The New Roof

Well it wasn't easy but I have to say it went very well. The new solid roof is on the Shasta. It is a far cry from the pin-hole filled flimsy panels that were on it before. This is a solid .040 thick sheet that is normally used on tractor trailers. Its a harder aluminum than the original which means its a bit more difficult to bend and form. But we finally got that.

The small panels were eliminated at the rear window so now there is only 1 seam at this point instead of 2. the union was made out of the end of one of these panels. This connects the new roof to the original lower rear panel and sealant keeps it leak tight.

Have a look:

The Color Results are In!

First of all thank you to those who placed there votes... it was an impressive turn-out, 11 different voters! Wow, serious numbers at the polls this year! Some interesting results:

WINNER: Polished/Turquoise... I am not too surprised by this, the turquoise is a classic color from the time period and the polished does look fantastic. My experiments with polishing the camper have had some mixed results but show that it is a huge amount of work. Not sure if the polish is going to happen.

2nd Place: Polished/Coral... I didn't see that coming at all. Not saying I don't like it, I do. It certainly stands out in a crowd and is definitely indicative of the period. I just never thought you guys would vote for that. I think the fact that this camper had the polished top may have helped the votes along.

Original colors White/Canary Yellow... only one vote. However I know who voted for it and like she said "its a very strong 1 vote" This was my cousin-in-law Julie. She is a vintage Airstream owner so she may have a bit more leverage than sayyyy someone who has mice living in their cars air filter. Not naming names, you know who you are!

Actually my personal pick scored rather low. I wont say what that is but I was surprised by that as well... I assume everyone should have the same taste as me.... NO?

Well thanks again, I will post an update after this weekends strenuous activities.

The Reality

Well I have come to the conclusion that this project just isn't going to get done by Labor Day. I went ahead and cancelled my reservations. We had.... to say the least, a bad weekend working on the Shasta. Basically nothing got done. We worked all weekend trying to repair the roof panels which are full of dents and holes. After a day of scraping, bending, and sealing, I made the call that the roof is too roached to salvage. So this means I need to make a new roof for the camper.....grreeeeaaattttt. It's going to cost another $300 in aluminum and quite a bit of work. The good news is that the roof is going to be made of one solid sheet of aluminum with no seams. No seams means no leaks.

So a very disappointing weekend, but what can you do? There were a couple of things that were completed. The entry door has been broken down and is nearly rebuilt. Looks like I have been able to repair that. The wood in the door was so rotten there was nothing but nails left in some spots. A Shasta didn't use any sealant around the door panels and water can easily get in and sit in the hollow door. This won't happen with mine I can tell you that.

No new photos yet as there has not been much more to show. I will take some shots of the new roof as it progresses. Wish me luck. This MIGHT breath new life into the idea of polishing the camper. I did some tests this weekend and was not too pleased with the results. Stripping the paint went fine but getting a decent finish on the underlying aluminum wasn't easy. It would be quite a process and there is a ton of paint that would have to come off of this thing... so I think its unlikely that I will be polishing.