Oregon Vintage Campers

[Craig & Lisa]

Hello all,

My wife & I are new to this website and we are also new to restoring our first camper. Because of that reason I am wondering if there are any fellow campers out there who live near us who have restored their camper or who are in the middle of restoring a camper that I might turn to if I need advice.

And when I say 'advice'... I mean can I come over and see how you did it. :o)

Our family just purchased a 1969 Terry trailer on the 11th of July and it has about 15' of living space.

In the past two weekends I have completely gutted the entire trailer, and I am glad I did too. I removed the couch, the dinette, the bathroom, the stove, the refrigerator, the walls and the insulation. I removed everything and I am going to put in a new floor and I think I am even going to put on new metal.

I have to put in a new floor because my feet just about went through the rear section of the trailer... scary stuff. The rest of the trailer feels like the floor is kind of swelled up as well. Plus, I am a neat freak and I have obsessive compulsive disorder. Once I have the trailer completed I would always be obsessing over the fact that I didn't replace all of the floor and it would drive me crazy! I would rather know that I did the best job I could and in this case that means replacing the entire floor.

I know that replacing the floor adds to the cost, but I also know that down the road when I go to sell the trailer I want to be able to get top dollar for it. I also want the person or family that buys our camper to have the confidence in knowing that they made a 'solid' purchase.

Part of the reason I am glad that I gutted the camper is because there was some rotted wood. Some of it was just completely gone. The rear of the trailer is where the bathroom and shower used to be, which is why I believe there was so much damage. For an old girl that is 41 years old I am very impressed how well she has held up.

I am really looking forward to removing the skin off of the camper so I can get a good look at the bones of the camper and replace all of the damaged wood. I am a little nervous about replacing the siding, but hey this is a learning experience right? :o) I am sure if I take good notes when I take it off I can put new siding back on.

I know some people would say that I probably could have gotten away with cleaning up the interior, and that I could leave the skin on it as well. For me however, I really want to know that everything is either new or in good working order. Plus, knowing what was really hiding behind the walls and under the floor this is the only way to go for us. (I don't want my family to be breathing on rotten wood and old mud wasp nests, etc.)

So I am going to end this with the same question I started it with. Are there any other camper renovators out there that live near the Portland, Oregon area? I know that I will be able to solicit advice and help from everyone on here, but sometimes putting a visual answer to your question can really help. At least with me it helps.

Well thanks for reading this and Happy Trails to all of you.

Craig & Lisa

[Craig & Lisa]

I am assuming that everyone is going to be at Beverly beach this weekend correct? We are planning on coming out Saturday just to do a meet and greet because our camper is no where near ready yet.

[Wally and Sarah Mark]

Who can we send a registration form to to try to get on the waiting list for next year?

Wally and Sarah MArk

[Robert (Bob ) Ferranti]

I live in the Tigard area near Portland and would be willing to come help you. I have a 1960 Oasis Travel trailer that I gutted, replacing the floor and most of the internal ribs and wiring with 110 volt wiring and breaker panel so I could just hook up to campsites and run totally from thier power without the need for a converter. I'm in the finishing stages of mine but would gladly give you tips and help in whatever way I can. Let me know at [e-mail].
Bob Ferranti

[Wade Freitag]

I have been doing a ground up restoration of a 1951 Lintzcraft. I am 98% on the mechanical aspects of the project. I have a new electrical system: 12V and 110 with a PD4000 panel. A new plumbing system with a Girard tankless LP water heater, 12V pump, city water, hand pump, and outdoor shower. The LP lines are all new also.
Because I have done all of this work on my own, I am hoping to find someone how could take a look at everything with me and test the systems before I start to insulate with spray foam insulation and cover all my wiring.
The trailer is located in close-in SE Portland. Any tips would be great!
Wade [e-mail]

[Robert (Bob ) Ferranti]

Oh, by the way, I have loads of photo's of my trailer resto on my facebook page if you are interested, look me up..... Robert Peter Ferranti...... and add me as a friend and I will be able to share them with you. Let me know if I can help with your resto. Bob

[Craig & Lisa]

Hey Rob sorry I am just getting back to you. I looked at your pics on your profile and it looks like you have done a ton o work on our camper. I really liked the electrical work. Either you are an electrician or you are very particular about your work because the wiring looked great. It might be a while before I start on my interior. I am currently trying to raise the cash to put all new.siding on it. I need to takenit all off and replace he some studs. Some hard to get to corner pieces are completely gone too. My floor feels like yours looked so I am going to have to do that as well. I'm hoping to get the money to get the outside down before the weather turns bad so I can work on then inside over the winter and spring. It should be a good way to check for leaks before I get he interior walls up too. :-)

[Bruce]

Craig and Lisa,
Ambitious undertaking! I don't know if I would replace the metal unless there is significant damage-but I understand. I am struggling with our 'new' Aladdin - at what point do we say this will work for our uses vs I can make it better.
Fortunately the seller had gone through our trailer so there has been very few surprises for a 44 year old trailer that has sat for over 10 years as a playhouse. They did a quick interior clean and paint, made it quite 'cute' with the drawer fronts matching the appliances.
Bruce

[Craig & Lisa]

Hi Bruce. I think there are too many blemishes on he outside. Somewhere along the line it looks like someone let the wind catch the door and I left a huge crease on the side. There are some other. Imperfections all around it as well. For me I cannot make the inside.look nice and not the outside but that is just me. Plus when I go to sell it he next buyer might not believe the quality of my work if the outside is in less than stellar shape. I would LOVE for he outside to have been nice already though. Maybe on the next one. :-)

[Bruce]

Ah, If you do this the way you want the next one will not be good enough until you make it better. And i totally understand, mine was used for some target practice a time or two.
Bruce

[Jana Furzer]

I want to say good luck and it sounds like this is the way you need to go. Take a look at what my hubby (poor man-look what I am making him do) and I are jumping into in my photos. We even have an engine to go over! I am so glad we gutted it and will know "all about it!" I got many ideas from looking up vintage trailer restoration sites and enjoying the Sisters on the Fly site (vintage club) and more-the internet is a great help and Ebay helped me find more-I'm sure others will tell you more! Welcome to the craziness! Jana

[Wade Freitag]

I have been doing a ground up restoration of a 1951 Lintzcraft. I am 98% on the mechanical aspects of the project. I have a new electrical system: 12V and 110 with a PD4000 panel. A new plumbing system with a Girard tankless LP water heater, 12V pump, city water, hand pump, and outdoor shower. The LP lines are all new also.
Because I have done all of this work on my own, I am hoping to find someone how could take a look at everything with me and test the systems before I start to insulate with spray foam insulation and cover all my wiring.
The trailer is located in close-in SE Portland. Any tips would be great!
Wade [e-mail]