Michele's Powder Puff

Little Talbot Island

2011-04-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed listening to the live music on our Xmas trip so much that I decided to look for music festivals that we could go to. I found a free blues festival in Jacksonville so I made reservations at the closest state park I could find. The park is on it's own island preserve with a beautiful beach. After setting up our site & taking the dogs for a quick walk, we headed over to the blues fest. My sister's friend Danny lives in the area so we invited him to meet us there. We stayed there for a few hours then decided to go meet Danny's friend Josh at a promotion he was doing. It was at a country bar & Kimberly & I quickly decided this was not the place for us. We asked Josh to take us some place where we could dance. He took us to some tiny dive bar where a cover band was playing. We hated it at first but then they started playing songs that we recognized and we all got up & danced & acted like fools & ended up having a great time. We left the bar & all went back to Josh's house & ended up staying the night there. In the morning we went back & took the dogs to explore the island. We went into town to get coffee & this time we took the ferry just for the experience. Danny came by to check out our site then we went back to Josh's house to play cards. It was late once the card game was over so we stayed the night there again. In the morning we went back, packed up & headed home.

Women in Tears

2011-02-04T06:43:00.000-08:00

My friend Becca from the trailer forum put this gathering together. It was at Silver Springs park in Ocala. She used to have a teardrop but now she has a vintage Scotty so this gathering was a combination of people with Scotties and homebuilt trailers. Friday night we had a little meet and greet. We got to see some old friends, Steve & Kim, Lynn & Paul, and meet some new people from the Scotty group. Saturday morning a group of us went around touring all the trailers. It was great finally seeing vintage trailers in person as I had only seen them in pictures. Saturday night we had a pot luck dinner and then headed home Sunday morning.

3rd Annual UNchristmas

2010-12-25T05:10:00.000-08:00

We liked Tomoka so much last year that we decided to go again this year. We got to the park on Xmas eve just before dark and got set up. On our way into the park, we saw a sign that said there would be live music in the park. As it turned out, the live music was some of the past entertainment we have ever seen. There is a store inside the park that is owned by a husband and wife. They both play music and sing so they have build a tiny little stage in the corner of the store. At night the store transforms into a free miniature theater with candlelit tables. The show was so good that we went back the next night and watched the whole thing again.

Anastasia III

2010-11-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

For the 3rd year in a row, my sister and I attended the Anastasia tear drop gathering. We got to the park Friday afternoon and shortly after we finished setting up our friend Steve from the trailer forum came to visit us. He wasn't staying in the park but he came over to see us as he lives in St. Augustine. The next morning we set out to find the Bealls Outlet store we had seen on our way into the park. We didn't intent to spend the entire day shopping but some how that's what happened. By the time we got back to the park, it was time to go to the pot luck dinner. Sunday morning we spent a few hours in the historic district of St. Augustine and then heading home.

Jekyll Island

2010-05-13T06:45:00.000-07:00

Since my sister hasn't had much luck on her own figuring out how to properly operate her kite buggy, we decided to attend a kite buggy expo on Jekyll Island. Andy and his girlfriend also met us there. Although this time there was no tent camping for Andy...they stayed in a hotel. We spent 3 days on the beach flying kites and riding buggies. By the 4th day we were too tired to do anything other than sit on the beach and watch. We had a great time and we will be attending the expo again next year.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T08:09:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the tradition we started last year, we went camping for Christmas at Tomoka State Park. Unlike last year when Cupid broke her leg, this year was fairly uneventful. We brought my sister's power kite and her new kite buggy with the intention of taking them out on the beach. But we never made it out there. Instead we spent the majority of the trip at our campsite playing with my new ipod touch. The campground was very nice and we will definately be going back there.

Anastasia (2)

2009-11-08T15:35:00.000-08:00

This was our 2nd year attending the trailer gathering at Anastasia. Last year we were very new to camping and a little rattled and nervous but this year we had a blast. We headed out Fri. afternoon and got to the park just before dark. Hector and Mike set up the tent while my sister and I set up the trailer and the EZ up. After we ate dinner, we played cards for a while and then went to bed. In the morning, my sister and I took all 5 dogs for a very long walk while Mike and Hector slept in (just like we planned). When we got back, the dogs were exhausted and the guys were ready to get up for breakfast. Then we headed over to the farmer's market that is right beside the campground. By the afternoon, the wind had picked up enough to go fly my sister's power kite on the beach. It couldn't have been more perfect. The wind was whipping and the beach was pretty much empty. We stayed out there for several hours taking turns flying the kite. We were so excited about flying the kite that we didn't bring any food or water with us to the beach so we had to leave and get back to our campsite. We ate and played cards for a little while. Then it was time to go to the pot luck dinner for the trailer forum people. We saw a lot of people that we knew and also met some people that were new to the forum. After we finished with dinner, we went to the outdoor theater next to the campground and watched a free movie. It was pretty late when the movie was over so we called it a night. In the morning, my sister and I walked all the dogs again. Then we had breakfast then packed up and headed home.

Rainbow River

2009-08-28T02:54:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the campground in Dunnellon late Fri. afternoon. We took the dogs for a short walk, ate dinner, watched a movie and then went to bed. In the morning, we took the dogs for another walk which Cupid and Stevie weren't able to complete on their own due to the heat. First Cupid and then Stevie a few minutes later, both decided to just stop walking and lay down on the ground. I had to carry both of them back to the trailer. Then we headed off to rent the tubes and take the trip down the river. This float was only an hour and a half long which was a little short but we had a great time taking pictures and making a really goofy video. We got done with the float right in the middle of the heat of the day so the only thing we could do was stay inside the trailer and play cards. One of my sister's high school friends who lives in the area stopped by with his girlfriend to see use. After they left, we went over and had smores with the people in the site next to us. The was a great trip. The campground was really clean and well kept and we met a lot of nice people.

