vintage camper | projectmidge

The Holiday House’s Big Reveal

by projectmidge

It’s been 7 months since I have updated my blog :-/. I meant to post several times, but we were BUSY! Finishing this little beast of a trailer took quite a long time, but it was worth it! We’ve already been on the maiden voyage to our favorite campground in Grand Lake – Elk Creek Campground. It’s the best! As well as exhibiting at the Denver Modernism Show in August – guess who won the “Best Vintage Trailer” category???? Your looking at him! Private Idaho! Our 1961 Holiday House!

We’ve, also, taken the 57 Silver Streak to the Royal Gorge for Memorial Day (for shits sake – it was SO. DAMN. HOT.) and to Devils Tower, WY/Deadwood, SD. Midge, our 67 Airstream Globetrotter, got to go to Glenwood Springs and Estes Park for Scotfest! We didn’t get as many trips in this season because of the Holiday House project, but still had some great adventures :-).

We sold our sweet little 1965 Holiday Rambler last spring :-(. It was a tough decision, but a vintage trailer needs to be used and loved, and unfortunately, the HR was always the last to get a trip. We sold it to a nice couple in Cheyenne, WY. They promised to attend one of our FAC rallies so we could check on the trailer – haven’t seen it yet…GRRRRR. I may have to take a road trip to Wyoming to make sure they are taking care of her.

I know you are here for the pictures, so settle in. It’s been so long since I’ve posted that I’m going to load this page with pics! Sorry if it takes forever and a day to load. I’ll start with the Holiday House restoration pics then I will post a few pics of our other trailers and travels at the end.

Ready? Here comes Private Idaho:

Aluminum Bath Unit/Closet and Curtains Installed

Teeny Bath

Vintage Metal Kitchen Cabinets & Ugly Stove Top

The stainless stove top is in horrible condition – it is stained and pitted. We’ve been all over Denver trying to find someone to fix it, but no one is willing to help. Dear Husband made me an awesome stove cover out of the starburst laminate, which is a fantastic solution until I find a different stove top or find someone that is willing to fix this one.

IKEA small metal cabinets

Some Notes: The turquoise metal kitchen cabinet came from our garage! We have a whole set installed out there for storage. They are the coolest cabinets and I’m so glad we could use them in the Holiday House :-). The bottom section with the glass doors even light up! I know!!!!!!!! The little square cabinets are from IKEA. They are small, but great storage for coffee and dog treats! They were white, so I just spray painted one of them yellow.

The counter top laminate is a custom design. I made the design based on Franciscan Starburst and WilsonArt printed it for me. It was expensive, but I saved much $$$ on fabric and upholstery. It was my splurge. Dear Husband’s splurge was installing roof top AC. During the hottest camping trip in the world to Hades, er….I mean Canon City, he was scarred for life.

Vintage Singer Rocketeer 500A & Kenmore 158.904

Have I told you how much I adore vintage sewing machines??? I think I have 10 now. I had 11, but gave one to my sister in Chicago. She does costuming for theater productions and needed a good work horse. At any given time I had 3 vintage machines going: my gorgeously handsome Singer Rocketeer 500A, my beautiful lavender/beige Kenmore 158.904, and not pictured here my atomic turquoise and white White 804. It makes sewing projects so easy when you have multiple machines with different threads ready to rock and roll! These babies knocked out all the cushion upholstery, throw pillows, curtains and awning with ease. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! Scout out Goodwill and ARC. I usually find them for $20 – $30 :-). They are all metal and amazingly easy to work on.

Amazing front window and freshly painted fiberglass “eyebrow”

I can stare at this picture for hours. Not even kidding.

Rebuilt door. Getting ready to remove plastic sheeting!!!

George had quite a time rebuilding this door. It was so rotten! It turned out great, though :-).

Holy plastic sheeting, Batman!!! Er – I mean George ;-P

This was probably the most fun you can have while rebuilding a trailer (with your clothes on anyway). It’s almost as satisfying as peeling your skin after a sunburn. I know that’s gross, but the only analogy I could come up with.

