Vintage Caravan Magazine Issue 36 | Page 36

“The mold and rot in the wall studs and paneling was very bad. We replaced the rotten wood and rebuilt all of the walls using screws instead of the original staples. The damaged wheel wells had been just patched with duct tape so replacement was the only option there. The electrical wiring was worn and poorly wired and was a fire waiting to happen. The rafters were broken and the insulation was a very thin sheet of fiberglass that was permeated with dust. The rafters, which originally were 1 1/2 x 3/4 inches-thick, were replaced with 2 ½ x ¾ inch boards and two more were added for more strength. We then replaced the old insulation with rigid foam insulation. Originally there was only one outlet in the entire trailer, now the trailer has been completely rewired with five indoor and one outside set of 110-volt plugs, three 12-volt plugs, and two sets of USB ports. A 12-volt charging system was installed as well as an inverter. It also is wired with a TV antenna wire for possible future use”. But their problems did not end there. Mary found out that the cabinets and hardware were not original and the dining area had been changed to a ‘u’ configuration to hide the water damage, so Mary’s brother built all new cabinets to as original specifications as possible, while Mary found the original hardware on eBay and refinished it. They then reconfigured the dining area back to original, built a new table, and Mary had new cushions made. The threeway refrigerator had to be repaired and reinstalled. Mary had the rusted stove hood sandblasted and powder coated to match the original and then added a metal tiled backsplash. Underneath the trailer things were not looking much better and the list of items needing to be repaired kept growing. The brakes were non-functioning and the axle was in bad shape and had to be replaced. New trailer brakes were installed and the wheels were cleaned and repainted to match the trailer and finished off with a set of shiny new baby mood hubcaps. The leaking back side hatches were rebuilt, insulated and sealed and some of the drip rails had holes in them. All of the windows were removed and resealed. The two front side windows were replaced with polycarbonate instead of glass and the damaged drip 34 | vintagetrailermagazine