Silver River

2009-07-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

My sister just bought a kayak but I don't have one. My dad and his wife each own one and they also own an extra one. So we invited them to meet us at Silver River State Park in Ocala. We left for the park Friday after work. We got to the park just before dark and set up. The park was beautiful...almost as nice as Anastasia. The sites were crushed gravel, well spaced and private and the bathroom looked brand new. We were too tired to take the dogs for a walk so we let them all out of their crates at the same time to decompress in the trailer. Due to the limited amount of space, we usually only let them out one at a time but they were very well behaved and it seemed to do the trick in calming them down so we could go to sleep. In the morning, we took them for a long walk then put them in the trailer and headed off to the river. For whatever reason, no one in this area seemed to have any information about the river. No one had a map of the river and no one could tell us a good place to get on and off of the river. We ended up taking a 16 mile, 7 hour long trip...not what we had in mind. The river was very pretty and we got to catch a glimpse of the monkeys that live along the riverbank. We got back to our campsite, ate dinner and went to bed. In the morning, we took the dogs for a short walk then packed up and headed home.

Ichetucknee Springs

2009-06-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

Summer time in Florida is pretty miserable so we were going to wait for cooler weather before taking any more trips. But my sister had a great idea to go tubing down the Ichetuchnee River. We have been there before so we knew you need to go when it's really hot because the water is ice cold. Mike and Johnson joined us again. This was our first time staying in a private campground. The grounds were very nice and well kept. However, the bathroom facilities were totally inadequate for the amount of people staying there. We got to the campground around 9 on Thursday night and got up the next morning and headed for the river. There was a place to rent the tubes right inside the campground. We took the longest tube trip they had which was about 4 hours. We got back to the campground around 3 and made some ice cream. When we got up the next morning, it was extremly hot and sticky with lots of bugs buzzing around. So we quickly ate breakfast and packed up and headed home. My sister had gotten a waterproof film camera for the trip. We took lots of picture while we were on the river. Unfortunately, when she tried to get the film developed, the idiot at the drug store opened the camera and exposed the entire roll of film.

Highlands Hammock...........SUCKS!

2009-05-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

OMG, this place was so stank! Up until now, all of the state parks we have stayed in have been so nice. But not this place. The campsites in this park are terrible. The sites are all jumbled up and crammed together...going every which way. You can't tell where one site ends and the next one beings. There is no vegetation in between any of the sites. So no privacy at all. The bathroom was old and run down and the showers were a joke. But somehow we still managed to have a pretty good time.
Mike and his dog Johnson joined us for this trip. We left on Saturday and got to Sebring early afternoon. Luckily, Mike was the one driving so getting into that disaster of a campsite was not a problem. After assessing our surrounding (screaming kids everywhere, large Spanish church group next to us singing and holding services) we decided that maybe some alcoholic beverages might be in order. This is something that I have not done in at least 10 years but the situation seemed to call for it. The alcohol made our card game very entertaining and made us forget about how awful the park was. In the morning, we took our typical long walk with the dogs. We wanted to take the tram tour through the park but because it was a holiday weekend, the tram was sold out. So we took a little afternoon nap and then spent the rest of the evening playing cards. In the morning, we took another short walk, had lunch, then packed up and headed home.

Trailer Travel Stats

2009-05-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Since our first trip in October 2008, stats are as follows:

Miles Traveled: 3,080
Nights Slept In: 17
Trips Taken: 6
States Traveled To: Alabama, Georgia

Pretty good for a trailer that I wasn't sure would ever leave the garage!

Georgia Mountain Wash Out

2009-05-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

The main purpose of this trip for me was to see my high school friend Andy (aka Scott Dorsey). So from that perspective, the trip was a success. I did get to spend time with him and we had lots of laughs and fun together. He even got in the Powder Puff spirit and bought a pink shirt for the trip. However, the weather for this trip was awful! It rained every day and every night that we were there.
My sister and I headed out after work on Wednesday. We drove about 2 1/2 hours and stayed the night at Stephen Foster SP in North Florida. The next morning, we got on the road around 8 and arrived at Vogel SP around 4. We picked a campsite, got set up and had dinner. Andy got to the park around 7pm. We got his tent set up then took the dogs for a walk then spent the rest of the evening playing a game that he brought with him. The next morning, we set out to explore the park. Not long into our walk, it started raining. We stopped at the visitor's center and sat around waiting for it to stop raining. It cleared up long enough for us to make it to the waterfall inside the park. After having lunch at our campsite we went to a gem stone store not far from the park. The lady working in the store suggested that we go to Consolidated Gold Mines in Dahlonega and take the mine tour. That place was great! It's an underground tour of a gold mine from the 1800's. Before the tour, they show you how to pan for gold. Since it was still looking like it was going to rain, we didn't do anymore site seeing that day. The next day, we took our morning walk and then we went to the Alpine Village of Helen. We walked around looking at all the shops then had lunch outside at a restaurant overlooking a beautiful river. Once again, the rain started and we had to call it a day. On our last day there, we woke up to yet another rainy morning. We spent the morning searching for something that could be done inside but found nothing. We decided to bring the umbrellas and make an attempt to see some of the area waterfalls...ones that were located not far from the roads. After a very dicey, muddy drive down a dirt road, we made it to see Helton Creek Falls. It was well worth the scary drive to see it. It was a 2 tier fall with the lower fall being completely accessible. We were able to walk out and stand directly at the bottom of the fall and feel the force of the water coming down. Next, we saw Anna Ruby Falls which was about 5 times the size of Helton and absolutely spectacular. We were supposed to spend another night at Vogel and head out in the morning but all of us were ready to leave the nasty weather and get home. So we had a quick dinner at the campsite and left the park around 4pm. Andy drove straight through and got to Virginia some time in the wee hours of Monday morning. My sister and I drove about 3 hours and stayed the night at a KOA then completed the rest of the drive in the morning.
The weather was terrible but the company was oh so entertaining. Thanks Andy, for being such a good sport...the pink shirt meant a lot to me.