Ta-Da!! That’s SHINY!

Next up – MAIDEN VOYAGE!!!! Elk Creek Campground in Grand Lake, CO. Seriously, one of our most favorite places. I highly recommend it :-).

Hey-OOOOO! Holiday House in the side view mirror!

You don’t even know how excited I was. I don’t know how George got us to Grand Lake without driving off the road. I spent the entire trip looking in the side view mirror. Not sure how he kept his eyes on the road ;-).

Berthoud Falls

We stopped at Berthoud Falls to get some pictures. I had to pee really bad, so George said just use the bathroom in the trailer. Well – ok. I was the first to pee in there! It was an interesting experience, and all I can say is it’s like peeing in a coffin. That space is TINY. Works in a pinch, though. I know, I know … TMI.

Top of Berthoud Pass

Good morning, Private Idaho!

Awning #4! I love, love, love this awning!

Good evening, Private Idaho

ElGato Gomez Artwork. I love her!!!

Matching Bar Cart 🙂

We had some laminate left over, spray paint, and an old bar cart that needed some love – voila!

Private Idaho at night

Goodnight, Handsome.

How many people can you fit into a 1961 17’ Holiday House?

TEN – If you count the photographer! ELEVEN – if you count Ranger, the best yellow lab in the whole world 🙂

The trailer was great! We were happily surprised that the cushions are actually comfortable to sleep on. The bed is a pain in the a$$ to make. I just need to do it a few more times. I don’t have a system down yet, so it’s very frustrating. Once I’m accustomed to doing it, it won’t be so bad. Also – not a good idea to try to do it for the first time after having several cocktails. That could be part of the problem I was having :-/. I neglected to take a picture of the bed made. Next time we take it out, I’ll snap a few pics. We had an electrical issue the 2nd day. Evidently a wire nut had come loose in the wall, so we didn’t have lights in the front 1/2 of the trailer. Unfortunately, Dear Husband had to cut into the paneling above the stove to fix the issue :-(. It was fairly devastating for him – he loves that paneling! We ended up putting a piece of stainless over the hole, and it actually looks like a very intentional backsplash behind the stove. No biggie.

Finally – our awesome trailer group, Friendly Average Campers of Colorado (FAC) exhibited 17 trailers at the Denver Modernism Show in August. As always, it was an absolute blast! It’s an exhausting few days, but my gosh – we are a fun group! My sister came out from Chicago to attend, which was a treat for me! And, look! Midge got to go to the big dance, too! This her first time attending the Modernism Show :-). Don’t they look amazing together?!

Midge and Private Idaho’s Big Date

Thank you, Sunday Afternoon Car Klub!

Private Idaho’s major award!

Modernizing with my sis and niece 🙂

Private Idaho got his special plate the day before the big show 🙂

So, there is my Holiday House update! We still need to add some paint to the exterior – not the entire thing, just in some specific areas – primarily the back top 1/4 of each side and a stripe from the back to the front point. It’s gorgeous as is, and we’ve had people lose their mind when we mention it. I’m leaving that up to Dear Husband. I will love it either way :-).

So on to our travels with Miss Behavin’ (1957 Silverstreak) and Midge (1967 Airstream Globetrotter):

Memorial Day Weekend was the FAC kick off to summer event at the KOA at the Royal Gorge near Canon City. It was fun – but good lord it was hot. EVERY. DAMN. Day. Of course, we took the Silver Streak which doesn’t have AC. It was so brutal I ended up renting a KOA cabin for a couple days because it had a window air conditioner. We called it the “dog cooler” and at one point had 8 dogs and their humans inside. We have changed the location for next years kick off to summer gathering: It will be in beautiful (and shaded) Salida, CO! Can’t wait!

