Vintage RV lovers

[Kim Jarrett]

I am a freelance writer putting together an article for an online publication about vintage RVs. I would love to talk to a couple of people who have recently purchased one and refurbished it. The inspiration for my pitch came from the show Flippin' RVs. Does anyone watch that show?

Thank you in advance,

Kim J 

[Kim Jarrett]

I will send and post copies! Thank you! I have a tight deadline. I love this site! I am learning a lot!

[Matthew Bonazzoli]

I am in the process of restoring my first RV.  A 1977 Midas on a Chevrolet G30 Chassis.  I'm certainly willing to help.  

[Old soldier]

Restoring a 1964 Fireball travel trailer. Mostly done inside. Has the rof removed and teplaced due to wate damage (go figure!). Ripped oit all the "glamping" garbage (red/orange/yellow paint, tiles, rotten wood, etc) and replaced walls, floor, roof. Wife said today it actually smells good aa opposee to so msn glamoer campers with paint over rotty wood. Installed modern Dometic pelican AC. Rebuilt old cabinets with good wood square to floors and walls. Removed original 15 amp electrics for 30 amp with up to 9 each 12 volt circuts. New lights, cushions coming, rebuilt the gravel and rock guards. Going to add a battery, too. Having to fix hundreds of bad jobs by builder and prior owners. Allso researching Fireball (Kurmann) company history which is proving harder than restoration chores!

[Jan Stew]

Hello, did your trailer have the metal roof? I've got a late 50's Spartan that has some roof damage. One area is along rivets and other is around heating flue. I'm unsure about the correct way to make repairs.. Don't want to redo it because it's not right.

[Old soldier]

Sorry. Thought I replied, but didn't. Yes, Derel (short for Derelict) had the standard metal skin over roughly 1x2" "rafters". Standard construction back in the day. I know most owners want to be "period correct", but now Derel has 2x3" rafters with 3/8" plywood (not OSB) decking supporting a "rubber" membrane. The "rubber" used is farrrr better than the roof on our real camper....a 2012 Keystone Cougar Xlite travel trailer. We had the entire roof removed at Thomas & Sons RV in Springfield, MO. Mike Thomas (co-owner) clued me into a nonstandard roof membrane. It is twice or more thicker than on the Cougar, with cross-hatched threads for strength. It is normally used on commercial buildings woth flat roofs. Twenty year warranty. I watched the technician apply it. Rolled out a good glue across the entire roof (not just around the edges, which shoukd prevent the "bubble" of loose material just behind the top of the front.) Aluminum roofs were OK when these new rubber roofs didn't exist, but not any more. Aluminum will actually "dry out" (no, not dry out) and become brittle through oxidation. I found tears of more than 2" in places since the aluminum roofs usually didn't have a continuous deck supporting it. It flexed and was subjected to impacts from hail, tossed rocks, etc while driving. Plus, you couldn't walk on the roof for cleaning, maintenance, etc. With my roof I can walk all over the roof to clean, add self-levelling sealers, etc. There are reasons better quality campers today have rubber (epdm, tpo, etc) roofs: better construction. Plus, we added a low profile air conditioner, so there is some weight up there! It is a major mistake to add sealants to metal or rubber roofs when you find damages. Best to just go with a new, better constructed roof to begin with! It cost us just under $10K, but they removed the entire roof to include all the kerfing; built the major portion of the roof in one piece on the floor with the 3/8" deck and the interior skin as a single piece; applied tye roof membrane; checked out the electric wiring harness (to ensure I didn't foul up the new circuits/converter/12 volt lines, etc); checked for propane leaks; and found my brakes were installed upside-down by the dummy Todd Anderson of Salt Lake City who sold Derel to me which meant my brakes only worked if I were driving
in reverse. Oh, yes....Todd is the guy with all the Pinterest camper restoration videos, book, and sells his restored campers on ebay...or did sell them. The SLC police investigated him for possibly running a chop shop, but wouldn't provide me detailed info on their investigation. He's one of the guys we "collectors" should push to have removed from business. May have already injured or killed folks who trusted his skills! But back to the roof: I will attempt to post some pics but can't guarantee it will work. We are proud of how Derel looks and his current state. I just wish there were more rallies around the modwest. I'm writing a combination kid's book + canned ham history + Fireball history for fun and my grandkids. Yell out if I can assist.

[Old soldier]

haven’t

Wouldn’t have a metal roof on my canned ham.   We receive...

the rubber roof!  Never worked on a silver bullet, but some Spartan ownerst this weekend told me some 
Spartans have wood framing, so any leaks are important.  Talk to Spartan owners.  But don’t just goop over a hole without doing a real fix.