Dewey's Story
If you missed how we acquired this trailer, go back to the Green Grape. It explains our first thoughts on this poor egg. We had one day to remove it from the compound where it sat. Not being moved or used for years, our hope was that everything was going to go smoothly!
We came armed with tools and a tire pump. My husband, Nolan, greased the bearings and pumped up the tires – she was ready to roll in about an hour. We took Dewey to my parent’s acreage about an hour away then returned to Prince Albert National Park to finish our September long weekend camping trip.
The next weekend we traveled back up to Prince Albert and picked Dewey up and towed her home. Our first stop was a run through a car wash to try and remove the years of moss and algae (we didn’t want to scare our neighbors when we drove up).
We started in on this project right away. A wash of the interior from top to bottom with a heavy duty cleaner/disinfectant was my first job. This took two days, but removed all of the mildew and mold. The walls look like new! I had the trailer wide open (all cupboards and windows) for about three weeks and could barely smell the mothballs. The foam of the cushions was in good shape, but was also penetrated with mothball smell and were dirty. I took each cushion to the bathtub and stomped on them with a tub full of soap and bleach (good exercise for the legs) and had them dry outside for a good week. My winter project is recovering them and sewing curtains.
As we live in central Saskatchewan (with no garage), the opportunities for working on the exterior of Dewey were less and less. We thought we would be really smart and save a lot of work and time by trying different methods of removing the paint that was brushed over the original surface. In a nutshell…..nothing is ever easy or simple – we ended up sanding the whole trailer and will be re-painting it next summer. Since we have decided to go this route, we stripped the trailer down to nothing to make it a little easier. Windows, trim, lights, …everything has been removed and will be cleaned, polished and repaired prior to being put back in/on after painting. We will also be taking the body off the frame before the final paint job to replace the foam padding between the trailer and frame and to strengthen and paint the frame. In his past life, my husband was an auto body person, so I’m confident Dewey will look outstanding. As of the first of November 2003, we had completed the bodywork on the trailer and have primed it.
Dewey is now covered up safe and sound in our back yard till next spring.
I thought that finding material to match the pumpkin orange color interior would be difficult, but we found a fabric that matches perfectly. I took a paint chip book out to the trailer and matched the color as closely as I could. The interior color now has a name...gold,, not my name of pumpkin orange. I have now completed sewing all the cushions and am working on the valances and side panels. Thirteen meters of material did all the cushions, valances and panels with some left over. I was going to give this project to my dad to do (as he did the upholstery for the Green Grape), but I wanted a challenge. This was not as difficult as I thought. I'm a pro at putting in zippers and now can sew corners with ease!
2004 - What a slow start to spring and summer here on the prairies! Every chance we had to work on this project was halted due to cold or being rained out. Our timeline has suffered greatly - we should have had the egg painted by now. August 2, 2004, Dewey finally has a "good as new" reinforced frame under it. We hoisted the trailer off the frame about two months ago. It has sat on stumps until this day, but now it's time to forge ahead (I guess I know what I'll be doing after work tomorrow.....SANDING)!
We purchased the steel and took the frame to a machine shop to weld the new pieces on. New pieces included a new back tubular bumper and reinforced pieces for the tongue. As well, a battery platform was added ahead of the propane mount. Upon return home, two coats of black Tremclad paint completed the frame. We were surprised to discover that there is not much holding the frame to the body - only two 6" carriage bolts on the front and six self-taping screws on the back. We scrapped the screws at the back and added six 1.5" bolts for increased durability.
Lifting trailer off frame After two coats of rust resistant paint Adding new foam padding
Ready to go back under....finally Now here's the trick....lining up the two front bolts. We did it! It's through the frame.
After securing all the other bolts...Success!
Ready for sanding and the final paint finish. This is going to be exciting.
August 27, 2004 - The day is finally here. The paint booth has been booked, paint purchased, and sanding and preparations complete. This is a familiar site....didn't it look like this last fall?
