bkosten
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Post by bkosten on Jun 6, 2015 11:23:54 GMT -8
Hello all! My husband and I have taken the plunge and purchased our first vintage trailer to renovate. This is something we intend to do as a hobby together. We have no experience with trailers, beyond our ownership of an obnoxious toy hauler that we purchased to camp in while romping around AZ on ATVs. There is not much to be done for that thing in the way of charm unfortunately but it serves its purpose. We have some experience with home renovation and the completion of our house left us with idle hands. So here we are, excited to learn an entirely new set of skills. We know that this is a Northwest Coach. The registration states that it is a 1967. The previous owner did not have it for very long but thought it was a "deluxe" country coach or something like that. To me, this looks similar to the Little Dippers I've found online, but our layout is different as most of those seem to have the kitchen in the front. The body of our trailer is just over 12 feet long. We will be referring to this forum a lot as well as the videos by mobiletec and are totally open to feedback so jump in! I will be blogging about our renovation process as well so I can share that if appropriate, there is only one intro post now anyway. I can't tell if these pictures are actually working so here goes. Sorry for the quality, most are from the original ad. I will have updated pics post cleanout shortly. We call her Larry. That is another story.  plus.google.com/photos/109015410005608278559/albums/6157340284565973681 |
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Jun 6, 2015 12:00:30 GMT -8
Congrats on bringing Larry home. He is a very typical layout for a trailer that size. Dinette in the front converts to a twin bed, bunk/storage above, kitchen on street side (except for the fridge), and either a full-time bed or a gaucho in the back, sometimes with another bunk. In some ways it's like remodeling/renovating a house: blood, sweat, tears and twice as much money as you'd originally thought. But instead of inviting people over to share your lovely home, you will have people knocking on your door wanting to see it!
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Post by vikx on Jun 6, 2015 21:15:55 GMT -8
It is indeed similar to the Little Dippers! Really like that quilted metal... I noticed the ceiling has already been "removed". Be sure to pull the skins and really study the framing and what needs to be replaced. Mine was a real mess: 65northwestcoach.shutterfly.com/ Click on pictures and videos to view the albums. We are here to help, so feel free to post many questions. |
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Post by vintagebruce on Jun 7, 2015 5:17:04 GMT -8
 to VTT. Northwest Coach made 3 models...Little Dipper, Dipper and Deluxe. So I would imagine some Dippers and Deluxes might have had similar characteristics to the Little Dipper manufactured in that same year. You may very well have the Deluxe model. Not much there, but here is the TCT wiki info page on Northwest Coach. There is a thread to the Little Dipper club at the bottom. Might be fun to join as long as you stay with us too. www.tincantourists.com/wiki/doku.php?id=northwest_coach#.VXRCYGd0xMsHere is a pic of a 1967 Deluxe Northwest Coach. Once you open the thread and look at the photo click on the "next" in the upper right, and there is one interior pic of the dinette area. www.tininntraveltrailers.com/albums/album_image/2771798/5719960.htm
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bkosten
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Post by bkosten on Jun 7, 2015 11:48:30 GMT -8
Thanks for that info vintagebruce! That is very helpful. Our Larry has a flat roofline compared to that deluxe and that one seems to have the icebox in the kitchenette. I wonder if we might have a Dipper? The only reason I care is that I was considering ordering a reproduction Little Dipper emblem but I am not sure that is what we have so I will probably just leave it off. I can't seem to get my picture updloading to work very well from Picasa/google but here is a link that will hopefully show our roofline. goo.gl/photos/4T83eeWPrQpLHdGC6 Is that a propane light in the dinette photo on the deluxe link you shared? Ours does not have one but I wonder if it did originally. I would love to put one back in. Is that worth doing? I have never actually used one. We are trying to balance the modern upgrades with keeping vintage features. |
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Post by vikx on Jun 7, 2015 21:20:41 GMT -8
It might be a Dipper, but doubt it's a "Little" Dipper. The two I've seen (mine and another just North) are very low to the ground and quite small inside, with the front kitchen. I believe they are 15 feet, but most of that is the tongue. They tow very well, at least mine did.
Propane lights are really cool but a pain in a trailer. The mantles tend to disintegrate on the road, so you need a new one every trip...
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bkosten
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Post by bkosten on Jun 8, 2015 10:32:55 GMT -8
Good to know thank you! I guess I won't fuss about putting one back in then since it has already been removed at some point. And I agree that ours looks scaled up in size. I will have pictures on my blog shortly of us moving it into the garage and you can really get an idea of the size. I will link to them here if I can figure that out. I guess for now it will just remain a Northwest Coach, model unknown. A little mystery to keep it interesting right? We are going to try to test the oven.  I'm hoping that works and we can keep it. The icebox was in really poor shape inside and out, and we were leaning towards a fridge anyway so that will probably be replaced. Does anyone know what type of wood paneling was used in these? I can't tell one type from another to be honest. I will probably paint most of the walls just because I like a light bright space, and the series of previous owners put about a thousand holes and dings in the panels. I was thinking of keeping at least some of the new panels in a wood finish so would like to be somewhat "authentic" there if possible. I appreciate the guidance. We are just trying to plan for these things now so that we don't have to redo any of our own work when we actually get to framing and paneling. Wishful thinking? |
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Post by vikx on Jun 8, 2015 20:51:57 GMT -8
The panels in mine were ash. It's a bit busy and grainy, but pretty. Ash is almost impossible to come by today, especially in 1/8".
I'm currently working on a 71 Red Dale with the dark brown paneling. I've tried hard to "match" what's there, but guess the future owner will be painting it. Some of the replacement panels are very good quality (Cousin is remodeling), perhaps they will keep those and paint the rest.
The oven will probably work if it's a Holiday. Magic Chefs are infamous for having bad oven valves. Good luck.
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Post by vintagebruce on Jun 9, 2015 4:14:52 GMT -8
I think there are Members who have converted the gas light to a LED light. That might be an option. I hope you can save enough of the wood interior panels to be able to enjoy the feel the original interior offered. I have found plenty of photos of little dippers and one or two that indicated they were the Deluxe Northwest Coach as well as the ad for an even larger 22' trailer not mentioned in the TCT wiki info (Saturn II), BUT, nowhere have I found an authentic photo called the Dipper. I believe you do have a Dipper since it is larger in appearance than a Little Dipper but has the window in front of the door, which I have not been able to find on any other example in an actual photo. www.facebook.com/littledippertraveltrailers/photos/pb.328622667262409.-2207520000.1433852450./398020160322659/?type=1&theaterLOL there must be a following of Little Dippers in Orange County Ca! Check out the prices on 2 Little Dippers currently advertised on CL. orangecounty.craigslist.org/search/rva?query=little+dipper |
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to VTT. Northwest Coach made 3 models...Little Dipper, Dipper and Deluxe. So I would imagine some Dippers and Deluxes might have had similar characteristics to the Little Dipper manufactured in that same year. You may very well have the Deluxe model.
I'm hoping that works and we can keep it. The icebox was in really poor shape inside and out, and we were leaning towards a fridge anyway so that will probably be replaced. Does anyone know what type of wood paneling was used in these? I can't tell one type from another to be honest. I will probably paint most of the walls just because I like a light bright space, and the series of previous owners put about a thousand holes and dings in the panels. I was thinking of keeping at least some of the new panels in a wood finish so would like to be somewhat "authentic" there if possible. I appreciate the guidance. We are just trying to plan for these things now so that we don't have to redo any of our own work when we actually get to framing and paneling. Wishful thinking?