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.