This Montana Life

Our first week of good weather and we’re restoring one of our vintage campers. What’s wrong with this picture? I wonder what the ratio of actual camping is to trailer restoring when you own a vintage trailer.

This latest round of restoration all started with a paint job. I figured before I sold Rocky, sniff sniff , she would need a new paint job. Which led to reattaching the skin where it had loosened throughout the many dirt miles. Which led to putting my hand on the undercarriage wood. Which led to feeling damp, wet, spongy wood. All this in turn led to a sinking feeling that repairs would be needed before she is sold.

For a brief second my integrity meter dipped downward as I thought, “Hell, just put her together, paint her, and sell her.” But I just knew that she deserved better treatment from me as she certainly has given me hours of countless bliss during our travels. I guess the old saying goes: If you wanna play, you gotta pay. Well, this is the paying part.

After a day of “catching up” to me poor Embee finally got on board with this latest restoration. For those of you who know me know that I suffer from permanent ulner and median nerve damage to both arms which leaves me with less than half the strength and stamina I used to have. So Embee becomes my hands in any project I undertake that requires even a miniscule amount of muscle. It doesn’t seem fair to either of us–but that is the card with which we are dealt.

Ok, back to the story. Embee foolishly went on a bike ride with our buddy Paulo and left me at home with Rocky. By the time he returned I had crawled under Rocky’s rear-end (yep, she is definitely a girl) and discovered that the entire curbside and driver’s side rear corners were rotted out. My Dad once taught me that if you can push a screwdriver through the wood, it’s rotten. Well, in this case, I could push my index finger through the wood with ease. Most of the wood was acting like a sponge and when I touched it water oozed out.

So began the demolition. It’s a good thing I took lots of pictures so we can try to puzzle it back together. This project will require replacing one complete corner of the wood framing/foundation and both rear corner upper framing.Day one of destruction/restoration.

We were both relieved when 5:00 pm came and we had to get cleaned up to meet friends for dinner. Otherwise I’m afraid we might have been at it until the sun went down! Embee working his tail off while I supervise.

We are both looking forward to getting this restoration done and Rocky sold to a new home. Only then can we go camping in Gina with a clear conscience.