and.... repeat

so... you are probably thinking "what the hell is that?".
and... if you answered "it's a 1959 Sctosman travel trailer" then you would be right.

of course we thought... "isn't that cute and just the perfect size"

The back is nice and simple with a large window and just the two lights

There was very little damage for a trailer that is 52 years old.

Cute as a "muffin"

A big part of why we purchased this particular trailer was that everything was included and it was all original.
And the stove and icebox being turquoise is completely fabulous.

The rear needs the most love and the previous owner had removed some of the rot .  We will have to replace the whole back sheet of plywood to make the trailer strong again. 

The original gas lamp in the front of the camper. 

This is hands down the yuckiest part of the trailer.
and with that... we work.

After making some drawings, taking pictures and writing down a few measurements we start by ripping out the dinette.
Our plan is to put the dinette back exactly how it was.  Of course all plans are subject to change (sometimes on a moments notice) :)

There was no way to get the kitchen out in one piece so we took it out a piece at a time. 

The roof has no vent but had a sag so the paneling has to come down in order to see exactly what is going on there.  We found a couple of broken spars and a few spars that were attached to nothing (you read right... nothing).  

I am pretty sure my husband is standing there thinking "baby, you made a big mess in here" :)

Under the stove and icebox looks like someone spilled their entire ashtray.  

We were supercareful not to ding the metal backsplash.  It was actually very shiny when it was new and I would like to keep it and polish it up. 

one of the tougher things is how to get the last sticks off the wall as they are nailed in from the outside before the skin is put on.  Steve has a cutter tool from Harbor Freight that works wonders for cutting wood and nails off flush. 

Of course sometimes you need a sawzall.  

The final cabinet comes down in one piece and very carefully because we might want to reuse this one. 

We figured if the ceiling was in that bad of shape in the back that it only makes sense to remove the skin off the entire ceiling and build the spars back again.  We are hoping to avoid taking the skin off completely but want to make the trailer strong enough to last another 50 years at the same time.  

Yes.. we burned the trailer parts we didn't need and the fire was lovely. 

The last thing out is the original linoleum.  I am sad to see it go but it had a few tears in it and was not salvageable.
So, it took part of Saturday and all of Sunday and the trailer is stripped and ready to be rebuilt.