Found an oddity!!

While we were doing the resurrection we ran across one item that could not be explained. It was 2 chains welded to the axle and hung on a strap with hooks on each end. On the end of these chains is a bracket for securing the trailer. It definitely is a tie down of some kind, but for what? It looks factory installed too!! We asked a number of Santa Fe owners if they had these and not a one had it on theirs. Not even a sign??

We did get some feedback from someone that knew a little of the companies history. He said that there was a trailer show in Hawaii and that Santa Fe did send trailers over to the show on a boat. For some reason, they had these trailers returned to So. Cal. (Ya would think that they would just leave them there and sell 'em.) Anyway, while we cannot confirm it, we have always wondered if this might be one of those trailers.. Guess we will never know, but it is a possibility.

These are the 2 chains we found. They are welded to the axle. The brackets are in my hand. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. I'll try and get a better shot for this story.

Here is the hook for those chains. it is screwed to the frame 2X4 that runs front to back under the trailer with the hooks in the upward position.

Over to the left side of this shot you can see the chains and bracket hanging from the factory installed hanger bracket.

Kitchen!! (Means good food!!)

We next focused on the kitchen area. At least the counter and cabinets. Margie had the doors and drawers already painted turquoise and the base of the cabinets white. She did LOTS!!! of painting...

Well, it's a start anyway... We are missing the stove and will be looking for one. Hopefully it will match the turquoise.

Oh yeah, somewhere along the hunt we found that mirror. It's a plastic that can take the rough life of a camping trailer. But to look at it you would think it was glass. None of that haze most plastics tend to have.



Bring back the furnishings!!!

With the floor now in place it was time to try and put some of the parts in their place. Started with the seats/bed. Margie had painted everything and the installation was much cleaner than trying to paint while items were in place. In the end it sure looked good.

The base portions of the seats/bed were screwed into position and the slide outs placed over them. All of the original parts were in very good condition so a paint job and remounting seemed to be the best thing to do.

The overhead storage was next. We had a little trouble mounting it so that things would not drop from the ceiling. Once I found the framing under the ceiling I felt assured it wasn't going anywhere.

Here's Margie enjoying a sandwich on one of those "National camp where you are" days. Behind her is the storage along the left side of the trailer. This thing has loads of storage along its port side. Pretty handy when you only have 9 feet to work with. (And yes, she made one for me too.. See that one on the seat next to her? And the beer is mine too!! It sure tasted great after a full days work.)

Finally, the flooring!!!!

It has finally reached the point where the installation of something actually has that feel of progress!! The flooring was that turning point for us.

Before we installed the new flooring I went under and added a second layer of flooring under the main flooring. The main flooring was just fine. No damage anywhere but it just did not have that "SOLID" feel to us. Like most small trailers, you could feel the flexing as you walked over it. So, wanting to feel something a bit stronger we installed a second layer of plywood under the trailer. I screwed it into place from above actually lifting the new wood up into place. We now have a very sturdy feel to the floor. No saging or movement in any way.

Now we were ready for the vinyl flooring. Margie wanted something rustic that would match the new interior colours so off to the big box stores we went. She found the perfect product at the local Lowes Store. Price was real fair and we were fortunate to get our hands on it when we did as it was the last of the roll and I do not recall seeing it in stock since. WHEW!!! If that had been sold when we went for it I hate to imagine the time spent chasing another.

Now I laid awake for nights trying to think my way through this installation. For some reason I was thinking it would be a real tough job. I couldn't have been more wrong!!! Perhaps all that thinking made it easier? With all the interior item out of the way I laid down sheets of paper from a roll to develope a template. I would roll out a strip about 7" wide and then another, taping the next layer to the last. After about 20 minutes I had a perfect fit. I then laid out the vinyl flooring upside down. Placed the template upside down on the flooring, making sure that the run of the lines were as we wanted. Then traced it all out with a magic marker. Next I took a long metal rod and, with a razor box cutter trimmed the flooring around the edges.





The link below will take you to a photo of the template. For some reason, it just will not post on this site. All the others worked fine, but not this one. So... the link will have to do.

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpg/97636e265a364561cb1ba060e2150dd596202a9e_r.jpg

This would be the entire piece of flooring minus the actual piece that we used for the Cub. That part that is missing below would be what was used. We did get some use from the remaining parts.

Next, after a cold one, I spread out the flooring to confirm a good fit. Rolling back the rear 1/3 I spread the glue onto the wood. Letting it set up for 20 minutes I then rolled the flooring over the glue and, with a roller pressed everything into place. I followed this with the center 1/3 and then the last 1/3. In the end it took me about 2 hours or so to install the flooring. Remember, I had thought this would be a tough job but was I ever wrong??!!

For the first time I really had a feeling of accomplishment. Margie and I cracked open a few more cold ones and just sat there looking at our handy work. Were we ever proud.

Time to move inside....

Well, we finally have some structural support and it is actually safe to venture inside this rig. While we did not need to strip it entirely, we did remove a good portion of the interior. The seats/beds were removed, all doors and drawers as well as the counter top with sink and plumbing. The floor tile work was stripped to the base wood to be made ready for a new, one piece, vinyl flooring. It was felt that a one piece floor would eliminate dirt working its way into the cracks of the floor. No cracks no dirt..!!