Trying to stay cool at the Royal Gorge KOA

FAC at the Royal Gorge KOA: potluck, raffle, and white elephant exchange 🙂

Royal Gorge KOA “dog cooler”

Next up – We took Midge to the Glenwood Canyon Resort in beautiful Glenwood Springs! It was another FAC gathering, although not as big. We camped right on the Colorado River and it was gorgeous! And – COOL!

Heading to Glenwood Canyon Resort

AAAAAH!!! Shade along the Colorado River!

Last, but not least – we took the 57 Silver Streak to Devils Tower, WY, then on to Deadwood, SD. We stayed at the Devils Tower KOA – which was so nice! Our site had the best view of Devil’s Tower! It was so cool! Every night the campground shows the movie “Close Encounters” on an outdoor screen. It is one of the nicest campgrounds we’ve been to :-). It was over 100 degrees when we got there, but not to fear! My amazing husband rigged up a red neck window air conditioner and it worked flawlessly! We went on to Deadwood to meet up with some FAC members at the Fish N Fry Campground in Deadwood, SD. This is another one of our favorite campgrounds! The people are so nice and the area is so much fun to explore!

I love this image!

And this one, too

Devils Tower!!!! (And Georgie Boy)

Redneck AC

FACers at the Fish N Fry!

We said goodbye to our beautiful little Holiday Rambler last spring. It was so sad! Even Dear Husband got a bit misty eyed as she pulled away. We adore that little birch beauty!

Ramble On, beautiful.

One final thing – I will be astonished if anybody gets this far – this has been a marathon post! Once again, I have sad news to share. We lost another of our beloved doxies last spring. That is 2 of our loves gone in 3 months. Our beautiful 13 year old, Nellie, put up a brave battle with congestive heart failure for over a year, but it finally got the better of her. She was George’s rig dog when we had our drilling company and was his right hand girl for everything else. She was a beautiful, bossy, and loving little girl. She was royalty! A few years ago, she was crowned QUEEN of Dachtoberfest in Denver! And, boy did she love that! Our hearts were crushed into a million pieces. I never wanted another dog – just didn’t think my heart could take another loss. George had other plans – as usual. In May we brought home a 9 week old long haired mini-doxie! His name is Georgie (I know, I know), and he is the sweetest and funnest little boy!! I still miss my girls, Lucy and Nellie, but it is fun to have a little pup around again. I’m hoping my future blog posts won’t have to end with sad news. I think this is the 3rd in a row :-(. I envision Lucy and Nellie running free with no pain or sickness and it makes me happy knowing they are together again.

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1961 Holiday House 1967 Airstream Airstream Globetrotter dachshund Denver Modernism Show Holiday House Holiday house trailer Silver Streak Clipper vintage silver streak Vintage Trailer

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We are still here! The Holiday House is rising from the ruins!

by projectmidge

So….Yeah. I suck at keeping this blog up to date. I had many good intentions and failed miserably. If you still care, I’m here to post some updates on the Holiday House progress! Finally! We have, actually, gotten so much accomplished. Ok, Ok, Ok…my Dear Husband has gotten so much accomplished. Me, not so much. Ready?

When we last left you, dear reader, I believe this is where we were:

P1060062 Yikes! I remember that – scared the bejeebus out of me.

We are on the downhill side of this rehab, believe it or not :-).

George consistently amazes me with his skill set. He’s single handedly built or fabricated everything. Craigslist has been his friend, and he has added several items to his tool collection – a huge table saw, drill press, and band saw to name a few. Not sure how we accomplished the rehab of the other 3 trailers without these tools….

Items completed:

~Installed new belly pan. This consisted of cutting rolled aluminum to size and attaching to the frame. We then added insulation and framing to hold the subfloor.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

~Installed Subfloor and Marmoleum Flooring. We ordered some really cool Marmoleum flooring! It is Marmoleum “GRAPHIC” 5301, sgraffito. I adore it!

Installing Subfloor

Marmoleum Install

Marmoleum Install

As you can see, above, we had the back wall and bathroom temporarily in place to be sure everything stayed square.

