Restoring the "Haunted Mansion"

[Sohkraites]

Hey gang -- thought it would be time that I shared some pics after lurking about on the site here and picking your brains...

We bought our 13' Scamp from a guy who bought it from his boss who was "gonna restore it." Well, we all know how that goes... Anyway, it was in pretty bad shape, but we saw the potential of it... The pics below show the state it was in when we got it home. All of the FG cabinets were completely loose, the cushions were tossed all willy-nilly inside...and the tongue was bent, repaired (right through the VIN number! -- See my other post on "Trying to Figure Out What We Have" - BTW...we DO have a state issued ID and title, though!), the coupler was twisted, and the jack was almost rusted solid....

After sorting through all the junk, we tried to figure out what we had...but really, it was more like what we didn't have. Of course, the Furry Kids and the Supervisor had to check it out! And the more we looked at it, the cooler it got....

I've got more pics to post...so stay tuned!

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Sohkraites

I've got more pics to post...so stay tuned!

Good! We love Pictures!

[Sohkraites]

So...getting it home and into the garage, we got the chance to really dig into it...the back stabilizer jacks were rusted pretty badly, and one was missing a foot. Ok. Add those to the list to replace. In the meantime, they did work to help stabilize it, but we weren't going to trust them on any road trips.

We then decided to pull everything out of the trailer. When we did, we found a huge roll of what we believe is the "rat fur" that one of the previous owners purchased. Having not seen what "rat fur" looks like in person, and based on the photos we've seen here, that's what we are guessing it is. It's tan, coarse (almost fiber like), and about 3/8" of an inch thick and is about 5' wide. That, we figured was a plus!

We also discovered that one of the previous owners decided to replace the upper floors (front and back), but the lower floor was still intact covered in the low-nap brown carpet. Yuck. That had to go. The cushions, obviously were shot, as were the covers, so out to the trash they went.

The camper still smelled "dirty" so we decided to hitch it up and run it down to the carwash to give it a bath -- both inside and out.

[Sohkraites]

Here's a couple more pictures of the inside with everything taken out. They had stripped the original ensolite, but hadn't sanded off all of the foam backing. That will come...not looking forward to that.

As I said in the previous post, we still had a dirty smell, but the nice soap a the car wash helped that a bunch. The poor thing was really dirty...and the pressure wash did wonders for it.

More to come. Stay tuned!

- Tony

[Sohkraites]

Ok. Got it home safe and sound. Put the fans in and dried it out. It still had a dirty smell. Based on the look of the floor inside the door, we were guessing it was rotten (and only the powers that be KNOW what was spilled on that floor. Ok. It had to come out. Not a problem, really. Talked to a couple of professional welders (instructors at a local community college) who said they could weld on the new tongue easy...but they would prefer the pod off the frame. So removing the floor became a no brainer.

Whew. Glad we did that. The floor inside the door was indeed rotten. What a mess. The two pieces to the left and right of the door were also toast. Once they were removed, the smell started to go away. YEA!!! Hopefully, we can salvage the threshhold...it wasn't too bad...just in need of some severe polishing.

Here are some pics of the floor as we started to peel it out. It was a pain to get the first piece up since a lot of the screws were badly rusted and couldn't be turned with a screwdriver.... Call in the pry bar and hammer. That worked great. Until we found the fasteners holding the two panels together. Call in the band aids. As my wonderful wife says, "It ain't one of our projects unless there's blood shed." Well, it's now officially one of "our projects."

[Sohkraites]

Now while all this is going on, we're trying to come up with a name for our little project. Both my wife and I are big Disney fans...and the vehicle we will use to tow our camper is affectionately known as "The Doombuggy," the name of the ride cars used in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Disney World. In fact, that's on our license plate! So...by natural extension, if the ride car is the Doombuggy, then the "residence" had to be the Haunted Mansion.

With that in mind, a whole host of design and color ideas started flowing. We went to the local fabric store on a special "spin the wheel to determine your discount" day and happened to find the perfect fabric for the cushions!!! I'll post the pics when we unwrap the roll to start work on those...but for now...the fabric is a dark purple and black diamond pattern -- something you might see in the Haunted Mansion....

Anyway, with the floor now out of the way, we started looking at taking the pod off the frame. That was a chore, but not in the way we expected. The PO's who replaced the upper and lower decks sunk some of the screws REALLY deep in the floor and then covered them with the fiberglass resin. Needless to say, we spent a couple of days digging/drilling out screws. Not fun.

The next trick was to jack the pod up high enough to get the pod out. This was not an easy feat...Our garage is a standard garage, with a 7' door. The trailer just fit in nicely with the axle being the way it is...and that got us to wondering. Do we need to replace the axle? Well, again, after reading what you all have done before us, and after looking at the rubber oozing out of the axle, the answer was a resounding yes. Ok. Add that to the list.

