all of a sudden it's winter

and we are getting excited about taking the monkey house on the road. it happened about a week ago, the weather was ok.. a bit wet perhaps but not too cold, in the 40's, usually. then for some reason old man winter got tired of waiting on the sidelines and sprung into action, burying us in snow and freezing our tails to the woodstove. the shop has mostly slowed down to a mild roar.. just orders to do, enough to keep me busy for a couple more weeks. then we will be doing our final preparations for the journey.

tracy and barbara came with the monkey house portrait last weekend. tracy medling is a terrific artist (who can't decide what time it is, for sure) who painted us a picture for the camper. we love it and want to share it with anyone who appreciates good art. we also had new "yellowstone" graphics made for the front and back of the monkey house by chuck henderson at tidal graphics in southwest harbor... they came out perfect although now it is too cold to apply them. we will do so in atlanta next month. he gave us complete instructions and even a squegee for the application process, not too hard i suppose. the price was quite reasonable and he will be happy to do more for anyone who wants them. i recommend his work.

the only plans we have to date are to be in new orleans for mardi gras. we are bringing jesse (our son) to new orleans to see the sights with us, it should be a lot of fun. we will be searching out new and different sights, sounds, and smells. we look forward to sampling lots of regional cuisine and meeting lots of interesting people. merry christmas to any and all. mas anon

more pics...

the pics!

rebuild complete

i have been quite busy for the past couple of weeks so i am happy to have time to do this tonite.

the finished product is quite beautiful and a sterling example of what can be done by hiring local craftsmen (and women).there is no way for me to express the gratitude we feel for all of the folks who have contributed to the magnificent outcome of this project. let the pictures tell of the beautiful gem of a trailer we have to cruise the blue line highways this winter. we look forward to meeting as many of you we can to show off our gem of a trailer to all who wish to experience what can be the outcome of an irrational desire to accomplish something that is best left to fools who love trysting at windmills. don't misunderstand me... it's not that we don't love our monkey house, we definately do, but omigod, you can't imagine what it is to undertake such a project unless you are foolish enough to have done it yourself. let it be known that it will cost more than you can imagine and take at least four times as much time as you thought it would.

yup.. she's home

but i had to go away to california for a week... then i came home and we are finishing it out. today we cleaned windows and got screens ready to install. i hate to string you along but it would be terrible to spoil the debut by showing pics just now. i have to install the drawer pulls and judy has to put up curtians then we will have the "grand showing" of the completed project. you will have to believe me when i say it is GREAT! be patient... i'm telling you it is fabulous. everyone who has seen it remarks on how wonderful it looks. so.. be assured the pics are forthcoming and will be worth the wait. ahhhh.. yes. mas anon!

work is progressing.

as you can see things are moving along. the marker lights and tail lights are installed, the pebble guard is in place, and the new 12 volt converter has been installed as is the power vent. most of the parts are in hand and ready to implant. the only stumbling block at this juncture may be the axle. new berrings will be installed and the electric brakes will be connected.if all the components are functional it is just a matter of routine maintenance (wishful thinking here). the previous owner for some reason disconnected the brakes, actually cut the wires away, perhaps it was because he didn't have the proper seven prong connecter on his pickup. he had cut off the old pigtail and installed temporary wiring to the tail lights and a four pronged flat connector. don't quite know why he cut off the wires to the brakes but i guess he felt that would somehow benefit the overall performance, logical? don't think so, can't reason it out.

randy sez end of the week it should be ready. i took the van over today to have it wired for the new electrical connection. won't be long now! she's looking good too. better than new.

monkey house moved...

to randy's rv garage at ellsworth rv. for new electric components, and brake hookup, and sink plumbing, and so on and so on.

the body work having been completed (burnie's paint looks great), i went and hitched up at precision auto body on friday morn and transported to randy's. pics are of the rig hooked up for transit (note temporary taillights), first one is of the trailer in randy's bay awaiting work which will begin on monday. many of the parts are already in but others are coming soon. hopefully br friday (yeah, right) it will be done and we may be able to "shake her down" with an overnighter to somewhere still open. if not who knows.. maybe a wally world parking lot? stay tuned fans and we'll all find out the answer. if wally world releases us that is. i heard justice clarence thomas and his wife go out in their rv when the supremes are not in session and often stay in park wally world. maybe we'll meet him!

the painting is done!

burnie called the other monday night and told me the trailer has been painted. he is now reinstalling the outside trim, door and windows, all with new caulk tape. i have not been able to get over to see the new paint, but will make it over soon and post new pics of the ongoing project. pard was in the shop today and sez the interior cabinet doors are hung. i will cast the last of the drawer pulls tomorrow morning and install them after the monkey house comes home.

