nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Oct 12, 2014 7:32:50 GMT -8
I just opened up the front and found not a single piece of rotten wood. Not much framing to rot...but solid. I'm posting this here in case a Compact owner wants to see the front framing. This camper came from near the Utah border where it spent its entire life. From now on, I'm buying all my campers from the desert. Like they say at Dunkin Dounuts...it's worth the trip.
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Post by vintagebruce on Oct 12, 2014 8:32:02 GMT -8
Wow, if you simply wrote and described the absence of framing, I never would have believed you! In fact, I am still not believing what I am seeing. Obviously the kitchenette, closet and overhead cabinets across the front on the inside make for a really solid support system. They are an integral part of the overall strength of the trailer. This is a perfect example of making sure you don't remove too much of the original cabinets or reposition them until you are sure just how much they hold the trailer together.
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Oct 12, 2014 9:03:02 GMT -8
You make a good point. It also brings up another point, when buying a Shasta you need to be especially careful. As you can see, if even a few pieces of framing had rotted, this camper would have collapsed on the way home.
Here is a photo of the rear before I added more framing.
And the framing doesn't even reach to the wall. As you can see, the edge board (up and down trim) is where the wall sits. The cross framing on Shasta campers is cut short of the wall and nailed on an angle to reach the wall board. Most of you know this, but for someone new it may be a surprise. cannedhamcampers.com has a video tutorial on how to re-frame it correctly during the renovation process.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Oct 12, 2014 9:17:49 GMT -8
You make a good point. It also brings up another point, when buying a Shasta you need to be especially careful. As you can see, if even a few pieces of framing had rotted, this camper would have collapsed on the way home.
Here is a photo of the rear before I added more framing.
And the framing doesn't even reach to the wall. As you can see, the edge board (up and down trim) is where the wall sits. The cross framing on Shasta campers is cut short of the wall and nailed on an angle to reach the wall board. Most of you know this, but for someone new it may be a surprise. cannedhamcampers.com has a video tutorial on how to re-frame it correctly during the renovation process. That's www.cannedhamtrailers.com The other thing that people don't realize a lot of the times is that the paneling in the front, top and rear is pretty much the only thing holding the walls together and if they tear out and replace the paneling from the inside, the structural integrity of the trailer is lost. The entire trailer can just fall apart with the right kind of jolt and the whole thing will rake side to side over time until it collapses while going 60mph or more on the freeway....
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Oct 12, 2014 9:35:50 GMT -8
Sorry about getting the website address wrong. I was making a shameless plug for you and blew it!
Seriously, for new people reading, watch the Shasta and Deville series at his site. This guy is the Yoda of canned hams. Just don't let his rants about Shasta campers fool you. He really loves them or he wouldn't keep buying them to restore ;-)
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Oct 12, 2014 10:52:13 GMT -8
No rot on my front either, but there was something strange about the way they nailed the front panel on one side and not the other. Nothing to nail it to on the stove side but where it was nailed on the closet side, it kind of bowed in. My edges were a little frazzled at the bottom corner where I had a leak from the top that had run down in the corner so I replaced it and added another 1x2 across the front. I wasn't going to replace my front bottom panel, but I took it out to get to the plumbing, propane connections, stove and icebox and it was just kinda yukky behind the sink.
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Post by vintagebruce on Oct 12, 2014 12:47:28 GMT -8
I am convinced that no one at any Shasta plant in the 1950's and early 1960's would have ever thought the campers they were putting together would last half a century or more. In fact I will go one step further and bet no one in any of those plants ever really expected any of their dealerships to actually sell an Astrodome. I think I read somewhere they only went into production because someone high up in Management lost a bet on the Goshen Gophers semi-pro baseball team...
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Oct 12, 2014 13:43:53 GMT -8
To be honest, the first vintage Shasta I went to see shocked me. Our Forester is built like a tank in comparison but I didn't know it until I saw a Shasta. When I saw the cabinetry I was stunned. They couldn't have made it from anything lighter weight. But there is something special about the design. The shapes are soft and flowing. The designers really did a lot with the materials they used.This one survived so long because the family using it for 27 years had only one child. I was told she was very gentle and used the Compact as her doll house growing up. This is where I'm stopping for the day. Two new supports, new edging and a few oddball flaws at the bottom I hope are fixed. They left nothing there to bend the new skin over at the corners. susieq, it is strange how they nail one side and leave the other half unattached. Didn't anybody in the factory scratch their head and ask "why are we doing this?".
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Oct 12, 2014 18:53:41 GMT -8
To be honest, the first vintage Shasta I went to see shocked me. Our Forester is built like a tank in comparison but I didn't know it until I saw a Shasta. When I saw the cabinetry I was stunned. They couldn't have made it from anything lighter weight. But there is something special about the design. The shapes are soft and flowing. The designers really did a lot with the materials they used.This one survived so long because the family using it for 27 years had only one child. I was told she was very gentle and used the Compact as her doll house growing up. This is where I'm stopping for the day. Two new supports, new edging and a few oddball flaws at the bottom I hope are fixed. They left nothing there to bend the new skin over at the corners. susieq, it is strange how they nail one side and leave the other half unattached. Didn't anybody in the factory scratch their head and ask "why are we doing this?". Looking good. This is the right way to do it.