Powder Puff Crosses State Line

2009-03-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, 4 locations in 5 days. This was an action packed trip. We left on Friday morning headed to my Uncle's house in Elberta Alabama which is close to Pensacola. In order to break up the drive, we stopped at Falling Waters SP and took a short hike with the dogs. The waterfall was worth seeing, however, it was a far cry from the pictures in the brochure. We got to my Uncle's house in time for a tour of his workshop and a late dinner. In the morning, we took the dogs for a walk around the property where we encountered a rather large turtle. Xena and Jasmine went completely nuts over it. Xena was barking and snapping at the back end and unfortunately for Jasmine, she got the front end. She stuck her nose up inside his shell and he bit her. She wasn't hurt but she was so angry and frustrated that she started digging a hole in front of him. It was hysterical! We also got a brief look at the neighbors goats but that was just too much for Stevie. He got really upset and we had to get away from them before he had a total melt down. Next, we headed off to a nearby flea market with lots of yard sale stops on the way. We would have loved to spend the rest of the day hitting more yard sales but after eating lunch, it was time to get to our next destination, Chatom AL. We arrived at my Grandpa's house in time for another late dinner and some visiting with an Aunt and Uncle that came over to see us. In the morning, we gave my Grandpa and his wife the tour of the trailer. Then we sat down and gave them the long version of how we built the trailer. My Grandpa really seemed to enjoy the story. After that, we got the dogs and he walked with us around his little pine tree forest across the road. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening talking and listening to him tell stories. The next morning, we got back on the road for our last stop, Florida Caverns SP. We made it to the park just in time for the last cave tour of the day. After the tour, we ate dinner, watched a dvd and went to bed. In the morning, we took all the dogs (including Cupid, in the stroller) and set out to explore the trails in the park. We walked all morning until it got close to check out time and then headed back to the trailer for lunch. Then it was time to face the long drive back home.

Damage Repair

2009-03-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I started sanding the paint off of the bottom edge of the trailer so that I could reapply epoxy to the end grain of the plywood. But it was bothering me that I couldn't figure out how the water got in so I asked for advise on the trailer forum. Someone had a very good theory on what might have happened. The trailer walls are attached directly to the metal frame with screws. Even though both sides of the walls are sealed with epoxy, I broke that seal when I shot the screws through the walls. The theory is that the water came in through the screw holes. When I attached the walls, I should have put silicone or something similar in the holes before putting the screws in. Obviously, it's too late for that now. I have been advised to remove the screws, seal the holes and then replace the screws. While I do totally respect the opinion of the person that gave me this advise, I think that this is a very radical procedure considering there was only a very minor amount of damage. I intend to get under the trailer and use silicone to seal around the screws where they are sticking out from the frame. I will also seal all of the joints where the wood touches the metal. If that doesn't work, then I will proceed with the advise I was given.

Hmmm...I'm not sure if I have enough pink shoes

2009-02-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

Manatee Springs

2009-02-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

We arrived at Manatee Springs on Friday around 2:30. We set up the trailer and headed out for our usual dog walk around the campground. When we got back, there were a few people from the trailer forum waiting to get the tour of the Powder Puff. After showing them the trailer, we went over to their campsites to see their trailers. I specifically attended this gathering so that I could see the debut of Steve's Gypsy Caravan. I was not disappointed. His trailer is beautiful, inside and out. After we saw his trailer, we went back to our site and walked the dogs again. Once it got dark, we headed back over to Steve's site and sat around the fire talking until it was time to go to bed. When I stepped out of the trailer in the morning, I saw 3 deer in our campsite just a few feet away from me. I called to my sister to get the camera. She cracked the door open and started taking pictures. We were so mesmerized by the deer that we were not paying attention to Xena who was loose inside the trailer. She peeked her head out and caught site of the deer and shot out of the trailer like a rocket. She was at least a football field away in a matter of seconds. Luckily, she had on her very bright pink harness that I was able to see through the woods and follow behind her. Once she lost site of the deer, she came running right back to me. After she was safe in her crate back in the trailer, we took Jasmine and Cupid with us to get some fresh, hot donuts that a lady from the forum was making. We put Cupid back in the trailer and headed out for a 5 mile hike with Jasmine, Xena and Stevie. Stevie made it 4 miles and then stopped in the middle of the trail and sat down and refused to get up. I had to carry him the last mile. It was mid afternoon when we got back from our hike. After we took turns taking showers, it started pouring rain. It rained for about 2 hours and stopped just in time for us to make it to the pot luck dinner. When dinner was over, we went back over to Steve's campsite where we enjoyed some live music courtesy of some talented people from the forum. Sunday morning, we took a short walk with all of the dogs and then headed home. This was our best trip yet. It was so much fun. We met some great people and we are hoping to camp with them again.

First Damage Report
It seems that the trailer didn't do so well with the rain this time. Along the bottom edge of both sides of the trailer there is evidence of water damage. I read many times that water is most likely to get penetrate the wood in the end grain. I felt like I did a good job sealing it but apparently not good enough. I'm not sure what else to do other than sand it down and seal it again.

Cupid's New Handi-Ride

2009-01-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Since Cupid we probably still have her splint on when we go on our next trip, I got this stroller for her. I will most likely continue to use it even after her leg heals to prevent any future accidents.

Alternate Tow Vehicle

2009-01-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

We have always used my sister's Jeep to pull the Powder Puff because the Nissan I had did not have enough towing capacity to tow it. But my new truck (2007 Chevy Colorado) has a 4000 lb towing capacity.

