Afraid to take the trailer apart

I was like you, reading everything I could find and asking questions everywhere. Finally, I just had to start working or my kids would never get to camp in it at all. Go slow, follow advice here and Mobiltecs videos. The hardest part to me is fixing the cabinetry and yours are in good condition, so you're ahead of the game. Fixing birch and paneling is pretty simple rough carpentry that anyone can learn... Just like nailing in studs except if you use screws, you can take it out and move it if you make a mistake. If you damage something, replacing it is still going to cost less than paying someone to fix it and you will have both pride and security in knowing you did it yourself and in the safest way possible.

I feel afraid, too - but mostly about the electrical and gas connections.
Plumbing can be tricky too but at least nobody dies if it's done incorrectly, unless it's from a heart attack upon seeing leaks.

Found this a couple years ago at www.vintagecampers.com I read it often when I began work on our camper for reassurance. It is kinda long, but makes some good points:

"The prospect of saving a vintage camper or vintage trailer and restoring her to her former glory is an alluring and romantic one. It has seized many an individual, and offers emotional, spiritual, and sometimes practical rewards, to those whose wisdom and skill are up to the task. Unfortunately there are pitfalls in the restoration scenario, and the inexperienced amateur should get some well-founded professional advice before embarking on a large-scale project.


The most commonly forgotten aspect of vintage camper or vintage trailer restoration is resale value. Whatever they may plan at the outset, most people don’t keep a camper for their whole lives. When it comes time to sell, they can get a reward for their efforts if they keep the future buyer in mind while planning and executing a restoration.


Too often romance and emotion so sways a person's judgment that they forget one of these common principles of a good restoration:


1.) Do a detailed personal inspection before you buy. Items which should be thoroughly checked are: EXTERIOR, RUNNING GEAR, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, INTERIOR, LP SYSTEM AND APPLIANCES, PLUMBING SYSTEM AND ANY SPECIAL ITEMS. Ideally, these items should be checked to see that they are functioning correctly. However, many sellers may frown on you taking tools to their trailer before you buy. In this case a good visual inspection can reveal tons of critical information if you know what to look for. If you don’t know what to look for, get professional advise. His fee will be repaid to you many times in the most practical ways.


2.) Be certain you are putting your time and money into a fundamentally good design and structurally sound trailer. The value of the camper will be much higher when you are finished, and she may be easier to sell promptly should that need occur. A quality built trailer from a well-known manufacture will be a much better start on a restoration than most others. This is a very good thing to consult a professional about, because to the un-trained eye all trailers look pretty much the same.


3.) There is no doubt that the most efficient way to restore a vintage camper or vintage trailer is all at once. The overall cost will be lower due to the avoidance of duplicated labor and inflation. The overall time frame will be shorter. Some of the frustrations will be less because you can often remove physical obstructions to your work instead of working around them. However, we strongly recommend that you not take this approach unless you know you will have the time and money to complete the project. A trailer which is largely taken apart and is months away from camping may represent a great deal of time and money to you. However, to a prospective buyer she will have practically no value at all. While the trailer is being disassembled, the market value will actually decline rapidly. It will remain there until the camper is obviously approaching completion, whereupon if you have done good work it will of course rise again. But the worst time to sell a camper is when she is all torn apart. She doesn't look like a complete unit, and is lacking much of the appeal and personality she will have when complete.


4.) Even if you are not a professional, you should try to produce professional results in your restoration work. Take time to plan the results you want, and the techniques and materials you will use. Most amateurs can achieve professional results. The only difference will be the speed with which you can accomplish them. Get advice on how to make each repair, and don't forget to mention that you want the repair to maximize the value of the trailer when you are done. Usually this will mean repairing in a manner that duplicates, or improves upon, the original construction. Avoid solutions that cover up problems rather than fixing them, or which add structural members without removing damaged ones. Make your repairs good-looking and well finished, even if they are in areas you wouldn't normally see. The Buyer will look there!


5.) Vintage camper or vintage trailer restoration labor is virtually all handwork and is not subject to savings by dividing into repetitive tasks or automation. Due to the inefficiencies of repair work as opposed to new construction, a large-scale professional restoration on a badly deteriorated trailer could cost more than a new trailer. If the restorer will allow you to do whatever work falls within your level of skill and available time, you can save a great deal.


