Free to Me, Free to You

I love this ad from a 1962 Trail R News. That Compact is only 12 1/2 feet long. That would make a perfect Sisters on the Fly or Tin Can Tourist rig.

Well, guess what. Here it is in the flesh. Two owners, the second one owned it almost it's entire life. She towed on the Al-Can Highway and the Trans Canadian. During the time she did, there were long stretches that were just gravel. Her lower panel on the front shows testament to this adventure.

If only wasps made honey. The window is a solid block of nests.

I love the wide rise to the side sheets and the wide drop(opposite to the sides) on the ends.

The license plate is from 1977.

Natural birch interior. It is all complete, but will mostly be used for patterns. The ad says sleeps 6.

The two single beds join together to make a triple bed. Above it there are three single cots that suspend from a rail along the wall. All three cots are there.

Sorry, blurry, but needed.... she will take a little more than upholstery.

Front kitchen with ,YES, a toilet. All that in 12 1/2 feet. The body is only 10 feet.

Her owner found my web site and like the idea of a free trailer with a restoration. Now I just need to find some 13" trailer tires.

In the Out Door

I am always so happy to see my customers drive away. I must be very lucky because in all my years of being in business(even in my previous cabinet making career) all of my customers have been very pleased with what I did for them. I have never had the experience of an unhappy customer and really do not know I would handle the situation if it were ever to arise. Christa was sure excited when she picked up her 1964 Globe Trotter last night. She is heading West. No real destination at this point. She showed up with a 4 x 6 UHaul loaded with all her stuff. She then loaded it all in the Globie and returned the UHaul just a few blocks up the road. She was so excited for her big adventure.

Her Globe Trotter is just an aluminum tent at this point. I got her new tires mounted and the bearings repacked. All the running lights were done and brakes wired into the four wire system. I also installed my last Bargman L100 lockset and a matching dead bolt. Her trailer needs it all except tires.

Godspeed to you Christa. I hope the road leads you to your dreams.

The very next morning a sexy little 1966 Caravelle slipped right into the space vacated by the Globie going out the in door.

Her name is the Shiney Hiney for good reason.

We will be polishing her back up and sealing all her seams. Stopping those pesky curved glass windows from leaking will be a challenge we will over come. All her hatches and vents will be sealed against leaks. There is also a list of things to correct that were done by a company with a very similar name to my company.

She looks pretty sexy to me as she sits now.

2,4,6,8 Who Do I Apreciate?

Wayne, that's who I appreciate. I am very fortunate to have such a talented employee as Wayne.

I briefly, mentioned to him how I wanted to see if we could resurrect this continental cover at some point. It looked rather hopeless to me at first glance.

It had been backed into, mashed down and treated like a red headed step child. My first thought was it would be heading to the scrap yard. When I set Wayne upon cleaning up the Buddha Baby (that is this trailers very fitting name) he had remembered me saying something about resurrection.

Wayne got out some PB Blaster and soaked the retaining nut while he went about cleaning out the interior and exterior. He made short work of the cleaning and some how found a few moments to surprise me.

I was astounded when he showed me this. He asked if maybe he might have an other 15 minutes with a sand bag and a rubber mallet at some point. Once again, Wayne has astounded me. He took the task at hand seriously, went the extra mile, and exceeded my expectations once again. Thank you Wayne for being such an outstanding employee.

Very Full House (you dent em, we fix em)

Currently, FTW is crushed with work. The yard is completely full of trailers waiting their turn at being fixed. Fortunately I have additional storage not too far away. A few of these trailers will also be heading out in the very near future. One that should be heading out soon is this 1954 Cruiser.

The 1954 Airstreams all have a serious design issue; short tongue syndrome. This causes one to dent the lower panels up front when jacking it too tight into a space. When these were towed by cars of the time, the issue was even worse due to the gigantic bumpers of the period. Sometimes the skin gets ripped also.

This Cruiser got it on both sides. She turned the other cheek and got a slap there too.

The only way this repair can be done properly is by removing the interior skins in that area. The original panel was removed and copied onto new Alclad. Just a little note of caution; if you measure the panel from seam to seam it is exactly 12 foot long. This would lead most, with sticker shock over Alclad prices, to order the minimum length of 12 foot. However the panel is longer due to the fact that it goes behind the side panels. A 13 foot piece is needed. A professional knows these things.

It is also worth the $2 extra per foot to have it wrapped in film. Though it does not guarantee a scratch free finished surface, it sure helps to minimize it.

One also needs a large number of cleckos to hold the panel before riveting. I own 750 1/8th" and 1000 5/32" cleckos. Every 5/32" was used today and a few more could have been handy. Next order to Air Parts Inc will include a request for 500 more.

The finished results are stunning.

A Visit From Tim the Tool man's Neighbor, Wilson AKA Wayne

More work has been progressing on the Double Door since my last post. Wilson has been busy stripping, polishing, and painting the interiors of some 1954 overhead lockers that are being repurposed. They came out very well as you will see later in this post. While Wayne worked on the overheads I spent a good amount of time fabricating the interior cabinet structures.

Once fitted, it was all removed to be finished. The interiors of the cabinets and all the side panels were sanded and finished.

I use a professional line of products by ML Cambell. I shoot two coats of sealer followed by two topcoats. Everything is sanded to 150 before any sealer goes on and every layer of finish is scuff sanded with 320 in between. These finishing products require personal protective equipment. It is all solvent based and most likely illegal in California.

The photo never does the grain any justice. This finish is still wet in this photo, but it will dry out to a #20 sheen. That is not dead flat, but dull in sheen. My client likes a finish like this. I usually use a #45 sheen which most call a satin. I must say, I am becoming very fond of the dull sheen.