The previuos owner had, for some reason, installed this thick cork on the cealing from the roof vent forward, and carried it down the front wall. I don't mind telling you that this stuff was pure UGLY!! in its worst form. Margie had volunteered to do the interior so she started the long and tedious task of removal. Remember, this stuff was mostly overhead so the work was tough going. She's a real hard worker and did a great job removing all that crud. A stiff putty knife and palm sander did the trick.

Now that the cork had been removed the rest of the interior was sanded and preped for paint. It was decided that a tan would do for the walls and white for the cealing and some of the trim. The original wood was a contact type of paper that had a gray tint to it. This stuff was not that nice wood that is found in many earlier trailers. (Wish it had been though.) But in the end we do actually like the tan we chose and am very happy with the result.

When it came to the kitchen area white was the base colour with turquiose being the accent. This trailer had turquoise exterior stripes and the stove, sink and hand pump were all this same colour.

What was I doing during all this hard work?? Well, taking pictures to share here with all of you!! But truth be told, I was working on some items that could be handled away from the trailer.

Below are some of the photos taken during Margie's labours.

While the photo below does not do her any justice, she is really a lovely looking woman and I hate showing her in this "hard worker condition". But it is just how she looked after all that hard work.

Okay, to show just how good she really looks here is a small, but accurate photo of her at her best.

Back and side repairs

The wood framing at the rearmost lower areas would be removed, new ones made from a tracing of what we had left with a little imagination for what was gone. A bit of reworking and we had a perfect fit. The lower framing from these rear pieces up to and including the wheel wells was also replaced. These being nothing fancy were an easy fabrication. After cutting and fitting we trimmed any extra to achieve that just right look. A few vertical frame braces were also replaced as well as a few around the side windows. Instead of just stapeling these, as had originally been done, we chose to purchase a number of metal plates with holes precut and bridged the connecting points for a more stable build. Screws would be used for this task. Remember, these things were built as cheaply as the manufacturer could make them. (Nothing has changed in all these years, companies still build as cheaply as they can!!)

Now, with all this damage, the hind end of this poor little Cub was sagging terribly. To lift it into place I used an auto floor jack and a port-a-power. Working just a little at a time on each side, the proper alignment was reached and things were screwed into place. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in my measurments and the right rear side was going to need a little more attention. This I wouldn't find until much later.

The rear end was nothing but a mess. Even though those photos looked to be in fairly good shape, everything had been wet over the years and bowed outward far beyond use. At least the wood was good for parterns. Framing was rebuilt and the inner panel was cut and placed into its rightful position. If you look at the photos you can see that the skin was a messy looking pile of worthless metal from the rear glass down. Believe it or not, I was able to actually save it by reworking what was left into something acceptable. But the skin will be installed quite a way down the road and I am getting ahead of myself.

Here you see the early stages of repair being performed on the back of the trailer.

And another view.

Now this is a later shot with the wiring installed but shows the completed rear frame work.

From the inside.

You can see the new wood over the wheel wells and some added wood for the exterior table mount that the factory never had.That poor lower fit would be trimmed into a smooth and clean fit.

Here it is, damaged rear corner and sagging badly.

In this shot we find the rearmost lower frame support and the piece that would connect this with the wheel well. This shot is out of sequence with the previous photo as it was completed first. The wheel well would follow. That clean, almost white, piece of angled wood was the toughest part to cut. The photo below shows another shot of this devil of a piece of wood. Oh, I swore at it a number of times.. It has also been lifeted into its proper place. (Well, sort of. This side would require a little more lifting before it was all done.)

It's time for a break and a well earned beer. Margie has hers. WHERE'S MINE!!!??



Well, we're back and loads of work has been finished!!

Just a sample of what was instore for us!!

Notice my little black spider friend!!

This is what we had to look out for all through the process!!

As the title implies, we have done a lot to the old girl. To be honest, we just forgot about this blog and the work continued. Since we have rediscovered this place we figured to try and recall how the work went.

After that inspection we tried to figure just what we were in for. Now, I restore automobiles and this would seem to be so much easier. (This we would find to be totally WRONG!! Give me a car, even the newer ones with all its computers and I am right at home!! But me and wood just do not get along very well.)

Anyway, it was decided that we'd continue with the project. Since the trailer was mostly solid repairing the framing was first on the list. With that in mind we started removing all the lower siding as well as the complete rear skin. A total rebuild of the wood work in the rear will be performed. The lower 10 to 18 inches of the rearmost sides also needed replacment. That damaged door area will also be replaced with new wood. To our good fortune we were able to make templates from what was left of these areas.

So, off we went removing parts, making lists of what was needed, make templates and off to the local Big Box hardware store we went..

                                          Here we can see the left side from the rearward forward. Not as bad as we had thought but not as good as we had hoped for.

 While it looks pretty good in this photo, the bulge was bad enough to need to be torn out!!!