Sunday, May 22, 2011

Chaska Shasta II



We enjoyed the '66 Shasta Compact so much that I guess we got the bug. So yesterday, while sipping coffee on a lazy Saturday morning, Colleen mentioned to me that there was a '60 Shasta on Craigslist. I kinda scoffed and said -- "I'm sure it's gone by now -- they never last very long and if you are still seeing it there, the guy selling it must have gotten a dozen calls by now." She said I should call, to which I kinda snarkedly said "You call -- I'll bet you it's gone." An hour later, we were on our way 1 hour north to purchase our newest old camper. I should listen to Colleen more often...The guy who sold her to us had a long list of people he had to call back to let them know she was sold...

This trailer is in considerably worse condition than Chaska Shasta I (or "Chloe" as our kids like to refer to the '66 Shasta Compact).

Chaska Shasta II (yet to receive a nickname by the kiddos -- they kind of see her as a bit of a junk pile right now -- silly kids) has had a difficult second half of her life. For the past couple of years, it seems, a leaky roof vent was later replaced by a piece of plywood that was not sealed in place. The floor will need to be replaced as it is water logged and soft in numerous spots. Nearly all interior components are either missing or not worth saving. This is a much larger project than the '66.




So...here we go. We spent the rest of this weekend removing the floor and stripping off paneling that had been badly damaged. I removed cabinetry that has been water soaked and now we have just the trailer struts and the original wood floor frame and bare walls (previous owner had already removed the ceiling). It will be kind of fun to be able to build the inside to fit our family -- but we intend to stick to a modified Shasta floorplan. While it seems like a lot of work ahead of us, I really like the possibilities. I am encouraged by Red Dirt Shasta in that this unit, at least on the outside, looks very much like his did when he brought Red Dirt home -- so I am following his posts on how to polish the "Z" stripe and how to apply paint via the $50 Paint Job roll on method. Would love to have her professionally sprayed, but at $1000 to $1500, can't justify spending that much.

I'll try to get some more posts out there for this renovation... this is gonna be fun!