Very poor lighting, sorry. On a side tangent; Why do halogen shop bulbs only last a few days? I have purchased the cheap ones at Harbor Freight for $1.50 each and they last 1.5 weeks. I have purchased the expensive ones at Home Depot for $2.50 a bulb and they last 2.5 weeks. What I do know about Halogen shop lights is they always blow out at the wrong times. That, and the bulbs suck. Tom, there is an experiment in this for a curious fella like you....

Back to the cabinets. Here is the auxiliary water tank on the curb side. A Dickinson propane fireplace will hang on that end panel to the right. That will not only heat the rear, but will also create a nice ambiance to the bedroom area. Face frames are still to follow.

Here is more of Wayne's handwork. He did an awesome job turning some worn cabinets to new again.

For an Anonymous Reader

I have been corrected by an anonymous reader. Someone out there does find axle swaps exciting. He or she asked I not post their comment, but it was along the lines of, "I find axle swapping exciting and you not posting pictures leaves me feeling like I missed out on something I wanted to see". Those are not the exact word, but more the jest of the comment. I hate to disapoint, so here are some before and after photos. Sorry, but I just did not take any "during" photos. One get really dirty changing axles and touching my camera during it is the last thing I want to do.

Here are the original axles on this sweet Sovereign that came in to the Works for a little swap out.

Wicked cool full moon hub caps! Wicked sagged out axles. -15 degree angle is not good.

Brand new #4000 Dexter axles. The axle tubes are 1/2" larger than the original #3400 axles and required a widening of the axle socket. Lots of sparks were flying while we cut out the metal. I like making sparks, it feels like mechanical victory.

Did you get a rise out of this? The trailer got a 4" rise and 800 pounds of extra carrying capacity.

I enjoy swapping axles. I enjoy it so much that, FTW is going to run a Spring/ Summer/ Fall Axle Swap Special. I will charge you $100/ axle to install them and the axles will be at cost. Measuring is easy as pie. I will hold your hand through all the info needed. When the axles arrive from Dexter you can drop off your trailer in the morning, go see Baltimore. Then pick up after lunch. I can send you off on any sort of adventure you desire in Baltimore, from a walking tour of the inner harbor, a museum tour, historic places, or my favorite off beat restaurants. I will even install Axis axles for the same price if they are ordered through Colin Hyde and drop shipped to my shop. I guarantee, you will not find a better deal for your money. Your trailer will be very glad too.

I do more than repair trailers

I wear many hats and also provide more services than just trailer restoration and repair. I also do a bit of transport and inspection work. I have a very good client that asks me to do both services for him just about every month. Today he sent me to the Eastern Shore. To clarify, we, living West of the Chesapeake Bay, call it all the Eastern Shore. It is also known as DelMarVa for Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia combined. Some call it SlowMarva (a derogatory or compliment depending on your perspective) for it is still rather agrarian and under developed.

DelMarVa is good trailer hunting ground.

Many places have their bridges that they take great pride in. The Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate, the Verrenzano, the list goes on and on. A cool fact is all these major bridges use so many gallons of paint that they actually all have their own colors. In Maryland we have the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and yes, Chesapeake Bay Bridge gray is an actual color. I am always impressed with this bridge and have crossed it hundreds of time. Every single time, The Bridge gives me a wonderful photo.

I was sent to pick up this trailer my client had bought and to transport it back to Baltimore. A 1966 Globetrotter with very nice straight skin. The interior has seen much better times and three windows were gone, but it still towed like a champ. I was also sent to inspect and figure a course of restoration for the other two trailers my client purchased.

This is Chris. Chris is a trailer hunter. He finds em and gets them out of the woods. Chris has been hunting trailers for many years now and has a fairly large collection of trailers in his yard. He was real friendly and knowledgeable about what he had. I had intended to hook on and roll, but instead spent close to three hours talking shop. Now these next few photos are of one that I was to evaluate. This one is going to get more than a few of you VERY excited. I am beyond excited that this trailer is coming into FTW for work.

What has an edge beaded like that? A flat end cap panel does. Flat? Yes, a segment on a thirteen panel trailer is flat when all the rivets are removed.

But wait, a thirteen panel has narrower panels. Confused yet? Look at that sexy eyebrow over the window. That window, that is not a Herh Standard, it is an earlier one...

Oh my, a glass bee hive indicator lens. What year was that used?

And that wonderful patina on a brass plate. Brass? #1447? 1950 Liner. How cool is that?

Oh, my, I made it 2/3rds of the way around without finding anything wrong until that missing window. I know it is a complicated repair, but common Chris, cover that hole with some plastic.

Now those are some wicked cool Herh windows. They sit flush with the frame. On a scale of 1-10 I call this old girl an ELEVEN. The interior is almost perfect too.

These two ladies are my clients trailer. They are spoken for, but the rest of what you are about to see is looking for a new home.

Not that one...

Usually when I go over to the Eastern Shore I go the most direct route to get there. Coming back I take all back roads. I take it slow for this is SlowMarva. I do not take the back roads to avoid the law, I am on the hunt.

and usually, I find something interesting. A 68 Scotty Gaucho anyone? Too far gone and not early enough to be worth the cost of restoration. Pass..

Not sure what this is. The briars are leafing out and their canes are very stiff right now being swollen with water. I just could not get in close enough to identify it. The man who owns this is a hoarder. There was junk all over the place. I spent a good while visiting but anything he had was never going to leave his property.

I got to go over the Francis Scott Key bridge also on my way to the Port. This is another beautiful bridge. Unfortunately, this bridge does not have it's own color. It is just bridge green.

In and out of the Port with no issues today. I was kind of disappointed. I have come to expect huge hassles from the Longshoremen and got nothing but friendly attitude. No requests to search my truck or waiting on Union breaks to come to an end. I was even told to have a nice day as I left through the main gate.