Anyway, back to lifting the pod... we used screw jacks and blocks to lift the pod, dropped the pressure in the tires until they were almost flat, but we still didn't have enough clearance between the trailer and the garage door opener! Ok. Plan B.

We removed the wheels, setting the axle down on a couple of cardboard boxes, and then pulled the trailer out from under the pod. We stabilized the pod for now and will work on it once the trailer comes back from the welding shop. While it's there, the plan is to have it sandblasted, too, and then painted. Any recommendations? We were thinking some sort of heavy-duty undercoat and not just paint....

[Eddie Longest]

I recommend POR-15 system as the best finish for a frame. It comes in a 3 part kit and it preps. and treats the metal for your final finish. A year ago the 1 qt. kit was about $80 and more than enough for a S-16. POR-15 can react to UV rays so your tonge and rear bumper will have to be painted with POR-15 paint which is about $25 for a spray can. The POR-15 kit can be applied with a brush which
I recommend and you get a very good finish.
Eastwoods also has similar paint system which may be a little cheaper. Eastwoods does have a spray can with a long hose like nozzle which will enable you to get paint on the bare metal inside your frame tube.
http://www.eastwood.com/
http://www.por15.com/
Eastwoods' sells POR-15 and they give a discount is you sign up for their newsletter.
(Not connected with any of these products or companies.)
Eddie

[Sohkraites]

Thanks, Eddie! That looks like awesome stuff and easy enough to apply!

[Sohkraites]

And here are the two back stabilizers. They are now history. Debating on whether to replace them with standard stabilizers or have the welder weld on two scissor jacks in their place for leveling the trailer. Thoughts?

[Sohkraites]

As promised, here's a picture of the fabric for the cushions inside our trailer. We're thinking it'll go well with the primarily beige interior that is the hallmark of a Scamp.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Sohkraites

... or have the welder weld on two scissor jacks in their place for leveling the trailer. Thoughts?

They're called stabilizers because that is what they are designed to do. Scissor jacks can be handy if all you do is stabilize the trailer with them. You level the trailer with the tongue jack and at the wheels with either a BAL Light Trailer Tire Leveler or RV Leveling Blocks.

I made the mistake of leveling my Fiber Stream at the corners with Aluminum Stack Jacks without supporting the wheels and wound up twisting and bending the frame. That cost me a frame repair that I could have avoided if I knew better sooner.

[Sohkraites]

Gotcha. Good advice. Thanks.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

[Sohkraites]

Well, the Haunted Mansion's frame is now safely with the welding shop to get a new tongue and coupler, as well as a new axle! Hopefully by next weekend, the trailer will be back in the garage getting ready for the next steps!

[Eddie Longest]

Tony
Most other Scamps have an angle iron floor support under the rear upper dance floor. The support runs from side to side and is the same size angle iron used under the drop floor. The support is also used as the rear attach point for your straps if you decide to add a holding tank. Others have also added support brackets to the outside of the frame to help support the floor and shell. Looks like you are making great progress.
Eddie

[Sohkraites]

We were wondering about that....We told the welder to look over the frame, with special attention to the welds. Of concern was the angle under the lower floor that had only one little joint holding it together....We told him we wanted that beefed up....but now I will have him add the cross brace on the dance floor.

[Sohkraites]

We got the frame back from the welding shop...they did a great job....replaced the bent and damaged tongue, added a new coupler, installed the new axle, and installed the extra brace missing on the dance floor. Now we just need the weather to warm up a bit so we can use the POR-15 on the frame.... the pics show the new pieces, as well as the underside of the old coupler....it was messed up pretty bad.... So sad that the POs treated it so poorly....

[Sohkraites]

We finally got a warm day so, it was a great chance to paint the frame. Having had the axle replaced, we now had to deal with the frame sitting higher. Since we plan to store the trailer in the garage, we needed to keep the clearance as low as possible, so we swapped out the nice aluminum wheels with some smaller ones for storage (and while we work on it) -- and we gained about 8". We then wheeled out the trailer and prepped it.

[Sohkraites]

After prep, it took a long afternoon to paint the trailer with POR15...now to let it dry....

[Sohkraites]

We topcoated the tongue and rear bumper, let it dry and then...FINALLY...it was time to get the trailer and pod back together. Seems like it has been forever since we pulled the two apart! With the new smaller "storage wheels," the newly-repaired trailer slipped easily back under the pod. The tricky part was making sure that when we lowered the pod, that it landed precisely back on the trailer.

Once we got it just about 2" away from where it was to finally go, we applied the PL adhesive around the perimeter of the floor, and then gently lowered the pod in place. It took a little nudge here and there, but it went into place pretty easily. Once down, a few pilot holes and some screws and viola! Trailer and pod back are one!

[Larry Tenhage]

Looks like you're doing everything right! keep up the good work. I work in a manufacturing facility. We also make big trailers ( for farm use) I've seen lots of shoddy workmanship. You won't regret your patience & eye for detail!