panahasi
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Post by panahasi on Dec 5, 2016 14:11:40 GMT -8
Hey there Guys and Gals. Just got my hands on a Roadrunner travel trailer. It has been sitting here in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 1973. Been trying to buy it for 7 years, when I first seen it. The owner finally caved in and sold it to me for $200. Still had the widow maker rims, 700/15 rubber still attached to them, and still holding air. I have owned other trailers but decided to get a Vintage one for a hobby!it has all the typical rotted places below windows, floor is in good shape.removed original cushions,bed framing and table/bed definitely need to fix framing in walls. Believe wood on walls is 3/4 or 7/8 thick. Is it worth going up to a 2X3, in walls, more insulation? Pictures to follow when I get home.
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Post by vikx on Dec 7, 2016 21:41:02 GMT -8
Welcome Panahasi.
I would stay with the original structure, once you get the skins off, you'll know more how to proceed. Vintage trailers were designed to be a certain weight the the bottom structure supports the walls. If you add too much weight, it could compromise the frame and supports.
Will be able to help more when you post pictures.
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msgoehring
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Just call me Margaret the shellac, buff, sand an shine queen.
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1957 Westerner Deluxe
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Post by msgoehring on Dec 8, 2016 6:10:55 GMT -8
Hello panahasi, welcome aboard, I really like Roadrunner trailers, still confuse them sometimes with Fireballs, but I'm getting better at that. I'm really glad you started out finding this group before getting to far into a restoration on the trailer. There's so much information that is wrong on the internet and here we have not only hobbyists, but professional restoration people, who are really great about sharing their experiences. I don't know if you're aware of this or not but, when restoring or repairing a vintage trailer, you must start from the OUTSIDE and work your way in. You must leave the cabinets, closets and other interior items in place because they provide the structural integrity of the trailer. In order to safely and properly repair rot or water damage in a trailer you need to start with removing the skins and shoring up the frame while it is still supported by the interior. You also need to check the boards that hold the body to the frame which are called skirt board (this one is the bottom board of the trailer body) and the sill board (which is attached to the frame to nail or screw the body to) as these are likely to be rotted also. Here is a thread that tells you the names of the trailer frame parts: vintagetrailertalk.freeforums.net/thread/1093/vintage-trailer-framing But before you even remove a piece of skin, paneling or anything else please, please check out these following two resources that are available from members of this forum who restore and repair vintage trailers for a living. They have been a complete life saver not just for me, but for many others. You might not know what can happen if a trailer is not repaired correctly, but one thing is you can be driving down the road and the entire body of the trailer will come off the frame like this one did:  The first resource is mobiltec. He makes videos and posts them on YouTube of his work sharing how to do everything on a trailer from start to finish. His website is: http://www.cannedhamtrailers.com and I recommend you watch this video first so you better understand why these things have to be repaired from the outside in: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDdpZgSD1JM . He does all these videos for free to help others who are interested in vintage trailers, but he does appreciate donations from his website if you feel he's been a help and are so inclined. Next is a wonderful repair manual put together by another long time member who restores trailers, forum name is vikx : vintagetrailerrepairmanual.weebly.com My husband doesn't do computers so this manual has become very important to him as we work to do a frame off restoration of our 57 Westerner Deluxe travel trailer. I am so glad you found this forum. There are so many wonderful people here who are very willing to answer any questions and help with anything you may come up against. |
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panahasi
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Post by panahasi on Dec 8, 2016 19:25:26 GMT -8
Hey there, not great with a computer to load pics yet. have to open acct to down load pics. I have taken pics, for before and after pics. I am reinforcing inside of trailer to help when I start taking skins off. I do know it will be a total rebuild. Planning and drawings right now, wood was probably 1" measures 7/8". Gathering tools, just finished redoing lake house, need another project. doing research on wood I want to use. working on pics know. any info about this 18' Roadrunner would be helpful. have only seen 4 others like this when surfing the net.
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Vintagehotdog
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Hi, we are Paul and Irvina, Currently rebuilding a 12' 1958 Easy Traveler
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1962 Oasis 18'
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Post by Vintagehotdog on Dec 9, 2016 16:42:04 GMT -8
I like those Roadrunner trailers and wish you good luck.Hope you really enjoy restoring it. The neighbors kids can help you with the pics lol
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msgoehring
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Just call me Margaret the shellac, buff, sand an shine queen.
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1957 Westerner Deluxe
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Post by msgoehring on Dec 9, 2016 19:04:03 GMT -8
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panahasi
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Post by panahasi on Dec 11, 2016 20:30:52 GMT -8
flic.kr/p/Q8u6oD better at building than working a computer! Oaky photo didn't come up but you can click on it. more pics to follow.
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panahasi
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Post by panahasi on Dec 11, 2016 20:48:30 GMT -8
Hey there thanks for the positive thoughts! Downloading more pics will get them over here so they can be seen, Could only find a few pics of this length and configuration. Any info of where to locate more pics or owners of this model would be appreciated
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msgoehring
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Just call me Margaret the shellac, buff, sand an shine queen.
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1957 Westerner Deluxe
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Post by msgoehring on Dec 11, 2016 21:07:23 GMT -8
I think the reason the picture didn't show up for you is that you forgot to pick the BBCode after tapping the share arrow in the lower right corner. I like this light shade:  IMAG1322 by Mark Lewis, on Flickr Also, are these pictures of the inside of your trailer when you got it? If so are you gonna keep as close to original as possible or change it up? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I could actually live with that shade of green.  IMAG1174 by Mark Lewis, on Flickr  IMAG1176 by Mark Lewis, on Flickr  IMAG1175 by Mark Lewis, on Flickr Here's his trailer outside guys:  IMAG1238 by Mark Lewis, on Flickr |
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panahasi
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Post by panahasi on Dec 12, 2016 16:14:28 GMT -8
My thought for right now is to keep the color the same as is. original box spring base to all seats are in good condition, just need recovering, tore down some paneling to find out how much rework I need to do. Well I decided to do a full restore of travel trailer, replacement of side walls, front, rear and roof. What the heck keep me busy this winter. Add some 12 volt lighting. 120 volt plugs, 50A service and an air conditioner . more pics to follow! any Ideas are welcome. pics of same model trailer wanted! and upgrades that are a must can be shared. Thank You!
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mrmarty51
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1972 HOMEMADE
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Post by mrmarty51 on Dec 12, 2016 17:09:05 GMT -8
Hello Panahasi.
These people really do know their stuff. They all are very serious about getting these nice old trailers back to their original condition and road worthy.
My son once started repairing an older camper trailer, He started on the inside, it was all tore up before He got it apart. He hauled it to the recycler. All of that because He started on the inside.
That appears like it would be a very nice camper to work on.
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panahasi
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Post by panahasi on Dec 12, 2016 19:39:24 GMT -8
I will be removing the outer skin probably this weekend. need to build frame to store them in since this is outside at a friends house. damage looks to be too severe to try to move trailer safely. Plus said friend said just do it here! I will post pics as I go , any advice will be followed. never tore into a trailer like I will be doing here. Thanks for the advice!!!
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