Poor Cupid

2008-12-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

Since neither me or my sister enjoy celebrating Christmas the traditional way, we decided to go to South Florida and go shopping over the Christmas weekend. We chose a campground that is 5 miles from the Sawgrass Mills Mall, Markham Park. Within the park there is an off leash dog park. The plan was to let the dogs play in the park for a few hours in the morning and then put them in their crates in the trailer while we went to the mall. We arrived in Sunrise around 4 o'clock on Christmas day. As usual, our first order of business after setting up was to take the dogs for a walk. We had been walking for about 45 minutes when Cupid tripped my sister and made her step on her leg. Cupid let out a scream that seemed to last forever. I'm sure the entire park heard her. Since Cupid has been stepped on many times and has over reacted many times, I wasn't sure if she was really hurt or not. I carried her back to the trailer and watched her closely for the rest of the night. In the morning, she seemed to be feeling better and was slowly starting to put weight on her leg. We took all the dogs to the dog park and they all did very well. Jasmine and Xena even briefly played with some of the other dogs. After an hour or so, we put the dogs in the trailer and headed off to the mall. We left the mall in the middle of the day and checked on them. They all seemed to be doing well and they were not making any noise when we pulled up. We went back to the mall and shopped for a few more hours then had dinner at the mall then went back to the trailer. The next morning, Cupid was still limping so I left her in the trailer while the rest of us went back to the dog park. Xena and Stevie were the same as the day before but Jasmine seemed to be much less nervous and played more with the other dogs. We left the park and crated the dogs and headed off to the mall again. Since they had done so well the day before, this time we did not check on them in the middle of the day. We finally made our way around the entire mall at about 4 o'clock. When we got back to the trailer, Cupid jumped out of her crate instead of waiting for me to take her out. She cried when she hit the floor and started limping much worse. Within the next few hours, her leg started to swell and she was crying every time she moved. It quickly became obvious that she was going to need to go to the emergency vet. The ride to the vet was extremely stressful as she was screaming out in pain every few minutes. The vet gave her a shot to sedate her and took x-rays and confirmed that her leg was broken. He put a splint on her leg and gave me some pain medication. The splint is only a temporary fix until I can get her to my regular vet. He said she will most likely need some type of pin in order to permanently fix it. She hasn't cried any more since he put the splint on her leg. Except for Cupid getting hurt, we had a great time. This trip was filled with lots of "firsts": first time we traveled this far, first time we left the dogs alone, first time the trailer got rained on, first time we unhitched the Jeep from the trailer, first on-the-road dog emergency, first time we had to wash the trailer when we got back. We probably will not be taking a trip in January but we will be going to Manatee Springs in February.

CUPID UPDATE 1/14/09

After doing some research on-line and talking to Cupid's regular vet, I have decided against having a pin put in her leg. She is 11 years old and I do not feel comfortable with putting her through surgery. She had her splint taken off and rewrapped today. The vet says it looks really good and that the bones are already starting to callus.

Anastasia

2008-11-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

We arrived in St. Augustine on Saturday around 4. Elissa and Jessie got there a few minutes before us and were already setting up their tent. It became clear pretty quickly that my sister was not going to be able to back the trailer into the site. There was no room to pull forward and more importantly she was blocking traffic. The woman in the site next to us recognized my trailer from the internet and offered to have her teen aged son back it in for us. He parked it right where we want it with no problems. Then I gave them a tour of my trailer and took a tour of their cargo trailer that they are converting into a camping trailer. This was a teardrop gathering that was organized by the people on the trailer forum. So after we got settled in, we walked around the campground to look at the other trailers. Unfortunately, there weren't very many to see. When we got back to our site, a business associate of mine who lives close by came to see the trailer. Several other people from the trailer forum also stopped by. After we ate dinner, we all piled in the trailer (including all 6 dogs) and played cards and Taboo. The next morning, we needed to make a trash run so we took all of the dogs on a long walk to the only dumpster in the park. Then we drove a few miles from the park to a historic section of the city and walked around the shops. We left Stevie in the trailer since he is likely to get stepped on when walking in crowds. When we got back to the campsite, Stevie was sound asleep in the trailer. We ate lunch and played another game of cards and then it was time for Ellisa and Jessie to leave. After they left, my sister and I took turns taking showers which was a pleasant experience as the bathrooms were nice and clean. The rest of the evening was spent eating dinner and watching a movie. The next morning we were up bright and early and ready to take the dogs for another long walk. This time we walked past the dumpster and on to a little nature trail. We also walked around several of the other loops looking at the other campsites. We definitely ended up with one of the nicest sites in the park. Once we got back to our site, we had lunch and then packed everything up and headed home. On the way home, we stopped in Sanford to show Deanna the trailer. We also stopped at Kimberly's job to show it to her co-workers. We had a little trouble with the dogs this time but all and all it was another great trip.

FIRST TRIP....FIRST TRIP.....FIRST TRIP!!!!!

2008-10-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

After almost ten months of hard work, my sister and I finally got to enjoy our first camping trip. We were worried about how stressful it would be with 4 dogs in such a small space so we went to a campground close to my house (Lake Griffin) and only stayed 1 night. The ride to the campground was uneventful but as we started to get close to our destination, the tension started to rise. We had plenty of fear about becoming some kind of circus freak show at the campground with our crazy homemade trailer trying unsuccessfully to get it into our site. We intended to do some practice driving before this trip but of course that didn't happen so we had know idea how long or if we could manage to get the trailer into the campsite. Much to our surprise and delight, my sister was able to back the trailer in within 5 minutes with no problems at all. Once we got the trailer set up, we took all of the dogs for a walk. While we were walking, we ran into a couple that asked us if we were the owners of the pink trailer, no doubt that our attire was a dead giveaway. They said they had already taken a picture of the trailer and wanted to know if they could get a picture of us. After our walk, we went back to the trailer for a late dinner. I knew that we would forget something important on this trip and sure enough we left the house without any silverware. We had to eat our ravioli with our fingers. After a messy dinner, we settled in and watched a movie on our very cool pink dvd player. I knew that the temperature was going to get down into the 60s. However, I did not think that it would be necessary to bring a heater.........that was a mistake. By 3 am, it was freezing inside the trailer. We managed to make it through the cold night and in the moring, we took the dogs for another walk. As we were backing up to leave, the couple from the night before stopped by our campsite to see the inside of the trailer. I am shocked at how smoothly our first trip went. Taking care of all the dogs was not stressful at all. They were all so good. Everything in the trailer worked exactly as it was designed to do. We had a great time and we can't wait unit our next trip.

PINKALICIOUS!!!!!

