Is It February or April?

With such nice weather this weekend we ended up doing some gardening. Sam started preparing some of our outside beds for planting bulbs and other early items. I moved the first lettuce and spinach to the hoop house and planted more inside. The grow lights are almost full and a few things still need to be planted this week. So far peas, tomatoes, peppers, and a few flowers are started. Although I am starting many fewer plants in the garage this year, I still need more space.

The other news is that the trailer has moved to its new home. The frame has been wire-brushed and is ready for a good cleaning and a paint.

She's Naked

The trailer that is. Last weekend the trailer and associated pieces were moved to the new shop location. Beforehand I pulled off the last of the plywood floor.

Upcoming activities include:

1. Sand, clean, paint frame.

2. Outfit with new subframing.

3. New plywood floor.

Shastoration Sunday

The trailer is almost down to nothing. We are loading things up and getting ready to move to a new shop. The entire aluminum skin stacked up into a nice little pile ready to be traded in for beer money.

 The plywood subfloor was bolted to the frame using carriage bolts and square nuts. I tried to unbolt them and the carriage heads just spun. Everything was rusted together so I had to cut through every bolt. Good news, the frame is in good shape and will clean up nicely.

 The floor is partially rotten and needs to get removed in pieces. But, it is coming along now and shouldn't be long before



January Harvest Monday

Just because I can, here is a rare January Harvest Monday. The hoop house plastic is looking pretty rough and I figured I better pull the rest of the carrots and beets before a cold snap wiped them out. So by flashlight I fought slugs and got a bowl full.

Is Spring Getting Close?

This time last year it was cold, very cold. I still have carrots and beats in the garden and yesterday noticed that about half of the garlic is starting to come up. It's a little early to start tomatoes, but it is time to think about early cold weather crops.

Our garage is cold. Last year I started plants in the kitchen, which is cold too. Yesterday I modified a blanket with Velcro to cover the plant starts in the garage and keep some heat in. Between the seed heating mats and the florescent lights it should be warm enough to get these started. I am planning on a couple plantings of lettuce and spinach.

What the future holds

If I’m going to do something, I do it spectacularly or I don’t do it at all. - Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud

There's a running theme to the Shasta.  John and I are both going super-engineer on this project.  By the time we're finished, it will be the most over-engineered Shasta in the history of Shastas.  As the resident Structural Engineer, I spent some time creating drawing, laying out the framing, and making material take-offs. 

Streetside Elevation

We spent a lot of time looking at photos of other renovations online and we took excellent notes and dimensions during the demolition.  What I took away from everything I've learned so far - these trailer were not actually "designed" by anyone and the structural framing in the original is less than adequate.  Now, I'll admit, that may be the licensed engineer talking.  I usually design things for traffic loads, heavy equipment, or full human occupancy.  A trailer is much different, but I know what I am comfortable with.  The Shasta as originally designed, I am not.

Shasta Layout

 But unlike the things I usually design, this one has a very tight weight limit.  So my challenge was to come up with a framing plan that met the following criteria:

1. I am comfortable with the finished product.
2. Can be built by the contractor (John) with assistance from the structural engineer (me) and not cause a divorce.
3. Weighs less than 300 lb (not including floor framing, insulation, or skin)

Right now, I have aluminum framing in mind.  We found a local supplier that sells stock aluminum shapes by the foot.  My first shot at the layout included diagonal framing members, hollow rectangular tubes for the main members and angles for the lighter members.  The "contractor "asked for a design change to make construction easier. 

I eliminated all diagonal members, not a huge deal.  I also changed the angle members to smaller square tubes.  The bonus to all tube shapes?  We will be able to fasten the plywood interior and the aluminum skin exterior to the tubes easily. I laid everything out, measured, and counted everything needed.  All of that information, of course, went into a spreadsheet.

Right now, the rough numbers I have for weight is 190 lb, which includes 15% extra to account for connection details.  Based on the online pricing, that is about $620 in framing, not including connection details.  I have 100 lb to play with for my weight allotment.  I'd say that's pretty good.  I'm assuming once we start assembling the Shasta, I may decide to make some field changes.  That 100 lbs might come in handy.

The front and back corners are still going to be timber.  I can only imagine the cost of having aluminum custom fabricated to fit those curves.  The floor framing will also be timber, basically the same framing as the original.

I think the rebuild is well-planned out.  Now we need to finish stripping the floor off the frame, de-assemble the frame and strip.

Warning: This Post May Cause Physical Illness

I'm serious, if you are ever thinking of owning a vintage trailer, do not continue reading.

Here is what our little trailer looked like just a few weeks ago.

This weekend was the bulk of the demolition. The back and curb side walls were the most rotted. They came off with little more than a few taps with a hammer.

The kitchen and cabinets were by far the most solid part. Although, solid is pretty relative.

Here is a random shot you don't normally see. This is looking from the closet through the opening for the ice box and out the front door.

An indoor tornado?

Ever wonder how big of a pile a shasta makes on the floor? Here you go.

Demo is almost complete. In the next week we will pull off the floor and start refinishing the frame.