Shasta Loflyte Loo Loo - Day six

Hello vintage trailer fans! Loo Loo the Loflyte here to give you some more updates. The last couple of days have been spent tightening up my loose ends. Speaking of ends, I guess we should start with my rear end! It is all built back up now and trimmed as well. 99 did not paint the wood and will leave that up to the new owners to do according to their own tastes. Here are some pics...

Before...

Today...

The rear shelf was rebuilt and trimmed and the back rest wall was also rebuilt. My walls are mostly trimmed up. 99 started to work on the curtains and she may or may not get to finishing them before I go to my new home. There is just so much to be done and let me tell you something....we are TIRED! But it's a good tired. My upper bunk is back in place too. Ironman stopped and helped with this. It is a lot easier with four hands! When 99 tried to do it alone she actually got to the point of laying down underneath it on the bed and pushing one side up over the rail with her feet and trying to finagle the other side up over it's rail with her hands. Can you picture it? That's when she decided she better come back down to earth and wait for someone to show up to help! 

When that was done 99 took a look at me and decided to do a little staging. I did not look warm and cozy enough and sometimes a visual of what I could look like helps people to realize I do have potential. So, she did a little decorating! When I go to my new home they will get the curtains and the old cushions if they want them but they can decorate me however they want to. I think decorating was the most fun we have had so far and we are both pleased with how bright, cheery and happy I look now. Seriously, check out these before and afters and tell me I am not capable of being a real beauty queen...

99 found this picture and she hung it up where it can be seen when you walk in the door. We think it's downright fitting...

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I may get a bath and have some work done on my exterior. Sometimes my door sticks a little bit and that needs attention. My wings need to be put back up too and a lens put back on one of my lights. You who have restored know it just never seems to end! Happily, the hardest work is done!

My lights are all original, my plate holder is there, My original door handle is present and accounted for. All of my windows open and close nicely and none of the panes are broken or cracked. My tires will need to be replaced. My hitch is in great condition as is my frame. Roof is nice looking too! I have been full of nice surprises, that is what 99 keeps saying!

So now, 99 will do some more work to me while I wait for my new family to realize they are in love with me and put me back on the road again. She will also enjoy hanging out in me a bit before I go and as always she will have one dinner in me before I move on just like she does with every trailer that she spends time with. . She has a hard time sitting still and my brother the Nomad has not arrived yet so who knows what else will change or be improved upon until then. 

Well, time for me to say goodnight! Wish me luck vintage trailer fans and thanks for being a part of this great journey. Be sure to tune in again....my brother will be here very soon! Now that might be a whole different ball game but always one worth playing! 

Shasta Loflyte Loo Loo Day Five

Hello vintage trailer fans. Loo Loo here with yet another update. Things have been moving so fast my tires are spinning,,,,but 99 is happy to be working again after a long cold frigid ungodly freezing only meant for polar bears winter so I am kinda thinking we are on a roll. Funny thing is she has that disease called "save the trailoritis"! I learned that when her friend Doctor Blaine stopped over in between his jobs and noticed she started ripping the front of me open. He said, "You couldn't leave it alone could you, Janet!" Well, she couldn't.( He knows her well). I think if she had all the time and money and modern tools in the world (like a simple table saw for pete's sake) she could produce some serious stuff. Like in the old days. When the guys were making trailers out of their garages to go on to build big companies as their legacy. No matter. They all did it with hammers and nails. Oh so many nails!  Oh to dream. Never stop dreaming!

Here is my update. I must remind you, I am not intended as a show piece. 99 just wants me to be a solid piece of history that will hit for road for at least another ten or thirty years with the proper care. She cares. That is why she had to touch the front of me that she could just "not leave alone". I had some rot at my front window where it leaked. Not major but in need of care. So we dug in to it. 99 has taken trailers to the frame they were so bad. Me...I am amazingly good as far as saving and repairs go. She has never seen anything like me. Keeps saying I am a god send whatever that means. 

Here is the damage and here are the repairs:

There is a brace board that goes below my window brace that caught some moisture. 99 felt all across my window brace as best she could to feel that it was still solid and like the rest of me it surprisingly felt awesome. Someone took care of me in a past life. However, the underboards were not so great at the edges. So she cut out the bad spots keeping in mind she still  had to provide support for the cross section. I had a dent in this area so it gave her an opportunity to get out her auto body tools and hammer out it as best she could. New boards were sistered in as well as one final board to go along the distance and hold it all solidly in place. Took some thought, but it was done!

Here you can see the rotted board:

It was cut off at the spot that was she was not able to penetrate,

New board fitted in place.

Followed by another new sister board, This was done at both ends.

 Then a long board was connected to go the distance and provide more security.

 Still looks like a mess, and it was, but it all works out in the end.