at last the rebirth nears completion. only the electrics remain. judy still has not selected the material for the curtains as yet. michelle the canadian was in today and recommended chinese red curtains, she is a frustrated interior decorator and full of enthusiastic ideas, so it looks like that may be the direction we will move toward. judy has the final say when it comes to anything haveing to do with interior decoration. so far she has done magnificently, no need to think things will sour now.

it looks like there will be no time for a shakedown cruise tho. the weather is turning cold and miserable pretty fast. the campgrounds are mostly closed, i guess our shakedown will happen in january. january is pretty soon anyhow.
mas anon kind souls.

you know how it goes...

don't think i have been ignoring you. burnie is going to get to the body work this week he sez. he expects a couple or three days then it will be on to rv randy for completion. the drawer pulls are nearing completion, everything in it's own time. have parience dear reader.

at last.. the bendable arrives..

the bendable ply was finally delivered (gratis) after murphy's law was proven once again to be true. teh curved parts of the ceiling were installed and the closet and overhead cabinets were installed. now the polyurethane varnish is being applied and on monday the doors will be hung and drawers installed. all of the internal wood work will be completed at that time. pard and thumper (see pics) have done a wonderful job. the trailer looks great inside. the monkey pillows are completed and were picked up yesterday by judy.

it will be up to burnie to complete the body work next then randy will finish it all up. hopefully by next weekend we will be able to make a shakedown cruise. if not it will have to wait until the following weekend (probably more likely).

it has been a trip. believe me. at times we have questioned our wisdom in making the decision to bring the monkey house back from the dead... hopefully the journeys we make in it will redeem our folly. it will be nice to see it all done and sitting once again in the driveway. soon.. i hope.

fourth time is a charm.. or is it?

so this is what happened. i got a call from a guy named dave this afternoon. he told me he was a vice president of this wholesale supplier of building materials that supplied our local building supplier. we had ordered (about three weeks ago) a sheet of 3/8" bendable plywood to put up on the curved corners of our project. now.. consider this.. it can bend in either the long or short axis. three times they sent the short (4') axis bendable ply.. even tho the long axis (8') had clearly been ordered. at last the wholesaler called me ant apologized saying they would comp me the correct sheet which would be sent today. i got a call about three o'clock today from the wholesaler dave who told me "one of our customers had off-loaded his order from our truck with a fork-lift and hit your plywood and split it. your supplier refused delivery because the shipment was damaged. we will rent a pick-up and deliver to your job-site the sheet of ply for no charge to your jobsite tomorrow." i can hardly wait to see what happens tomorrow... it has been three weeks! murphy's law rules!

well.. there you go. the monkey house is a '67

thanks to the yellowstone site teh vin was identified as an early '67 model. at last the mystery is solved.

that being said... today i got a call from the local supplier of materials and the sheet of "bendable plywood" was sent in error for the third time. it bends in either the horizontal or vertical directions and for the third time they sent the wrong piece. the fourth piece will be comped but it sets us back at least two weeks. there you go. it will be in on thursday and the work should be completed on the interior restoration by tuesday. here's hoping!

if anything can go wrong it will. small irrations. still looking forward to the gem of a trailer when we are finally done. the roof will be cleaned and ready for sealing on tuesday. mas anon.

images didn't upload.. here they are.

floor is in... framing for furniture started

that's right.. the floor is in and framing and paneling has begun. the bendable ply for the ceiling bends has not arrived.. will be in tomorrow. the guys are working on framing out the couch (gaucho) and dinette as well as kitchen cabinet that will house the sink and stove and new ice box. i took the icebox over today to be installed. it has a wood grain front and will blend in nicely. the floor to celing closet and overhead cabinets will have to wait until the celing has been installed.

not too much more to add.. the special order peonite table top and countertop laminate is in too. tomorrow i will call randy and order the lights for the interior. three will be sufficent. one over dinettewill be a double hi-intensity, as will the kitchen illumination. the bulkhead light in the rear will be a single. there are three 110V outlets so we will be able to put lamps around where we want them. they can be on dimmers to tone down the lighting a bit. things are moving right along. happy days!

here are the pics of the paneling as it sits now, partially installed..

new wiring, insulation in...

yet much remains to be done. clear birch was the choice for the new paneling inside. after all the floor and walls were filled with foam insulation cut to size the curved portions of the monkdy house were filled with fiberglass insulation. it should be quiter, warmer or cooler depending on the conditions encountered on future travels. randy did all of the preliminary wiring, new for the power vent, as well as for the over dinette light and under the counter kitchen light. there will be a sconce on the passenger side wall in back of the closet next to the couch. that will be enough 12V lighting but we will be able to plug in a 110V lamp or two as the need arises. we will also install a porch light outside the door. the icebox has been ordered and will be installed when the cabinetry is completed, hopefully by the end of next week. the floor will have filling compound applied to fill all the dimples and cracks before the linoleum is floated, no glue, it works loose with the fluxuations in temperature if glued.