~Installed the framed walls! YES! These were such a headache for George! So much trial and error to get the fit just right. If you remember – the original framing disintegrated when we pulled the siding off the trailer, so we didn’t have an accurate template to use. Holiday Houses are so cool because of the angles, but that makes them a bit of a nightmare, too, if you have to fabricate them blindly. Once again – Dear Husband amazes me!

Wall Framing

Wall Framing

Walls!!

Walls Installed!

~We used African Mahogany paneling. It is such gorgeous wood, with an amazing grain. We used amber shellac to highlight the grain and give it a rich color. I’m really happy with how it turned out :-).

African Mahogany paneling

Paneling and bath/closet

Ceiling

We, also, used satin polyurethane as a final coat. It gives it a slight sheen, but it isn’t too shiny. Once the side walls were up, we installed the ceiling. Then we could frame out the wet/bath and closet area.

~We could not get the original referigerator to work :-(. We could, however, save the original fridge door. We retrofitted it to a dorm fridge and it works great! More than likely, we will always be hooked up to power with this trailer, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Cutest Fridge door in the world!!!

~We decided to change the floor plan of this Holiday House. The original floor plan was: dinette in front, kitchen on road side, gaucho couch on curb side across from wet bath. In doing some research, George saw a Holiday House floor plan showing a U shaped dinette/lounge in front with the kitchen on the curb side across from wet bath. We decided we liked that floor plan better, so we reworked the plans to make it work. The U shaped dinette will turn into a full sized bed with storage beneath the benches. The original floor plan had 2 sleeping areas – the dinette and the gaucho couch – but, we decided we only need 1 sleeping area, and I like the larger kitchen area. Because of the new configuration, George will add a couple springs to the curb side axle, to assist with the additional weight on that side.

~Installed new custom laminate counter tops and vintage style metal edge banding. They really brighten up the space and have a fun atomic design.

Kitchen

New countertop and metal edge banding

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~All new electrical is installed. We added more outlets and charging ports for all the tech stuff. We still need to install a couple light fixtures, and the Fantastic Fan. We are going to install the fan in the ceiling of the wet bath instead of in the middle of the main living area. The wood ceiling is so pretty we decided not to mar it with an ugly fan. George installed some cool foot lights throughout the trailer. They are from a 1961 Lincoln. He, also, installed a sweet stereo system and speakers. It’s going to be a great place to hang out!

Lounge/Stereo area

Cool foot lights and subwoofer

Kitchen, bath, rear speakers

U Shaped Lounge Area

~We have received the new curved front windows. We found a man in California that makes them. He was coming out to Colorado for an event, and brought them to us, which was great! Saved us a butt load on shipping costs! The original flat glass front window is in good condition, so we didn’t have to replace that one. In fact, all of the original windows are in good condition. The door is missing a couple louvered pieces of glass, but they shouldn’t be a problem to replace.

That is a brief update on the ridiculous amount of work performed by my handsome and talented husband. I know there are many steps left out – I spared you some of the gory details and mishaps.

Still to do (in no particular order):

Finish plumbing installation.
Install Fantastic Fan
Run Gas Lines to stove and water heater
Install front window wrap around counter
Paint and install fiberglass eyebrow piece
Build and install upper kitchen cabinets
Install new aluminum skin
Paint skin panels (some will be left polished)
Sew Cushions for U-shaped lounge
Sew Curtains / hang curtain hardware
Sew Awning

We need to find a replacement stove top for the original Princess Stove/Oven. The original stove top is too far gone. Hopefully, we stumble across one in the next few months. If not, we may see about getting the original one powder coated with high heat material.

That’s my Holiday House update!!!!! As Dear Husband has stated to me: I need to get my ass sewing :-/. Yep, I guess I do.

Since my last update we had some amazing camping trips! Our Friendly Average Campers group is the bomb – we had so many great camp outs with them! They are a super fun group!! We displayed at the Denver Modernism Show in August, too! I guess I need to post about that, and show you the trailers we had on exhibit. Once again, the trailers were the hit of the show! I’ll try to get on that….

