The Burrito: Our Burro 13' Renovation

[Jared Sartee]

Alright folks, Ming and I are all in.

Last week, we discovered a Burro 13' in our neighbor's front yard. She and her husband have owned the trailer for 33 years, built it as a kit in 1980! We promised them that we would breathe new life into their little trailer with a complete renovation, and now are fortunate enough to have it in our back yard.

It needs a lot of work. At first glance, the floor is rotted out and cracking everywhere, and we will need to replace the rusty axle with a new one that has electric brakes. Our plan is to build in a shower, install hardwood floors, and re-do the kitchen cabinets and bed area with updated furnishings. We will also add in some larger windows, but may reconsider on the full-sunroof after reading other's posts on FGRV. We need something to replace the "upside down shag runner" that has since gone a bit out of style.

We will keep you all updated with our progress, but in the meantime it would be great to hear from all of you. We've seen the Burrostream and read Mike and Shane's posts on repairing Burro floors, but please post anything else that you think would be useful or inspirational. We're game for anything!

Best,
Jared and Ming

[Donna D.]

I've certainly seen worse brought back to make tons of memories. Remember, it doesn't need to be perfect, just perfect for you.

Thanks for sharing the pics!

[AM Moats]

Have fun! I'm a newbie in the middle of a renovation project myself.

[gailanneM]

I am just starting on my Burro project, too! (Mine will mostly be cosmetic -- I'm not really very handy!)
I love reading/ seeing what others are doing on their Burro's!!!!

[gage]

Well, looks like three of us are doing about the same thing. I removed everything that could be removed and then put it into paint. White inside and silver and dark blue outside. Something for you to think about is: I'm making my dinet a permanet bed and then the bench up front has been removed and I'm making a two person dinet. All the kids are grown and long gone so it's just for the two of us.

[felix2]

Looks to be in prety good shape - not all cracked and moldy like most. Was it covered up? It doesn't even look like it leaked.

Good luck - I'll be posting pix of my Burro renovation in a month or so. You'll love it - I'm so happy mine fits in my garage - it'll keep it out of the elements and that means a longer life.

[gailanneM]

Wish I was able to really tear into my burro like you're doing.....
What have you been working on lately? I really enjoy seeing the photos & hearing about projects & progress from other folks...<hint-hint!>
Can't wait to see what your burro will look like....!!

[Jared Sartee]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Recently we haven't done much except tear out the old floor and separate the shell from the trailer frame. This was quite the undertaking, but it will be even harder to trace out the new floor and get it installed while the shell is floating in mid-air on jacks.

Currently trying to get the plywood floor plan laid out so we can cut the floor from 2x 4x8' pieces of marine-grade 3/4" plywood.

[Jared Sartee]

Originally Posted by felix2

Looks to be in prety good shape - not all cracked and moldy like most. Was it covered up? It doesn't even look like it leaked.

Good luck - I'll be posting pix of my Burro renovation in a month or so. You'll love it - I'm so happy mine fits in my garage - it'll keep it out of the elements and that means a longer life.

Hi Felix2,

No, it wasn't covered up when we got it. It was actually sitting under a large oak tree for some time, thus the spotted moss on the outside shell. It cleaned right off with a pressure washer and some scrubbing.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Jared Sartee

Our plan is to build in a shower, install hardwood floors, and re-do the kitchen cabinets and bed area with updated furnishings.

... please post anything else that you think would be useful or inspirational. We're game for anything!

I am curious about your design thoughts on a built-in shower; where do you plan to put yours?

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...r-49049-5.html (see post #58)

Due to space limitations mine will be in the center of my "kitchen" floor. I got my idea from a Roadtrek Class B Motor Home.

Shower Pan & Kitchen Sink will share a Single-Handle Pull-Out Sprayer Kitchen Faucet.

[Jared Sartee]

We're going to build an "L" shaped wall between the kitchenette and the front wall. The middle and back thirds will be taken up, leaving some room for storage and another countertop near the door.

I'm looking at possible options for a toilet, since this will be the most difficult part of the modification. Not a huge fan of the porta-potti's from an aesthetic or functional point of view, and would much prefer a "cassette" style or permanent toilet. Any suggestions or good resources to consider when building one's own black water system?

Thanks,
Jared

[Ming]

Originally Posted by Frederick L. Simson

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...r-49049-5.html (see post #58)

Due to space limitations mine will be in the center of my "kitchen" floor. I got my idea from a Roadtrek Class B Motor Home.

Efficient idea! How did this turn out? Have you used it yet? Is the idea that you pull a curtain around in the middle of the "kitchen" so you don't spray water everywhere?

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Ming

Efficient idea! How did this turn out? Have you used it yet? Is the idea that you pull a curtain around in the middle of the "kitchen" so you don't spray water everywhere?

I haven't built it yet; right now I have the body off of the frame and I'm repairing the cracks and old collision damage with fiberglass cloth and resin. Yes the plan is to pull a curtain around the shower just like you said.

After I have the fiberglass repaired, then I will paint the body, then join it to the frame, install the floor, then fit it out.

[Jared Sartee]

Hi Everyone,

We just wanted to let you all know that we're starting to migrate the detailed account of our renovation to our new blog:

8legsandatrailer.wordpress.com

We hope you all take some time to visit, and let us know what you think! Your help on this form has been invaluable, and the strong community here has given us the confidence that we can tackle just about anything (as long as it fits in a 6'x6'x10' egg-shaped shell). We want this to reach as many FGRV DIY'ers as possible so others feel the same way, so please spread the word!

Best,
Jared and Ming