To make the most of our rental time of the paint booth, we prepared Dewey at home. We taped off all the windows and door and some of the frame, wired temporary lights and gave it a rub with Xylene. The final taping of the frame, taking off the wheels and giving it one final wipe with tack rags were the only things left to do once getting it into the booth. I even sat in on the final painting to take pics The picture on the upper right is courtesy of Alan - the Manager of Platinum Paint & Body Ltd. in Saskatoon. These folks have been very accommodating and extremely helpful. Just before starting to paint, Nolan was having problems with his adaptor for the air hose. One of the employees who was working on his own project after hours lent us his adaptor. If he wouldn't have been there.......I don't think we would have gotten Dewey painted.
Nolan started on the very top....working his way down. Three light coats were applied to the whole trailer. It took about two hours in total. We left it in the booth to dry overnight.
The next day we brought Dewey home. After carefully maneuvering it into our back yard, we decided to suspend a tarp over top (not touching the paint). I guess it takes about three weeks for paint to properly cure. Good thing we suspended that tarp......................our lovely Saskatchewan weather decided it was going to dump hail on us. We were visiting friends in the south end of Saskatoon and the sky looked ominous. On our way home we encountered light rain, HEAVY rain, HAIL, and rivers running down our Circle Drive Freeway. Most vehicles tried to huddle under the overpasses and some folks too scared to drive in the torrential rain were pulled over. I just wanted to get home........MY DEWEY.....FRESH PAINT!!!! My thoughts briefly turned to our garden, our dog, Buddy, locked in the house probably freaking out and my precious 4Runner....who cares......DEWEY!!!!I As it turned out, everything was just fine.....wew! It took two days for that pile of hail to melt behind Dewey.
We had a couple of days to catch our breath.....now it's time to put this baby together. When we attended Prairie Bolerama 2004 this summer in White City, Saskatchewan, there was one Boler that stuck out in my mind. This baby was gleaming. All the aluminum had been professionally polished, and I mean EVERYTHING. Windows, belly band - you name it. The owner, Fred, stopped by our trailer and told us yes, it could be done by hand, but it's a lot of work. I didn't care. I had to try. I started with the belly band. I used #00 steel wool and started polishing. The picture below - the left of the belly band is shining and the right is the original dirty surface full of silicone. The pic on the right is the aluminum that is attached over the door. You take a look and decide.......how could you have a newly painted trailer and not do this? What a difference.
The next pics tell the story......after installing the belly band we had to adhere the Ensolite back to the walls and install the windows, vents and front protective awning.
The front protective awning is an experiment. Nolan had tried to sandblast the house paint off the existing fiberglass panels. Paint stripper ate through the panels and unfortunately the sandblasting was also unsuccessful. We discussed replacing them with new fiberglass or finding something else we could use that would withstand the wear and tear. We decided to cover the existing panels with contact cement and adhere a heavy duty vinyl to both sides. We will have to evaluate how this holds up.
We had to order one new hinge for the door. Incredibly, a refrigeration company out of Edmonton, Alberta, has the identical hinges, brand new, for about $80.00 CDN. The hinge is a Kason Hinge, part # 139. We ordered ours through Refrigerative Supply, but have also seen them at coldsupply.com. Once the hinge arrives, the door can go on and we will be set for winter. We also are in the process of acquiring all the plastic covers, i.e., for the electrical cord, city water and drain and doing some pricing for a new plastic holding tank (the original one was metal. I have been busy painting the inside of all the bunks with marine enamel white and once this is fully dried, I can concentrate on giving the interior Ensolite and fiberglass surfaces a final cleaning.
October 12, 2004....final cleaning on the Ensolite....forget it for a while. It's wiring time! My Dewey is full of fiberglass dust and old deteriorated wiring so I'll have to clean it up when it warms up (my hubby is talented, but not too neat...but that's okay, I'll gladly clean). All wiring for the inside lights is complete and hopefully we will start on hooking up the wiring for the marker and tail lights this weekend. The propane furnace has been tested and re-tested and is ready to be installed. Same for the fridge, which works great!.