2008-10-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks of nonstop sanding, I finally got it painted. I will be doing to more body work where the roof meets the front and back walls but that will be after next weekend. Because next weekend we will be going on our first trip. This will be a test trip close to home. That way we can work out all the kinks before our big trip to St. Augustine next month.

Paint?

2008-10-07T14:22:00.001-07:00

I thought I was ready to start painting but that was just wishful thinking. Once I painted a small amount, I realized that the finish is just not smooth enough. So I will spend yet another week sanding and hopefully it will be ready to paint by the weekend.

Road Ready

2008-10-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, while I spent hours and hours sanding and getting the outside ready to paint, my sister worked on getting the trailer street legal. She did a great job getting the tail lights, side markers and license plate light attached to the trailer but unfortunately only 1 out of 5 lights actually came on. After doing some research, she was able to get them to all come on this morning.

Camping in the Driveway

2008-09-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

We decided that our first night in the trailer would be spent in the driveway just in case we had any problems with the dogs. And sure enough, ten minutes into the slumber party, we had a problem. But it wasn't one of the dogs. I looked at the floor and noticed a small steady stream of water coming from the air conditioner. Because my driveway has such a steep incline, the back of the trailer was much higher than the front causing the water draining from the air conditioner to run into the trailer instead of out on the ground. The only way to fix it was to pull the trailer out of the driveway, drive it around the block and pull it back in so it was facing the other direction. I did not envision that our first test drive of the trailer would be done at nine o'clock at night with no lights on the trailer. It was scary but we made it and the water problem was solved. The rest of the night was peacefully uneventful. All of the dogs were so good. They slept quietly all night. We all had plenty of room and we were very comfortable.

Hidden Talent...........who knew?

2008-09-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

I knew that I wanted the added touch of hand painting in my trailer but I wasn't sure if I had the ability to produce the desired results. So I took a piece of scrap wood and put my talent to the test. I'm no Michelangelo but I'm pretty happy the outcome.

Ikea Night Light

2008-09-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

I got the cutest night light from Ikea. The power cord is green so it looks like the stem of the flower. I painted some leaves on the wall to add to the effect.

The Windows and Cabinets are Done

2008-08-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks to tropical storm Fay, the weather here was slightly cooler this weekend. My sister and I were able to permanently install both windows and finally attach the last of the cabinet doors.

A Window and Some Interior Shots

2008-08-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

Even though its been almost a month since I posted, I haven't stopped working on the trailer. I have been making the covers for the cushions and painting the cabinet doors. Today, my sister and I finally ventured outside and put on some of the second layer of the roof and cut the hole for one of the windows.

The Powder Puff's First Trip

2008-07-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

Granted, it was only 50 feet down the driveway. But it was SPECTACULAR! This is the first time it has ever been out of the garage. So up until today, I didn't know for sure if it would clear the garage door way. I have a very sloped driveway so anything could have happened. I was really afraid to even attempt this as my sister and I have no experience towing anything. I had visions of ripping of the roof or sending the trailer careening into the house across the street. But I wanted to get some full shot pictures of it before I start painting it. This was also the only way to get a shot of the roof. To my surprise and delight, we were able to get it in and out of the garage without any problems.

Microwave

2008-07-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yep.......that's right.........I found a pink one!

Backsplash

2008-07-04T15:56:00.001-07:00

I got this idea about 5 months ago and now I finally got to implement it. I used some beige floor tiles I had laying around. I primered them and then painted them. Some of them are also sprinkled with pink glitter.

And Now for the Sewing Portion of this Project

2008-06-12T21:26:00.001-07:00

Since it's too hot to be in my garage, I have been working on things that can be done inside the house. I made a curtain to hang down under the counter top to hide the dog crates.

More Work on the Door

2008-06-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

I got the trim around the window and the inside of the door painted.

I Should Be Working on My Roof But............

2008-06-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

The weather here is just brutal. It's in the 90's pretty much every day. So I've been working on small things. I built a drawer and attached it under the counter top.

The AC Install is Complete

2008-05-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

The air conditioner has been successfully mounted to a drawer slide. The slide I used is rated for 100 lbs. so it easily supports the entire weight of the AC. So I was able to remove the tacky little shelf that I had on the back of the trailer. I tried to take pictures of how it operates but I think you have to watch the video to really understand it.

The Door Has a Handle

2008-05-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

My sister and I got the door handle on without any problems. We made a small mock door and installed it in there first to make sure we understood how it worked. The handle is a storm door handle with a deadbolt lock. I know it looks really modern in comparision to my jalousie window but my choices on what to use were very limited.

Jalousie Window

2008-05-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Jalousie windows were popular on travel trailers in the 1950s and 60s. As soon as I decided to build my own trailer, I knew that I wanted to use this type of window. I felt like it would give my trailer the retro look that I'm shooting for. Back in January, when my sister and I went to the junk yard, I was hoping to find some of these windows. There was only one in the entire junk yard. It was in the door of this old delivery truck.

We fought for 2 and a half hours in the blazing sun with no water to get the window out of that door. I really wanted to give up but my sister insisted that we keep working until we got it out. I'm really glad she made me stick it out because now I have a great since of satisfaction seeing it in the door of my trailer.

Knock, Knock

2008-05-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks of working on it, the door is finally on. I had been putting off building the door because I made a big mess cutting out the doorway. It was really hard to control the saw holding it vertically. So the doorway ended up being very crooked and uneven. I wasn't sure how on earth I would get a door to fit. I bought a sheet of 1/8 inch door skin, clamped it over the doorway, and traced around it from the inside of the trailer. After about 3 hours of shaving off tiny slivers, the piece finally fit inside. Then I put the piece onto a sheet of 3/8 inch plywood and cut it out. It fit pretty good but then I had to frame the door with 1 X 3s. That seemed to throw everything off and there were many more hours of shaving tiny slivers. Once I got it to fit with the framing on it, I filled in the middle with sheets of styrofoam and glued the door skin to the side that faces inside the trailer. All along, I knew that the piece of plywood was bowed out but I thought that the framing pieces would straighten it out but it didn't. So I clamed the top half of the door to a dog crate (just what was available) and let the bottom half hang over unsupported. Then I put a lot of weight on the bottom corner of the door and left it there for 2 days. It's not completly straighten out but I felt like was close enough to go ahead and attach the door.

