After our first meeting to discuss the project, I forwarded some photographs of the trailer to my project advisor, Robert, along with a preliminary list of renovation tasks I have in mind. This was his initial response:
“James,
“I downloaded and examined all the photos, looked over your work breakdown spreadsheet, and perused your blog site.
“You probably don’t want to hear this, but I would have advised against purchasing a trailer in such a poor condition. For a complete interior remodel, one should start with an undamaged shell on a solid, non-rusted frame with a functioning axle and working chassis electrical system including brakes. I hesitate to ask what you paid for it – I would have had to be paid to haul something like that away. But I can see why you’re considering a frame-off restoration, which is going to be very pricey and/or time-consuming. At a minimum, the frame should be sandblasted to remove rust and scale, and then painted with an iron-oxide primer and metal-compatible finish. It would be wise, as well, to spray a 10w hydraulic oil mist inside any box framing members to arrest interior frame rust. I don’t trust any rubberized undercoating as it’s as likely to trap moisture as keep it out.
“Assuming, however, that you’re committed to this trailer, I would suggest prioritizing the chassis (and chassis electrical), suspension/axle/wheels/tires, and body renovation (including doors, windows hatches, and utility entry/exit connections), subfloor, and holding tanks.
“Interior design and appliance selection can occur while the shell and chassis is being renovated.”
Not exactly what I expected, but then I wasn’t exactly surprised, either. My response:
“Thank you for your initial thoughts on this, and truth be told, I found out not very long after I’d purchased the trailer, how costly the axle, frame, &c. replacements will be. There definitely was – and is – a bit of sticker shock for me. But I’m resolute that this is a project I want to develop.
“I agree with you that interior design and appliance selection can occur while the shell and chassis is being renovated. At the very least a general layout is important for the purposes of this project and as mentioned before, I’ve been advised by an Airstream restorer that it’s important to know the systems layout (as it relates to interior design) before doing some of the above renovations.”
To go back to my original motivations for buying this trailer in the first place:
1) Utility – I want to be able to haul personal belongings from Point A to Point B. So far, I believe that the trailer has actually gone a good ways towards paying for itself. While I have spent a bit of money to replace the tires and bring it to a trailer shop to make sure it’s roadworthy, I’ve already used the trailer to move a large number of personal belongings on at least four or five occasions. I still can and will again use it for this purpose in the near future. If I compare that against renting, gassing-up, and getting insurance on a rental truck that many times, I already stand in good stead.
From a green lifestyle perspective, it’s been instrumental in helping me remember that one of my goals is to learn to live a more modest lifestyle, by reducing the number of personal belongings I keep, how much energy I use. It’s helped me move my belongings out of a storage unit, which I’ve already been successful in reducing, and have been putting the proceeds towards the trailer renovation.
2) Education / Green Design – I’m meant to learn through this process. And while I expect it to prove to be much more costly and time consuming than I’d have imagined, I’m of the belief that sometimes you have to go forward boldly with your best information and make adjustments, rather than wait until conditions are perfect (the latter is more often my mistake). For several reasons I’ve already outlined elsewhere in this blog, a living space of this size is an appropriate place for me to continue my education.
Now how green this project is, and will be, is yet to be seen. Considering that this trailer is in the process of being recycled (renovating allows it to be used again for it’s original purpose) and may have been saved from the landfill is certainly one way to look at it. But Robert suggests an interesting point – if this trailer were to be hauled away and recycled for its aluminum, and otherwise parted out, would it serve a better, even greener purpose? Would money have been spent more wisely on another trailer? Possibly.
That said, I’ve been instructed that to truly make this trailer last for its original purpose for another 40 years – to properly recycle it as a mobile unit / travel trailer – one would definitely need to replace the axle, as well as repair and refinish the chassis. This is a costly & time-consuming process any way you look at it. How costly vs. time-consuming it is is variable depending on a number of factors, but from a learning perspective, this is a common, and constant consideration in any renovation project. And while I deal with this on a daily basis at my job doing residential construction project management, it’s appropriate for me to learn what this is like on a project of my own.
3) Independence – Not much to say here that I haven’t expressed elsewhere in this blog, but I do consider the significant sum I’ll be investing in this project to be an investment in a mobile, temporary (likely max. of 3-seasons / year considering local climate) living / working space that will help increase my personal & financial independence.