This part is for all you Bolerites out there....this is what your fresh water holding tank looks like hidden under your trailer.
Gees...think it will hold up?
One fantastic idea that the manufactures of Boler trailers did was to install the holding tank under the frame of the trailer. This saves oodles of space. Dewey originally came with a metal holding tank installed under the driver's side dinette bunk. The Green Grape has this set up as well, but the holding tank is plastic and works just fine. Ideally we would like to save valuable storage space. In order to be smart in our renovations, we decided to remove the plastic holding tank from one of our previous Bolers and adapt it to fit under the frame of the Trillium. Pretty smart huh? What a space saver!
The original holding tank looked okay. It had a few minor flaws. I cleaned it up and told Nolan we had better fill it to with water to see if it indeed held water before we installed it under Dewey. Good idea, because this puppy leaked like a sieve. It was spewing water everywhere. The plastic was so deteriorated the slightest bit of pressure sent cracks down the sides. Lesson learned.....if it's 30 years old, replace it.
Nope......garbage New Tank
One of the RV dealerships here is Saskatoon had a Boler holding tank available that was ordered from Polyrama Plastics in Edmonton, Alberta. We knew we could make this work. Our first thought was to think of a way to protect it while mounted underneath the trailer so we have decided to glue Styrofoam insulation around the tank and mount it with a galvanized steel box around it. The retrofit will be quite easy. We won't have to put any extra holes into the trailer and this should work great. Keep reading below for the actual installation of the tank.
It was a great day to finally install this brand new hinge and hang the door. Just in a nick of time as well.......they say our 10 inches of snow is going to melt (we'll see).
Spring of 2005
This was it! We could see a light at the end of the tunnel. Dewey's first trip was going to be to Prairie Bolerama in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan so we had to get started on the final touches.
The laminate flooring was the first project of the season. We had priced out laminate from Home Depot, but decided to go to our local Habitat for Humanity Re-Use It Store to see if there was something equivalent. To our surprise, they had exactly what we priced out at Home Depot for much less. We started with a foam padding, then started installing the laminate. This took some maneuvering to install because of some of the round fiberglass in the trailer, but the result was great.
To accent the laminate and finish it off, we installed a black stripe all the way around. This product is typically used on the floors of gymnasiums.
In the above pictures, we had installed the refurbished furnace and for the door of the refrigerator, had put an oak insert in.
All the cabinet doors were new and done in oak to match the floor. The picture below left is the cutlery drawer under the stove. One of my requests was to have extra counter space, so removable counter tops were added to the sink and stove area. The stove counter top has a built-in cutting board. This space is illuminated with a halogen fixture which as two settings (one for romantic ambiance and the other to see what you're doing).
I had made new covers for the cushions some time ago, but Nolan had the idea to install a retractable table in the back rest portion of the front bunk. I really didn't know what he had in mind back then, only it was a real difficult thing to sew without envisioning the final product. Here's what he had in mind:
He made me leave out a section of the foam and just recover over top of the plywood that attaches the back to the trailer. A frame was made that fit inside the cavity that I had left, and the retractable table top was installed. Simply pushing up on the white levers retracts the top into it's frame.
The frame is not flush with the cushion, therefore, when the table is not in use, an extra piece of foam covered in matching material is available just in case the front bunk needed to be used as bunk beds. This table is very handy and is great when we want to leave the back dinette made into a bed (which is most of the time). It's just a really nice place to sit and enjoy a cocktail.
As with most closets in these units, instead of having a big, empty cavity to hang clothes, we decided to utilize the space the best we could for storage of kitchen appliances, canned goods and anything extra we would need by using plastic storage bins that pulled out like drawers. In order for the bottom drawer to pull out, we set it on a bed of Styrofoam. We decided to install three drawers having to shave a bit off the back of the higher ones in order to fit the curved space. A small space was left for a couple of small pull out drawers, then a hanging wire basket was installed using the bolts that used to suspend the closet bar. I'm a real nut for cubbies that hold stuff, so I made hanging pockets that attached to a mirror.
