Free trailer Nor Cal

[mikeschn]

Okay,

You got me beat logistically!!! But you better take pictures...

Mike...

No way Gage.. I'm leaving for CA tomorrow...
LOL
Mike...

Yea, but I can leave here the day after tomorrow and still beat you there. Well, as long as you drive to California. Boy, have I got plans for that trailer, already I'm thinking of things to do to it. The second thing would be to put the stove outside on a pullout.

Have a good day.

[Chris C]

Sure am glad you're getting that neat trailer, Gage.

[Chip]

Gage,, I just want to know if you are gonna keep the pink upholstery on the couch and the green curtains or are you gonna modernise it,, now if it has shag carpet and a carpet rake then ya gotta keep the original stuff,,,

Bud, looks like ya got ya self one heck of a deal,,

chipper

[Gage]

What's a stand up Benroy look like. Got any pics?

It is a 10 foot stand-up travel trailer. I have not seen one up close, only a picture that Bennet Petersen (Co-founder) of Benroy had in his Den a couple of years ago when a few of us from SCTT went and visited him. That was the first time I had heard of them. The man sure has some good stories about the early days of teardrop trailers and why they quit building them. They couldn't compete with the early 'Can Hams'.

Picture on loan from Outback Teardrop _ Thank you.

Gage,, I just want to know if you are gonna keep the pink upholstery on the couch and the green curtains or are you gonna modernise it,, now if it has shag carpet and a carpet rake then ya gotta keep the original stuff,,,

Bud, looks like ya got ya self one heck of a deal,,
chipper

We'll have to see once we get it home.

Have a good day.

[Will Smith]

update: Gage called it first, said he will be here Sunday to pic it up.

[doug hodder]

Will...are you going to let Gage know that it was used for a chicken coop or wait till he gets here? doug

[Gage]

Will...are you going to let Gage know that it was used for a chicken coop or wait till he gets here? doug

Can't be any worse than the boat I picked up. I think the previous owner used it for everything but a chicken coop.

Oh and by the way Doug, I'll be up Sunday. Need something to do durning half time.

Have a good day.

[Will Smith]

Will...are you going to let Gage know that it was used for a chicken coop or wait till he gets here? doug

WAS?

[Gage]

I know, I'm a little late with this posting. Sorry about that. Picked up the Santa Fe Sunday the 5th. Nice little trailer and it won't take that much to get it camp ready. Need to remove the roof vent and let the wood air out, then add a new vent and frame the opening with a piece of ply 1/8" x about 2". That should repair the water damage around the vent. I then need to replace all the locks and running lights. Find out where all the wireing is going and install and hook up the propane tank. I'll also convert the bunk to over head cabinets. At a later date, I'll replace the skin because of some bad tears in a couple of places. I think it'll be an easy fix to get it to camping condition.