I need to add one last thing: We lost one of our beloved pups right before Christmas (I’m beginning to hate the holidays). Our dear sweet dachshund, Lucy (9), died suddenly on 12/15. She was the sweetest little girl. She adored camping! Her excitement was contagious when we would ask “who wants to go camping?” She would be the first to jump in the trailer or the pickup. It’s going to be sad without her this coming camping season. I love you, Lu-Lu Belle.

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1960 holiday house Holiday House Holiday house trailer Vintage Trailer

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Mid Mod Trailer Trash at the Denver Modernism Show! And Updates!

by projectmidge

Since my last blog post, we have had an exciting couple of months! So many camping trips – Paonia State Park with the Holiday Rambler; Leadville and LaVeta with Midge; and Leadville again with Midge AND the Silver Streak (we took both trailers and camped with my brother and his family); Salida with Midge (my first solo trip!). It’s been a fun summer!

To top it all off – my merry band of misfits, the Friendly Average Campers of Colorado, exhibited several trailers at The Denver Modernism Show, August 26th and 27th!

All is can say is…..WOW! This group has some amaze-balls trailers. Holy cow! I will post pics of them all….they were so beautiful! And, I must say…..we were THE HIT of the Show. So many people! Everyone was so nice, and truly appreciated being able to tour the beautiful trailers and visit with the owners. It was a great experience. In fact, we got several new members over the weekend :-). One of the attendees touring trailers Friday night asked if they could bring their vintage Shasta on Saturday morning and display it! Of course, we said yes! I did not get a picture of them with their trailer, but it is the red/polished aluminum Shasta in the pics below. We will be back next year with even more fantastic trailers!

(If you click on the pictures below, they will enlarge.)

FACers!

Jean’s 1954 Boles Aero

Bobby & Jessica’s 1961 Shasta

Bob & Vicki’s 1962 Nomad

Jim & Mary’s 1968 Airstream Tradewind

Susan & John’s 1950 Boles Aero

Tracy & Tom’s 1962 Streamline Duke

Kathleen & Randy’s 1965 Konkwest

Todd’s Custom ’62 VinStream

Our 1960 Holiday House

In case you didn’t notice, we displayed the Holiday House (AS-IS!!! Ewwww!) Dear Husband thought it would be a great idea. He thought people would really get a kick out of it. I thought….”um…NO. It’s gross! It’s falling apart! No one wants to see that!” Well, he was right and I was wrong. Yeah. I just admitted that. (SIGH).

We polished the Silver Streak, and she looked drop dead gorgeous. (I’ve put some “before” and “after” pics at the bottom) It’s amazing what some spit and polish can do for these old gals (ok, ok…..we didn’t spit on her). All the ugly black marks are gone, and she is sparkly! Oh, and, obviously, “it” is a “she” and her name is “Miss Behavin'”.

RubyLane.com was there and did a live feed tour of our beautiful girl:

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRubyLane%2Fvideos%2F10153614660036148%2F&show_text=1&width=560

The trailers were displayed Friday night and all day Saturday. The vintage car show moved in on Sunday morning, so the trailers had to pull out Saturday night. I was asked to leave my trailer for the car show, which I didn’t mind one bit….saved me from hauling a trailer home after a very long couple of days. Well….as luck would have it, there was a “trailer” category in the car show, and little “Miss Behavin'” won!! (Um, yes…..she was the ONLY trailer there, but still!). The car guys told me she would’ve won anyway, and I choose to believe them ;-).

Our next trip is in a couple days! We are heading to Estes Park for Scotfest! It is so much fun! I’m pretty excited. We are taking Miss Behavin’ this time. She is all prettied up and ready to roll.

We winterized Midge after our last trip to Salida. I don’t think we’ll be taking her out any more this year, which makes me kind of sad. I do love her.

