New cadet owner?

[Cadet]

Is that what this is? Any tips?

[Cadet]

Anyone have any Intel on these ? Are they restorable, can you get parts? Any advice on first timer diy project :-)

[alan H]

I have no advice on parts
I just wish I could find one of these
Any interior pics

[Jon in AZ]

Is it my imagination or is this bigger than other Cadets we have seen? I've never seen the window next to the door before, either. Different model?

In any case, use the "Site Search/Google" feature at the bottom of the search menu to find old threads on Cadets. I'm sure you're find some leads on parts, and you may even be able to connect with another owner who is active on the forum and share tips.

[Cadet]

Thank you, yes it's a bit of a mystery bus. I get my hands on her Thursday. I also didnt notice a pop top on it either. So I'm not sure. Also the floor plan is a little different, it has a bathroom (for a bucket) which is strange to see. Perhaps its some sort of Franken cadet.

But it is almost 100% a cadet I would say, unless other manufacturers used this mold

[Cadet]

Originally Posted by alan H

I have no advice on parts
I just wish I could find one of these
Any interior pics

I'll get some better pics when I get my hands on it

[Sennema]

You've got the Captain, the bigger brother to the Cadet.

[Davechmara]

Hi there
I jut picked up a 1985 Captain fibreglass camper. (January 2021)

Covid 2020 was a disaster. I’m hoping this camper is a sign of good things to come in 2021 LOL.

Outside appears decent. All windows intact.

Roof liner has come off and is drooping.

But no musty smell, no leaks, and all the interior wood isn’t damaged and feels dry and solid.


I found it while driving down a backroad near Strathroy Ontario and decided to pull up the driveway and ask the farmers.

We settled on $500.



Looking forward to advice and tips, I’ve already began to read many forums and feeds so THANKS!

[Davechmara]

Originally Posted by Davechmara

Hi there
I jut picked up a 1985 Captain fibreglass camper. (January 2021)

Covid 2020 was a disaster. I’m hoping this camper is a sign of good things to come in 2021 LOL.

Outside appears decent. All windows intact.

Roof liner has come off and is drooping.

But no musty smell, no leaks, and all the interior wood isn’t damaged and feels dry and solid.


I found it while driving down a backroad near Strathroy Ontario and decided to pull up the driveway and ask the farmers.

We settled on $500.



Looking forward to advice and tips, I’ve already began to read many forums and feeds so THANKS!

Pics

[jason]

Hi, to answer your question- yes they are restorable. I am in the middle of a major restore now. What you need to know with these is you get nothing for free- when you redo a boler much of the structure is in place in fibreglass. When you redo these you rebuild everything. I currently have redone the exterior fibreglass and re painted. Replaced the dome windows with cut acrylic (importing the replacements from poland is possible but expensive). I used the boler window rubber to imbed them. Redid the floor, insulated the walls, starting to build cabinets- If you need any insight I can share what I have figured out. If you rip out the inside, keep the parts for templating if you want to return to that layout - I did not. Buy baltic birch, don't scrimp on materials the trailer is not big enough to worry about the difference in cost. Good luck. If you bale on the project let me know I've fallen for these little trailers and would redo another.

[jason]

I am currently redoing a Cadet - willing to share what I have figured out if you are redoing this. Great find.

[Mikmay]

I am also in Ontario and have just about finished restoring a captain ,mine was in extremely rough shape and has come along nicely after a complete gut ,
will get pictures when the snow is gone.

[Mikmay]

Originally Posted by jason

Hi, to answer your question- yes they are restorable. I am in the middle of a major restore now. What you need to know with these is you get nothing for free- when you redo a boler much of the structure is in place in fibreglass. When you redo these you rebuild everything. I currently have redone the exterior fibreglass and re painted. Replaced the dome windows with cut acrylic (importing the replacements from poland is possible but expensive). I used the boler window rubber to imbed them. Redid the floor, insulated the walls, starting to build cabinets- If you need any insight I can share what I have figured out. If you rip out the inside, keep the parts for templating if you want to return to that layout - I did not. Buy baltic birch, don't scrimp on materials the trailer is not big enough to worry about the difference in cost. Good luck. If you bale on the project let me know I've fallen for these little trailers and would redo another.