The area under my window still looked a bit unsightly so 99 put up a trim board. Not to hide anything, just for eye pleasure. Hey, I am  old and short of tearing us oldies down to the frame you have to figure out a way to keep us senor trailers looking good while maintaining our will to survive. Besides, I am in unfathomable condition. She just happened to have the perfect piece to make our front area look good. It was sanded and cut to fit. I know she wants to paint me and give me some color, but she is containing herself. That is for my new family to do. As long as I am strong, they can do my decorating. 

So today, my front shelf was rebuilt and made solid to stand yet another test of time. I am ready for it!

It is kind of crazy how I am all coming together. 99  can't believe how easy I am. Not that it is not hard work. We are talking from the time she opens her eyes until she closes them kind of work. Her friends all agree. They have never seen a trailer land in her driveway in such  well maintained condition. A few of them are amazed at what she has done so far. I guess if you have a passion and a drive and a love for us old beauties you are sometimes blessed with a diamond in the rough you never expected. Add to that one that came at just the right moment in time. That would be me! Wait til my brother gets here. Then the headaches will begin! 

My cushions all need replaced and my curtains may not to be to everyone's taste, but let me tell you...I am feeling like some one just breathed a whole new life into me. And I am ready to start living it! 

If any of this looks easy to you...it's not. It's one person trying to figure out how to recreate what she deems a master of a factory of people from long ago. Every nook and cranny is amazing, to her. It is 12, 13, 15 hours days with a few curse words mixed in, but not many. It's a dream. To find old trailers and make them lovable again. Not for the money...that's a joke.Especially in NY. Wrong state, wrong weather, wrong camping season. I mean I am sure it would be nice to have a factory and hired help like they used to with the need for accountants. It's just plain and simple love for the "trade" and the "trailer". But if there is anything to be said for doing the best you can with what with you have...it's right here under the sky on the east side of  Rochester, NY. Cause in this driveway we still have dreams and we still believe and we still love. And isn't that what's most important? 

Gotta get some shut eye now. Tomorrow is going to be another drama filled day I am sure. For now, I leave you with this...

If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Goodnight my vintage trailer fans, whoever and where ever you may be.

Shasta Loflyte "Loo Loo" - Day Four

Hello trailer fans. This blog post is going to be short yet sweet because the last two days were anything but!

Repairs continued with my rear sitting/sleeping area. In the last blog post I showed you how the curb and street side walls were being insulated and put up. Well, both sides are done.

Here is my curb side....

After the wall was cut to fit the metal bunk brace was put back up. The braces for the lower bed were also put in place. There is still trim work to be done, but that is for another day.

Here is the street side....

The corner board at the floor was replaced. The boards surrounding it did not need it and are okay.

My trim screws had to be removed  first. See those little holes to the left of plate holder in the photo below. We think that is how the water got in and damaged the corner board. 

A new board cut to fit was put in place.

Then it was time to finish putting up the walls. 99 put a board across the bottom side screwed to the floor and the wall to provide extra support.

The brace boards for the lower bunk were put on.

Trim at the corners in the upper bunk section.

My rear window was trimmed with wood and the building of the rear shelf /back rest was started.

So around midnight....this is where we left it. 

The rear bunk still needs to go up. 99 got it down alone but could not figure for the life of her how to get it back up alone. She decided to wait for an extra set of hands to show up hopefully tomorrow. The back rest needs to be put up but the shelf is done. Then it is a matter of trim work. Because 99 wants to get to work on my brother the Nomad and time is limited, she will probably leave the bare wood for my new family to decide what to do with. They can choose their own colors if they want to paint them and give it their own style. But she will make sure it is all trimmed and tightened up so that all that needs finished is painting or staining or whatever might be in store when I get back on the road again. 

Whew....what a long day. I thought it would never end. Feeling good though and excited about tomorrow. I will report back with more updates soon. For now, I gotta get some rest!

Good night vintage trailer fans whoever and where ever you may be. May all your trails be happy!

Lou Loo The Loflyte - Day Two

HALLELUJAH! 99'S  been calling me "little trailer" and I have just been waiting on nuts and screws for her to figure out my name. Now she told me that with you "trailer naming people", it has to come to you. It either does right away cause you just feel it instantly...or...you gotta feel it and then it comes. I just happened to be the latter. My name is Halleluyah. But 99 says my friends can call me Loo Loo the LoFlyte for short and Loo Loo for shorter. 99 gives everyone a nickname. Nicknames are cool and they make a person feel special.
I just have to tell you I feel special tonight! Here is what has been happening....
The rain let up and we actually had a bit of sunshine here in upstate New York. 99 set to sealing me up so I can say I have been cured of leakatosis. My J-rails were scraped, cleaned and sealed as were most of my windows. The back one is going to take some work getting all the old goop off. The lights were also cleaned and sealed around their edges.We were fighting mother nature and she is pretty tricky, so we accomplished what we could before the rains set in again.  Water and gravity are partners. The water might originate from somewhere but will always flow to the lowest point. So you kind of have to search for it's origin which may not be right where the leak is. 99 decided to just go ahead and seal every possible place. She got on the roof and sealed the seams. It's amazing! I have a pretty nice roof! Smooth, fairly clean (NO TAR), no holes or tears where a branch may have decided to rest or any glaring dents. Apparently this is something to smile about. I think 99's smile stretched around her face twice!