Dottie and Midge @ Turquoise Lake

Turquoise Lake

Our poor Holiday Rambler only got 1 trip this year! We took it to Paonia State Park and met some friends who, also, have a vintage Holiday Rambler. Theirs is a mansion compared to our little 18 footer, but they looked so cute together!

Ramblin’ On!

Holiday Ramblers

I l love these trailers!

We have a few more trips planned this fall, so we may take the HR out again (Palisade Winefest, Grand Lake, and Lathrop State Park). I love this little trailer, too! It’s beginning to be a problem – having so many trailers. I feel like I’m mistreating the ones that get left behind :-(.

Dear Husband is in the process of enlarging our garage door so we can get the Holiday House inside for the renovations. It’s going to be a big job, but being inside will make it much easier. We rehabbed all of our other trailers outside, which is such a pain. The weather never cooperates, which makes it difficult to get anything done. We’ve named the Holiday House, “Astro”. It’s got such a futuristic Jetson’s vibe! So, I think that means we have 2 girl trailers (the silver beauties), and 2 boy trailers (the Holiday’s).

Here are some before/after pics of the polishing. I love our polishing guy! He’s amazing.

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

So that’s my update! Whew! It has been busy, busy, busy…..and FUN, FUN, FUN!!

1967 Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Denver Modernism Show Holiday House Holiday house trailer Holiday Rambler Polishing Silver Streak Silver Streak Clipper vintage silver streak Vintage Trailer

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Projectmidge project :)

by projectmidge

I found an old Halliburton Train Case in the bowels of my closet. I was digging around back there looking for something – I can’t remember what it was and never did find it – and stumbled across this train case. This belonged to my husband’s aunt in Comanche, OK. I assume my husband’s father (her brother) bought this for her. His dad worked for Halliburton for years and years. It was so long ago, that he was employee number 36! That is a LONG time ago. He knew Earl P. Halliburton, the founder of the gigantic corporation! Pretty cool, Huh? This train case is probably from the 1940’s.

I intended to try and polish the exterior like the Airstream, but decided against it. I wasn’t sure it was even possible, and didn’t want to risk ruining it. I cleaned the years of gunk off of it and it looks pretty good!

If you click on the pictures, they will open up in a larger format :).

: BEFORE: Halliburton Train Case, Exterior

: AFTER: Halliburton Train Case, Exterior

The interior was lined with red vinyl. I tried to clean it, but did not have much luck. Some of the straps, etc. were torn. Did you know that old makeup has a VERY strong odor? Good lord. The smell on the interior of this thing was incredible! Even after I stripped out the old vinyl! I let some “odo-ban” sit in it for a day or two, and it helped quite a bit. It was not a bad smell, just fancy old lady smell, and Auntie Jeanne was definitely FANCY!

I tore out the old vinyl and relined it with some matching fabric from Midge. It is really stinking cute. It is going to come in handy for trips to the showers at the campsite 🙂

: BEFORE: Halliburton Train Case Interior

: AFTER: Halliburton Train Case, Interior

: Halliburton Train Case, Interior Trim

: Halliburton Train Case, Bottom Embellishments 🙂

That was a quick and easy project!

1967 Airstream

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Mt. Princeton Campground with the Holiday Rambler

by projectmidge

First things, first. Dear Husband finally applied our Ramble On Club decal!! Lucky number 13 :):

Applying Ramble On Club Decal.

Ramble On Club #13

We took the Holiday Rambler to Mt. Princeton Campground in early August. This is such an awesome campground! We were in site 5. It is a wonderful site. The river is directly behind you and the rv and tent pads are nice and level.

This campground only has 16 sites and they fill up fast. You need to get a reservation at recreation.gov. All the sites are nice, but the ones along the river are by far the best. This is dry camping. There are vault toilets and a hand pump for water. There is no dump station, but the Chalk Creek Campground has one and it is just down the road.
This awesome blog post continued HERE!

