How old is that thing?

It didn't take long to find out that the Shasta attracts attention. We made three stops bringing her home. People commented on her each time. I was surprised how many people knew about the Shasta brand. One guy even asked me about the wings. The first question most people ask is what year is it? Even though Alabama doesn't title trailers this old, I had the title from where the previous owner had purchased the trailer in Ohio. Mine is a 1963 model. I've seen many people post on forums asking how can they find out what year their trailer was manufactured. If you don't have a title or you can't find the serial # on the frame, there are two places that can give you an idea. If the original mirror is still on the cabinet door, look on the back of the mirror. A date will probably be stamped onto the silver backing. This sometimes works for dating antique furniture too. If your mirror is gone, there's another place to look. A date was stenciled onto the bottom of my sink. Most trailers still have the original sink, so this is a great place to check. In both cases, the date matched the date on the Ohio

title.

More pictures of disassembling.

Garage Time.

After cleaning out the garage, we moved in the Shasta and started taking the exterior apart. I took off all the lights, drip rails, and anything else attached to the exterior. All of the putty needed redone, all the screws were rusting, and the lights were toast.

Label everything! Bag it, tag it, save it!

I used to have a furniture restoration business. I learned the hard way to keep everything that comes off a project until you're finished. Label everything. Put small items (pulls, hinges,...) in zip lock bags or glass jars and label what's in it and where it goes on the trailer. Number the drawers and doors. Then write the corresponding number on the frame of the cabinet. Just write it somewhere that won't be seen when they are installed. This will make putting the trailer back together much easier.

Lets get started!

The first thing we started doing was taking everything out of the inside. We took the doors, seats, mattress, appliances, light fixtures, ...... all out.

I look good in apron!

The whole family at work on the Shasta. I know ya'll like the work apron!

Lets look inside.

The interior of the trailer was in pretty good shape. The original propane fridge was gone. Someone had put a dorm style fridge in it. Otherwise, everything was pretty original. The birch panelling only had a few areas of water damage.

Our new luxury trailer! Well, maybe not yet.

My wife and I had been thinking about getting a small travel trailer for a while. I liked the look of the vintage trailers, so I started keeping an eye open for one on E bay and Craigslist. I found our Shasta in Scottsboro, Alabama. Which is only about an hour away from where we live in Athens, Alabama. I was glad to find something so close. Most of of the trailers for sale were usually way out west. I thought I would would have a tough time talking my wife into buying it, but she loved it. So here it is in our driveway.