Things I have learned

It was very fortunate that my first full day with Maizy was also a day off for me.  I got to spend all day with her.

I have been watching YouTube videos on how to restore a trailer and I felt confident jumping into the deep end of the pool.

I first started on the interior of the trailer.  I took off doors, removed drawers and hinges. paper towel holders, paper plate holders and anything else that was not screwed down - and some things that were.

I removed the screen door, took out the table rail and banquettes and swept out the space.  It all went smoothly.  Then I moved outside and started removing the gutter/railing.

Then the lessons began.  I learned a few things that I would like to share.

Just becasue someone makes a YouTube video on a topic, does not mean they are experts and they don't know everything.

This railing covers a series of tacks that connect one side of the skin to the other as well as to the framework of the trailer.

The YouTube video I watched stressed how this was a long, tedious process and can not be rushed.  The guy gave tips for removing the screws and explained how an electric screw driver will strip the screws and can cause damages.

This picture is how many screws I removed today:

There are about 160 screws here (I counted)  a little over 1/2 way through removal of these my forearm and shoulder and hands were killing me and I decided to use the electric drill.  It worked like a charm.  It was EASY.  It did not strip anything.  It did not damage anything.  I should never have taken the word of a random guy in a video and I should have known not to since at some point he admitted that he had never done this before.  I still have a long way to go and yes, I will be using the electric screwdriver every chance I get.

I learned that not all trailers are built the same.

This same YouTube guy told me (yes, he was talking directly to me) that underneath the rail, once I painstakingly removed all those screws holding it in, I would find a series of simple-to-remove tacks.  Nope.  My trailer has these horrible little staples.  Not fair not fair not fair. I decided to move on to another project.  I will tackle those stupid staples another day.

Testing the water pipes with the water on full pressure is a bad idea

From the beginning I figured I would have to replace most, if not all, the plumbing in Miss Maizy but you can't just assume things so I decided I should test the pipes.  I plugged in the hose and turned it on.  Before I could leave the tap I heard spraying and spewing.  A smart me would have immediately turned off the water, but I thought maybe the faucet at the sink was just open and spraying and spewing into the sink.  I trotted to the trailer and nope, water, water everywhere.  The water wasn't getting anywhere close to the faucet, it was all coming out under the cabinet.  So of course it was a mad dash back to the tap to turn things off.  Since I choose to put a good spin on this I shall admit my test was successful and I now know, for absolute sure, that the plumbing all needs replacement.  It also gave me an opportunity to clean the cabinets out a bit better.

I learned that when scraping gunk off a trailer from a location that is over your head, KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLOSED!

I don't think this one needs much explanation.  However, I will have you know I gave up any pretense of being a lady and behaved like a teenage boy in a spitting contest.

Bringing her Home

We picked up  Miss Maizy yesterday.    Peter had not seen my beloved Maizy before.  His first words were:  "she is small...."   After that his words seem to be few and well chosen.

Before looking her over, I handed Max (the previous owner and my ex-husband) the agreed upon price.  A decision I began to regret.

When last I took her camping, Miss Maizy was in fine condition.  That was, of course, close to 16 years ago.  Her license plates expired in 2004 so she has sat in the weather unused and unloved for at least 12 years.  She did not fair well with this neglect.

My original plan for her was that I would bring her home, clean her up, replace some plumbing here and an ice box there, put down new floors, paint and decorate.

With all of Max's stuff out of it, we were finally able to get a good look at her interior.  We have leakage and rot.  I am sure what we can see is just the tip of the iceberg.

As we inspected the exterior we noticed some loose siding and signs of more trouble.  Peter and I briefly discussed trying to back out of the deal.  But for some reason we chose not to.  Eternal optimism maybe?

A deal is a deal and we hooked her up and off we went.  V-e-r-y slowly and cautiously.  We were both afraid she would blow apart at freeway speeds.  And we had 300 miles to go!  As we approached 50 miles an hour we heard ominous creaking and groaning from behind us.  I rode twisted around facing backwards so if she started to go I could give fair warning and Peter kept checking the mirrors.  We also checked the faces of the people passing us and none appeared to be concerned about us.  There was no looks of terror or mad gesticulations trying to tell us we were leaving a trail of parts on the highway behind us.

We made it to the first rest area for a systems check.   Indeed, we had lost something.  The door threshold had blown off, now a permanent part of the debris along the freeway.  In so doing, it exposed yet more rot.  

Although I thought we might want to turn around and demand our money back I didn't say it out loud.  We continued northward.  We talked about the process of dismantling her and putting her back together.  It's going to be a much bigger job than I originally hoped for.  She is going to have to be "skinned" and gutted and pretty much everything replaced and then put back together.  We also decided we can do this.  

After another 100 miles we decided that if she hadn't blown apart yet, she probably wasn't going to and we relaxed a bit.  Finally making it home about 8:00.