1967 Airstream Holiday Rambler Vintage Trailer

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Midge’s 1st Tin Can Tourist Rally!

by projectmidge

We attended our 1st Tin Can Tourist Rally! It was held July 18th-20th at Mueller State Park in Divide, CO. We had a blast!

There were several adorable campers and the nicest people! Midge was a hit, and it was nice to show her to people that “get it”. You know…..the obsessive and somewhat strange love of vintage campers :).

We brought along the 4 dogs, which seemed like a good idea. We love camping with our dogs. Let’s just say they were a hand full and I don’t think I will take them to a rally again. I didn’t think about how protective they are….and boy, do they like to protect Midge. It was pretty embarrassing and frustrating to give a tour of the camper with the weenies freaking out. Next time, NO DOGS.

I missed getting pictures of a few campers, but believe me….they were all adorable! Here are some pictures:

1950 Boles Aero

But wait! There is more…click here!

1967 Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Vintage Trailer

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Holiday Rambler Door Project, part 1

by projectmidge

Well, you know how I mentioned I had a plan for our hideous door? I think it worked out well, and it is a huge improvement.

I bought a lot of vintage 1960’s road maps on EBay for $9.00, foam applicators and some Mod Podge at Walmart. I bought 2 of the large containers, but 1 was plenty. When it comes to Walmart trips, the fewer the better. I did not want to risk having to make an extra trip. I just really dread going there, and I’m not even sure why.

Supplies:

Door Supplies: Maps, Mod Podge, Scissors, Foam Applicators

This is what I started with:

Ugly Door. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

I cleaned the door really well and scuffed it up with a cheap sanding block from Harbor Freight. I’m talking about the kind of sanding block that will irreparably harm anything it touches. It came in a pack of 10 for $3.00. Awful, awful sanding blocks. I am really pleased that I found a use for them! Scuffing up this eyesore of a door was really quite enjoyable. Once that was done, I played with the lay out of the maps and cut them into the pieces I needed. I then applied the Mod Podge and started placing the map pieces where I needed them. Do one piece at a time. When adhered, apply Mod Podge on top. Keep doing this until done. I know. That sounds so easy! And, it is really easy, but time consuming because of the positioning and cutting of the map pieces. I wanted certain parts of the map to show…..like the entire Colorado map (where we live), the Nebraska map (where I am from), the Rocky Mountain National Park map (where we like to camp), etc…you know what I mean.

This is 1/2 way done:

Door 1/2 done

I had a bit of trouble getting the bubbles out of the larger map pieces. After wrestling with them, and cursing my unborn children, I realized the bubbles looked kind of neat. Like TOPOGRAPHY! Once that realization hit me, things proceeded much quicker.

This is where I finished up today:

Door almost done, just needs a few more coats.

Closer view of door.

I need to apply several more coats of Mod Podge. I might seal it with polyurethane. Not sure yet. Dear Husband has not replaced the window yet. obviously, I got impatient. When the new window is in, it will look great! Once completely finished, I will post a picture. The door is not perfect, but I can live with it, and now we don’t need to worry abouIt buying a new one any time soon.

We have some little projects for Midge that we are working on, too. We have not forgotten about her! I will update with her updates as soon as they are done. I love her so.

Addendum: I meant to add these pictures last summer, but forgot! These are from our trip to Mt. Princeton. I made a screen protector out of some left over aluminum and Mod Podged the remnants of my maps to it. My little rug rat dogs really enjoy destroying screen doors. It serves a great purpose and is crazy cute, if I do say so. My husband is kind of worried about the Mod Podge crush I have going on.

Mod Podged Screen Protector

Mod Pdged Screen Protector

1967 Airstream Holiday Rambler Vintage Trailer

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Maiden Voyage with the Holiday Rambler

by projectmidge

We had a successful maiden voyage! We made a quick weekend trip to Garden of The Gods RV Resort in Colorado Springs. We got down there really fast! It was kind of nice. We were set up and walking the dogs by noon! I will give my review of the campground later.

