jessicasews
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Post by jessicasews on Nov 25, 2014 18:12:33 GMT -8
Here she is as found, the day I picked her up in Santa Clarita , CA, about an hour outside of Los Angeles where I live. The first problem is a bit of body damage, there is also some in the left back where she was either hit, or had something very heavy leaned on her side. I bought the trailer from a guy who had planned on fixing her up, but never got around to it. He had bought her from the original family, who had passed it down a few generations as a kids play house.... (anyone need a fridge?) During this time It had all of the window glass blown out, and thereafter suffered water damage. All of the paneling inside is paper thin and distorted (except the ceiling) and most of the cabinets were ruined as well. Shes a total restore, so perfect for my needs. Heres the part where I hope you don't all run me off the forum...because I’m not restoring her to camp, I'm turning her into a full scale professional sewing studio! I work in the film and TV industry as a seamstress and tailor, and need my own little shop to work out of. I use big industrial sewing machines, and need to build a cutting table as well. So I know I need to pay special attention to the floor situation. My machines are about 200 pounds apiece, and there are two. Theres also the project of hooking electrical up in the trailer to support their needs, and I do plan to hire a professional electrician to rewire the whole trailer and put a power supply in my yard. I have lots of ideas, and I would love to do most of the work with friends and myself over the month of December. After watching lots of videos and lurking on the forum, my husband and I gutted her this weekend.... (demo fail....) and empty! And now Im planning on removing the damaged wood walls and seeing how much work the framing needs. I also need to sort out replacing the glass in all the windows, and finding a window that is missing entirely. I have a million questions, but my first one for you all is - Does anyone have any information on this brand/ make of trailer? Google has failed me, and id love to know a bit of the trailers history.
Thanks for reading! -JessicaSews
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RJ
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Post by RJ on Nov 25, 2014 18:50:11 GMT -8
Sweet old trailer Jessica! Welcome to "the" vintage trailer forum. I'm certainly no expert but I would say that your old trailer is gonna need quite a bit of work to make her useable and safe for your traveling seamstress needs. If you haven't already, dive into mobiltec's video series on restoring vintage trailers. They are worth their weight in gold. I would caution you about taking out all the cabinents that go from floor to ceiling, and, even side to side. They are an integral part of the support structure for these old trailers. If your intention is to install some new cabinents for your mobile shop, that may work just fine. Good luck on your adventure and again, welcome to VTT. Oh, sorry.. I don't know anything about your old Sport King brand but I'm sure others here do. If you could find a bit more information on her, perhaps that would help. What does the title say? RJ
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RJ
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Post by RJ on Nov 25, 2014 18:58:38 GMT -8
Just looked at your the pics again. Are those....... bullet holes in the sides
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Nov 25, 2014 20:16:59 GMT -8
Wow. By gutting it, you've set yourself up to build an entirely new trailer. If you have watched Mobiltec's (Larry) then you realize that you must remove the skins to get to the rot and to replace the water damaged paneling from the outside in, and repair the rotted framing and skirt boards.
I'm no engineer but RJ is correct about the inside cabinets, closet and benches being part of the structural integrity of the trailer. You will have to compensate for that. Also, those machines will add quite a bit of weight that will have to distributed evenly or it will not tow well.
Good luck with your project and I admire your enthusiasm.
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Post by vikx on Nov 25, 2014 20:47:32 GMT -8
Welcome!
Nice old trailer; appears to be early 50s. The fridge is a Krefft, might be worth something. Sorry, don't recognize the Sport King brand. I have seen "King" trailers; this may be a relative.
I agree with the above; the skins must come off to do repairs. This type of trailer can not be repaired from the inside. The way they are built is from the inside out, so repairs are done in the opposite order: from the outside in...
Be sure to include cabinetry to support the walls and roof in your rebuild. It will take careful planning to support 400 pounds of sewing machines.
Also, be sure to have the metal frame professionally inspected. Many older hams have thinner metal and tend to tweak and/or crack. Two of mine had to have extensive welding repairs.
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Post by vintagebruce on Nov 25, 2014 21:04:01 GMT -8
Welcome to VTT. I think maybe your Sport King manufactured by King Trailer Co. Torrance Ca. Was part of King Trailers foray into camper trailers. But that Walter King may have decided to focus more on the demountable truck camper line, if this quote is accurate.
It's generally acknowledged that the demountable truck camper concept was first created, and certainly was popularised, in the USA by Walter King when he began manufacture of the 'Sport King' camper in 1945 in Torrance, California ...
Tin Can Tourists only references owners of about 5 models of Trailers and they seem to be from 1950 - 54. Good luck on converting it to your professional rolling workshop. Getting the right balance with those two tables so that tongue weight is not affected will be a challenge too.
I have a single photo of a 1954 Sport King from a front/street side view that leads me to believe yours is no later than that 1954. It looks identical to yours except it does not have a kitchenette window in the middle of the trailer, on the street side. I think I grabbed it off of a Pinterest site a few years ago, so I have no info on the owners.
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jessicasews
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Post by jessicasews on Nov 25, 2014 22:37:49 GMT -8
Wow. By gutting it, you've set yourself up to build an entirely new trailer. If you have watched Mobiltec's (Larry) then you realize that you must remove the skins to get to the rot and to replace the water damaged paneling from the outside in, and repair the rotted framing and skirt boards. I'm no engineer but RJ is correct about the inside cabinets, closet and benches being part of the structural integrity of the trailer. You will have to compensate for that. Also, those machines will add quite a bit of weight that will have to distributed evenly or it will not tow well. Good luck with your project and I admire your enthusiasm. I had a feeling the skins would have to come off Susie- like many first time camper buyers I didn't realize quite how bad the water damage was. I couldn't salvage the two closets as I had planned, so I'm sketching up two skinny closets to go over the wheel wells. Thanks a bunch!