I Have Power

2008-04-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

The electrical wiring was by far my biggest worry on this project. There was no way I was going to try and figure it out on my own because electricity is very dangerous and I wasn't about to take any chances on getting hurt or starting a fire. My dad has done some electrical work in the past so I asked him to help me. Once he showed me how to run the first circuit, it was surprisingly easy to run the rest of them. I decided to go with a 15 amp service instead of a 30 amp. The 30 amp would have been almost triple the price. My only limitation with the 15 amp is that I will have to turn the air conditioner off in order to run the microwave.

I Wasn't Taking a Break

2008-04-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

I've had several people ask me why I stopped working on my trailer because I haven't posted anything lately. I didn't stop working on it. I just didn't have anything very exciting to post. But now I do. I just finished my little dinette table and it is so cute! It's made out of left over fiberboard from the counter top. I used the folding leg and brackets from the table in the old camper. I glued thin wooden rails to the cabinet fronts so the table can be lowered down to make one big bed out of the two separate beds on either side of the trailer.

And now for something much less exciting. The other thing I have been working on is getting my air conditioner installed. When it is pushed out like it is supposed to be, it sticks out past the bumper. This could potentially cause a bad situation if I were to get rear ended while towing. In order to avoid that, the AC cannot be permanently mounted so that it can come in and out of the trailer. Not mounting it with the brackets that it comes with causes a problem of making sure it doesn't fall out of the back of the trailer. I attached a little wooden shelf to the bumper to solve the problem but I am not happy with it and I am currently researching a better way to install it. I have seen pictures of people attaching drawer slides directly to the AC. I haven't found any step by step instructions but I going to try it based on what I see in the pictures. I also ended up returning the first AC I bought because it was broken. I bought a different brand to replace it because the Goldstar had these metal clips on the bottom that were causing problems due to the fact that I am using the AC in a totally different way from which it is intended to be used.

Doggie Door?

2008-04-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

I cut the hole in the back of the trailer for the air conditioner but my crazy dogs seem to think that it's a door for them.

One Light Fixture Up

2008-04-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

I really hope that these fixtures are going to work because I love the way they look. They totally fit the style of my camper. I made the box for the light out of plywood and a 1X3. I attached it to the wall with a piano hinge. I put it on a hinge so that I could still get to the wires once the roof is on. It doesn't tilt down as much as I was hoping it would but I am using hinges that came out of my old camper so if it doesn't work, at least it didn't cost me anything.

Zero Progress

2008-03-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

I didn't make any progress on the trailer this weekend because I spent the entire weekend looking for light fixtures. I am very limited as to what I can use because my walls are solid. I am also limited by price as I am not going to spend a ton of money on anything that is labeled "rv" or "marine".

These are the first set of lights I bought. The instructions stated very clearly that these cannot be hardwired. Each light has a cord, all of the cords plug into a power strip, then the power strip plugs into an outlet. After I bought the lights I saw them installed in a store display and they looked terrible. There were cords everywhere.

These are the second set of lights I bought. These are meant to be hardwired in a series and connected to a switch. They seemed perfect and I really liked them but they use halogen bulbs which get very hot. Once I read the instructions for the spacing, I realized that I couldn't use them.

This is my third attempt. So far, it seems like this is going to work. I bought small frosted bulbs to in them and they look really cute with the tiny bulbs. I will not be mounting them on the wall. I am building shallow boxes for them and they will be mounted so that the bulbs are pointing down. It's hard to explain but I will post pictures once the boxes are done. That is unless I discover some reason why I can't use these!

Getting Ready to Wire

2008-03-22T19:36:00.001-07:00

This week, I have been installing electrical boxes so that I can run the wiring. Since I used solid wall construction instead of sandwich, I have to be creative in order to hide all of the electrical components. I also put in the countertop since there are 2 receptacles in the top of it. I used something I got at Lowes called fiberboard. It is supposed to be less likely to sag than plywood and it has a nice smooth surface that I was told can be painted.

All 4 Walls and a Doorway

2008-03-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

I purposely held off on putting on the front wall because I wanted to get as much framing done as possible before boxing myself in. Once the beds were framed out, I couldn't really move forward without the front wall. So I attached the front wall which then made it safe to cut out the doorway. This made a huge difference in the feel of the trailer. Now you can totally get a sense of what it will be like inside once it's done.

Bed/Seat #2

2008-03-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

The 2nd bed/seat is now framed. I made it exactly like the first one so it was fairly quick and easy.

Crates

2008-03-08T18:56:00.001-08:00

Instead of buying new crates, I got used crates from the rescue group where I volunteer

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/anewbeginning.html

By getting them there, I had access to a wide variety of sizes. I was able to find the perfect configuration for the space I have available. Thank you, Abby.

How I Got My Cooler

2008-03-06T14:31:00.001-08:00

I first started looking for a cooler months ago. I thought this would be something that would be very easy to find in either pink or lime green. I spent hours searching the net and watching ebay without any luck. There are plenty of small coolers in these colors but none the size that I need. I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I would have to settle for a white one when I got an excited phone call from my sister. In the break room at her job, she had spied this awesome lime green cooler. She got on the case and found out who owned it. She told the woman the whole travel trailer building story and explained why I needed her cooler. I can only imagine how that conversation went. Luckily for me, the woman was not attached to her cooler and couldn't care less about the color. She said she would be willing to sell it for the cost of a new one. SOLD!!!!! I gave her $30 for it.....a 5 year old slightly scuffed up cooler.......well worth the price. This is the first thing I have put in my camper that is the appropriate color. It is very exciting to see it in there.

