Planning the Transformation

As I really love the "retro lifestyle", I decided to make Shorty's interior an atomic theme from items that i already own, ie, vintage barkcloth, copper hardware with escutcheons for the cupboards and drawers and go from there.  I did purchase some nice cocoa colored fabric to recover the cushions.  The oatmeal color is pretty, but not practical for camping with my pug pooches.  There feet will leave paw marks on the lighter fabric.  I have the vintage melmac dishware already and vintage camping gear.  Really, all I am looking at is having an awning made that compliments the yellow and creme color the exterior will eventually be painted and replacing the tongue jack, cleaning up and sealing the windows and seams.  For the time being, I plan on prepping and spraying primer on the exterior, so it won't look quite so ugly with the black and white paint it has now.  I am allowing myself all summer to get this done.  In the meantime, I will putter here and there, making improvements as I go.  I can't wait to get started!  Will post photos as the transformation happens!

It's A Small World!

So here we were at the 2011 Trailer Along to Pismo Rally in Pismo Beach in May, 2011.  I had seen photos of a yellow and white 13' Lo Liner on the internet from the Santa Maria area.  I posted a photo of that trailer and the vintage '54 Mercury towing it at my desk, thinking that one day "Shorty" would look as good.  Lo and behold, the owner of the other Lo Liner that I admire pulls in the campsite across from us!  This was incredible!  Turns out his Lo Liner is a bit newer and has a different interior layout, but nonetheless, Shorty's cousin for sure!  A nice guy named Gil from SoCal, he had a great display at his campsite and I got to look up close at his Lo Liner.   Here's a few photos of his trailer:

Getting Started

We purchased "Shorty" in April, 2011 from some friends in Northern CA.  The body is pretty darn straight and the interior is in good shape.  The exterior needs paint, windows need cleaning up and sealing, and there is some framing replacement to be done...not that bad, if you consider we did a ground up restore last year on a '63 Lil Loafer.  This will be a piece of cake in contrast.  So I purchased some good 13" trailer tires here locally.  They were a real bi___ to get on.  Not much room in the wheel wells to put those suckers on.  A new jack will be in order and new regulator.  We've also been working on our '54 Boles Aero, so the Shorty project will progress a bit slower.  Shorty will be my trailer primarily, to take on camping trips with my "Trailerettes" Women's Camping Group here in Northern CA.   Also plan on taking the trailer along with our '65 Rambler station wagon to car shows (not the Concours type tho).  I named it Shorty after my Dad's best friend from the late 1940's who he talked of often and I never met, and also because the trailer is so darned "squatty" looking.  I love it and can't wait to clean her up and put a new "dress" of paint on her!

Here's a few more photos...