It has been unbearably hot up here the last few weeks, and we have been focused on installing fire prevention sprinklers and spending time in the pool. There are so many fires burning all over California that it is raining ash. I came out of the house to head to work one morning and it looked like it was snowing on my truck. My husband is focused on fire suppression systems and I have done all I can to help him so it’s time to work on the little trailer again. My goal this weekend is to get the trailer out from under the walls and roof. We started our long weekend off with stunning sunset created by all the smoke in the air.
I started the next morning by enlarging the hole in the flooring by just pulling off everything rotten with my hands, it crumbled like we cardboard. Once I reached the sections with a little more structure I set the circular saw so that it would be just shy of cutting through the floor. I cut out huge chunks and then they just broke off. I worked from front to back and used two car jacks to lift the camper box away from the metal trailer underneath. I put 2x4s across the trailer and used eight trailer jacks to stabilize the whole thing as I moved along.
I ended up with four 2x4s on jacks holding the trailer box about an inch above the metal trailer. I slowly pulled the free trailer forward until it reached a 2×4. At that point, I would remove the 2×4, pull the trailer a little further forward, and then quickly put the 2×4 back on the trailer jacks. The final obstacle was the front “wall”. The tires wouldn’t clear it so I just cut the bottom boards out of the way. They were rotten and full of fungus sand I was planning to replace them anyway. This way I didn’t have to lift the front of the box any higher to accommodate the wheels. I was pretty terrified the entire box might blow over but it had so much open space that the wind could just blow through and it didn’t even wobble.
Once the trailer was free we got a good look at what we were dealing with. The stabilizing jacks on the four corners were in decent condition but one had to be replaced. As they came in pairs I figured it would just be best to replace all four. I realized it would be much easier to do now than later as I could access all the attachment points easily so I found some on Amazon and ordered them for next time. The trailer was rusty but not rusted through for the most part. The seller had done some touch-ups with white spray paint which was annoying more than anything. We thought about taking the trailer somewhere for a professional to work on it but decided it wasn’t worth the time and delays. It was time for some new tools and to try something neither of us had done before.
We decided to try sandblasting and painting the trailer ourselves. I headed to Harbor Freight to get a small sandblaster. They didn’t have the right sand for it in stock but after two trips to Tractor Supply, we found something that would work. The sandblasting was not great, the medium we used from Tractor Supply was still a little big and we had to shake the sandblaster almost constantly to get it to flow. We have no photos of this process because it took both of us and two air compressors to make it work. Our patience was wearing thin at this point.
When the sand blaster was working it was fantastic, but it was a chore when it wasn’t. After taking off the old trailer stabilizers I removed as much of the loose paint and rust as I could. We called it a day and went out to dinner. One of our favorite Tapas places in Healdsburg had an opening on their patio so we snapped it up and threw down our tools.
We started the next morning slowly, enjoying breakfast and waiting for the dew to dry out. Even though it gets really hot during the day, we still get cool nights which is a wonderful relief. Once the trailer was good and warm in the sun I used three cans of rust reformer on the worst spots. After this dried, I did two-ish coats of Rust-oleum Rubberized Undercoating. I used five large cans and covered every possible surface of the trailer. This involved a lot of rolling around on a tarp in the field but I got the best coverage possible. I chose to use undercoating because I felt like it would protect better than paint. It is a rubberized product so I also figured it would help the floor stay put. We noticed that the frame where the step connects was bent so we attempted a couple of rounds of JB Weld and used the car jack to try and bend the frame back into place.
I knew the upcoming week would again be hot and dry so I mixed up some epoxy wood filler and filled all the screw and nail holes on the walls left from demolition. It was so nice to work in the trailer without its floor. I could stand and work and if I dropped any of the putty it just hit the ground and I didn’t have to worry too much about wiping things up. We double-checked the jack stands, locked up all our tools and supplies, said a little prayer, and left everything to dry for a week.
Project List/Completion Date
- Remove Appliances & Sink – 8/2/2020
- Remove cabinet by the door to access destroyed wheel well – 8/2/2020
- Remove and kitchen cabinets to make room for bed frame – 8/2/2020
- Remove Jackknife Sofa and replace it with a full-size bed frame and mattress we already have 8/9/2020
- Remove Water Tank and Lines 8/9/2020
- Remove Dinette – 8/9/2020
- Remove end panels 8/15/2020
- Remove the entire floor and pull the trailer out from under box – 8/29/2020
- Sandblast and repaint trailer – 8/29/2020
- Fill all holes in walls with epoxy putty – 8/30/2020
- Add new trailer stabilizers
- Sew new window coverings
- Replace one broken bubble window, clean the other three
- Repair busted corner and reseal
- Replace busted Wheel Well
- Replace the tires
- Repaint entire interior
- Repaint Exterior and add new decals
Expenses (Only includes project-specific items – tool investments don’t count)
Current Total: $2086.82
- Trailer – $2000
- Wood Hardener – $12.98
- Paintbrush – $1.07
- Rust Reformer Spray Paint – 3 Cans – $19.74
- Undercoating Spray Paint – 5 Cans – $22.40
- JB Weld – $5.67
- Wood Filler – Leftover from other project – $0
- Blasting Grit – Fine – 2 bags – $19.98
- Shop Paper Towels – $4.98