Can anyone help with project trailer?

[Shemp76]

We just purchased a HUGE project camper, and it is our first camper (pretty sure we have lost our minds! lol) Initially, we were going to build our own, but came across a great deal on this one and decided to go big (oh boy!). It was already completely gutted on the inside so we have a blank canvas (did I already say oh boy?). We will also have to replace several boards due to water damage. My hubby wants to try and keep the exterior as close to the original as possible. We do have the metal diamond plating that goes on both sides (it is the empty spot halfway up towards the back end). Problem #1... we have no clue what the original looks like. Windows and vents are missing and the spots have been covered. You can see them in the pictures. The title says it is a 1972 CONC trailer. It is 24 ft.

The first thing that I need help with is what the CONC stands for. Is it a Concord?

The next thing is the molding (is that what it is called?? The trim that seals the sides and roof together). It is completely missing from the bottom on both sides and some of the remaining is cracked. We need to reseal the roof and seal the seams on the bottom, front and back to stop the leaks, but need to replace the molding stuff that missing or cracked.

Any help/info/or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

[olcarguy]

Best I can suggest is to visit a rv recycling yard and see what molding they have that are close.

[beamisl]

Shemp,

Not sure where you live, but try Colaw Salvage in White Pigeon, MI. RV salvage yard. Can't think of the name of the other one there too. Google RV Salvage in MI. Place is full of RV salvage yards. Bontrager Salvage maybe.

The other suggestion would be to find "Donor trailers". Find a trailer that is a mess outside, Bad roof, the nastier the better. If,, the inside is ok or has cupboards and wiring that you can salvage (donate) to your TT (travel trailer). Can sometimes use the sky lites, vents, a/c's, refrigerator or stove. Toilets, showers, sinks.

This can be the cheapest way to fix your TT.

Go to a thread called "Total Rebuild" and read the whole thing. Yes, it is long but there is info in there you need to see and read. Terry has some wicked skills. Bap who is on there is redoing old TT's all the time and he may be able to tell you exactly what this is.


Don't panic, do a bit of research. If you thought you could build your own then you can rebuild this one. Good luck!

Lynne

[KenZ71]

How about https://www.pplmotorhomes.com ?

[Shemp76]

Originally Posted by beamisl

Shemp,

Not sure where you live, but try Colaw Salvage in White Pigeon, MI. RV salvage yard. Can't think of the name of the other one there too. Google RV Salvage in MI. Place is full of RV salvage yards. Bontrager Salvage maybe.

The other suggestion would be to find "Donor trailers". Find a trailer that is a mess outside, Bad roof, the nastier the better. If,, the inside is ok or has cupboards and wiring that you can salvage (donate) to your TT (travel trailer). Can sometimes use the sky lites, vents, a/c's, refrigerator or stove. Toilets, showers, sinks.

This can be the cheapest way to fix your TT.

Go to a thread called "Total Rebuild" and read the whole thing. Yes, it is long but there is info in there you need to see and read. Terry has some wicked skills. Bap who is on there is redoing old TT's all the time and he may be able to tell you exactly what this is.


Don't panic, do a bit of research. If you thought you could build your own then you can rebuild this one. Good luck!

Lynne

Thank you so much, Lynne! We live in Oklahoma, but I just looked and there is a Colaw RV parts place not far from us in Missouri that we will try. Hopefully we can find the correct molding there, or something that will work. I will check out the "Total Rebuild" thread as well. Thank you again for your advice and ideas!

Shawna

[Shemp76]

Originally Posted by KenZ71

How about https://www.pplmotorhomes.com ?

I will definitely check it out. Thank you!

Shawna

[Shemp76]

Originally Posted by olcarguy

Best I can suggest is to visit a rv recycling yard and see what molding they have that are close.

I found one near us that has used parts. We will be going to check and see what they have. Thank you!

Shawna

[beamisl]

Shawna,

RV Salvage yards are all over the place. PPL Motorhomes out of Texas is where we often get new A/C's because they are usually cheaper than Camping World and other RV dealers.

We have a local TT dealership near us who often have the light covers cheaper than anywhere else and will often have the cover we can't seem to find anywhere else.

I went to google and entered "1972 Concord Travel Trailer". Lot's of pictures of them came up. Do you still have your holding tanks on the rig? These can also be bought new or used from salvage.

One of the things I have seen people do when designing the inside is to take cardboard and cut it out to the size of the cupboards, couch, chairs, dinette, toilet, you get the idea. Set them down on the floor and walk around. Does it work? If not, change it up and keep designing. If it works for you then you have your floorplan.

PPL's website has a lot of TT's and they show the floorplans which might give you and idea to start with.

OldCarGuy, didn't you just redo some rotted sidewall on your rig?

There is a thread here in Vintage called "What did you do to your rig today". Another good place to look at for ideas. Guy has redone his rig "Flat Nose Frank" and she is a beauty! Almost done now and planning on camping.

You have a lot of work ahead of you but you are going to love doing this and hate it at the same time. When you are done though you will have a beautiful TT.

