1962 Kenskill on ebay - I am in love

Hi Friends,

Chametzoo asked if I would go after it and bid on it. I would go after it, but I don't have the cash. I can only bid on something a quarter of that price, LOL. The allure was also that it was within a 2 to three hour drive from me. I would have insisted on a visit and getting a look see underneath and do the Ice Pick Pokey dance.

Questions were asked about the interior finish earlier in this thread. I lived in a house as a kid with that same finish in the kitchen. It looks like someone mixed milk(I know they didn't really) in with the whatever was applied and you get that milky look. I saw it in person in a 67 Kencraft a few months ago as well and the cabinets were ash wood. (Larry knows the trailer I am talking about). I prefer a natural finish - like butcher block, myself, but I would't change the trailer over it. I would still leave it as is.

Cheers,

Rod

Chametzoo,

You make some really good points in your last post.

I missed the split rims in the description. Good catch!  Current bids for the auction are now at $10,100.

Does anyone know if this model of trailer could have come as a non-park model with holding tanks or with one of those all in one toilets that need 4 gallons of water to run off grid? 

Cheers,

Rod

$10,100 with over a day to go. I had to check out the split rim thing cause I hadn't heard it before. All I can say is I'm glad they aren't made anymore, my dad is still (at 73) a truck driver and I'm sure he dealt with plenty of those through the years. I'm gonna ask him next time he's in town if he has any horror stories about them. Gives us something to talk about 😁

Google split rim exploding videos...they are scary and often deadly. I hear some tire shops have a cage to work on them to protect the other shop employees.

It would not be too difficult to add a black tank to this rig.  The black tank that was added to my trailer is wide and shallow and runs about 5' of the 7' width of the trailer, with the toilet dumping into the "deep end" of the tank, of course.  It's bolted around its edge flanges to the trailer frame.  Since I swapped a drop axle for a straight one, the ground clearance is adequate.  I also put in a vent that goes up through the roof, so even after 3 days of accumulated use I have not had even a hint of foul odor in or around the trailer.  (I also prime the tank with a product called Eco-Save, which adds bacteria, absorbing bran and surficant to the mix).  I was also concerned about the "shallow/high end" of the tank accumulating debris, so I installed a Quickie Flush at that location so I can blast water "downstream" toward the tank outlet.  FYI, I also use a Sewer Solution device at the outlet which also blasts water into the tank when set to clean, and macerates and literally pulls debris and water out when set to expel the tank's contents.  It's actually a brilliant device and if used properly, is sooo easy to use and does a thorough job… and if your tank is shallow like mine, a Quickie Flush or two installed makes your tank super clean.

I know this is off topic for this thread, but these are the kinds of useful things a seller can invest in to make an old trailer more functional.  But the seller of the Kenskill appears to be more interested in nice cushions and curtains.  These are things that can be easily added by the buyer, after purchase.  I don't mean to be overly critical of this seller, but it would clarify things for any first time buyer if the auction explicitly stated that it is a park model and this is what that means.  Full disclosure, in other words.  I can tell by some of the questions being asked at the auction site, that there is ambiguity as to what this trailer is capable of.  I also am not trusting of the snarky and defensive answers that the seller is providing in some cases.  It's not unlike the guy I bought my trailer from…  it wasn't so much that he was overtly lying to me, but he would become evasive and irritated when I asked direct questions.  Being naive to the whole restoration thing, I backed off thinking I had offended his "expertise".  I was a perfect "mark" for his con.   But it all turned out well in the end and made for a great education.  

This particular model is a park model. And it came with the tank toilet as mine did. I still have that toilet. I rebuilt the guts and made it work great and the new owner wanted it removed and replaced with the Thetford I put in it which has it's own black tank. It's not recirculating but uses fresh water. A "Park Model" has no storage tanks other than fresh water. Not really sure why they put the fresh water tank in if you have no black and gray water tanks. Another thing to watch out for in park models is that many, like my 59 Kenskill, are so low that a roll-away tank won't work... The sewer pipe that comes straight down from the toilet ring is not high enough to allow drop from there to the top of a roll-away toilet. So be aware of all this information if you ever look at purchasing a park model trailer. There may not be enough room to install a tank that will work properly and it may be too low for an above ground roll-away tank. 

Regarding sellers and their attitudes, I've found that most "flippers" do not bother getting to know the trailer they are selling. They clean it up (maybe) stick some cushions in it that do not go with the trailer and put it on the market. Most of them are very lazy sellers. So they get upset when you ask a question because they don't know the answer. I on the other hand research my trailers, clean them up the best I can, make them LEGAL and SAFE TO TOW and I point out all the bad stuff in a walk through video tour along with the good stuff. I even point out what it takes to get the trailer up to par whether it needs a full frame up restoration or a partial. I tell them all to visit my website and educate themselves and my trailers usually sell over night. I don't do that much flipping but what flipping I do is basically to save the trailer from the junk yard.

Why did you have to say that. Now I am furious! Not because I missed the opportunity but because its an unspeakable ripoff...