A propane light had been installed before we acquired the trailer. We cleaned up the chrome, tested the connections, and added a mantle. This will be great for camping in spots where there is no electricity. The only items left to install were a few of the oak cupboard doors. Here are a few final pictures of the inside of Dewey:
Now that the inside was totally complete, we still had a few things to do on the outside. Dewey was a bit naked without any graphics, so we decided to go with the stripe pattern that is on our Trillium 4500.
An outside light was a must, so we added a 12 volt light. The original mud flaps had to be moved over a bit to accommodate the width of the mag wheels.
The front of Dewey still needed some work. Bottom rock guard was next. We purchased some molding from Canadian Tire and a spray can of a high-build rock guard paint. The molding was applied, the entire front masked off to protect it, then two coats of the rock guard.
A side-note to the rock guard......we made the mistake of not sanding the painted surface before applying the guard. It did not hold up great so we will have to re-apply. It was not the fault of the product we used - we just totally forgot that one important step.
When the frame was re-done, we put an extra holder so that the battery could sit in front of the propane bottle. This is great for accessing it for charging. As well, the regulator was unprotected, so it was encased and attached.
Holding tank installation....we're getting close to being done, but we leave for Prairie Bolerama in about three days. Are we going to make it?
The above pictures show the protective aluminum case and strapping used to install it under the trailer. The case was lined with strips of Styrofoam to help protect the tank. Measurements were taken on the inside of the back bunk and under the trailer to position the water intake valve. The bottom pictures show the drilling for installation of the valve.
Once the hole was drilled and the intake valve was through, the tank was held up with a bottle jack. Very long stainless steel bolts help secure the tank to the trailer and the strapping is sturdy enough to make sure the tank wouldn't collapse when full.
Access to the tank is quite easy, simply reaching under the trailer and opening or closing the white valve.
We really liked the packer box that we installed on the back of the Green Grape. It holds all the small outdoor stuff (jacks, BBQ, ropes, small propane bottles, etc.) that you don't want to store in your trailer. We had recently purchased a new BBQ for use at home and one day I found Nolan taking the old one apart and keeping some of the pieces. I immediately questioned why he was saving this "junk" and what was he going to use it for. The reply that I got was, "you'll never know...I might need this for something someday". Okay.....I'll eat my words and give my husband a well-deserved pat on the back. He used the legs from the old BBQ to hold the box and secure it to the frame.
Well.....that was it. Completely done and everything working - just in time for Prairie Bolerama. Nolan loves these big cars (floating couches, as I call them). We recently purchased this 1977 Lincoln Mark V Cartier Edition as an additional tow vehicle. Tons of power to tow little Dewey. The gas mileage wasn't great, but boy did we ride in comfort (so did our Bearded Collie, Buddy).
Prairie Bolerama in Maple Creek was a great time. As it usually does in southwestern Saskatchewan, the wind was howling pretty good so we couldn't put up our awning. We visited and toured every trailer. Caught up with old friends and met many new ones. One great idea that we took away with us from Bolerama was from Gord who traveled all the way from Ontario. Gord has a website on the neat things he's done to his Trillium. Good100's Trillium Trailer Webpage We had installed a brand new pump/faucet for the sink of Dewey and this thing was extremely hard to pump up and down. Gord had installed a 12 volt pump to make life a lot easier. We priced out pumps and found they were quite expensive. So.....Nolan purchased a small pump that you would use for your car windshield washer and installed it. Just a couple pumps of the handle to prime it, flip the switch and .........
RUNNING WATER!!
One final picture of Dewey - camping at Prince Albert National Park.
Well everyone....that's the story of the restoration of Dewey. We hope you enjoyed it!
For those of you who are curious.....I have kept a record of every receipt, from the smallest piece of sandpaper, miscellaneous screws and steel wool to cushion material and paint supplies. The final tally was $2513.94.
For the story of our 1978 Trillium 4500 click here Creampuff