First of all….it hauled perfectly. We used Dear Husband’s big boy truck (Chevy 4 door DuraMax), although my Tahoe would have pulled it just fine. We stopped at Monument, CO for something to eat and a guy stopped and took pictures of it :). It really is cute. Granted, Midge has the “WOW!” Factor, but the Holiday Rambler can hold its own in that cat fight.

Here is our camp site, all set up:

Holiday Rambler Awning

The awning went up so easily! And, I think it’s pretty darn cute.
But wait, there’s more! Click here!

Awning Holiday Rambler Vintage Trailer

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Holiday Rambler – Inside is Finished!

by projectmidge

Holiday Rambler Kitchen

Well, we have finished up the inside of the Holiday Rambler. It wasn’t nearly as time consuming and brain draining as poor Midge! Bless her heart.

Some of the accomplishments over the past few weeks:

New water heater
New water pump
New fresh water tank
New shower floor (talented husband made a shower pan and lined it with a scrap of left over linoleum. Cost = next to nothing!)
Ran new Pex water lines throughout
Installed new curtain hardware and made curtains
Reupholstered all cushions
New coat of polyurethane on all woodwork

The cushions actually look pretty good! They blend well with the walls and turquoise accents.

Holiday Rambler Gaucho End

Holiday Rambler Dinette Cushions

But wait, there’s more renovations HERE!

1967 Airstream Holiday Rambler Vintage Trailer

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Working on the Holiday Rambler

by projectmidge

George brought the Holiday Rambler down to Denver so we could work on it this winter. It’s home will be on the Western Slope. She is parked at a rental property we own that is across the alley from our house. It is pretty handy, and besides, Midge is residing in our drive way and we don’t have room for 2 campers back there. Dear husband wanted to move Midge to a storage lot, but I wouldn’t let him. She needs to be here with me.

I still haven’t come up with a name for the Holiday Rambler yet. It’s tougher than you would think! Midge came easily for some reason. We have joined a new vintage Holiday Rambler Club. It is called the “Ramble on Club”. We are charter member number 13! I have thought about naming her “Lucky”…. trying to negate the number 13!

Any way. Remember these pictures?

1965 Holiday Rambler Dinette

1965 Holiday Rambler Kitchen and Dinette

1965 Holiday Rambler Counter, Fridge, Furnace, Gaucho

Wow. She is so cute and clean and tidy. I miss those days.

This is what happens mid-renovation….be forewarned – It is shocking. This is what I have to deal with. I love my husband. He can do anything. EXCEPT pick up after himself.

Ready?

The horrible mess of a renovation.

….and more mess.

….and still more mess.

I KNOW.

So sad.

This is what happens when my husband runs new water lines, installs new fresh water tank and water heater, and replaces the shower floor. I told you he can do anything! The mess he makes is the cross I bear.
More renovations HERE!

Holiday Rambler Vintage Trailer

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Happy Holidays From Midge :)

by projectmidge

Happy Holidays from Midge!

Well, we had a spur of the moment trip with Midge! We took her to Nebraska for Thanksgiving. She traveled well, and it was really nice to have a place to retreat from all the family mayhem. We were at my little brothers house…with ALL of my family (25 people!). My brother’s wife had just given birth to their 4th child the day before we all arrived. Can you imagine?!?!?!? She was a great sport about it, and my new little niece was beautiful! It was a very special Thanksgiving for my family 🙂

Unfortunately, I was so busy oohing and aahing over the baby and playing Cards Against Humanity with my siblings, that I neglected to get any pics of Midge 😦 I have several pics of the adorable baby, but should probably ask her parents before I post pics of her on the World Wide Web.

We celebrated hubby’s birthday over Thanksgiving also. Guess what he got from me??

The Dude Abides

A Nixon Bowling canvas for Midge! Isn’t it awesome! Obviously, we are fans of The Big Lebowski.

But wait, there’s more! