Right now, as I write this, Lynne is busy pulling the front dinette out of the Triple-E Surfside I brought back from Canada not quite two years ago. I didn't mention it at the time, but one of the first things our trailer did once we got it into the driveway was have the front door fall off. You can gather from that choice piece of information that there'a a wee bit of work to do on the old dear.
The roof sags
The front-curbside corner has sagged downward so much the door doesn't fit its opening anymore
It needs brakes. a new axle, and the frame needs to be pulled out, have the rust buffed out, reinforced in a few places (welded), painted and re-attached.
And more than a few things I won't mention just now. It's a gut and rebuild, and we plan to make more than a few changes inside. This is Lynne's project, her trailer to learn on and make the way she likes it. I'm just helping out.
As for this thread? This is Lynne's trailer project topic. Pictures, plans, and lots more to come.
Look at that -- another 5th wheel owner with a project trailer . . . and both of them SMALL project trailers. In my case I might ask Peter to help decorate because he is frequently better at it than his wife <sigh>
Our Surfside looks so pretty in pictures. But the floor sag is obvious when you step in and the door fell off the second day we had it.
At least your trailer LOOKS like a project trailer. Love that Boler body shape. I wanted a small trailer that would be easier to tow and more 'cozy' for camping. What's the reason you acquired a project trailer?
Lynne, looks like you have a real nice start for your project. From the photos, it doesn't look like it would have taken a whole bunch of work to make the interior liveable. Will be fun to follow along with your new upgrades. Planning on using this summer?
Hi: lynneh... I stepped up to save this Boler from the "Wreckers Ball". The structure is sound but has been a bee hive, wasps nest, chicken coupe, and artifact storage bin for a long time!!! It is apparent by looking into it that neglect has been its lot and I will try to correct that. Trust me it is much worse in real life than the pictures show!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie
I sure wish! But it is rather unlikely. My job consumes 50-60 hours per week. Last week was spent living in a hotel room (i.e. business travel). Progress will be verrryyyy slow.
After cleaning up the yard debris from last week's windstorm, I finally got some 'quality time' in the Surfside and was able to finish dismantling the rear dinette so we could get a good look at the water damage at the rear of the trailer. Sure was easy to locate the damage once everything was pulled out. Now Peter can put that Multimaster that he 'just had to buy' (see post: Replacing the Floor) to good use.
Hi: lynneh... I stepped up to save this Boler from the "Wreckers Ball". The structure is sound but has been a bee hive, wasps nest, chicken coupe, and artifact storage bin for a long time!!! It is apparent by looking into it that neglect has been its lot and I will try to correct that. Trust me it is much worse in real life than the pictures show!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie
Hi Alf,
I saw the pictures of the wasps nest that you posted in another thread -- yikes! So glad to hear that you are saving this fine vintage trailer from the junk yard.
--Lynne
Surfsides are not that common and I had the feeling were regarded as slightly less than a comparable Trillium but I, too ended up with a Surfside project. My use priorities start with a need for a remote camp unit capable of easily surviving rough backwoods trails where a Suzuki 4x4 is the tow vehicle. My forestry job often requires extended stays at remote sites so mine is mostly solar and propane. This one was pretty bashed and bruised but the floor is solid and frame is good. Standard insulation has proved inadequate for cold weather stays because of condensation drips and ice buildups inside. Not sure how to address that one, yet.
Oddly, it has a factory-installed boat rack but is otherwise standard format and mostly original. I will post a pic or two in a few days just for amusement.
Lynne, did Peter choose the paint colour of your Surfside interior?
Still hope to find a source for quality LED bulbs to fit the automotive type sockets unless costs prove prohibitive.
where is your furnace?
I have a 79 surfside that has a furnace under the fridge.......lets heat the fridge up....anyway i had a little bit of work to do on the door and the windows needs some work but i love it
where is your furnace?
I have a 79 surfside that has a furnace under the fridge.......lets heat the fridge up....anyway i had a little bit of work to do on the door and the windows needs some work but i love it
Hi Guy, my heater is also under the fridge but since the venting is pretty good and furnaces run only in cold weather the fridge seems little affected, not as frightening as it admittedly looks. I kind of like the fridge up at that level, too.
Both Lynne and I are swamped, and she hasn't been up for responding to the questions that have shown up. I'm rushed right now, too, but I'll give it a go.
In brief:
Francis:
The blue sailboat theme was there when we bought the trailer. Lynne has some ideas on how she wants to do the interior, but first we have to get the rotten floor out and do some structural repairs!
The V-LEDS.Com website has a great warm-white, 48-LED replacement that fits most RV fixtures other than the "spotlight" styled reading lights. They're spendy at $20/each, but put out a lot of light for very little power.
Key "Warm White" into the V-LEDS search box to find the product . . . Beware of all their other LED products, which are a hideous "HID-Blue" color!
Guy B:
The furnace was gone by the time we bought our Surfside. It used to be under the 'fridge. By the looks of it the unit was an old-style "gravity" heater. (More appropriately called a "convection" heater.)
Our plans include installing a Olympian Wave 3 catalytic heater when we re-do the insides.
Yes, we have door sag! It sagged a little over an inch when we got it home; I'm expecting that replacing the (also sagging) floor will reduce or eliminate the sag. We'll see.
I finished replacing the floor some time ago, but really got kinda tired of working on the Surfside because it had turned into a "mostly Peter's" project instead of a joint project working on "Lynne's project trailer." What changed is Lynne left the job that had consumed the last several years of her life in December 2012, and has been happily off of work ever since. She finally unwound enough to get busy on the trailer this summer. Good thing, too: I was lobbying to sell it because I had gotten tired of it taking up all the room in my shop.
So, here's what's been done:
1) We gutted the trailer and chipped, ground, and cut out the entire, mostly rotten, floor.
2) A new floor has been installed.
3) The deformed sides and roof of the trailer have been re-formed, re-paired, and re-enforced.
4) Lots -- lots and lots -- of holes have been patched or re-configured. Only the door opening is much the same, though even that has been changed because we fixed the body and floor sag that had allowed the front side to sag causing the fiberglass around the top edges to crack. Everything else has been fiberglassed over or altered in some way.
4) New windows have been ordered and new openings for them created.
5) A new MaxxFan has been purchased and a new opening made for it in the roof.
6) New fiberglass and PVC pipe struts have been installed under the roof to re-enforce it. (A thread on how to do this and how to straighten out a sagging roof is forthcoming.)
7) New ribs have been made and installed to correct sagging in the sides of the trailer. (A thread on how to do this and how to straighten out a sagging door frame and trailer sides is forthcoming, too.)
8) The frame is about to be pulled out from under the trailer.
9) New appliances and other hardware have been bought.
10) We just decided on a new paint scheme and ordered new paint today.