Maintenance & Restoration

Paul7 · 07-15-2012, 10:27 AM

Well I have taken up prospecting as a hobby and I decided that I wanted a trailer for my prospecting adventures. Beats staying in a tent in grizzly country!
Of course I found a "great deal" on a boler in craigslist and I have plenty of renovation experience, so I thought a trailer reno was in order.
The boler had already been half taken apart and the guy said it was ready for paint, Ya Right!
Here it is when I brought it home...

Paul7 · 07-15-2012, 10:36 AM

I do have gold fever so this reno needs to be done by mining season, which is coming up fast! Heres a bit of what I found on my claim up the Fraser river earlier this year

One of my gold claims

Paul7 · 07-15-2012, 10:53 AM

This poor little trailer has seen better days for sure. I figure it was hit with a pretty good snow load and it was crushed a bit. The drivers side window is deformed and the whole thing has dropped maybe an inch or 2. Along with the cracks above the door there is spider cracks in the gel coat all over the place! The PO decided to fix most issues with mono foam and tons of caulking.

kootenaigirl · 07-15-2012, 11:08 AM

Oh come on, I can see a coat a paint would make that camping ready, whats your problem

.

Paul7 · 07-15-2012, 11:21 AM

It took me a while to figure out what to do about the deformed window. Here's a link to the thread for my window repair
After I dealt with the window I jacked up the floor pan to level then fiberglassed the entire floor to the shell, then I installed 5/8 ply sub floor to stiffen everything up and to hold the floor pan into place.

Paul7 · 07-15-2012, 11:32 AM

Test fit

Paul7 · 07-15-2012, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kootenaigirl

Oh come on, I can see a coat a paint would make that camping ready, whats your problem

.

Haha, ya its true it does need paint, he just forgot to mention the complete renovation before the paint!

Paul7 · 07-15-2012, 11:45 AM

Next I decided to make up something to install the kitchen unit so I don't have to rivet it to the wall. I fiberglassed in a 2x2 along the wall and a piece of 5/8 ply to the underside of the kitchen unit. The unit will sit on the 2x2 and get screwed to it from underneath. I also glassed in a couple pieces to screw the fridge vent and control covers to, which also double as mounting points for the kitchen unit.

Paul7 · 07-15-2012, 11:50 AM

More to come, it is going a bit slower than expected but I found something relative to all renovations, double your expected costs and triple your expected labor time

. With that I think I'll be under budget and on time.

Paul7 · 09-05-2012, 01:36 PM

There has been much progress since I last posted almost 2 months ago! I've been taking pictures along the way.

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That gives you an idea of my workspace, it's peaceful out in the back of my buddy's property but somewhat challenging, with my only power being one 150ft extension cord.

On to the door, it didn't really fit very well, surprise surprise. I decided to do a similar modification as my window repair. Using cardboard I made a template of the door frame, where I thought the frame should be to match the door. Then I screwed the cut 1x8 into place, installed the door and checked fit. After removing , sanding and reinstalling half a dozen times I finally got the right fit. Then I epoxied the 1x8 strip and screwed it into place. After the epoxy set, I completely fiberglassed the 1x8. Oh yeah before all this I fiberglassed the 1x8 both sides before I started the project.

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glamourpets · 09-05-2012, 03:49 PM

I'm curious about that tent structure you have your trailer parked under. Does it effectively keep you dry? Does the wind carry it away? How is it anchored from the back? Do I see partial side walls? I'm pondering fashioning something similar that will keep the rain out while still leaving the trailer as a functional workshop. Right now I'm covering with a tarp when I'm not actively working on it.

My trailer started out similar to yours, with the fiberglass in questionable condition. Its getting there, but I have a ways to go yet...

Paul7 · 09-06-2012, 07:57 AM

It is just a tarp tied back to a structure and I cut 12' alder trees for the front poles which are tied down to spiral stakes. The side piece is actually the original awning to keep rain and sun off while I'm working. I have used it for at least the last 3 months and the only thing that has happened to it is the corner rivet in the tarp finally ripped off a few days ago, of course it was when I was painting the roof. It has served its purpose very well and I have been able to work on the trailer in any weather.

Paul7 · 09-06-2012, 10:10 PM

Decided to focus on the exterior to get ready for paint.

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The PO used fiberglass cloth for the crack repairs above the door so I ground off his repair and re-repaired it with mat. Glassed in all the holes for the kitchen unit and the upper cabinet. Repaired a few chunks missing out of the bottom portion of the body and fixed all the corners in the frame area. I also glassed in all the water and electrical connections, I will drill holes for that stuff in the future.
At this point I'm pretty overwhelmed with all these fixes and body work, I sure wasn't expecting this!

glamourpets · 09-07-2012, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul7

At this point I'm pretty overwhelmed with all these fixes and body work, I sure wasn't expecting this!

Keep the faith. The repairs are all very doable. It may just take a little moore time then expected.

Thanks for the explanation on the tarp tent. I haven't decided how to handle that one on mine yet. This is certainly one option.

Derek