Raise the Roof!

I awoke Sunday morning to find my trailer still standing. I added some old boards to brace up the sides to prepare for removing the roof. I thought there were a lot of staples in the wall siding, but that was nothing compared to what awaited me in the roof.

After removing the corner trim that had screws about every two inches, and silicone by a previous owner, there were then finishing nails and staples about every inch along each edge. Then, contrary to usual trailer construction I've read about, there were nails every two inches along every second roof truss. These I couldn't access from the outside due to the slopped on taring job also done by a previous owner. Most I was able to pry loose from the inside, but the ones around the roof vent were impossible to get at. I ended up using a reciprocating saw to cut the trusses around the vent and take the works off with the roof.

A little privacy please?

Camping was cold and rained most of the weekend, but was with friends so still had a good time. Kept thinking how nice it would be to hang out in the camper during the rain rather than under a tarp. Hopefully by next summer that will be the reality.

So last weekend I was back at the trailer and got a lot more accomplished than I thought I would. Seems once I got the hang of pulling the staples things went much better. Got both sides and the front skin removed. I probably should have left the front skin until after the roof was removed as at this point it really started to wobble. You might also be able to see in this pic some masking tape and string literally holding the front frame falling off! I had to leave it like this Saturday night and was very worried it was going to collapse completely with a strong breeze.

Drop it!

Seems they really wanted to keep this trailer low, not only is the axle on top of the springs, but it also has an elbow bend in there raising it even higher. I think at the very least I am going to relocate the axle to below the springs. This should gain me about 6" clearance which will be much needed in some of those rougher campsites.

Let the face-lift begin!

Started removing the aluminum skin. Slow going as there are lots of narrow, but long, staples that aren't even spaced at regular intervals. Some are easy to pull, some are wedged in so tight it is hard to get them out while minimizing damage to the surrounding skin. Going camping this weekend (in our tent) so I don't think I'll get much more work completed for the next couple weeks.

Air conditioning?

I also went ahead and removed the old fridge & stove vents, side molding, and fresh water hatch. I can't believe how many screws were holding this thing together! Even though I won't be reinstalling the stove, or a fridge I'll still be cleaning up the vents and or replacing them with new just to cover the holes. Wouldn't mind a fridge, but at this point they are way out of my budget.