Yet another '76 Trilly!

[DBH]

Greetings folks.

I've been lurking on this forum for the better part of a year now and want to start by saying a huge thank you to so many of you for helping me get this far. Donna, David, Francesca, Norm & Ginny and many others with so much experience and sound advice have made this project not only manageable but very enjoyable! Thanks also to Mike May of Happier Camper who happens to live near me in the Windsor/Detroit area. Mike not only came out and gave our trailer a once-over prior to my buying it, but did some great fiberglass work on the roof as you'll see in the pics below.

David - it appears to be # 13-2204862

We picked it up locally about 3 months ago. It's been a great project, consuming far more time & money than I anticipated (silly me), but we're thrilled with the results and can't wait to be 'making memories' in it.

I'll put a list of updates here for those interested. Probably more reading than any of you need, but if you're anything like I have been the last few months, you'll read it anyway just because...

- rebuilt rockguard. It had blown off in windstorm, several pieces destroyed. Still searching for the perfect replacement for the corrugated fiberglass panels.
- Front window pulled & rotten wood replaced.
- 10" Electric Brakes/drums/bearings added (E-Trailer.com - highly recommended)
- breakaway switch
- Tonge Jack w/wheel
- 3 new tires, radial TS. No idea the story behind this, but the tires that came on the trailer appeared to be brand new - still had the little hairs on them that new rubber does. When I checked the DOT date however - 12 years old! Check your dates!
- Removed rear bumper storage box bracket, transfer spare mount to rear, had new shelf welded to tongue for battery & propane
- Belly band... Many rivets seem fine, but the street side ones were all rusted off. Drilled & replaced the area across from kitchen only so as to not drill through the ensolite. Bead of proflex caulk. Holds up great and doesn't leak, but someday should probably be pulled & filled. Ugh. Rear 3 windows are on that someday list too.
- Door removed, frame epoxy filled, redrilled & remounted. Hinges have some wear & it still sags a bit. Another thing for the someday list.
- Major clean up to roof & paint (paint on roof only) - thanks Mike!
- Fantastic Fan
- New floor, Home Depot's Allure vinyl wood flooring - easiest flooring I've ever dealt with & looks great!
- Couple of propane lines changed, all propane tested
- Previous owner was certain the fridge/furnace didn't work. They do - Perfectly!! Even the fridge sparker. Planning on adding a small exhaust fan.
- New onboard plumbing, lines, pump, filter & faucet
- Battery - this trailer appeared to never have had it's own battery. Interstate grp 29
- Decided to leave original convertor but added marine dc fuse box for the new lines (lights, receptacles, pump, detectors)
- Recovered cushions, new curtains
- Removed Bunk (will keep). It's much more comfortable for sitting without & we added a small hammock to toss things onto at night, the seemingly most useful part of the bunk for those without wee kids.
- Kitchen hardware from IKEA (bars on with rivets & VHB tape),
- LP/CO2, smoke detector & fire extinguisher
- 12v receptacles added
- Bargman porch light, switched from inside
- various covers/flaps replaced. Still haven't sourced all original looking, ie. drain & city water inlet.
- all interiour bulbs replaced with LED (dx.com - took awhile, but cheap cheap. Be sure to get 'warm' ones)
- LED light strip around shelves. Our daughter loves the remote & colour effects - party mode!
- 100 watt solar setup. Renogy panel on sale for $200 & Landstar waterproof controller from Amazon. Panel is flexible and taped to the roof with 3M Very High Bond tape. Not the cheapest way to go, but I love the low profile for wind resistance and that it cannot be seen from the street. Cables run through the Fantastic Fan, alongside kitchen under trim & out along side the 7-way cable, 10 gauge for the long run, 8 from controller to battery
- ZEP - yeah baby - ZEP!


It's been a crazy couple of months getting it ready, but we're being rewarded in a serious way. We figured it needed a good test drive, so - as I write, we're camped at a beautiful little spot part way around the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton. A little over 2,000 miles so far and only 1/2 way done - my kind of test drive! We're towing it with a '08 Subaru Outback (2.5i). The car's been awesome, temp gauge hasn't moved & its let me go plenty fast enough. Average 18.6 mpg with some serious hills, isn't quite as high as I had hoped but it's not killing me.

Enough writing - off for my daily dose of lobster

Thanks so much again everyone!! Really - couldn't have done it without you all!

Cheers & Happy Travels!!

Greg

[DBH]

I'll try and post some more pics - I know you all like pictures!
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[kootenaigirl]

Beautiful, you guys have done an amazing job. You should be very proud and now on a wonderful camping trip, life is good!

[Cathi]

Awesome!

[Pam Garlow]

Great looking trailer !! Have fun making those memories happen

[DBH]

We're back from our test drive! 7700 km from Southern Ontario out to the East Coast. Bay of Fundy, Halifax, Cape Breton, PEI and many stops along the way. Trailer handled beautifully and truly, many memories were made!

Now that we're back and have consistent wifi, though I'd add a few more pictures. Some of the early ones, as well as fixed up.

We're off to Algonac next weekend, hope to meet some of you there!
Greg

[Donna D.]

GOOD FOR YOU! Looks like you're making memories and having a ton of fun.

[Sue and Graham]

Graham and I are taking full credit (blame) for getting you both started down this road!! We love your pics and it sounds like Greg and Gra now have a few stories to swap! It sure must've been en epic test drive - so awesome!

s.