Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Canned Hams of all types and sizes...and Bread Boxes to go with that ham......

Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KBS » Sat May 12, 2012 10:19 pm

I picked up this little gem today. 1959 Security Traveler (12 footer)
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It's just a shell. totally stripped out inside. All original glass, and every bit of it in perfect condition. Wood floor is solid throughout. I towed it 200 miles and hardly noticed it was behind me. The weight was undetectable, but I was pulling with a 3/4 ton Suburban with a 454 under the hood. I felt the wind resistance a little bit.

Best of all, I paid a piddly $150 for it.

I plan to fix it up so it's nice and usable. I don't plan to restore it to showroom status because I don't have the money nor the skill. My intent is to take it camping. That means out in the hills where dirt is known to exist. There might be a tree branch out there as well. I have long wanted to have a small trailer that I can take out for an overnighter without any trouble or preparation. Just hook on after work and go, and be back by 10:00 the next morning.

I'd welcome any thoughts anyone may have. I'll post photos as I go.

Rock on,
Karl
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby parnold » Sat May 12, 2012 11:47 pm

It looks like you've got a real fun project there!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KBS » Sun May 13, 2012 8:00 pm

Here are some more photos.

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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby Ron Dickey » Thu May 17, 2012 10:14 pm

I talked with a guy today who has a 1926 travel trailer .... he said it is best to do things slow.... a stick at a time. if you do not you will lose the just of the trailer design.

His has rounded curves inside and out. I guess I will need to download some pictures . There is an Vintage travel trailer event going on near by as I type this.

What he mainly said is take your time and do it right.
121377......134179
Inside almost done--Trolly top has opening windows & roof.doors need assembling--pictured above waley windows..galley 1/3 done
Cross Bow in Build Journals....http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=54108
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KBS » Sun May 20, 2012 11:25 pm

There is nothing spectacular about this trailer. It's old, but I do not believe it is a classic in any way. I have never heard of the Security brand. The guy I bought it from was going to demolish it in a week if he could not sell it. As expected, it's turned out to be more work than expected. I've removed almost all of the interior framing on the front end. The corners had separated and of course, the wood was mostly rotted. Plus I'm finding the factory workmanship was pretty shoddy. That's a bit surprising for a 1959 model item.

You can see in the above photos that the previous owner built out the blocking on the back end under the window, and did a fairly nice job. I've torn out all the paneling you see in the front end, so now it's aluminum siding with stick frame interior. Getting the corners solidly fastened back together and sealed up tight is my main concern.

This is going to be my "beater" overnighter. It's not going to be treated like royalty. It's basically one step above sleeping in a tent, and will go anywhere I dare drive. I don't plan to install any permanent fixtures like a sink or stove. I'll have a free-standing twin bed or perhaps a futon. I'll have a folding table for a galley, and folding chairs for a dinette set. Loose carpet on the floor, and maybe some 12v lighting, but for starters, it's going to be flashlights or a headlamp. My first priority is to get it ready by June 3 to have it serve as a "residence" for my son who is working at a scout camp over the summer. That doesn't give much time, and for some reason, he thinks he needs interior walls to cover the stick framing. Spoiled kid.

So, it will be very basic. I plan to make it improvable in the future if I choose. I'm screwing panels in place instead of nailing so I can remove them if needed for more modifications or wiring changes. My number one goal is to keep it low-cost because if I end up spending $1,000, I could have bought one for $1,000 that didn't need 80 hours work done on it.
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KBS » Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:30 pm

