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Post by Teachndad on Aug 22, 2021 5:28:55 GMT -8
Hi Friends,
Been thinking about sharing my thoughts on this for a long time. My following post goes out to the newbies more than anyone.
It’s only original ONCE.
What’s that mean? Your trailer when you buy it is probably faded on the outside and weathered. They call that patina. You are excited and want to move forward and probably want to paint it and make it all new looking.
But here’s the rub. If you paint it, keep in mind its only original once. If you leave it as it is, sure it looks old and beat up and weathered, but it’s still original. Once we strip the paint and repaint, it looks great and new as if right out of the box. But it’s no longer original. The longer I am in the hobby, the more I am coming to appreciate the older worn look or patina ever present in these vintage trailers.
When I bought my Rod and Reel a few years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to excavate the old worn faded paint off the side and try to show the original paint underneath that was coming through. I believe the stripe was repainted decades ago. It was forest green over sky blue. I really liked the sky blue. It turned out to be a harder task than I had imagined and now one side of the trailer doesn’t look very good. In hindsight, I should have just left it as is. I really wish I had. My energy was misplaced. Sure I didn’t like the faded lime green paint, with a forest green stripe. I thought I was making a good choice at the time. I recommend not jumping on this decision but make your repairs, address the rot, put it back together and live with it in that appearance for a while.
Don’t get me wrong. I like and appreciate a new painted trailer done as much as the next guy, but I think the decision to paint or not should not be taken lightly. I have been doing a lot of driving this summer and every now and then I get a treat and see a vintage trailer being towed down the road. Of the handful I saw, most have been faded and worn, and I was all excited to see it on the road. To me it had greater impact seeing it original vs. newly painted.
Just a perspective.
Cheers,
Rod
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Aug 22, 2021 11:05:22 GMT -8
Well said.
I think original is always more interesting. Here is the sticky part, if you take the skin off and repair everything then restore the inside and put the old skin back on you'll save $2500 on new skin but your camper will be worth $5000 to $7000 less.
You'll have a more interesting camper with the original skin and you won't panic if an acorn falls on it in the woods or you back into a parked car.
Tradeoffs.
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Post by vikx on Aug 22, 2021 11:12:28 GMT -8
The same goes for interiors. My 57 Shasta has pristine beautiful paneling and cabinetry. Recently, a lady contacted me about it and said, "we were going to buy a trailer and GUT it but the wood in yours is beautiful". Hmmm. She finally disappeared into said woodwork, not to be heard of again. I'm guessing another poor trailer has been stripped of all charm...
I've advertised the Shasta because of my hip injury and it bothers me when someone talks about "making it mine". With this trailer, curtains are about all you can do without harm. And I've used IT'S ONLY ORIGINAL ONCE in my discussions.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/51395421786/in/dateposted-public/" title="004 g Butch woodwork (1)"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51395421786_9ea797b9e1_w.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="004 g Butch woodwork (1)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/51396432110/in/dateposted-public/" title="004 g Butch woodwork (2)"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51396432110_b0fdabd366_w.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="004 g Butch woodwork (2)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/51396153749/in/dateposted-public/" title="004 g Butch woodwork (4)"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51396153749_8a2e6fded2_w.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="004 g Butch woodwork (4)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Would you paint it???
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Post by danrhodes on Aug 22, 2021 11:16:06 GMT -8
Our camper was super boring white with bare metal peeking through...really nothing that could be called patina, just old and busted. I think repainting original skins is ok in this case and all of the dents and bruises shine through with new paint.
I wish more people would think the same way about the interior though. Once you paint it, it's a painted camper forever. There are some amazing examples of painted campers but none look as good as that amber glow that is lost forever.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Aug 24, 2021 7:27:15 GMT -8
It can be hard to maintain the original. One you’ve strayed, you just keep straying. When we did Hamlet, we were dealing with broken/missing windows, a collapsed roof (with ruined skin), rot everywhere and missing cabinets and stove. We put him n the garage and would go out and just sit in him several times a week to “listen to what he had to say.” The answer kept coming back, “I’m only half here, but please make me a happy camper again.” And that’s what we did. I’ve said before, that if someone isn’t familiar with an original Compact, they won’t know that we made modifications. The most recent “fix” was the face of the front cabinet. The cabinet was missing when we bought him, and my hubby did the best he could recreating it. But we didn’t realize the cabinet was scalloped at the bottom. That’s now fixed. The birch doesn’t have the same exact grain as the rest of the inside, but that’s ok. I’m just glad that someone else didn’t buy him and “glamp” him up.
The unfortunate news: he’ll never be original again. The good news: we have used and enjoyed him for more than a decade.
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shastatom
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Post by shastatom on Aug 24, 2021 18:05:18 GMT -8
It is very hard on what to do on a restoration. I haven't repainted an outside yet and I am happy with the original look. I struggle more with the inside and what to keep and what to update. I want a safe camper and usable, but I also want the vintage look.
I think you have to look at the condition as well when making these decisions. My first camper wasn't safe and after being in the north woods for 45 years the inside plywood was just not something that could be saved.
But for painting the inside, that just isn't for me and I see campers on facebook and craiglist everyday that people have bought and tell you, "All the hard work is done, it has been gutted and now is a blank and ready for your design." or "Did a restoration on it and painted everything." Now they get some sucker to pay 6000 for a camper is now almost worthless in my eyes.