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Post by vintagebruce on Oct 18, 2014 16:35:20 GMT -8
Speaking of campers from the desert rocking...I periodically check the Arizona craigslists hoping to find a 1963 Schiebout Little Gem Bugg...if I see one that looks original I would definitely pay to ship it. Can't beat campers that have lived their lives in the desert.
Sorry, did not mean to take the focus off your Compact. Looking at it just made me want a Bugg in as good and dry condition.
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John Palmer
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Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Oct 18, 2014 19:59:37 GMT -8
You make a good point. It also brings up another point, when buying a Shasta you need to be especially careful. As you can see, if even a few pieces of framing had rotted, this camper would have collapsed on the way home.
Here is a photo of the rear before I added more framing.
And the framing doesn't even reach to the wall. As you can see, the edge board (up and down trim) is where the wall sits. The cross framing on Shasta campers is cut short of the wall and nailed on an angle to reach the wall board. Most of you know this, but for someone new it may be a surprise. cannedhamcampers.com has a video tutorial on how to re-frame it correctly during the renovation process. That's www.cannedhamtrailers.com The other thing that people don't realize a lot of the times is that the paneling in the front, top and rear is pretty much the only thing holding the walls together and if they tear out and replace the paneling from the inside, the structural integrity of the trailer is lost. The entire trailer can just fall apart with the right kind of jolt and the whole thing will rake side to side over time until it collapses while going 60mph or more on the freeway.... Larry, your statement about the importance of replacing the paneling "the correct way" on a canned ham rebuild, is likely "the single most constructive single post" ever on this forum. But sadly the structural importance is not understood, until someone rebuilds a few of these campers.
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Oct 19, 2014 4:53:57 GMT -8
Speaking of campers from the desert rocking...I periodically check the Arizona craigslists hoping to find a 1963 Schiebout Little Gem Bugg...if I see one that looks original I would definitely pay to ship it. Can't beat campers that have lived their lives in the desert. Sorry, did not mean to take the focus off your Compact. Looking at it just made me want a Bugg in as good and dry condition. I'm hooked on the desert when it comes to anything with the kind of framing I found in the Shasta. They hardly seem roadworthy when they're solid. The campers with 2" thick walls and double the cross pieces that I found in my Shasta can take more water damage. That's my theory.
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pacificarose93
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Post by pacificarose93 on Jun 7, 2017 11:36:43 GMT -8
I just opened up the front and found not a single piece of rotten wood. Not much framing to rot...but solid. I'm posting this here in case a Compact owner wants to see the front framing. This camper came from near the Utah border where it spent its entire life. From now on, I'm buying all my campers from the desert. Like they say at Dunkin Dounuts...it's worth the trip. HOLY GUACAMOLE! I can't believe these things didn't fall apart the second you hit a pot hole going 55!!!!
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pacificarose93
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Post by pacificarose93 on Jun 7, 2017 12:06:56 GMT -8
To be honest, the first vintage Shasta I went to see shocked me. Our Forester is built like a tank in comparison but I didn't know it until I saw a Shasta. When I saw the cabinetry I was stunned. They couldn't have made it from anything lighter weight. But there is something special about the design. The shapes are soft and flowing. The designers really did a lot with the materials they used.This one survived so long because the family using it for 27 years had only one child. I was told she was very gentle and used the Compact as her doll house growing up. This is where I'm stopping for the day. Two new supports, new edging and a few oddball flaws at the bottom I hope are fixed. They left nothing there to bend the new skin over at the corners. susieq, it is strange how they nail one side and leave the other half unattached. Didn't anybody in the factory scratch their head and ask "why are we doing this?". Did you cut into the existing framing on the left and right sides to make room for the new supports you added?
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Jun 7, 2017 12:14:23 GMT -8
To be honest, the first vintage Shasta I went to see shocked me. Our Forester is built like a tank in comparison but I didn't know it until I saw a Shasta. When I saw the cabinetry I was stunned. They couldn't have made it from anything lighter weight. But there is something special about the design. The shapes are soft and flowing. The designers really did a lot with the materials they used.This one survived so long because the family using it for 27 years had only one child. I was told she was very gentle and used the Compact as her doll house growing up. This is where I'm stopping for the day. Two new supports, new edging and a few oddball flaws at the bottom I hope are fixed. They left nothing there to bend the new skin over at the corners. susieq, it is strange how they nail one side and leave the other half unattached. Didn't anybody in the factory scratch their head and ask "why are we doing this?". Did you cut into the existing framing on the left and right sides to make room for the new supports you added?
I cut into the curving at the edges so the framing would span to the entire camper. The curving is plywood in layers. This give added support.
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