randy sez he wants to wire brush the roof clear of flaking old sealer and paint before burnie does the exterior paint. randy sez there is a risk of marring the new paint job otherwise. so when pard and thumper are through with the interior renovations randy will step in for a half day or so then it's off to the paint booth. the beat goes on... we are still commited to this project, kind of a folly me thinks, but what the hell.. we all need follies.

yup... buyer beware...

it's ok.. really it is. when pard and thumper started they found (as afore mentioned) 20 pounds of composted acorns between rotted floor joists. ok.. acorns. but then when they went further they found no less than three (3) colonies of happly reproducing carpenter ants. they killed no less than 11 queens and vaccumed up thousands of workers before finally running out of passengers living happily in the walls and floors of the monkey house.

residents being rousted they went on to remove all rotted wood and disconnected the walls from the rotted sills and replaced all necessary components with new. the only origional components that will be origional yellowstone trailer will be the chassis, axle and skin. all else will be replaced at a cost of thousands of hard earned dollars. not that i am unwilling to do that which is necessary to restore our beloved honeymoon palace, but it is a lesson learned. i wish to relay to all those considering a restoration project to be prepared to go the distance. it is a challenge and requires dedication beyond which rationalization is possible.

it took two good men two days to remove all that needed removing. now the rebuilding has commenced. all floor joists and flooring has been installed, rotted studs have been repaired, and monday randy the rv doctor will be in to rewire all electrics and repipe propane to the stove. gas light will be eliminated as well as the 40 year old refrigerator. a new icebox will be installed as well as a power vent to vent all that needs venting. the decision has been made to install a converter box and 12 volt lighting will be installed along with a couple 120 volt outlets for lamps and maybe a toaster oven.

the cusions for the dinette and gaucho couch have been recovered by denise with fabric that judy picked out and they look great. next some pillows will be made with the mandatory monkey themed fabric and colors will be chosen for paint and formica coverings for counter tops and dinette table. incredible!

it truly is a commitment that is not rationally explanable. but it will be a gem and a joy whtn it is done. all the personel that are working on this project for us are wonderful and share our vision for a fabulous honeymoon house beyond our wildest dreams. the attched photos are of the interior as it is now... the new floor is installed and awaits randy's electrical installations. then pard and thumper will finish the interior and the exterior will be painted. all should be done by the end of the month. mas anon.

bad news/good news

well.. you know what they say.. in for a penny in for a pound. when bernie took out the windows and door he discovered some rotten wood. pard and thumper were called in to look things over. i was suspicous when the guy we bought the trailer from had laid a new floor.

at present the entire shell is gutted. there were no fewer than three layers of flooring. the origional inlaid tile, another layer of green vinyl tile, and the final layer of 5/8 inch laminate flooring. when these were all removed there was about 20 pounds of composted acorns between the origional floor joists. the joists had completely rotted away. they started removing paneling and discovered the insulation was saturated, and there was oversaturated insulation in the celing, water ran out when they took it down. the celing joists are ok, tho discolored not rotten. we will put in all new everything and have a gem when we are done. i am thinking i will replace the 40 year old fridge with an icebox. it seems more appropriate. will post pics on tuesday. discouraging news but when all is said and done the trailer will be better than new.

paneling will be clear birch rather than the luan origionally installed. it should lighten things up a bit. judy is thinking to paint the doors and drawer fronts in a nice bright yellow. i have designed new drawer pulls to replace the old ones. some had broken and been replaced with pulls that didn't match well. i designed some monkey pulls and will cast them up in bronze. they should fit the theme well and be more durable than the old ones.

still don't know when the trailer was made.. probably never will. i believe it to be a 1967 but not sure. who knows? doesn't really matter i suppose. about all that will be origional will be the skin and frame anyhow. we will be ready to hit the road by late december and all will be completed by the end of september i hope.

monkey house moves into shop this weekend

talked to bernie today. he sez we will be moved into shop this weekend and be all ready to move to rv hospital by end of the week. the excitement mounts!

august 27, 2009

first entry. judy and i have purchased an old yellowstone and are having it restored to usable condition at the present. the intent is to take a three month road trip this winter for the months of january, february, and march. this is a journey that will be without schedule or destination. it is with much excitement that we undertake this project,

at the present the "monkey house" is at precision auto body in hancock, maine, undergoing the first phase of restoration. next it will go to ellsworth rv for electrical upgrades and roof sealing and new lights. the refrigerator needs a bit of help too and the cushions are being recovered by denise in southwest harbor. next pard and thumper will undertake the restoration of the interior so we can travel in pride and style.

we are researching the model year of the monkey house and will let you know the age when we find out. we are being helped by the friendly folks at http://www.yellowstonecoachcompany.com/.

watch for further news as it happens. we brake for monkeys.