Baby is finally home!

[Lisasgirl]

Our neighbor gave us their Love Bug travel trailer. She's 13' long and the inside is a total wreck--bug infested and rotten wood. The walls are a moldy nightmare. But I *love* her! We've named her "Baby" and she's finally home. We reckon it will take us a couple of years to rennovate her before we can take her out to camp in, but we're both very excited to get her! I'm sure I'll be asking a ton of questions in the months to come, so your patience will be greatly appreciated.

lisa

[reeves99]

Lisa,
Love the sentiment behind her name. Glad you posted lots of pics in your profile. Looking forward to seeing the progress. One day soon she'll be looking gorgeous and you'll be sitting in a campground proud as punch!
Best wishes,
Phil

[Laura June]

Lisa; I remember seeing one of these at a VW dealer back in the 70s when I was checking out a VW Beatle. I thought they were really fantastic, as I had never seen anything like it before. Hope you have fun restoring the camper. Please post pictures as you go. It will be interesting to watch.

[lamimartin]

Hi Lisa, I'm glad you are in love with your bug, because it requires lot of work.
Keep in mind anywhere you find significant rust on a screw you removed, is it likely going trough rotten wood. All window frames and all door components will have to be dismantled and checked for hidded rotten wood and water infiltration and resealed with butyl tape. For instance, your door hinges may simply hold by rust on the tip of the screws.

Pay special attention to electrical wiring: it would be better to replace it completely, because the conditions for extensive corrosion damages were obviously present. Corroded wiring is brittle, unreliable and dangerous to use. All gas applianced must be checked for corrosion damages. You need a new two stages gas regulator, new hoses, carefully inspected or new cupper gas lines.

Your fridge may still work under AC, but corrosion damages on gas and electrical components (all discontinued parts) are likely to seal its death sentence. If you must dispose of it, remember that the cooling unit contains ammonia gas that is extremely toxic. Replacement units are often hard to fit (different dimensions than the old models).

Before ou go too far into your renovation, I would have the frame, suspension and wheel hubs checked by a qualified mechanic for structural integrity and likely new wheel bearings. Such frame is quite thin but it can be welded and fixed.

This is quite a challenge, but no question you may enjoy it a lot ! It is much more fun than a trailer tent and it takes very little space on our backyard. I would not get back to a trailer tent.

[Donna D.]

I somehow missed this post! Congrats Lisa! Before you get overwhelmed, you may want to think of your wonderful trailer as a hardsided tent. Nothing wrong with that! You just want it clean and SAFE to go down the road. Everything else is doable... cook outside, use coolers whatever it takes to get out and use it.