OK, so my son and I worked on the trailer so much, I didn't get a chance to take any photos. He now has the trailer at a summer high adventure camp, so it will be a couple of months before I can get any pictures. But here's a run-down of what we did. We stripped everything down to the wood frame on the inside. There is a storage shelf that goes the width of the back of the trailer, and it was in good shape, so we left it in. We braced up the front and back to provide lateral stability. Replaced two spars across the roof. Replaced every stick of wood below eye level on the front end. My son used his considerable metal-working skills to cut custom-fitted angle pieces on all four corners where the original sheet metal and trim had separated. I fixed the loose and rattly windows in the door. I replaced and rewired the tail lights and installed a dome light. Replaced about 100 loose screws with new, larger ones. Caulked about 50 feet of seams. We pounded out some dents and spray painted some bad spots. After all the reconstruction was done, we paneled the interior with 1/8" plywood. I also filled all the spaces with blue foam insulation that the previous owner sent with the trailer. I replaced all four teardrop marker lights. We scrounged some used carpet from a local carpet store and cut it to fit the open floor pattern. I put a twin bed and mattress in, and used a hollow-core closet door (smooth surface) for a table across the front end. Without any sink or oven fixtures, it's pretty open and spacious for a 12 footer.

We plan to do more work on it when it's back home, but we were up until 3:00 a.m. the morning of his departure getting stuff done, so he took it as it was, which will be just fine for what he's doing. He has access to power (I wired a 110 outlet), and there are bathroom facilities at the camp, so he doesn't need anything in the trailer but a bed and table surface. I'll build out a closet over a wheel well to hold a porta potty and serve as storage. Plus I'd like to replace the twin bed with a full or queen for the rare occasions when I can convince my wife to be seen in such a relic. I'm pretty pleased with how turned out, especially since we worked so fast and furious to make it usable. It's not a thing of beauty, and our workmanship could be more polished, but for dragging something out into the hills for a night or two, it will do just great.

I paid $150 for the trailer, another $90 in gas to go get it, and about $200 on materials. The paneling was the biggest cost. 11 sheets at $13 each. 5 2x4s, screws, tail lights, marker lights, and a dome light. The rest I had on hand. The best part of all was spending time with my son and watching him work and solve problems. He really put his heart into it. He usually reserves that much dedication to risking his life on a cliff face or downhill bike run. The most amazing part was that last week he hiked rim to rim at the Grand Canyon. He got home Saturday after hiking from the river to the north rim, sitting in a car for four hours stiffening up, and then I put him to work for about 11 hours to finish up the trailer. He was exhausted and crippled by the time he went to bed, after having been up for 22 hours. When he said he would help me get it ready, he must have meant it.
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby mezmo » Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:35 am

Good to hear you and your son make such a good team!

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KBS » Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:09 pm

Here are some more photos and description of what we did.

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This shows how rotted the wood was in the front end.

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I took off the front panel and you can see the new wood I installed.

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Interior view of the front end's new lumber.

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I replaced the ugly rectangular lights someone put on at some time with round ones in the original round holes. I painted the skin with some Krylon to make it look a little better.

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This was my first night out once I got it back from my son's summer job. He really liked living in it. While other workers complained about squirrels getting in their tents, he complained about a spider getting in his trailer.

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This photo shows the interior paneling we installed. Not the greatest craftsmanship, but far better than bare metal and framing.

I plan to make a few additional improvements, but nothing major. My intent is not to have a luxury land yacht that cost a year's salary. Just a beater I can take to the hills, cook some baked beans, sit out under the evening sky, and then get a good night's sleep before heading back home to mow the lawn.
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby bearfromobx » Sat Nov 24, 2012 11:27 pm

Color me a little green with jealously guys; I'm glad the TT worked out so well for you both. Actually, that hole in the front looks like serendipity to me. It's a ready made access for the paneling's entry!
Just an overeducated Redneck with a love of learnin' ...
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KsPete » Sun Jul 07, 2013 12:50 pm

Thanks for the information and photos. I like the way you think and I plan to do something similar regarding furnishings. I have an old 17' camper frame from a 1959 Mobile Scout that I plan to use. I'll be building from the frame up and plan to furnish it with a bed, some shelving or cabinets for storage, and some counter top space. No refrigerator, stove, sinks, bathroom, etc. It will basically be a hard tent on wheels. We've had a pop-up in the past and currently have an older small Class C motorhome, and I haven't liked either one, mainly because I find the furniture is not very comfortable.
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KBS » Sat Aug 17, 2013 8:53 pm