Now for the rest of the story. DHAZARD might get a kick out of this.
Now you all know from past postings that going up into doug hodder country is risky business. Well, when I got to Placerville, my generator light was glowing (not bright) so when I left (around 2:00 pm) I stopped at thier local Wal Mart and got a new battery for 'just in case'. Mind you, there was 400+ miles of hard top between Placerville and Palmdale. So off we go with new battery in the back headed for Palmdale , now about 2:45. Well after about 60 miles the generator light becomes very bright so we find a gas station, pull in and take a look. Can't find anything so we break out the good old hammer and start tapping. Aw, that worked. When we tapped the voltage reg., the light went out. Jumped back in the wagon and away we go. Well that didn't last long and some where around Merced the light came back on (and by now it's also getting dark). We decided to press on until the battery gave out (we had a new one in the back and now some 300 miles to go. Found a big rig going as fast as I wanted to and jumped in behind, turned off the head lights and pressed on. Well about 20 miles before Fresno the dash lights went out so I knew I now had no lights and needed to get off the highway. Took the next off ramp and into a gas station, that was out in the middle of nowhere (just for me). checked engine again and noticed that one of the brushes was up so we decided to pull the generator and fix it. In pulling it we found that we had a broken bracket (you know the one that holds the generator in place), oh well, no big’y. But a closer inspection of the generator and it’s noted that a chunk of the armiger is missing. No wonder the generator doesn’t work. Time to phone home. Tanya wasn’t to happy when I told her not to go to bed but to stand by, I may need her help. She said WHAT! She told me she had to work the next day and doesn't want to be driving 200+ miles at night. I ask her to just stand by and I would get back to her. So now Frank and I talked it up and decided to remove all the marker lights off the trailer and the tail lights off the wagon. Just leaving tail lights on the trailer and head lights and front parking lights on the wagon. Put the generator back in so I would have the use of the fan belt and fan to keep the water pump going and the engine cool. Pulled the old battery and installed the Wal Mart special. Call home and told Tanya to meet us in Bakersfield with jumper cables so we could put a charge on the battery when we get there, better than a 100 miles away. So back on the hwy again and found another big rig doing about 63mph (and constant), jumped in behind and headed for Bakersfield. Got there, flashed my lights to say thank you and exit the hwy to a gas station now for gas. Gassed up not turning off the engine (risky) and then went to where we were to meet up with Tanya and turned off the engine and went and got a cup of coffee. Tanya and Franks wife got there about 10 minutes later and using the Honda, we charged the battery for about 15 minutes before heading up hwy 58 (57 miles of up hill mountain driving and was real dark). All was going well until we hit the mountains and with two gals up front leading the way and talking and forgetting about the car behind them left me in the dark and boy was it dark. So on comes the head lights. First chance I got, gave Tanya a call and just told her to meet us in Mojave behind Micky-D’s so we can put a charge on the battery to get us home, only 38 miles on down the road from there. All went well until we left Mojave. A couple of miles down the road, Tanya leading and me following with head lights off and I notice a car jump in behind me. On comes my head lights just in case and sure enough there appears a bright red light behind me. Well, I pull over and turn off my lights real quick (remember, I have no tail light on the wagon) and wait for the officer to walk up, he didn‘t keep me waiting to long. The first thing he says to me is “how’s it going?” I simple told him he didn’t really want to know and Frank just said it’s been a long day. So then he tells me the reason he pulled me over was because my trailer lights were very dim and couldn’t hardly see them. And that’s when I told him that we picked up the trailer in Placerville and on the way home we lost our generator and was running on straight battery and just trying to get it home. Also that my wife was in the car up front and leading the way and there if we needed her help. He asked me for my drivers license (only) and went back to his car. He came back and asked me where Camino was. I told him it was just up the road from Placerville and that’s where I actually got the trailer. I had Doug’s teardrop license on the trailer and the officer didn’t have any idea of what SPCN meant. So as he gives me back my drivers license he suggest that I have my wife follow me home to protect my rear. Right then and there I called her on the phone to relay what he said. With that he said to take it easy and good luck getting home and went back to his car. As soon as he drove past me, I started the engine, turned the lights on, put it in gear and headed down the hwy with Tanya tucked in behind me. Got home 2:30 in the morning.

Now you know the rest of the story. Do you think that Doug’s mystery powers may have had something to do with it?

Have a good day.

P.S. Tanya didn't go to work the next day, but I had to do a drive down to San Diego.

[Chris C]

Yup!

[Chris C]

By the way, good looking little trailer. Wish it had been near me, I'd have taken it for sure.

[Chip]

Gage,, its all about the adventure of the trip, not the getting back that matters anyway,, and from the "REST" of the story its sounded like an adventure,,

Good looking trailer,,I believe ya got a good deal on it,, the price was definately a good one,,, take a bunch of pics when ya start getting into the reworking process,, I am real interested in what ya find when the pieces start coming off,,

chipper

[doug hodder]

Gage...now I know the rest of the story...SPCN stands for special conditions...just what the DMV handed to me for the tear...but something must be screwy with it as I swapped personalized plates onto the tear through the DMV and those plates were for the 1st boat....glad to made it OK, hope it was worth your while...Doug

[Rob]

You know, it seems like everytime I drive Highway 50 through Camino (almost weekly) my lights dim and the transmission vibrates. Is it part of the Hodder Triangle?

By the way Gage, nice deal on the trailer.

Rob

[Gage]

Doug, I heard the radio come back and it sounded like SPCN but could of been something different, but it worked for me. (Maybe my AMR sticker on the rear window of the wagon help'd a little. Tanya was telling me that she knows some of the CHP officers that work that area, that may of help'd, who knows? I just know I didn't get a ticket for not having any lights.)

Chip, the only appearent water damage was around the roof. I pounded on the walls and jumped up and down on the floors and everything seem solid. I have to work the door over. Although it latches, it just doesn't fit snug. It doesn't appear that the oven got used very much either. Tanya is real happy, it looks like there is a place for the port-a-poty. It also has brakes on it (no idea why) and it can't weight more than 1000 lbs. I may try and put them on the Scoutsman but the problem there is that the tear has 15" wheels where as the Santa Fe has 13". And the awning I made for the Dalton will work just fine on the Santa Fe.

And yes, I think I got a great deal.

Have a good day.