This morning we gave Miss Maizy a bath.  It's encouraging because even just mostly clean, she looks quite adorable.

The next step is to get her in the barn and start disassembling her  (and when I say that I hear in my head: "Number 5 is alive.  No disassemble!!"

It's no big wheel, Maizy needs tires

Although it's still about 10 days before I get to bring Miss Maizy home, the previous owner (also known as Max, my ex-husband)  is preparing her for travel.  My beloved daughter caught the moment on camera:

Yes, that's one of his best angles.  Kidding, he's really not such a bad guy.  Mostly.  Anyway - he has removed all his junk from inside and hauled her out from between my daughter's wrecked red Honda and his wrecked jet boat and tested her basic systems.  Her lights don't work. That can be addressed with some temporary lights that we string on the outside for the trip home.

The more immediate concern is tires.

Max was getting ready to go get tires for her (see.. I told you he wasn't so bad!) but I had to go and be picky.  I've seen pictures and really wanted white wall tires for her.  Thus began my tire education.  This is where this post get's boring - feel free to stop reading.

Apparently there are "ST" style tires.  ST stands for "Special Tires."  Special Tires do not come in white wall.  Special Tires are made for vehicles that get towed and are not driven.  They have a different kind of traction which allows for the slippage required by something being towed.  Plus they take more air pressure and are a more durable tire.

After visiting two tire stores and filling my head with gobs of facts about traction, air pressure and assorted acronyms, as well as pricing of the ST tires vs white wall tires, I made a decision to go with the ST tires.  But then I decided Maizy needed new wheels.  Because, well, the existing ones are really ugly.

The original plan is to save money where possible.  So I thought I would take these wheels and clean them up and powder coat them, or rattle-can them with Rustoleum.  Cha-ching!  Money saved!  Except these wheels will always look like spray painted wheels and the new wheels the tire guy showed me are so pretty.  I am sure it was a sales tactic but it worked.

If I am going to eventually get new wheels to go with my special ST tires,  it makes no sense not to get them now.  It would be totally crazy to get new tires, put them on these old wheels, just to bring Miss Maizy home, and THEN swap  out the wheels.  That would not be a good use of my budgeted dollars. (let's not really talk about that though, because I really don't have a budget.)

Since I wasn't getting my white wall tires, I thought I really wanted hub caps.  Which brings me to the next thing I learned today while getting my tire education,  apparently you can go to WalMart and pick up hubcaps to put on almost any wheel.  I also learned from the tire guy that they usually don't last long before they fall off and get lost.  I shall have to ponder the hub cap option awhile, but at least that's not a decision that needs to be made now.

While I wait to bring Miss Maizy home I have been watching YouTube videos on trailer restoration.  I now know how a trailer is assembled and how to fix rot, remove the skin, and replace cabinets and flooring.  I am getting prepared.  YouTube and I are going to get this done!

Restoring Miss Maizy

Years ago, back in the day of diapers and ring around the rosey..

Back in the day when my kids thought I was the bomb and my son wanted to grow up and become an architect and build a house for me with a jacuzzi and a butler...

Back in the day when my daughter thought I knew everything and actually took my advice...

The three of us would go camping.

We borrowed their aunt and uncle's little 16 foot Shasta trailer and off we would go.  There was enough room for the three of us to sleep, a dilapidated ice box, a sink (with a hand pump to get water) and a built-in propane stove.

A few years later we upgraded and bought a 19 foot trailer with an actual bathroom, an electric pump, a heater and an actual refrigerator.

It was a fine trailer and we had many fine adventures in it.  A few years ago I gave that trailer to my son, but that little 16 foot trailer always held a part of my heart.

After a camping trip with Peter in 2014 where we slept on a flattened air mattress with lots of rocks and sticks and very hard ground underneath, my mind started wandering to tear drop trailers, and back to that Shasta trailer.  Perhaps it was rose colored glasses, but as I looked back on that little trailer I thought she was perfect.  As perfect as a 60 year old trailer could be.

As fate and luck would have it, (and to make a kind of long story short) I recently purchased that beloved old trailer.  It's mine.

And I have plans!

Because that's what I do.  I plan. I make lists.  I start Pinterest boards.  I have named my (eventually) cute little trailer "Miss Maizy."  And here is where I shall document the restoration process.

I have a goal to have her road ready by May, 2017.  My newly discovered sister has invited me to her daughter's wedding (that would be my newly discovered niece) in May.  Peter and I (Mostly me at this point...) are planning on a road trip taking in all the sites we can between Northwest Washington and Southwest Nebraska.

So, this is a picture of Miss Maizy as she stands today:

I have high hopes that when I am done she shall look more like this:

Right now the previous owner still has her, but I shall pick her up in a few weeks.  That will give me time to make space in the barn.

Once I get her here, The real fun starts!!