My Summer Project

[Bruce_Brown]

Earlier this year our hunting group decided to head to Colorado for an Elk hunt. I had the truck, another guy had the trailer so we should be all set.

Well...lets just say the better half of the guy with the trailer wasn't as excited about her camper going cross-country on a hunting trip as we were. :B

Being a MH owner I 100% COMPLETELY understood. Their camper is their baby. They work hard for nice things and work hard to keep them nice. While we would treat it with respect there was always the chance something might happen.

What a perfect opportunity for a project. :B

I hit Craigslist looking for a "Handyman Special". One local dealer had a few listed so I decide to take a look. The one I went looking at was sold when I got there, but for some reason the worst one kept calling my name. The floorplan was perfect. The size was right. The appliances all worked. Sure it was in bad shape, but how bad could it be, right? Besides, the floorplan was perfect!

They knew it was rough and I knew it was rough. They were reasonable and so was I. We agreed on a price and I dragged it home.

I know, I know...if I figured my labor at all I'm in the red. But this was a project, and I like projects! I have about 400 hours in it, 395 of them were a blast. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into.

And here it is...

Camper Rehab - start to finish.

[munismom]

To nice now to take hunting!! Great job!!

[Bruce_Brown]

We use a more permanent structure for that. :B

[trail-explorer]

Out west it's pretty common for hunting folks to have an old RV that is dedicated to "hunting camp" usage. If you didn't know what time of year it was by looking at a calendar, you'd KNOW it was hunting season when you start to see a lot of old camp trailers on the road. Some of them look pretty rough, but the provide shelter and warmth, so people keep using them (until the wheel fall off)

[Denlor]

Looks great and with all the attention to detail and proper structural procedures you start your own RV Mfg.company. Fantastic work!!!

[infoimp]

Beautiful job! You really need to point potential buyers to that link!

[colliehauler]

Very few people have the skills to do a rebuild of that scale. Congrats you did a very good job.

[Bruce_Brown]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Wow. Nice work. I helped my in-laws do a very similar remodel. Father-in-law took it down all the way to the outer skin. We replaced some of the framing (from the inside) and never removed the outer skin. Unfortunately, we didn't have an enclosed area to work. Ours was done outside, in the middle of the summer, and it was HOT! The end result was nice. But it was a MUCH smaller trailer too!

You did a great job there. Why sell it? You've just built your self a new trailer that will probably outlast everything now! After all that work, you should enjoy it now ... for a long, long time!

Why sell it? We already have the motorhome - I don't really need another camper, do I? :B

Thats where the rental thing might work. If it earns its keep maybe we'll keep it, if not, well...lets see what happens this summer.

As far as lasting - I agree with you there. There were a few pretty major design flaws that were big factors in causing the water damage - they have been fixed. The reconstruction also wasn't done on an assembly line, so I took the liberty to do things they just don't have time for in mass production. Something as simple as liquid nails; if 2 pieces of wood touch chances are there is liquid nails between them. I used 15 tubes of liquid nails on it. Every joint has been double or tripple sealed. The roof edge was done with Eternabond right from the start. There was a bunch of other stuff too, but you are correct - this one should last a long time.

[azrving]

Looked at the first few pics and thought geez I don't see why the guy thinks its in rough condition. lol. Oh my god what a project. Even if you were shopping in the $4000 range it could be hard to find one without water damage. At least that's what my experience was.

[westend]

Bruce Brown wrote:
Sure it was in bad shape, but how bad could it be, right?

I found out, too. :B

Nice job restoring the Dutchman! You really got it right.

[DutchmenSport]

Wow. Nice work. I helped my in-laws do a very similar remodel. Father-in-law took it down all the way to the outer skin. We replaced some of the framing (from the inside) and never removed the outer skin. Unfortunately, we didn't have an enclosed area to work. Ours was done outside, in the middle of the summer, and it was HOT! The end result was nice. But it was a MUCH smaller trailer too!

You did a great job there. Why sell it? You've just built your self a new trailer that will probably outlast everything now! After all that work, you should enjoy it now ... for a long, long time!

[ScottG]

Great work! Someones going to get a nice trailer.

[Bruce_Brown]

I kept track of every penny in put into it. I bought it for $1,500, the repair cost were $2,518.14. Total investment: $4018.14, tax included. I also added a few upgrades too. TV, Blueray, surround sound, and inverter. Ebay is a great resource for parts if you're not in a hurry.

Last time I checked, depending on what book you looked at, its value was between $7,00-$8,200.

We're going to keep it around for this summer as we have a big gathering planned and this will offer some much needed extra sleeping space. A few people have asked to rent it - not really sure I want to go there with it, but maybe. In the end I'll probably just end up selling it. Someone will end up with the best used camper they'll ever find.

Then again, maybe another long distance hunt is in the future. :B

[pwcdfrcamper]

That was great. If you don"t mind how much did it cost? I would love to see the break down in cost.

[CavemanCharlie]

Wow is right! Want to come and do mine next.