Can you post all outside pictures and inside ones please. It helps us to be able to suggest things. When you have a floorplan draw it up and post it and let us look at it. Sometimes we can give you an idea or two that you may like better or not.

Best of luck with your project. You are already further ahead than when you started this post. Keep posting here so we can find your project please.

Thank you, Lynne

[beamisl]

Shawna,

Sorry I forgot. A guy recently told me he sent a picture of a part to Colaw Salvage and they matched it. That is what you will probably need to do if your local salvage yard does not have the trim. Send the picture out through e-mail to another until you find the right piece.

Lynne

[AKA...Neil]

Originally Posted by Shemp76

We just purchased a HUGE project camper, and it is our first camper (pretty sure we have lost our minds! lol) Initially, we were going to build our own, but came across a great deal on this one and decided to go big (oh boy!). It was already completely gutted on the inside so we have a blank canvas (did I already say oh boy?). We will also have to replace several boards due to water damage. My hubby wants to try and keep the exterior as close to the original as possible. We do have the metal diamond plating that goes on both sides (it is the empty spot halfway up towards the back end). Problem #1... we have no clue what the original looks like. Windows and vents are missing and the spots have been covered. You can see them in the pictures. The title says it is a 1972 CONC trailer. It is 24 ft.

The first thing that I need help with is what the CONC stands for. Is it a Concord?

The next thing is the molding (is that what it is called?? The trim that seals the sides and roof together). It is completely missing from the bottom on both sides and some of the remaining is cracked. We need to reseal the roof and seal the seams on the bottom, front and back to stop the leaks, but need to replace the molding stuff that missing or cracked.

Any help/info/or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Looks like my parents old cobra but all the RVs back in the 70s kinda looked like that. I would recomend watching RV 101, the first set of videos I watched by this guy were of him doing a ground up restoration on a 60s era travel trailer. It the trailer has good bones you could really have a great time renovating, upgrading and customizing your tiny home. It'll take time, money and elbow grease but if you guys can do it, I'm sure it'll be a show stopper.
There are tons of how to RV videos on YouTube on everything you can imagine. I watched a video about a guy who had two RVs from a wrecking yard. One was like yours, a big empty shell and the other was a pretty new RV that had been totaled in a rear end collision. Everything from the bunkhouse forward was in tact. So they disassembled and removed anything of value including suspension, brakes and wheels and installed it on their vintage trailer. When they were done they had This cool old vintage RV with all the latest and greatest gizmos from a newer RV.
Good luck, keep posting, I love watching stuff like this.
Neil

[Shemp76]

Thank you Lynne and Neil!

I will apologize in advance for the long post....

I have spent this morning cleaning out all of the leftover insulation so we can see what we have to work with....which isn't much. LOL I guess that is one good thing with me being on summer break, I can work on it some while the hubs is at work. I think he hid the power tools from me though.

From the pictures of the inside, you can see a lot of wood rot from various water leaks. It looks like someone had started replacing the wood on the frame and roof, but they apparently did not address the leaks or cover it. The newer looking wood already has water damage.

So, we are trying to determine what our first step should be...

1. Do we address the roof, which does not appear to be leaking. (There is nothing on top...no ac, no vents, not even openings where those things should be). It looks like it is coming in from the edges/seams where the molding is cracked/not sealed). The roof DOES need to be resealed, but from what I could see, most of the water is coming in from the corners/edges and the sides where they had put metal sheets to cover the missing windows and vents. They did not seal any of the screws/holes.

or

2. Do we work on the edges/seams first? Which means trying to find something that is similar to what we have so we can replace it. The Front looks to be the worst. There is about a 2 inch gap between the front and side skin, the plastic molding covers the gap. You can kind of see it in one of the pictures (I think it is the 2nd to last pic). Looking at the back corners, this seems to be the way it was designed (with the gap), but it is hard to tell for sure because repairs had been started, maybe more than once, and it's difficult to tell what the original frame looked like to have a guide.

or

3. Something else that we aren't thinking of.

I have been a youtube queen over the past couple of days looking at all the different ways people have rebuilt TT's. Apparently, there isn't only one way to skin a cat, or redo a TT. There is no doubt that this is going to be a huge project.....especially when we haven't ever done anything like this before. What a pick to get our feet wet! Thank goodness my eldest son is an electrician because there is NOTHING left there either. Which, according to him is good because he can run all new everything.

There also isn't any plumbing or water lines or tanks. We are literally starting with a shell....that needs some major tlc.

As always, thank you all for the input and advice, and the occasional prayer for patience and sanity wouldn't hurt.

Shawna

[Shemp76]

Oh, and the new plywood that had been put down is not thick enough. We have to pull it and replace it.

[Shemp76]

Originally Posted by beamisl

Shawna,

Sorry I forgot. A guy recently told me he sent a picture of a part to Colaw Salvage and they matched it. That is what you will probably need to do if your local salvage yard does not have the trim. Send the picture out through e-mail to another until you find the right piece.

Lynne

I just sent them an e-mail! Thank you for that suggestion.

[Shemp76]

No luck with Colaw. They said they did not carry anything like that and that they mainly did motorhomes.