"New" Vintage Tin - 1956 Arrowhead

Well it's official, I'm now the proud owner of 4 vintage trailers. I could say that I wasn't really in the market for another trailer but that wouldn't be 100% true. There are a few models on my "most wanted" list but can say that a 1956 Arrowhead wasn't one of them.

Last fall while my older sister was here for Dad's funeral she saw our '72 Shasta. I have to thank my youngest daughter for this one cause I really didn't want to show it to her. It's not that we aren't proud of the Shasta, of course we are..it's gorgeous but it is sitting next to the '70 Dodge Challenger that I purchased from my sister in the early '80's. I had actually gave this car to my son years ago with the agreement that he would restore it. While at college in Nashville he decided to start on it, pulled the engine and trannie and that's the end of that story. So now it sits torn apart in pieces and looks very sad. When my brother-in-law saw it I thought he was going to burst into tears. This car was my sister's high graduation gift from my parents. We lived in Vegas at the time and they search high and low for this car and finally found it in Scottsdale, Arizona. It had to be Plum Crazy Purple and have a white interior. So after finding it they traveled to Arizona and drove it off the show room floor. Let's say it wasn't one of my proudest moments to have them see the shape that it's in.

Anyway, she saw the trailer and decided it would be her mission to make sure I received the old trailer that's been sitting out on our ranch in Colorado. Now here's a fact. This trailer has been a staple on the ranch and has been sitting there since before I was born. I haven't been out there since 2003 and at that time I hadn't caught the vintage tin disease yet so paid as much attention to the trailer as I always had in the past which is none. Let's face it folks, it's pink! Now I know for some people this would make this trailer even more desirable but I'm just not a pink kinda girl, not even when I was young. Anyway, while in Colorado last month my sisters and brothers took a vote and have decided that the trailer now belongs to me. So now I have to figure out a way to get the trailer from Colorado to Illinois, get it rebuilt and then back to Colorado. This trailer really does belong in Colorado, it's a part of the scenery. I do know that it will cost at least $650 to have it hauled to Illinois. No telling how much it will take to rebuild plus the cost of taking it back. So here it is, my latest addition

Summer Update

As with most of us, I've been very busy over the past few months and have found that I'm way behind here. Since I've updated several things have happened. We finally finished the 1400, can you see me doing my happy dance? It turned out wonderful and I couldn't be happier with the result.

We took it to a rally in Southern Indiana and came home with a 1976 24.5' Fan. Good thing we had taken two trucks :) So we tucked the '72 Shasta and '72 F100 into the pole barn, cleaned the Fan, moved the camping supplies from the 1400 to the Fan and hit the lake for 10 days. We had to be able to check all the systems, right? So far everything works although the fridge did give us a scare. A friendly neighbor said that it may take up to 6 hrs for it to start working correctly, guess he was right as it did start working and continued to work just fine the rest of the trip.

We really didn't have any intention on buying another trailer. We already had the 20' Shasta waiting in the wings for her rebuild but the hubby really liked the Fan and I must admit that the idea of having a dedicated sleeping area really appealed to me. So here is our plan, the 1400 will be used for vintage trailer rallies, the Model Twenty will get a face lift verses a rebuild and will find it's home in the backyard in a permanent camp spot and the Fan will become our traveler and everyday camper.

Our plans for the Fan include removing the carpet and the 1970's paneling. New birch walls, tiled floor, curtains, cushions and polish the exterior and it should be ready to roll. We'll start on it this fall after the camping season is over.

A Very Lucky Shasta

All I can say is she is a tough old bird. I felt for sure that it would have a branch going through the roof, a broken window..some type of damage. After coming home today, being dead on my feet, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I pried open the door, crawled inside and to my amazement...no damage at all. Thankfully our pole barn did not receive any damage so our other Shasta and matching truck are still tucked away safe and sound. The only other damage we received on our home property was loosing a apple and pine tree which sits on the 2 acres behind where the pics were taken. Thanking God for our good fortune.

More pics of Galatia Property

Southern Illinois Inland Hurricane

Yesterday wasn't a good day and today wasn't much better. First let me say that my family, myself and most of my community are very lucky. We thank the Lord for that and even though we'll have a few difficult days in front of us, it's widely known that it could have been much worse. We experienced what the NWS classified as an Inland Hurricane. We were under a severe thunderstorm warning but who could have known what was coming. We had sustained winds of 109 mph which struck out of nowhere. We worry about tornadoes, never been a need to worry about hurricanes. There was circular motion and you could track the eye of the storm as it moved across Southern Illinois.

As I mention, we are all very lucky. To my knowledge there has only been one reported death related to the storm. We have wide spread devastation in which 4 counties have been declared state disaster areas. The storm followed a major west/east hwy and hit all major municipalities in all 4 counties. 3 of the 4 county seats are still without power some 30 hrs after being hit and projected to remain without power for 3-10 days.

