1978 Nomad Trailer Restoration/Project: 88GMCtruck is at it again.

[88GMCtruck]

Added a brace where the plywood sheets are joined. instead of putting the seam on top of the existing joist, I decided the joint was better off moved farther over, where it is primarily covered by the dinette.

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Laying more plywood.

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Under the kitchen cabinet. Still have a little piece to add in front of the wheelwell.

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3/4 done

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Last part is going to be the worst, because it's the back of the trailer, where the bathroom is and there are walls hanging down...

 

[DoubleTap308]

Nice looking project ! Almost makes me want to pick up the camper down the road..... but I don't need another money pit! LOL

 

[88GMCtruck]

Yeah, thus far it hasn't been a big money pit, as most the items are small that need replaced.

No progress last night, I had to do homework and some other chores around the house. Hopefully tonight the last piece of plywood will slide into place and I can work a bit more on some structural wood in the back wall.

I did order a small laundry list of items that are broken/missing
- clearance light base and lens
- porch light lens
- fridge roof vent
- waster water tank roof vents
- range hood vent
- Butyl putty tape to re-seal windows/doors/seams
- large box of screws to replace old when doing putty tape
- additional table leg, pedistal & base
- towing mirrors for the 88

 

[BHBurban]

Are you keeping the original 70's decor inside, or are you going to update the look?

 

[88GMCtruck]

It's going to be sort of a mix of old and new.

What's Staying:
The cabinets are in good shape, they are going to stay the wood color.
The counters are very nice actually, and are genuine formica, kinda a white marbled look.
The Cushions are green fabric, and are in good shape.
The Drapes are an orange/green mix, but are also going to stay.

What's Changing:
About 1/2 the paneling is toast so instead of trying to match the fake wood (yeah right) i'm just going to buy whatever I can cheap to replace it and simply paint all the walls to match
The floor is going to be light grey epoxy over the plywood.

I'm also changing the dinette layout slightly. As of now it's a "u" shape that is quite cramped for more than 3 people. I'm going to ditch the side piece and instead have two parallel seats so it will more comfortably seat 4

 

[88GMCtruck]

Making more progress. Got the rest of the old flooring out. The hardest part was getting the old stuff out under the shower.

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Door removed to replace the joist underneath. I also added some additional reinforcing since the step mounts here.

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The bottom of the wall stud next to the door, just a *little* rotten. This will be replaced.

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Probably the best corner of the joists, under the storage compartment

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The back drivers side is a little rotten. Pulled the old joists out and made a new one.

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Plywood cut, ready to be slid in under the walls

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And floor insulated

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Plywood partially slid in. I didn't get a picture, but to get the walls up I screwed a 2x4 to the outer wall and used the hi-lift to jack it up. You have no idea how valuable the Hi-Lift has been on this project.

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I HAVE FLOOR!!! Also filled the all the gaps between plywood with putty, to smooth things out.

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Tomorrow comes the epoxy coating, and it'll be curing over the weekend.

 

[Low 89]

Wow, have got to say that I'm pretty excited to see the finished product. So far it looks great and I love the thought of redoing an older model trailer. I've always wondered if the materials used in these vehicles are slightly different to cut down on the weight of them. Definitely subscribing to this thread!

 

[88GMCtruck]

Well the walls, floor and roof all appear to be made of standard pine 1x2s, 2x2s and 2x4s. The subfloor was particle board, which was probably not any lighter but i'm sure cheaper. And on top of that, everything was stapled together (assembly line kinda stuff) whereas I'm screwing it all together now. I'm sure my 3" long screws will hold MUCH better than staples any day.

 

[Low 89]

Haha earlier I noticed those staples in the wood when you had compared one of the floor joists or something, made me chuckle. I imagine that caused a reduction in weight, unless there was multiple staples where one screw would have done just fine.

 

[MIHELA]

They do that to save time. Trailer makers cut corners quite often.