My Broken Back 16ft. Casita

[EricAllyn]

You are getting a lot done, I better get going again . Plan on getting some pics of the frame to post on the thread.

[Nor Cal Mike]

Originally Posted by EricAllyn

You are getting a lot done, I better get going again . Plan on getting some pics of the frame to post on the thread.

Funny, I thought the same thing after reading your last post. I reckon we all took a Holiday break to enjoy our family's and the spirit of the season. I took a five day break.

My project has grow a little since my early posts in which I stated that all that I was going to do is repair the floor, add bulkheads and enjoy the trailer for a year while deciding where to take the trailer rebuild/ remodel to next. Instead, I have moved the kitchen to the opposite side, am installing a side dinette, and making room for a closet/ bathroom partition that will include a built-in toilet and shower to be added hopefully next year. Lacking the factory fiberglass shower bits, I reckon I will likely have to scratch build that as well. Such is my toil But having the luxuries will pay dividends with sweetie!

[Buggeee]

Originally Posted by Nor Cal Mike

...My project has grow a little since my early posts in which I stated that all that I was going to do is repair the floor, add bulkheads and enjoy the trailer for a year while deciding where to take the trailer rebuild/ remodel to next. Instead, I have moved the kitchen to the opposite side, am installing a side dinette, and making room for a closet/ bathroom partition that will include a built-in toilet and shower to be added hopefully next year. Lacking the factory fiberglass shower bits, I reckon I will likely have to scratch build that as well. Such is my toil But having the luxuries will pay dividends with sweetie!

Now is the time to do it.

The walls/supports look fantastic. I am really digging the shape of the cut-outs. Organic. Totally consistent with the egg.

[Nor Cal Mike]

Thanks for the complement Buggee. My wife Laura are now both retired so we live on modest pension incomes so I can't throw out a lot of cash all at once. I am trying to work up from the bottom. In other words, I am trying to put in the basic infrastructure wherever doing so later would be harder to do. I figure on having minimal comforts installed by late March when I hope to take her initial camping trip. I may well still be cooking on my Coleman propane camping stove and keeping food in an ice chest. But we should have a soft bed and comfortable dining area to hang out in.

Just yesterday we ordered some good quality upholstered cushions with backs that are single seat width for the side dinette. When they arrive I can get good measurements and will be able to start the dinette in earnest. I am still figuring out what I want to use as a window there. My primary reason for wanting a small trailer is that I would have a comfortable place to sit with a nice view while reading a book. Hence, the dinette window is important to me.

I have the new enclosure for the frig most of the way put together. It will support one end of a new laminated pine countertop that will replace the original fiberglass one shown in the picture. I was hoping to ust the original but the new fridge locations makes that impractical because the front openings of the cabinet are in the wrong place. In keeping with the fiberglass motif, I may sheath the new counter face out of FRP fiberglass wall paneling. I used the same as exterior sheathing when I built my teardrop trailer. Except that I glued the panel reverse side out which gives a smooth white face.

I'll post more pics when I have something worthwhile to show.

[EricAllyn]

I had thought of the side seats, but opted for the bigger bed. We'll have king sized, and will sleep parallel to the camper, so no crawling over each other.

[Nor Cal Mike]

We are adding 8 inches to our bed width. Won't be enough to sleep inline but roomier just the same.

[Nor Cal Mike]

No pictures to post today. Since my last photo posting, I have built an curbside enclosure for the original 2 way Dometic fridge, repurposed an old laminated 2' X 4' X 3/4" pine slab I had laying around as a countertop and begun construction of the seats for the new side dinette. I have also purchased 3 yards of fiberglass matting material and epoxy resin to fill in the old street side fridge vents. Depending on how the fiberglass project goes, I may move the front window around to the side dinette and glass in the original window hull at the front of the trailer.

What came to mind that I thought that would be worth reporting is the progress that has been made in the rebirth/reshaping of the terribly deformed trailer that I dragged in in late November. Recall that its sides were bulged out a full 5 inches at the door opening from sitting for years without any interior support. I now have had the interior supported by temporary props and then permanent bulkheads for close to two months. When the egg was first jacked up it still had some deformations in the wheel boxes and the fridge vents. I had resigned myself to the belief that these places would never return to original shape. But slowly over time, I have seen the deformities pull back in line. So to those who come across one of these poor derelict trailers and take on the task of saving them but don't see immediate 100% results, be patient. If you push the roof back up the rest will follow but it may take a little time.

[EricAllyn]

Mike,
nice to know they came back. Also good choice on the bed size. We noted that ours was too big, lost too much space, now I will be shortening it up.

[k0wtz]

mike I cant praise you enough I am jeolous of your talents I wish I had 1/10 of it. my son can do about anything like this I don't know where he got his talent either!

keep on keeping on I watch it all

bob

[Jon in AZ]

Interesting about bed sizes. There is too small, too big, and just right. In this case it seems something close to full size (52-54") turned out to be about right (which may explain the popularity of Casita 17SD's). Of course everybody's different, but in my mind the ideal size is just big enough to sleep comfortably.