My mother-in-law lives 60 miles west of me. She has two totaled vehicles, a vinyl fence which is destroyed, a few broken windows and a barn which was flattened. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of her property damage. We were a bit luckier than she was. We have damage to our vinyl fence but not as severe as hers. We have 5 trees down and will start on that clean up tomorrow. Today was spent working at my property in Galatia which is 10 miles west of my home. I knew there was damage but had no idea how much until I pulled up to the property at 7am this morning. I'll be honest, when I saw what was in front of me I burst into tears. Even though I was so very thankful that the house had been spared barring a few shingles the amount of work was just overwhelming. It's a 2 acre property plus the damage we have have on our 3 acres made we want to cut every single tree down to the ground and be done with it. Thanks to my husband, daughter, son-in-law, step brother and sister-in-law for jumping in and helping me out today. What you see in the above pictures has been cleaned up except for removing the large wood which has been stacked and will be saved for camp wood. Not bad for a days work.

It's here and couldn't be happier

Our awning arrived yesterday and we are very pleased with it. Unfortunately it rained all day so we weren't able to take it outside but the sun is shining today. Hopefully my daughter will get back from the St. Louis Zoo with my camera in time for me to take a pic of the rock guard awing in place. The large awning will have to wait as there isn't room to set it up inside the pole barn. Oh well, patience is a virtue.

My new awning was shipped today and it is GORGEOUS!!!

New awnings ordered, Woohoo

Right now I'm so excited I can't hardly stand myself. The other day a member of the USA Vintage Trailer Network generously offered to pass along a deal she had received on a bulk purchase of awning poles. Who would have thought these would go for as much as $27.00 each? After a bit of research we quickly found they do so I jumped on the offer that Marti had made.

During the completion of our transaction I asked if she knew of a good source for online outdoor fabric samples. She hooked me up and I fell hook, line and sinker! Actually I was looking for design inspiration for the Shasta rebuild we are getting ready to start on. I was amazed to find a fabric that will go perfectly with our 1400. Right now we are using a canvas tarp and I've been perfectly happy with it. After discussing it with the husband I found out he's not and that in his mind it was only a temporary fix :) Could this have worked out any better? So I contacted Marti again to see what the price would be for a new awning and rock guard cover in the fabric I had found. What a deal! I can't buy the fabric retail for what she's charging me. This lady rocks and I'm adding her awning blog to my list.

The awning has all the colors in my new cushion material, white, aqua, brown and the best part is silver. You can bet that I'll be posting pics just as soon as it comes in.

Sneak peak of the finished interior

End of winter update, first camping trip in 3 weeks!

Once again it's time for an update. There have been several questions about pictures of the quilts and bags I've made. The fact is I don't have any. At the time I made them I had no idea there would so much interest in them and I was rushed to get them finished. Since that time I decided to take time and make something for myself. This past week I finished a king size quilt for our bedroom. All the sewing is done but I still need to clip the seams then find a washing machine large enough to start the fraying. Once that's done I'll take some pics of it and post them. Maybe we'll have our master bedroom redo done and be able to show a completed project that my husband and I have been talking about doing for the past 4 years.

Actually I have some fantastic news. Our Shasta is almost 100% complete. The galley is finished and all the plumbing is done. After finishing the kitchen I finally confessed to the hubby that I wasn't happy with the cushion covers. Once again he surprised me saying he knew I wasn't and to find something I liked. It didn't take too many minutes for me to find some fabric I love and have it headed to my house. It being on sale for $5.00 a yard helped ease my sense of guilt and yesterday I finished the new covers. They are gorgeous. After I sewed the first set I told myself that if I ever changed them I pay for someone else to make them. Well that didn't happen and this set was much easier and I'm so much happier with the out come. New curtains are next and I'll get started on them in the next few days.

The hubby told me today that I have 3 weeks to get the curtains done. Guess that means our first camping trip is scheduled for then. We have a vintage trailer rally coming up in May and he wants to take the trailer out, test all the plumbing, holding tank, etc. before we head out of state with it. This must also mean that he has 3 weeks to get the screen door built. Once the door is built and the new curtains are up it will be complete. We sent off our door handle for the closet/porti potty room to have it rechromed today and it should be back in 2 weeks. There have been times when I've wondered if this project would ever be finished but we are finally there. It has turned out better than either of us expected and we couldn't be happier with the out come. New pictures have been added to the photobucket album, all you have to do is click on the small pic to the left and you can see how it's turned out.

Thank goodness it's a New Year!

Can I say how thankful I am that 2008 is over? It isn't that there hasn't been good points because there has been but unfortunately the bad has over shadowed them. Mark lost his Dad in May, I lost my Dad in October and my son washed his hands of me in December. Gosh, did I mess up there. Having too high of expectations for the holidays led to disaster. For the time being it's best that we stay away from each other. There is just too many hurts and errors on both sides right now. We need the space and time to ease our wounds before we attempt a reconciliation.

On the bright side I've found a new path that I will be following. Ironically it started with my Shasta. I was searching the net looking for quilt patterns for a new quilt that I wanted to make for the trailer. While searching I came across a rag quilt pattern which I thought was really cute. Well, after 7 quilts and 11 handbags I think I have found a new homebased business opportunity. Since giving the quilts and bags as Christmas gifts I have had all kinds of feedback from people that I gave them too. My daughter had 6 people stop her at Walmart and ask her where she got the quilt I made for my grandbaby. I made the bags for my nieces and now all their friends want one. Soooo, I'm going to work on my inventory, try ebay, a booth at one of the local antique stores and maybe a few festivals and see what happens. Won't know unless I try and goodness knows I need something to keep me busy.

Here's to hoping that 2009 is a healthy, happy and successful New Year!