Just bought Shasta 16SC In need of help!

Saphie - Sorry, you are not allowed to feel foolish, silly, stupid, or anything related to those, here. We have ALL wondered why, what, or how to do a gazillion things as we worked on our trailers. Unfortunately, when some of us did ours, there was not yet an abundance of folks out there to learn from, so we sawed through things we should have left intact. threw things away for which we wound up dumpster diving as the trash collector rounded the corner, used the wrong tool for the task and wound up with stitches... should I go on? Keep asking and we will keep imparting such wisdom and knowledge as we can muster. Good luck!

Yes, you can absolutely save the skin. If you are careful removing it, you can either lay it flat or very carefully roll it. You don't need to save the screws that attached it. Most folks, I think most people use stainless screws to replace them. And yes, you can paint over the skin. You will need to prep it, and you'll find that info in a couple of the resto threads. If your skin is in really bad shape, you can replace parts or all of it. It can get pretty pricey, though. We spent about $1800 on skin for our Compact a couple years ago.

Yep what gonekayaking said. We have a couple of trailers here on the forum who have starred in movies been used in photo shoots and featured in magazines. They make great backgrounds and props for weddings etc. I`ll like to have a Valentines or anniversary pic taken with one of ours, beach, sundown, champagne glasses, roses and wrought iron table for 2 lol

I second what aloopdloop said about Mobiltec's videos. They are great. My step-dad owned my trailer for 30 years and learned more about it hanging out with me for a few hours than he ever knew when he owned it (and all I did was read this forum and watch about a billion videos). Larry and everyone else on this forum are a GREAT resource. Good luck!!!!

HI Donny

My guess after seeing the photos is that the original numbers were painted over, and probably "lost" in a previous ownership. It appears that someone at one time painted the tongue over with a brush, and since the numbers are not stamped that deep, they are easy to cover over.

It is highly possible that the VIN was replaced as some time, and the new numbers were stamped in. (i.e., the number starting with the "PA" character.

Question: Does the trailer have a manufacture plate on the side, located rear of the door? Should look something akin to this:



The VIN numbers were all preceded by a letter (usually a single letter), and each indicated the manufacturing plant. The Pennsylvania numbers were preceded with a "P". South Carolina = "S" Texas ="T" I think Indiana was "V"...There were some instances that the VIN was a different format, and believe that may have been in the California plant.

My suggestion would be to get a reliable paint remover, and see if it is possible to lift the paint and clean the area of the tongue above where the "PA" number is stamped. Most of the originals that I have seen were stamped higher on the outside edge of the tongue rail. As for the tag on the inner rail, I would try some "sticky" penetrating oil, or even a little bearing grease, apply it to the tag and let it soak, then rub it down lightly with a rag, to see if it will show the numbers any more clearly.

In the mean time I will try to do some tracking and see if the inner tag was used for the VIN on the '70-s models. The inner tag sports my VIN on the '64, and I believe the numbers should match on any of the models.

Hey Ten! I was able to find the VIN Number! The paint thinner worked like a charm to reveal an S in front of the 33629 :-). I'm assuming the S stands for Simi since it was made in Simi California? Now I can get this thing registered and see how much it will cost. Thanks for your help!!