Well, we all know the stories about these types of things, I just wish I could save a few more before this happens.
I like your saying, it is only new once, but our responsibility is to try our best to keep them alive and used. If I was planning on putting it in a museum then maybe I would do some things different.
My campers have all said to me, please get me on the road again, be safe, and have some adventures with the kids and grandchildren, I want to live a fun life and bring smiles and memories to everyone that I am in contact with.
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Post by Teachndad on Aug 28, 2021 6:32:01 GMT -8
My campers have all said to me, please get me on the road again, be safe, and have some adventures with the kids and grandchildren, I want to live a fun life and bring smiles and memories to everyone that I am in contact with. Amen, Brother.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Aug 28, 2021 14:45:50 GMT -8
My campers have all said to me, please get me on the road again, be safe, and have some adventures with the kids and grandchildren, I want to live a fun life and bring smiles and memories to everyone that I am in contact with. Amen, Brother. I am happy, and rather relieved that your campers have “spoken” to you. I was afraid that we were the only folks out there who listened. I wrote stories about Hamlet for our grandkids, who think he is the cat’s pajamas. They like imagining Hamlet’s previous “lives” as much as we do. We’ve also had two homes that have “asked” us to make them happy again. And we have. I’d better stop now before someone here calls 911 and has me hauled off in a snuggly white jacket to a room with padded wallpaper. I’m OK. Really.
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Post by Teachndad on Aug 28, 2021 14:58:06 GMT -8
Shhhhhhh... don't tell anyone. I have heard them, too.
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oldtrailer
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Post by oldtrailer on Oct 8, 2021 9:45:36 GMT -8
Gorgeous work vikx.
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Post by vikx on Oct 8, 2021 10:22:07 GMT -8
Thanks Oldtrailer. That trailer was barely touched up, the wood is original. Hard to believe... I accidentally discovered the perfect touch up for 50s Shasta wood panels and cabinets: There was one area in the back that had to have an amber shellacked piece cover some wiring. The brush was almost dry and I wiped it on a ceiling scratch. Voila! Scratch disappeared. Even tho the finish isn't "amber" the dry brush technique covered small flaws very well.
Back to original: I have been searching the country for a decent 50s ham for a friend. There is VERY few available and often ruined with modern cabinetry and PAINT. Seriously. I even found a lovely old 52 Hanson, open the door and all the beautiful cabinetry was coated with white. Such a shame. That doesn't even address the structural issues that are probably there.
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shastatom
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Post by shastatom on Oct 10, 2021 5:55:39 GMT -8
I look every day for campers and see the same thing. It is always a really high price, talks about how they restored it and either painted or gutted and then they put some furniture in it and all the cabinets and real parts are gone.
It breaks my heart every time I see one of these nice old campers glamped as they call it, and I call it wrecked.
I know I am not a purist when it comes to the renovation but I just can't see painting all that nice wood or at least rotted wood in many cases. In most cases the walls are rotted so paint isn't a big deal because you will need to replace it anyways. But getting paint off the cabinets is a real pain but even worse is the removal off all the cabinets and putting other stuff in.
Sorry for the rant but I just did my daily search and say another nice camper wrecked with paint and other mods that wrecked the camper. I blame Etsy and Facebook for this, darn social media. Wait I am on social media on this forum. My last parting comment is if someone wants to make over a camper with paint and new stuff then but something from 80s or 90s and have at it.
Sorry again, I am just feeling bad about seeing another vintage camper die a sorry undignified death.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Oct 10, 2021 7:01:54 GMT -8
Something just occurred to me that I probably should have figured out years ago… Someone who guts a trailer and then puts it up for sale saying “all the hard work has been done” has never restored one. It’s kind of like catching a rainbow trout on your first cast, taking it back to camp, gutting it, handing it over to the cook and saying, “Here’s the fish. All the hard work has been done. Now, can you make that delicious dish with the champagne sauce that takes all afternoon to make?”
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Post by vikx on Oct 10, 2021 11:02:33 GMT -8
INFO: I recently posted looking for a ham for a friend. All the important criteria; no inside paint, original, ham, under 15 feet (dummies STILL don't know how to measure a trailer tip to end!), title, etc.
The responses I got were crazy. A 17' Airfloat for 10K needing a full build, a toaster with horrid boards inside, a really NICE Aljo but looks 16.5 NOT 15', a rough Winnebago, a 17' 47 Boles with 60s turquoise appliances and one little ham I haven't heard back on.
We would insist on a tape on the Aljo to prove it was 15'. (not) The seller is going by an old brochure. But MY Aljoa was at least 2 feet shorter... The 14K Boles seller argued with me when I said it was longer than we could tow. I wonder if s/he knows how the turquoise appliances drag down a 47? The toaster person was nice and they really did take it down to the frame, but those boards, ugh.
So responses were interesting, to say the least. There just aren't many decent hams available. So MANY have been painted inside! One lady even painted a 52 Hanson. Sad.
ONLY ORIGINAL ONCE.
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WhitneyK
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Post by WhitneyK on Oct 10, 2021 13:43:04 GMT -8
That word makes me throw up just a little in the back of my throat. whuuup, whuuup, whuuup
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