6.) A small percentage of people actually purchase vintage campers or vintage trailers for the restoration project itself, and we say more power to them. However, for most of us, a restoration is a way to get a quality built camper with true craftsmanship, charm and character instead of the other option you get when you go to your local RV dealer. If the point is in fact the result more than the process, we strongly suggest what we call a camping restoration. That is the restoration work is executed in projects small enough that they can each be completed during the winter months. The camper hits the road for a season's use every year. There are multiple benefits to this approach. Getting use out of the camper each year keeps the enthusiasm level way up, and the focus practical. In many cases a camper in this type of program seems to be fixed up faster than others because this yearly infusion of energy keeps the project from stalling. If the trailer is always close to being ready to camp in, her value stays up and gradually improves. It never takes the big dip mentioned above in connection with full-scale restorations. Materials costs occur in smaller lumps spread over greater time periods, and are easier to justify when they follow on the heels of a nice camping season. Routine maintenance of the trailer as needed for seasonal use will keep the trailer as a whole from declining while the focus of the restoration is in one particular area. If a restoration firm is doing the work, the costs will be much easier for most people to deal with, as they are spread over time. Last but not least, spouses, children, and partners who are more enthused about camping or traveling than trailer work will continue to support your efforts and understand their value.


7.) In most cases there is a lot to be gained by using your project trailer before you either make changes in her or begin a broad-scale restoration. Very often the virtues of a trailer as she was designed and built are not obvious at first, and some feature you think you will hate may actually turn out to be desirable. When you purchase a camper you may feel that a certain problem is the most important item to attend to, but after camping in her other problems may seem more urgent. Even more importantly, you may find you don't like the trailer for some reason or that your needs are different than you first thought, and this will guide you toward a different project. In any case it is well if these realizations occur before a lengthy restoration, not after."




Read more: vintagetrailertalk.freeforums.net/thread/3396/reassuring-advice-prospective-trailer-buyer#ixzz3zhr1fsSX

I so understand your feelings. I had them also and sometimes still do. It's been an emotional roller coaster from the first excitement of getting the trailer home to the next feeling of "what the hell have I done?" Actually ignorance is probably bliss at first because I knew the trailer would need a lot of work but didn't quite grasp what that REALLY meant. I too have limited experience and limited tools but I ended up with a friend who wanted to learn about trailers who provided tools, a place to keep the trailer, and expertise. He saved me but the best experiences I had were the ones that I did it all on my own. For example, early on I felt like I needed to do something that would help me feel less overwhelmed. So I took out the old benches which were painted, falling apart, and generally disgusting. I bought a Kreg Jr tool, learned how to use it, and rebuilt those benches. An experienced carpenter could have done it in one fourth of the time it took me but by golly, I did it. They were sturdy. They fit. They were mine! What a feeling of accomplishment.

One step at a time. You can do it. Pay for help where you need it, try things, and learn as you go. And expect it to take longer than you think if you want to do it right. 

I'm one of those oddballs who loves taking things apart. The project is more alluring to me than the camping. Figuring things out is fun to me.

You are probably among the majority of members.  So let me take a moment to break down your post.

"I am afraid of taking the trailer apart. I have limited carpentry skills, not terribly well versed in using most tools, and I have never done work like this before."
Everyone feels that way the first time. No guts, no glory. If you really are "good at learning how to do things and figuring things out" then you can do it. If you never in your life took something apart and put it back together without making a big mess, it's best to be honest with yourself before you start.

"I am not the best at finishing projects or seeing something through to the end."
This is your biggest challenge. Again, it's time to be honest with yourself. My latest camper will take me 40 hours a week for 4 months. Many people above worked on their camper one full day every week for a year or two. Do you want it that badly? If not, hire somebody to do the more intrusive work, framing, welding, springs. You do the finish work.

I'll be the bad guy here and say what others are thinking...... Alice, if you aren't going to enjoy the adventure, challenges and even setbacks, don't come down the rabbit hole with us.

"Scrapping isn't an option."
If that's true, once you start down the vintage camper rabbit hole you're going the entire way through.

Thanks again, everyone. Deciding not to do it isn't an option either