New To The Site - Great Story!
Hello All,
My name is Anthony and this is my first post! If you told me 3 months ago that I'd be posting this story here, I'd think you're crazy.
It all began around mid July, some innocent browsing on Craigslist turned into me buying something amazing. I noticed a gentleman selling a 1973 21 foot TT (La Strada) for $500. My interest was immediately peaked, I need it HA! After a few back and forth phone calls with the seller I was on my way to his house to pick up this old gem. Now keep in mind I know NOTHING about RV's or TTs. I'm the type of person that jumps in head first, doing what the old heart desires. When I arrived at the sellers house I was immediately in love. The trailer was in tough shape, in need of some serious TLC. We did a quick walk through and of course I noticed the usual damaged with these old TTs - severe water damage, rust, total neglection. Now, I love a good handy man special as much as the next guy - I consider myself fairly handy/mechanical. Keep in mind I'm only 25 years old so I may have been over my head. After some bargaining back and forth I was able to talk the seller down to a final price of $260, score! I've towed many large trailers before but this situation in particular was a nerve racking one. I have a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi, she can pull. The tires on this trailer were in great need of replacement. I was very lucky that I was able to get home in one piece! Needless to say I had La Strada sitting in my driveway safely. The next morning my buddies and I began the work, a lot of work. After taking a closer look at the trailer it was obvious that everything need to gutted, lots of rotten wood.
Pics Below:
As you can see we had our work cut our for us! People were driving past my house, the looks on their faces were priceless. After about a week of removing all the rotten wood,rust, etc. we started to rebuild. I replaced the floor first, new studs and insulation.
After the floor we began rebuilding all of the walls and corners. Structurally, It was really starting to come together. HERE'S WHERE IT GETS GOOD! One day I'm outside working, a man stops in front of my house and calls me over. He tells me his Grandmother has a TT very similar to the one I own - she's looking to give it away for free. I immediately thought to myself I might be able to use that TT for parts. So the next day I went to his grandmothers house and took a look at the TT. WOW - it was a 1981 Citation, 24 footer. This thing was taking care of so well - it looked great! Once again I did a quick walk through, this time I was much more aware of what to look for. This TT was in excellent shape. It had a new AC unit, all appliances worked, all paperwork intact, and good tires. After speaking with the old woman it was obvious to me that she didn't want to let it go to just anyone. I had $60 on me, I boldly reached into my pocket and took out 3 twenties ha! I said to her " would $60 change your mind?" She laughed and snatched it out of my hand. "I'll donate it to the church" she said! 30 Mins later I had two TTs sitting at my house, I was running a trailer park. Keep in mind I"m a guy who is totally new to this whole thing, never owned a camper in my life.
Here are come pics of the newer TT :
>
Currently, I'm getting the new trailer in shape. Just yesterday I resealed the roof. I had to remove some surface rust, patch a few holes and seal the whole thing. I used Black Jack Elastrometic from Lowes. I wanted to get the Kool Seal but I didn't have the time to wait for it to ship. The only thing I have left to do is fix a leak in the bathroom sink (heat side). It's right at the collar of the faucet.
Moral of the story - The majority of times it's probably not a great idea to jump into things so quickly like I did, this time - I'm happy I did. I got a great TT for next to nothing. Yes, I did invest a lot of time and work into the original trailer - BUT I would have never got the newer one without the old rust bucket! I'm very excited to take it out on my first trip (somewhere upstate NY). Withing the next few days I'll be posting a few questions on here, looking forward to speaking with experienced RVers. Hope you enjoyed the story!
Ant
My name is Anthony and this is my first post! If you told me 3 months ago that I'd be posting this story here, I'd think you're crazy.
It all began around mid July, some innocent browsing on Craigslist turned into me buying something amazing. I noticed a gentleman selling a 1973 21 foot TT (La Strada) for $500. My interest was immediately peaked, I need it HA! After a few back and forth phone calls with the seller I was on my way to his house to pick up this old gem. Now keep in mind I know NOTHING about RV's or TTs. I'm the type of person that jumps in head first, doing what the old heart desires. When I arrived at the sellers house I was immediately in love. The trailer was in tough shape, in need of some serious TLC. We did a quick walk through and of course I noticed the usual damaged with these old TTs - severe water damage, rust, total neglection. Now, I love a good handy man special as much as the next guy - I consider myself fairly handy/mechanical. Keep in mind I'm only 25 years old so I may have been over my head. After some bargaining back and forth I was able to talk the seller down to a final price of $260, score! I've towed many large trailers before but this situation in particular was a nerve racking one. I have a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi, she can pull. The tires on this trailer were in great need of replacement. I was very lucky that I was able to get home in one piece! Needless to say I had La Strada sitting in my driveway safely. The next morning my buddies and I began the work, a lot of work. After taking a closer look at the trailer it was obvious that everything need to gutted, lots of rotten wood.
Pics Below:
As you can see we had our work cut our for us! People were driving past my house, the looks on their faces were priceless. After about a week of removing all the rotten wood,rust, etc. we started to rebuild. I replaced the floor first, new studs and insulation.
After the floor we began rebuilding all of the walls and corners. Structurally, It was really starting to come together. HERE'S WHERE IT GETS GOOD! One day I'm outside working, a man stops in front of my house and calls me over. He tells me his Grandmother has a TT very similar to the one I own - she's looking to give it away for free. I immediately thought to myself I might be able to use that TT for parts. So the next day I went to his grandmothers house and took a look at the TT. WOW - it was a 1981 Citation, 24 footer. This thing was taking care of so well - it looked great! Once again I did a quick walk through, this time I was much more aware of what to look for. This TT was in excellent shape. It had a new AC unit, all appliances worked, all paperwork intact, and good tires. After speaking with the old woman it was obvious to me that she didn't want to let it go to just anyone. I had $60 on me, I boldly reached into my pocket and took out 3 twenties ha! I said to her " would $60 change your mind?" She laughed and snatched it out of my hand. "I'll donate it to the church" she said! 30 Mins later I had two TTs sitting at my house, I was running a trailer park. Keep in mind I"m a guy who is totally new to this whole thing, never owned a camper in my life.
Here are come pics of the newer TT :
>Currently, I'm getting the new trailer in shape. Just yesterday I resealed the roof. I had to remove some surface rust, patch a few holes and seal the whole thing. I used Black Jack Elastrometic from Lowes. I wanted to get the Kool Seal but I didn't have the time to wait for it to ship. The only thing I have left to do is fix a leak in the bathroom sink (heat side). It's right at the collar of the faucet.
Moral of the story - The majority of times it's probably not a great idea to jump into things so quickly like I did, this time - I'm happy I did. I got a great TT for next to nothing. Yes, I did invest a lot of time and work into the original trailer - BUT I would have never got the newer one without the old rust bucket! I'm very excited to take it out on my first trip (somewhere upstate NY). Withing the next few days I'll be posting a few questions on here, looking forward to speaking with experienced RVers. Hope you enjoyed the story!
Ant