Besides the windows and j-rails the area around my fridge vent was cleaned up and some sealant put in place. Not sure what will be done here, if anything,  but this was enough to prevent water from entering at the cracks and the important thing now is that I do not leak! Putting a tarp on day in and day out is maddening. Least that is what 99 says. There were lots of bees nests in there that had to be cleaned out too. Unfortunately we did not find any honey!

Look closely at this next picture. This area had to be sealed before the rain. It had been done by previous owners but that was quite a while ago. I am in pretty good shape for my age and seem to have been well maintained.. The funny, or maybe not so funny thing, is whoever sealed it went right over some screws just lying there. So the screws are sealed into the roof. There are two of them. Can you spot 'em? The bigger question is...Can you believe it?!
99 chuckled over this one. You never know what you will find on a vintage trailer!

 I am taking it mean to that I have absolutely No Loose Screws! 

My eyebrow over my front window was removed. Lots of old butyl and sealant there! It was scraped and cleaned. Fresh butyl applied and put back on with new stainless screws. The window was sealed also. Say goodbye to that possible area of leakage! (Fingers crossed!). 

Just look at all that old goop!

The eyebrow was loaded with goop too!

Finally, we got me sealed up pretty well. We will find out how well with the next rain which will be here tomorrow. Next we moved inside and on to my walls. All the old nails were pulled and insulation was cut and fitted for the street side. Then came the cutting of the wall boards. What a pain! 99 would rather do a frame up any day. It is just so hard to fit when it is all closed up. The top had to go behind the aluminum molding at the ceiling. The windows have to be cut precisely since they were not removed. Of course they did not fit exact and 99 trimmed them with her trusty multi-purpose tool while holding up the board . It is much easier to put up the wall board and cut out the windows later, but mine weren't coming out, so we did it this way. What a nightmare! The major parts are up on the street side. Still needs trim work, but the hardest part is done. We hope!

Today was also a day of  surprise visitors in the late evening. It was a nice change because it is usually just the two of us. I was introduced and very well liked which made me happy! First,  Ironman stopped by! He just had rotator cup surgery mixed with double pneumonia so he has been missed. He came in his pajama pants! I am thinking this is a come as you are kind of place! He brought dinner with him for 99 to eat later and a prime rib bone for Ghandi, the dog. They were in their glory! He also took away my Shasta emblem and my wings. He said he might have time to try to spruce them up a bit. This is a huge blessing for us since we don't have a lot of time with everything that needs done. Here is what they look like now. Emblem is kind of pitted, but any improvement will be a good thing! Can't wait to get them back!

After Ironman left, Doctor Blaine stopped for a little bit. He had on his work clothes! He brought with him a bag of Scooby Snacks for her to share with her little grandson when he visits again. It's good to have friends! 

Don't tell anyone, but 99 has a fear of testing propane. She always pictures something like this happening...

With her kind of luck...it could! Only it would not be followed by laughter. So 99 roped the Doctor into testing it for her. That had kind of become one of his specialties with her trailers. He didn't mind. He gets into that kind of stuff. Guess what....it worked! Both the burners and the oven! Hallelujah!! 

Once the doctor got started he just had to test the fridge. He is like that! That's why he is the doctor! The burner lit and then the button has to be held down for a bit. When the button was released the flame went out. The doctor said it might have to be blown out. This is something that will be saved for another day.

Next the neighbor she calls "Sunday" stopped over. He had on his Buffalo Bills slippers.They chatted while 99 continued to work on my curbside wall removing the old wood and putting in new insulation. What a busy day it was and so much got done! It was a day filled with wonderful surprises. 99 keeps saying I have really good karma. Of course, I already knew that!

99 has decided that she is going to get me roadworthy and campable again. She may not go all out with me because she needs to spend some time and money on my brother the Nomad. He is in a sad state but she is excited about bringing him back to his old glory. She is going to make me worthy of someone else's love and send me down the road to new adventures with a new family! I can't wait for that day. For now, her and I will keep on plugging away on making improvements to me so that someone will come along and just HAVE to have me for their own. Right now we are just small fish in a pond over here, but there is an old saying...Big shots are only little shots who keep on shooting. So keep on shooting for the stars and someday, someway, with a little help from your friends, a little luck and a lot of hard work, all your dreams will eventually come true.  Never stop shooting!

So there you have it! All my updates. There will be more to share after this day is done so please stop back to see how I am doing. I like visitors!