Pete:

I haven't checked the forum for awhile. Thanks for your comment. I hate to admit it, and my wife would hate to admit it even more, but this little trailer has been a blast. We have a 27' Salem sitting in the back yard, and it hasn't moved in three years. I've taken this "Guppy" out at least 8 times in the last year, and my son has taken it three times with his little Blazer. My other son used it for his housing for 7 weeks at a scout camp. What has been really nice is to take it to the family cabin. There are always a dozen or more people at the cabin, and it is so nice to go out to the Guppy for a nap or even better, I can sleep in if I want to in the morning without the foot traffic in the cabin bothering me.

It's pretty much finished as far as I'm concerned. I built a little table for cooking and eating. We use folding chairs. No bathroom, but I do have a porta-potty I could take along if needed. I originally intended to just have a twin bed because I assumed my wife would not care to be seen in such a thing, but she has really taken to it, so I built a queen size platform and we tossed a high density foam mattress in there.

It is certainly not a thing of beauty, but I'll tell you this, dang near every one of may male neighbors has had to come by and poke his nose inside and then say how much he wished he had one just like it. Funny how men see things differently than women when it comes to camping. My church has a tradition of a guys-only campout in the spring, and this year I couldn't keep the door shut. Every guy there had to come see my treasure and then break the 10th commandment.
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby Jahnestarain » Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:51 am

I just got a 12 ft security traveler in pretty good condition, just wondering weight and any other info you could give me on it. I haven't been able to find any other info on it. Thanks,

Marci
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KBS » Fri Feb 07, 2014 1:49 pm

Hey, Marci:

I don't have any specs on this trailer. I can only guess. I would think it's in the 1000-1500 lb range. I can lift the tongue off the ground with my hands. Of course, mine is stripped out, so that probably takes 500 lbs out. Plus I have my heavy queen size mattress behind the axle, so that makes tongue weight less. I noted that the axle is pretty beefy. Heavy springs on it. Also, it has electric brakes, but I ended up removing the one on the left due to a problem with the hub.

I've tried to find info on the web, but there is none. By pure chance I was driving down Geneva Road in Provo, Utah, and saw one exactly like mine in some yard. I stopped and took a photo, but didn't talk to anyone. So, I've just taken what I have and ran with it.

I paid $150 for mine to a guy who was going to turn it into a 4-wheeler hauler if he couldn't sell it. I've put maybe $300 into it to get it livable. I've used it about a dozen times and my son lived in it for 7 weeks, so it doesn't owe me anything.

I'll confess that I made a really dumb mistake. I took a wheel off to fix a leak, and when I put it back on, I got distracted and forgot to tighten the lugs. My son took it a few miles and ruined the lug studs as well as the wheel rim. I had to replace the studs (remove the brake as noted above) and buy new rims. So that foolishness cost me about $150, but I don't count that in my get-it-livable costs. Fortunately, it takes the same rims as a Ford Explorer, so I found a set of 4 online for $70 and two of them had new tires and the others are good enough to be spares, so I feel better about them than what was on it before my mishap.

Anyway, I'd love to see photos of yours and hear your story.
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby rebapuck » Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:04 am

If you're going camping, you've got everything you need. A comfortable place to lay your head and a private place to do your "business". Everything else is gravy.
Judy
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Re: Forgive me, for I have sinned. Again.

Postby KBS » Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:25 pm

Ah. No place to do my business. My Guppy is totally stripped out. The only fixtures are the free-standing bed and a small table. It never had a restroom to begin with. There's only been one or two nights that I did not camp near a facility, but if I had to, I could take along my port-a-potty. I've never felt I needed to unless my wife is camping with me, but that has never happened unless we were near a "sitter".

Here's a photo of the Guppy in action. The little green table is the one I mentioned.
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