In a small trailer it's about compromises. I've often thought about Parkliner. It's wonderful they fit a queen-width bed in there, but for myself I'd give up a few inches on the bed to get a bigger galley.

In contrast, my wife and I have found the 44" bed in our Scamp 13 just a little too small for a good night's sleep. For retirement, I'm liking the 16' layout 4 because of the larger galley- when we're down to two, I'd like to give up lugging an outside kitchen, and I want some real counter space. But I'd give up a little of it for an extra 6" in the bed.

The only perfect trailer is the one you build yourself. Eric and Mike, I'm enjoying your journeys to "just right." More pictures, please!

[Nor Cal Mike]

Ideally we would have a big bed to make crawling in and out over our partner. Actually it would be more accurate to say me crawling over her since she insists on always having the outside of the bed. (Oh the sacrifices we make for our partners) LOL. But our little eggs don't offer that much room so we will have to compromise. I put in an access door on both sides of our teardrop when I built her for that easy access but somehow I can't see cutting in a second door at the back of the Casita

It's been raining quite a bit lately here in NW California which has me leaving the the tarp on the trailer. That makes for terrible lighting for photographs on the interior of the trailer. We had a break yesterday so I got a chance to work outside. I am doing some routing and sanding of wood so I have to get just the right set up to control the dust since I have become pretty allergic to the stuff. That means shop vac running and a fan blowing clean air through my projects. No sooner did I get set up when my shop vac decided to wear out a bearing in the motor. That necessitated going into town for a replacement. I live out of town a ways so the trip killed my momentum for sure.

I am currently working on the dinette seating. I am trying to do it a little fancier rather than the box with cushions on top that I most commonly see in the photos. I have gathered all of my fiberglassing supplies so when I get a spell of good weather long enough to un-tarp, I will tackle the fiberglassing in of the old fridge vents. Originally I had planned to seal up the louvers of the fridge access vent and leave it in place as an outside access door to the under seat area but have decided to make that access opening from the inside of the trailer only. The reason being that it would eliminate one more place where water might infiltrate to the interior. Will get more pics when I can get some worthy of posting.

[Nor Cal Mike]

OK........ Here are a few pics of the dinette seating that I am working on.

Here are the opposed faces of the seats. I added the outer contoured seat edge to get away from the sitting on a box look. If they look too tall, remember that the dinette booth floor between the two seats will be elevated 7" above the trailer floor. These go all of the way down to the trailer floor



A close up look of the same. I decided that since this plywood has so many veneer layers that are largely without voids, why not celebrate it! So I will fill the few voids, sand and then cover the wood with satin Varithane and call it good. It's a trailer not high end cabinetry. The seats are made out of scraps left over from the bulkhead cutouts.



We found these cushions on line pretty cheap. I bought two although I actually got four because I didn't realize they come two to a box. It wouldn't be worth the shipping to send the other box back so I have cushions up the wazoo.



You get a pretty good sot of my old teardrop in the background of the top pic. I built her about 12 or 14 years ago. After the Casita is road worthy, I will clean up the teardrop and put her on the market.

[EricAllyn]

Nice job on the seats! I think I will try to get some seats that are more comfortable out of the space I am saving from the bed.

[Nor Cal Mike]

I got those cushions at houzz.com for $78.00 a pair with free shipping if anyone needs cushions. Heck, it was a big heavy box so the shipping probably cost half of more of the price I paid. They are meant for outdoor furniture so they should be pretty durable in a trailer. They are very comfortable.

[k0wtz]

mike I haat you just funning


bob

[k0wtz]

we can sleep on a 44in bed takes about 2 nights of boondocking to get used to it. previous owner had put in a 12in bed.


bob

[k0wtz]

we were out shortly after my back surgery I am 76 you know new rods and all. the first night was killer had to get into the percoset but I made it!

bob

[Nor Cal Mike]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

we were out shortly after my back surgery I am 76 you know new rods and all. the first night was killer had to get into the percoset but I made it!

bob

Bob, Sleeping in a skinny bed right after back surgery, you are a better man than I. Percocet or no percocet. I hope at the very least the Mrs. gave you the outside edge.

[Nor Cal Mike]

Before I could carry on with the new dinette, I needed to take care of the old unneeded fridge vent holes. I made a good start on that today. I built a panel to go over the outside of the trailer to act as a form for laying up fiberglass mat from the inner side.



I didn't have enough epoxy resin to finish the job I did get two layers on. I will pick up some more resin tomorrow. to do two more layers.

[EricAllyn]

I closed up a lot of the holes, and it seems to have really helped, the heating went better. My Grandson thought I was painting it camo and got real excited.... Guess I'll see how well I can roll it on this spring, may still wind up with something interesting. I think the support looks good. I had a bunch of pieces I could work in so only had to make a couple of pieces. Doing some great work!!