Grassroots Camper Sports, the tiny house edition

Just voiced a deal to buy a small Wheel Camper- which is a low profile camper from the early 70s.  I'll post pictures when we get it home, but the camping trip showed us a way to have a really nice vacation close by.  So we decided to get something.  The key was that we really want it to fit into our garage.  So 8ft max.  

Which is really tough to do.  Some tiny fiberglass trailers would work, but they are super tight inside.

This one has a 14x7.5 ft cabin to work with.  

Should be interesting to make this work.

Step one- me- get the frame clean and protected.  Weld in the same plates that are on the right side.  SWMBO will start painting and gutting it.

Step two- add black and gray water tanks for a wet bathroom.  

Step three- the insides...  which will certainly have a large number of steps there.

Have to restore the wiring, and add the modern AC/DC systems with battery, new gas lines, restore the brakes, new plumbing.

Similar to what Margie and Tim were doing a few years ago.

Here she is. 
it's a 1971 Wheel Camper Lo Pro

very old appliances. Behind the stove (to its left) was a water closet. Portable toilet with an access panel. 

So for us, size is a key thing.  As we see it, keeping a vintage camper alive longer means that it does not live outside.  Mostly because of Michigan winters- where it can get piled up with snow that just sits for weeks.  So size was an important part of what we were looking for- it had to be under 8ft.

There were some more modern designs that would work- like a Scamp, or a Casita- fiberglass trailers.  We went to look at one locally while that was the leading candidate for us to fit.  Felt tight,  Really tight.

That made the change to look for the same interior rough space, but the straight walls makes them feel a lot more open.  For this one, the windows REALLY make it feel open.

The problem, though, is that many of these tiny campers have two twin beds.  So we were looking for something that we could gut and fill with whatever we wanted.  Saw some other old campers, but just too high.  Then this one came up on FB, (which we joined to contact some owners in Ohio about a Casita....  good thing it didn't work out), and we went down Toledo to pick it up this past weekend.

With the weight (it was weighed at just over 2400lb on a truck scale), it's super nice to pull with the Escape.  And while we took just back roads home, it's incredibly stable up to at least 60mph.  I think it helps that it's so low, too.

far from perfect, or even good. The whole rear floor needs replaced, and many of the frame pieces need replaced, too. 
oh well. 

On the other hand, it's built really well, here's the interior now

Those were pictures of what was the front dinette/bed, galley, and rear- all gone.

We did what everyone says not to do- buy a project, and gut it.  I was quite worried about it's structure with all the cabinets gone (other than some upper ones).  But it turns out to be VERY stiff, still.  Whew.

What's going to probably happen- the old water closet will become a wet bath.  Which will be TINY, but w/o a curtain, I think it will be pretty good.  Low ceiling in the back will suck, but I'm going to put in a sky light in the bath (which were in the two we've rented).  

The trailer has three levels- one just barely over the ground, one 3 in higher (to accommodate axle travel) and one 3 in even higher.  The highest part is shorter than me, so I'll be stooping.  But it's not an area that I would be hanging out- so that should be ok.  Or at least an ok compromise.

The front will have a queen-ish bed that is a tri-fold- so it won't be out all the time, but it can be made all the time.  Behind it will be some kind of dinette, and then the we bath.  The other side will have some cabinets next to the bed, then the new galley, and some storage in the back.

When it gets closer to being done, I do plan on adding some lifting shackles to give a little more ground clearance.  And a nice vent fan (which it does not have)- so it still has to end up being under 7'11".

Going to update every other support- new water tank (adding gray and black that didn't exist), new water heater, new electrical system (lighten the 120V load, up the 12V loads), new gas lines (old ones were a mess).  And the frame needs cleaned up.

Lost a few nights worrying about it, but the more we get into it, the more I think it will turn out pretty nicely.

Still have some gutting to do- live removing the crappy ceiling material- fiber crap.  It will be replaced with fiberglass reinforced plastic panels- so just a little less ugly.  But nice and reflective, won't break down over time.

Odd how they built things in the past- start with the trailer bed, put down the flooring, add walls right over the floor, add ceiling material, put roof over that.  Which means over time, everything has settled- the plywood on the frame settled on the fiber insulation panels on the frame, the walls have pushed down the flooring, the ceiling really pushed down the fiber ceiling panels.  Some of that will be replaced so the roof will go up just a little.  But this company didn't last too long making travel trailers- just 3 years from what we can tell- 71-74.  Which closed a decent pop up trailer company that started a decade earlier.

Almost no information out there about Wheel Camper trailers, but funny that there is another here in SE MI for sale on FB.  It helps that these were born here, maybe?  (Centerville MI).

There are a lot of awesome possibilities in that little box. Looking forward to seeing how it comes together. 

Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) said:

There are a lot of awesome possibilities in that little box. Looking forward to seeing how it comes together. 

 

The hard part has been to tamper what we think we see to what we can actually fit.  Like one idea was to reuse the original stove, but it takes up so much space that when one factors in the size of the bed, there's almost no more space- especially for a place to eat.  So we have to re-design thinking more like how a Casita Liberty is laid out- TINY galley area.  The one good thing we have going is that the short fridge is just more counter space.  Sucks to have such a small fridge (as it's likely to be), but get to keep the windows and have counter space.  And the cook top right now looks to be a portable infrared burner.  So it can work right over the fridge- unlike a fixed gas cook top.