Framing

2008-03-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

*****Hey Brian, I can't find the comment you posted. It must be lost somewhere in cyberspace*******

I have the door side bed/seat framed out. I don't know anything about framing so this is totally just made up. My sister and I spent almost 3 hours talking, measuring, and putting tape on the floor before we finally got started. I really like the way it turned out though. It feels very sturdy.

Vinyl Tiles

2008-03-01T05:09:00.001-08:00

Covering the floor was such a pain. It started when I realized that vinyl does not come in any fun colors or patterns. All of it is very serious house type stuff. So I decided to go with something really plain and unnoticeable and just put some funky rugs over it. I had read and heard mixed reviews on whether or not the tiles would stay stuck down with the adhesive that is already on the back. I spent quite a bit of time sanding and prepping the floor so I felt like it was safe to stick them down without any extra glue. I put down about half of the tiles and when I looked at it the next morning, there were already tiles peeling up. Then I had to get some vinyl glue and try to get it under the partially stuck down tiles. Obviously this was much harder to do than if I had just used the glue in the first place. This was a tedious, messy job and I'm not real happy with the way it looks. All I can say is that I'm glad about 80% of the floor will not be seen anyway.

Back Wall

2008-02-24T16:55:00.000-08:00

The back wall is up. That was very quick and easy. The front and back walls are 1/2 ply up until the walls start to curve. I will need to switch to something thinner in order to bend around the curves. I think I will be using two pieces of 1/8 doors skin glued together.

Girl Power ROCKS the Powder Puff!

2008-02-23T17:02:00.000-08:00

Craig is gone so it was time to get some girl power going on my trailer. Deanna, a teammate from my flyball team and my sister came over to help attach the walls. We used 2 car jacks to get the walls into position. Deanna and Kimberly held the walls steady on the jacks while I scewed them on. It was a seamless demonstration of team work just like when we are on the flyball lanes. Today was the most fun I have had so far working on my little trailer project.

Wall #2

2008-02-14T19:06:00.000-08:00

The second wall is done now. The walls are 5/8 inch CDX plywood. I decided to go with the cheap stuff since I am painting everything inside anyway. This was around $15 per sheet as opposed to the nice stuff which was over $30 per sheet. The walls are 3 sections that are butt jointed together with 1X3s. The framing pieces around the perimeter are 1X2s and custom cut 5/8 ply to match up with the curves. There is a slight size difference where they meet but I feathered it down with a sander pretty easily. In order to make the walls match each other, I stood them up and clamped them together and sanded them with an angle grider. Now they are ready to attach.

I Have a Wall

2008-02-11T18:39:00.001-08:00

I said in an earlier post that Craig would only be an advisor on my trailer project. I told him when he got here that I did not want him to help with the construction because it was important for me to be able to say that my sister and I built this trailer without any help. But as it turns out, the three of us make a great team. Kimberly and Craig built this awsome wall while I finished putting the rest of the cleat on the floor. I know that I could have done this without his help but I couldn't have done it as well and it certainly would have taken ten times longer. I didn't start this project because I wanted to build a trailer. I am doing this because I need the ability to travel with my dogs and there was nothing that I could buy that suited my needs. I won't be able to say my trailer was 100% chic built but it will be finished sooner than I thought and it's going to be very well built. Thanks for everything, Craig.

More Floor Progress

2008-02-08T18:27:00.001-08:00

One side of the cleat is on. The cleat is a 2X2 attached with 1/4 hex bolts, locking washers and titebond glue. The bolt goes through the cleat, through the floor and through the frame. It is a super strong connection, no worries about the walls coming off.

Using the Right Tool for the Job

2008-02-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

No luck finding self tapping screws with a Robertson head. I ended up with the same screws but a different driver bit. It's a special bit with little ridges on the tip that are supposed to hold on to the screw better. WOW, what a difference. This time the screws went right in with no problem. Ace Hardware rocks, thanks Brian!

The Floor is Attached

2008-02-06T17:46:00.001-08:00

Putting the floor on wasn't as fun as I thought it was going to be. I was excited about using the screws that I got to attach it with. The guy at Lowe's said they were self taping and that they would counter sink on their own. Well, not exactly. They were Philip's head screws and they were a real pain to deal with, lots of chewed up bits and stripped screw heads. I will try to find some Robertson self taping screws to finish the job.

Not Exactly What I Was Hoping For

2008-02-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

The floor still isn't attached. Believe it or not, it took almost the entire afternoon to get these 3 pieces of wood into the frame. I need to use 1/2 inch plywood for the floor to keep the over all height down. But because I am using such thin plywood, there are some places in the frame that need extra support. The piece in the back needed to be put in because I am extending the floor out further than the original floor. These pieces were 2X6s that had to be ripped down and a small notch taken out in order to fit within the frame. They are screwed in on the ends with 2 inch screws. Getting them in took much longer than I thought it would but I am very happy with the results.

Technical Advisor/Floor Started

2008-02-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

My technical advisor has arrived all the way from Canada. Craig is an engineer. He will be an advisor only. He will not be doing any of the building on my trailer. After a 4 hour planning session, Craig left and I got started on the floor. I got the holes cut out for the wheel wells,

and I got the protective coating (roof tar) on the underside of the floor.

Hopefully, tomorrow I will get the floor attached.

Floor Wood

2008-01-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

I got the wood for the floor. I thought that getting it home would be difficult because the pieces are so big. But that part was actually easy. The hard part was dealing with the idiots working at Home Depot and Lowes. I went in Home Depot first and asked for CDX 1/2 plywood. The guy in the lumber department was so over the top rude that I just left the store. Then I went to Lowes. The guy in there wasn't rude but he couldn't give me what I wanted either. He had no idea what I was talking about and said that they don't use the term CDX for their plywood. I ended up with something 1/2 inch but I don't know what kind of plywood it is.

Surprise!

2008-01-26T14:53:00.000-08:00

My flyball team threw me a surprise Trailer/Birthday party today. They got me a ton of pink and green stuff to go inside my trailer. It is all so pretty. I can't wait to see it inside the Powder Puff.