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jessicasews
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Post by jessicasews on Nov 25, 2014 22:39:53 GMT -8
Just looked at your the pics again. Are those....... bullet holes in the sides Thanks for the advice! And sadly yes..... Those are either BB or paint ball gun dents. They don't go all the way thru thankfully.
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jessicasews
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Post by jessicasews on Nov 25, 2014 22:50:00 GMT -8
Welcome! Nice old trailer; appears to be early 50s. The fridge is a Krefft, might be worth something. Sorry, don't recognize the Sport King brand. I have seen "King" trailers; this may be a relative. I agree with the above; the skins must come off to do repairs. This type of trailer can not be repaired from the inside. The way they are built is from the inside out, so repairs are done in the opposite order: from the outside in... Be sure to include cabinetry to support the walls and roof in your rebuild. It will take careful planning to support 400 pounds of sewing machines. Also, be sure to have the metal frame professionally inspected. Many older hams have thinner metal and tend to tweak and/or crack. Two of mine had to have extensive welding repairs. Thanks for the advice, especialy the frame! I'll have her checked out, my handy man also restores vintage cars so he should be able to sort it out.
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Post by bigbill on Nov 26, 2014 4:17:31 GMT -8
If I read right you plan on getting this done in a month. It could be done but it would take a lot of effort and working on it seven days a week, most projects like that take six months to two years of part time work. You must give a lot of thought to structural strength as you put it back together as stated above all of the built ins also provided strength to the trailer to keep it from collapsing sideways. They can be removed but must be replaced by other types of support bracing. This can be done and will provide you with a very novel sewing center, but make sure you do it right or it will fall apart.
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jessicasews
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Post by jessicasews on Nov 26, 2014 23:05:51 GMT -8
If I read right you plan on getting this done in a month. It could be done but it would take a lot of effort and working on it seven days a week, most projects like that take six months to two years of part time work. You must give a lot of thought to structural strength as you put it back together as stated above all of the built ins also provided strength to the trailer to keep it from collapsing sideways. They can be removed but must be replaced by other types of support bracing. This can be done and will provide you with a very novel sewing center, but make sure you do it right or it will fall apart. That is my crazy ambitious goal! Luckily I'm off work the month of December, so I'm hoping I can do it I'm mocking up designs for new floor to ceiling cabinets over the wheel wells, and putting shelves above the front and back rectangular windows. There are simple ones at the windows now. Do you think I need to do anything to replace the kitchen cabinets? Or just careful attention to the framing there?
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Post by bigbill on Nov 27, 2014 7:11:42 GMT -8
It wold be impossible to give you a accurate answer as to what you need to do with the kitchen cabinet area as we would need a detailed plan of what you plan to do and what materials you plan to use, including glues, screws, staples, and nails. I can tell you that every well built cabinet, cupboard, or shelf adds strength to the trailer. Example a sewing table that is built into the wall and floor and constructed to prevent flex would add strength while a sewing table that was just supported by a couple of legs and screwed to the wall won't do much. Not trying to be a wise guy just trying to help, it is hard to know what you have pictured in your mind or what you building skills are. I would caution you that this is NOT a house it is constructed entirely different and needs to be properly braced to maintain structural stability. If you plan on towing it you must also maintain balance with a final result of the loaded trailer having at least 10% of the total loaded weight on the hitch. Don't let this discourage you, what you plan is most likely very doable with the proper design and planning. You will have some money in it but it will be a class act properly done.
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jessicasews
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Post by jessicasews on Nov 29, 2014 19:04:38 GMT -8
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jessicasews
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Post by jessicasews on Nov 29, 2014 19:07:13 GMT -8
It wold be impossible to give you a accurate answer as to what you need to do with the kitchen cabinet area as we would need a detailed plan of what you plan to do and what materials you plan to use, including glues, screws, staples, and nails. I can tell you that every well built cabinet, cupboard, or shelf adds strength to the trailer. Example a sewing table that is built into the wall and floor and constructed to prevent flex would add strength while a sewing table that was just supported by a couple of legs and screwed to the wall won't do much. Not trying to be a wise guy just trying to help, it is hard to know what you have pictured in your mind or what you building skills are. I would caution you that this is NOT a house it is constructed entirely different and needs to be properly braced to maintain structural stability. If you plan on towing it you must also maintain balance with a final result of the loaded trailer having at least 10% of the total loaded weight on the hitch. Don't let this discourage you, what you plan is most likely very doable with the proper design and planning. You will have some money in it but it will be a class act properly done. Not at all a wise guy Bill, I really appreciate everyone's advice and knowledge- That is why I posted! I'll start a post on the restoration page with a interior layout, and see what you all think.
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John Palmer
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Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Nov 29, 2014 20:34:35 GMT -8
I have to ask myself, if any of our many discussions help save any trailers?
It does seem like there's tons of information on this site on how to restore/rebuild/recondition a canned ham trailer the correct way. But the builder would need to read, and also understand the advice that's freely given.
But when I read threads like this I wonder if anyone takes the time to understand why it's so important to do the rebuild in a specific order?
This trailer needs a total "frame up" rebuild. It would take one person, working every day of the week, with no slow down to chase parts, "at least three months" to complete it. I have done several trailers like this, and I would estimate my time at four to six months!
It would make so much more logic to buy one of the hundreds of Craig's List used small box trailers, or even a small toy box trailer to build a mobile shop. You would be thousands of dollars ahead, and have a more useable end result. Heck, I would even look for one that already has A/C.
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