I just want to say "hi" to everyone. I've been camping since 1967 when I was 8 years old. Over the years, I've camped every way unimaginable! From tents on the wet, cold, uneven ground (actually set up a tent on a treestump one night in the dark of pitchblack night!) to motor coaches.
I've always preferred popups for various economic reasons (that means I'm poor!), but sold my '93 Coleman and bought a rotted out 1973 Frolic travel trailer.
No... I'm not crazy. I looked at hundreds of travel trailers and never found one that made me say, "yup; this is what I want!" So, with a hundred bucks, I bought a pieca junk with intentions of rebuilding it as I want it.
My plan is to eliminate all the gas system... use only electricity and always carry a gas grill with side burners with me for cooking.
The Frolic had a knock down dining table/full bed across the front, a couch/bed on the curb side, the kitchen on the street side, and behind it was the shower and toilet.
The curb half of the back wall was storage... drawers and closets.
The roof leaked severely at all four corners forever and led to the rotting of the back 40" of floor system including all of the rear boot structure, the front 33" of floor, the upper corners, and various parts of the walls and other structures.
But... this thing is easy to work on! Well... sorta! At two or three different times, it's been repaired and put back together with many various screws; clutchheads, tangheads, phillips, stovebolts... you name it! Simply removing one item might require 4 or 5 different screwdrivers!
I'll have some questions later about the toilet system as I have zero experience with an onboard black water system. I also do NOT intend to put a shower in the unit... seems like most everywhere I go camping has a shower.
But, as I approach completing the outside structural repairs, I'll need to close the trailer up and protect it from rain. I greatly need to find a source of siding for the trailer. I was originally going to use flat, .032 aluminum but due to all the defects in the wall structures and uneven plane (3/8 deviation at points) I think something less flat would hide all the sins.
Anyone have any ideas for a source for siding? I don't care what style it is, from what brand of trailer... I just need a small boatload of the stuff at a decent price. Oh, and the edge railing that forms the corners... 23 million screws, too!
Also... much to my surprise, the roof is galvanized steel. Does this sound like original design, or someone came along after the leaks and tried this instead?
I'd love to hear from anyone/everyone but be polite about how you call me an idiot for trying this project! I can do it... you'd be surprised at what I've built that flew in the sky, or went very fast on superspeedways, or sailed across the water. So, I know how to build, light, true, and strong.
Please feel free to contact me at my email addy:
inalabama@excite.com
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