What makes Lucy tick

I started the day out with more interior demo.  I got the upper kitchen cabinet out fairly easily.  The old paneling came apart pretty easily with a little coaxing from my hammer.  I also took out the street side dinette seat framing. Once that was done, I peeled up some of the old vinyl flooring.  This stuff is peeled at the edges but stuck down pretty good in the middle.  I planned on taking up all of the floor but using a putty knife is pretty hard work so I only took up a little.  I am thinking about getting a multi tool to take up the rest.  Anyway after a little flooring was out I decided to see why the ceiling was sagging over the dinette.  It was very soft and I knew there was bad wood above it. I used a putty knife and simply cut into the white vinyl ceiling at the front cabinets.  Once I completed the cut the ceiling fell in.

Pretty messy huh?  This took a while to clean up. After lunch I started removing the exterior aluminum edge trim. I've seen videos online showing how easy it is to do this and every time the trim is screwed in.  Of course this little lady was put together with nails.  These were a pain to remove.  I had to use a small flat head and a hammer to get under the nail heads to pry them loose.  Then I used a small nail remover pry bar to pull them out. This process was pretty time consuming.  Once all the nails were out I used my putty knife under the trim to pry it loose.  The aluminum is soft and you have to make sure to remove it gently because it will bend out of shape pretty easily.  Here is a picture with the trim removed. I had expected to see that the roof skins would be bent over the wall skins to help prevent water leaks.  This was not the case.  The skins simply butted up against each other.  The edge trim and putty is the only thing that keeps the water out.  I plan on improving that when I put her back together.

Once that was done, I had to remove all of the trim on the bottom edge of the camper.  Here is a PRO TIP for anyone removing the skins. Drill a small hole at every joint to make it easier to match the aluminum panels back up.  I have to credit Jennies Garage with this idea.

The skin is held in place with many staples however, most were loose because the wood underneath was rotten.  The ones that were not loose were rusted and I had to use a screwdriver to pry them loose. I built a wood frame so that I could mount the aluminum pieces and store them vertically in my small garage space.

With the skins off you can really see the water damage.  Keep in mind that this is the good side of the camper.  I know the other side is much worse.

It was a very good day and I made a lot of progress taking Lucy apart.  One thing I wanted to note here is how she was originally constructed.  All of the videos I have seen on youtube about camper framing has showed some form of stick framing with a thin plywood interior wall.  The Scotty is not built that way.  Her side walls are simply 1/2" plywood. There was a super thin layer of fiberglass insulation between the skin and the wood too.  

Replacement should be straight forward. I plan to use a sawzall to cut all the staples between the roof framing and the wall so I can pull it out in one piece. This way I can trace the old wall onto new plywood.  When I rebuild the wall, I am going to make it stronger.  I plan to laminate 2 layers of 1/2" plywood to make a 1" thick wall. This will provide a lot more strength and not too much extra weight.  At the bottom where it connects to the base it will still be 1/2" so that the camper does not get any wider.

Cheers!

Water + plywood = gross

I started taking Lucy apart today. All of the street side protrusions have been removed. The leftover tape came off pretty easily. I used a metal putty knife. I wish I had a plastic one though and will be purchasing one tomorrow. There is still a bit of residue that I will remove once the skins are off.

I also took all of the interior cabinetry dimensions and put them in a CAD program. This allows me to remember all the dimensions and it allows Jill and I to play with the design. 

Once that was complete I took out the windows on the curb and street side. This was surprisingly easy. This is also where I start to see the extent of the water damage. 

Apparently plywood turns to powder when exposed to enough water and time. These pics are of the curb side dinette window. The wood is just gone above it. The street side windows show some damage from window leaks but it is not too bad. 

To finish up the day I removed the kitchen  base cabinet. This was a lot of fun as I got to use my hammer to tear it apart. Tomorrow I attack the damaged ceiling.

Lucy in the garage with lights on....

We moved Lucy into the garage last night. It was a bit nerve racking. I had to put her close to the wall so I can park another car in there when it is not a mess but also keep it from hitting the side of the garage as I backed in. After 2 tries we finally got her in the right spot. One nice thing about restoring a small camper is that it fits in a 2 car garage with room to spare in the back. 

I spent a little time marking all the functioning lights so that I know which ones need to be really checked once they are off. 

A little progress

This morning I got to work removing the AC unit from Lucy. I found the model online and it looks like it is a 1983 Coleman air conditioner and heater. The original documentation said it weighed 133 lbs. Way too much weight to be put on the roof of the Scotty. Anyway, the interior components came off pretty quickly. 

The plastic shroud came off the top pretty easy too. That old plastic was pretty brittle. I like the look of it on the ground much better than on top of Lucy :).

After using a putty knife to cut the seal between the unit and the roof it was just a matter of time and a lot of help from a neighbor before the AC was gone for good. 

I think Lucy feels much better after getting that weight off of her back. I put a temporary patch over the hole in the roof. It will keep her dry for a few days before I can get her into the garage. 

Lucy came with a few accessories hidden in her luggage compartment. Here she is with her vintage jacks and awning. I think she looks awful nice. 

Initial impressions

In the past 24 hours our Scotty has been cleaned inside and out.  She was very dirty because the camper had been parked under pine trees for quite a while. She also smelled pretty bad. Thankfully it was just a musty, mildewey smell and not an animal smell. She wasn't too pretty in the inside either.

Here is the front end dinette. I added the wood support before pulling her home in case the front wanted to cave in. I had read a horror story about that happening the night before. You can see water damage by the door.

Here is the back bed. The camper came packed with all kinds of extras. Coffee mugs, about 30 spoons, 15 plates, pots, blankets, moldy cushions and of course some TP. 

Lucy is feeling lighter and cleaner now. Emily and I washed her and got rid of all the junk inside. We've swept every corner and have gotten rid of every bug. 

We are now ready for the next step. The AC unit on top is not original. Someone added it and it has broken Lucy's back. The ceiling was never meant to support the weight of much more than a Dove. We will be removing the AC and putting a temporary patch on the roof. Then I will start to assess the severity of the water damage. It is really bad by the door but not sure how bad in the rear yet. 

Look what followed me home

A months ago, my family went camping for the first time.  We met some friends at the Hocking Hills State Park campground.  They had a 27' camper, we had a tent. Needless to say, we had a blast.  It really is nice when your phone has no service.

On our second day, a tiny little camper pulled in. The camper was maybe 10'.  It looked out of place with all the large campers with pop outs.  It was old and very rounded and 3 full sized human beings and a dog camped in it.

On the drive home, while my son talked about the massive 5th wheeler with a back deck, Jill looked online to find information about this small camper.  We loved what she found.  For the next few days we dove into the world of "canned hams" and vintage campers.

Well, I am a decent carpenter who loves to build, so I have been searching the internet for a vintage camper for weeks.  Late last week, I found one on craigslist.  She was small and dirty with a messed up roof and water damage, but she was cheap.  On Wednesday, I drove to Newark, OH to take a look at her.  For me it was love at first site.  Through her dirt and grime, I could see potential.  The seller was a great guy, helping me hook up towing lights and taping down loose ends for the drive home.  She probably had not moved in 5 years, but the camper pulled easy and quietly as I drove away.

I stuck to the back roads which is hard to do coming back to Dayton when you have to go across Columbus.  I couldn't move too fast because the A/C Unit on top has caved in the roof and it wobbled a lot over 55 mph.  Anyway, after a 6 hour round trip journey, I parked her in the back yard.