Agreed the captain like many trailers are built using the cheapest cabinet materials possible but by using the original cabinets for templates it was fairly easy to refabricate new and much improved ones.

[briasto]

I am also currently renovating a 1987 Cadet, I am currently stuck on what to do with the walls. It is completely gutted down but I am so stumped....Any suggestions??

[Mikmay]

Not sure if the cadet is built identical to the captain but it may be ,because the captain is mostly flat wall on the sides I was able to fasten 2x2s to the wall using PL premium x8 and using the existing fg strips to screw to ,I than put ridged 1 inch insulation in the cavities and than used 5/8 pine tongue and grove ship lap to cover . On the front and back and the ceiling I used paintable undercoating fromprincess auto .sprayed a heavy textured coat took around 12 cans and than painted with an exterior acrylic paint . I will post pictures when I can get to the camper.

[briasto]

For the most part it doesn’t have completely flat walls, I was thinking on using just a foil insulation, where it’s mainly only going to be used a handful of times during the summer. As for covering the insulation I was stuck using maybe a carpet like material/felt rolls or some sort of wood.

[Rusty01]

I am close to the finish line in my Cadet renovation. I insulated with reflectix, Not a great R factor, but it does prevent condensation and is a good sound barrier. Before installing I used 1" x 1/2" furring strips on areas where I needed to do attachments. Such as for attaching curtain rods, and for attaching the vinyl 4x 8 ft panels which I used on the sides. I also used the vinyl on the interior of the popup. For the rest of the surfaces I used Eco carpet from Home Depot. I used contact cement on the insulation and a combination of contact cement on the reflectix and 3m 90 spray on glue on the carpet itself

[k0wtz]

i would glue reflecx then glue stuff like scamp uses looks nice easy to maintain get some insulation not a lot!


i did a 40f Eagle bus with this!

[jason]

When doing the interior, I used furring strips- one first horizontally and then a sequence of them vertically. I fibreglassed them in with mat strips (same as they did on the floor). In between the vertical boards I used the 1 inch white foam 4X8 sheets with the silver vapour barrier on one side. To finish the wall I covered 1/4 ply with marine vinyl (mostly because I was doing a test for a sailboat I will be doing) it has a clean finish. To attach the vinyl I used a spray adhesive from canadian tire ( the orange spray can ) I used this one because it has a wide temperature range.When using a spray adhesive research its temperature range- if not it may soften in the heat of the summer. I can't tell you for sure if the one from Can Tire will work as it has not seen a season yet. Six cans to do the vinyl and the ceiling. I ended up using the speaker covering materials from crutchfield for the ceiling. It is cheap and easy to apply, seemingly easily following the curves in the ceiling. The ceiling came out really good. What I would change if I did it again is use a 1/4 birch to do the finish of the walls with probably holding them in place with my finish trim ( I used screws with silver collars they fit in and they have worked well- Im just not sure I needed them. For the floor, I gutted out the original ply taking notice of where the water rot was- It seemed to collect mostly in the corner- so I painted the edges of the new ply with the red shower water barrier paint, then covered that with wide strips of a quality shower barrier material I had left from a job, and then foam underlay taped at the seems and finished with a vinyl floor product that looks like wood. If I was to change anything know I would have used a 3/4 inch ply on the floor, I used 1/2 inch. 1/2 inch works and I used it for weight, but like the solid feel and screw in power of the 3/4 ply. I would also consider putting in the water, insulating squares that are used on basement floors. I can feel the cold coming in strong on the floor. This may not be a concern for you but I do winter camping so I would consider it.One caution if you use the furring strips and insulation you will be minimizing the space you have from side to side-my finish dimension is 5 11 and I am six foot. I have to orientate my mattress running the length of the interior because I can't fit side to side. Maybe the captain is a bit wider and you won't have to worry about it. And that brings me to today - I am starting cabinets- I will be using birch and baltic birch ( it has a tighter laminate finish with no voids ).

[Davechmara]

Awesome thanks man. Great info.