Now, That's Ironic

2008-01-25T16:17:00.001-08:00

This morning I loaded up my truck with all of the aluminum from the camper I tore apart and headed off to a place that buys scrap metal. The place is located in a very shady part of town so I was fairly nervous about going there. As expected, the clientele were far from classy. There were no signs telling me what the procedure was so I was circling the building clearly looking confused. A homeless man appeared out of nowhere and told me what to do. He also asked me if I would kindly bring in his bag of cans with me because they only allow people with vehicles to drop items off. Fearing that I might set off some type of psychotic episode if I said no, I agreed to take his cans. After weighing my aluminum and the cans, they gave me a ticket which I took to a window and was given $54.20. A dollar, twenty of that was the cans. So I got back exactly $3 more than what I originally paid for the trailer. My excitement about the money was short-lived because then I realized that I still had to face the homeless man waiting outside. I showed him my receipt and gave him $2 which I thought he would be happy with but instead he started ranting about how he should have gotten more money and claiming that my aluminum actually belonged to him. I just smiled and laughed and quickly got in my truck and sped away.

The Floor Is Gone

2008-01-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

It took almost as long to remove just the floor as it did to demolish in entire camper. The screws were so rusted that they could not be taken out. So the floor had to be sawed into pieces and pried off with a crowbar.

I Have Obtained A Tag!

2008-01-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the dealer came through but as it turns out, he's actually not a used car dealer (oh, more misinformation).

The name of his establishment is Bellview Auto Salvage. So I figured it might be interesting to pick up the tag in person especially since he mentioned having a large selection of dead RVs. I was mainly hoping to score some windows as I have priced them new at $100 each.

After a survey of the "merchandise" we located some spectacular finds, 2 side windows and a possible window for the door. Of course once you have found an item you want, it's strictly self serve so we came prepared with the necessary equipment.
Today's grand total was a whopping $18 and here's what we left with:

Mind Numbing Stupidity

2008-01-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I decided that I had better get my camper registered before I go any further with the construction. When I picked up the camper, I was told that the title had been lost but that registering it without a title wouldn't be a problem. I was suspicious of this information but I thought that it was possible that campers could be different than cars when it comes to tags and registration...........wrong. As it turns out, any vehicle weighing 2000 lbs or more is required to have a title in order to register it. So I called the woman I bought it from and told her about the problem. She said her husband purchased the camper from a used car lot and was only given a receipt and not a title. Who on earth would shell out $350 for a vehicle on a car lot and not get a TITLE?! Then I called the used car lot. The guy pretended to have no knowledge of this camper and insisted that he never would have sold something without a title. Then he oddly offered to do whatever he could to help me get it registered. I found it very strange that he would go out of his way to help with something that supposedly had nothing to do with him. It's clear to me that he realized that I was a little smarter than the idiot he sold the camper to in the first place and he wanted to make sure that he made me go away. What was he thinking when he sold the camper without a title? Did he really think that wasn't going to come back and bite him? Anyway, he told me that he would get it registered in my name as a utility trailer under 2000 lbs. That way, I do not need a title. So now, my project is pretty much on hold until this gets cleared up........AUGH!

Oh, and one other thing, as I was looking for the VIN on the camper, I discovered that this thing is not a 1989. It is a 1979! Not that it matters for my purposes but it's hard to believe that the woman I bought it from couldn't even tell me what year it was.

Cardboard Floor Plan

2008-01-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

Today, we used cardboard and pvc to lay out the floor plan. This floor plan is much different than the one we did on paper before I got the trailer. The first floor plan had bunk beds but I liked the layout of this camper better so we are going to rebuild it the way it was with a few modifications for the dogs.

Demolition

2007-12-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

After only 8 hours of demolition, the camper was reduced to nothing but a rotten plywood floor. Tearing it down was incredibly easy. The contruction on this was the worst I have ever seen. I'd have to say the roaches were the only bad part about this job. We learned so much from being able to see exactly how everything went together and came apart. I will be using lots of things that came out of it including tons of hardware.

I Got A Frame

2007-12-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

Since my trip to see the Squidget, I have been searching for a frame to build my trailer on. I've been making a daily on-line visit to ebay, craig's list and Ocala4Sale. I found a 1989 Starcraft for sale on Ocala4Sale. The price listed was $100 but while I was on the phone with the owner, she came down on the price to $50 because she really wanted it out of her yard. So my sister and I went to Belleview (40 miles from home) to pick it up. Getting the camper was quite an ordeal. It was sitting in the owner's back yard with a wet dirty tarp partially covering it. The tires were flat and the roof was completely detached from the body and turned upside down and collecting massive amounts of water. The woman had no idea how I should go about getting it out of her yard but she said that her husband would be home soon and he would help. Unfortunately, he was of no more help than she was. He suggested that I make the hour long drive without securing the roof at all. His theory was that "Well, it's really heavy, I think it might be alright." The woman seemed to realize that if she didn't do something about the situation that she was going to be stuck with this thing still in her yard. She got on the phone and started calling neighbors to get some rope. Finally, a neighbor with some common sense showed up with a very thick rope (that the kids had be using as a swing) and secured the roof to the body. He also pumped up the tires and attached it to the hitch on my sister's vehicle. Although terrifying, the trip home was uneventful. Once we got home however, my sister was unable to back the camper into the driveway as she has never had any experience towing anything. I had to ask my neighbor to come over and back it into the gargage. By then it was getting pretty late. We were able to slide the beds out and get a look inside before we called it a night.

Fun Stuff

2007-12-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

Here are some things I have collected for my trailer.

Squidget

2007-12-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Today, we drove out to Lake Alfred to see the Squidget. I found the Squidget website when doing a search of travel trailers. Dale Summers designed and built this trailer and now sells the plans on his website. Since he only lives 40 miles from my house, I emailed him and asked him if I could come see his trailer. We stayed at Dale's house about 2 hours asking lots of questions. I decided that I was fairly confident that I wanted to proceed with building a trailer myself so I purchased a set of his plans. His profile and floor plan will not work for me but I'm hoping that his plans will be a helpful building guide.