Certainly will be an interesting project.

In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :

Consider thinking outside the box. Literally.

Hang a awning on the side and do your cooking outside. We almost never use the stove in our RV and have only used the oven once. If we are camping, we are cooking outside. Usually grilling. You could also put a LP connection in the wall under the awning and use a portable stove top on a table outside. You could do the same with the sink if necessary. 

Something like this, but I would plumb the sink into the gray tank using a hose connection. 

You could also have a connection for the stove inside for cooking during bad weather. My son's pop up is set up that way. 

Here's a thought.   Get all your framing done, then have the walls sprayed with closed cell foam.  It will tighten it up and give you the best R factor you can get in those thin walls.

I also vote for ditching the kitchen and putting it outside.  Many of the modern coolers (e.g. Yeti) are pretty efficient.  Might be a substitute for a frig.

What about air bags/shocks? Like the ones with the air nipple.  It doesn't take much to give the shocks a fill.  A tank underneath and you can have the dump and the fill permanently plumbed.  

In reply to LightninMike :

Air shocks are very much in the realm of possibilities.  Need to add a shock kit in the first place- which I fully plan on doing.

In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :

That's a great idea, except that it's Michigan.  Rain, cold, wind, etc.  I'd have to build a fabric enclosure around the area to be able to use it.  Being able to stay fully inside is a big deal.  Also- this will be custom made for *just* two people.  No provisions for any extra bedding at all.  It's just two of us.

The current plans have good space for the kitchen, and we found yesterday that some of the stepped areas can be heavily modified for head space.  

The funny thing - the Casita's that we were looking at have the same head space problems- but for the whole length of the trailer instead of just the front and back.

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

Here's a thought.   Get all your framing done, then have the walls sprayed with closed cell foam.  It will tighten it up and give you the best R factor you can get in those thin walls.

I asked Margie the same question for their canned ham.  It's possible, but I probably will just panels of insulation instead of that.  So *IF* something needs accessed or run around- it's not captive in the foam.  That, and I'm not going to take all of the inside panels off.  They are very glued on, so the original side insulation will mostly remain.

Got it almost all stripped clean, leaving some upper cabinets. 
 

Now time to fix stuff. 
looked like the wheel well was pushed back hard for some reason. 
Cut it out 

and replace. 

So that's screwed directly into the frame.  Found some of the same self tapping screws that were originally there- designed to hold wood to metal.  Work like a charm.

What's not shown is the wheel well had to be straightened out.  Having a hammer and dolly from working on my Miata came in handy.  Still have to seal the wheel well from the outside, but that will wait until the camper moves inside and there's more space.

I did that small patch before replacing the whole rear panel- just to make sure it's all straight and whatnot.  Both corners were rotted out, and I also have to replace some structure.  Pocket screws and liquid nail will help- it's not all that complicated- just a lot of little pieces.

I'm also going to weld in a small L channel into the rear to give the floor some support.  Not sure why it was not there- maybe it was cut out some time in the trailer's life?  Dunno.  I'll try to get pics.  But working around the wheel shows me that the frame is nice and strong, in spite of the surface rust.

One mistake- I bought 1/2 plywood instead of 3/4.  So I need to go shopping, again.  Oops.  Once the floor is in, I think the rear structure will go back together pretty quickly- side's done to make sure roof is up and strong, the rebuild the rear wall.

Funny thing- today is one week of ownership.  So we've come a long way in a week.

Been a while since an update.

new rear floor 

And some new structure on the right side rear

Hard to see thanks to the back light, but there are 3 vertical members replaced- as there was water damage (shocking, I know...)

And it takes a long time to do that- for two reasons- lack of skill and custom cutting.  But taking my time makes it work pretty well- I'm quite happy with how it's turning out.

After a FB game, I'll try to finish the other two parts that complete the right side that was damaged.  And then start on the left side- which has only a few parts.

Hopefully, that means tomorrow I'll be able to attack the rear wall.  Quite complex, with some panels in there for lights and whatnot.  But I think it will still work pretty nicely.

One day, some day soon, I want to do a project like this

In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :

For almost Two years I lived full time in a 8x16 foot trailer.  What I did to avoid claustrophobia was attach a 12x12 enclosed canvas canopy. That became my "living room"  with a coach, recliner, and TV  and a brick bar b que  right out in front of that.  The Bricks were surplus from an on base project the contractor was happy to have me haul away. And it only took me a day to build.  20 years later the trailer was gone but the Bar-b-que was still there. 
  What made the inside feel a little more spacious was all the paneling was Birch. That's a very light wood and doesn't darken like most woods do. Only very small areas weren't Birch. They were covered with a light yellow vinyl whhich helped with the warmth and brightness. 

Had to leave the game early, my team sucks bad. So I finished each side. 

Not sure what happened with the other side pic, but it didn't turn out. Looks similar. 
 

Now I can do the rear wall.