Connie the 1959 Shasta

Hello,

Kirk and I (Gwen) bought this 1959 Shasta Airflyte last fall. We were traveling the Lake Michigan Loop for Kirk's birthday and after 6 days of pelting rain and winds up to 40+ miles per hour we were damp and desperate. We know that within the next 5 years or so we want to sell everything and live full time in a trailer and we found ourselves wishing for a little camper where we could be dry and make a warm cup of coffee.

So we did what no newbie should do. We searched Craigslist, went to the middle of no-where Michigan with a bunch of cash in our pocket, and drove off with a camper in tow. We knew nothing about vintage trailers. We knew she had some water damage. There were faux wood panels here and there with bits of water damage peaking out. The fellow we bought her from was sweet and admitted that he flips vintage campers for a little extra cash, putting just enough lipstick on to make them more marketable. But she was nearly all original, she was warm, we kicked the tires, her lights worked. We fell in love. Impulsive purchases are not my style (weeks of spreadsheet analysis, anyone?!) but we never doubted Connie for a minute. We woke up the next morning to bright sunshine. The first sun we had in 7 days. No kidding.

We made our way home, camping along the way and loving it. She towed like a dream even through downtown Chicago. Over the next few weeks we began to realize the scope of what we had taken on. We gave her a good cleaning and removed the faux paneling on the ceiling to reveal what was hiding. We replaced the wet insulation, sealed the vent, and put up some birch ply. We basically gave Connie a bath and a better brand of lipstick.

Since it was late fall in Wisconsin, we decided to have some fun camping and get smarter before tearing things apart. We joined mobiltec's classes on-line. We bought Vikx's book. We have been reading this forum. We now know that you can't replace paneling from the inside, that welting has a purpose other than looking pretty, that we will be buying a lot of 1/8 inch plywood and skins from Hemet Valley. We have learned Connie was yellow originally (and will be again). We have also learned we love this community.