strikes. Me agine .. Need a quick fix Cheyanna83 Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 12 07-05-2017 01:37 PM
1976 Ventura Monarch Fix-Up BolerBee Modifications, Alterations and Updates 5 05-24-2017 10:27 PM
Ventura window leak found..ideas how to fix? Cheyanna83 Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 3 07-23-2016 10:06 AM
Ventura door leaking top left corner- baffled how to fix Cheyanna83 Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 5 05-23-2015 05:00 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:07 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.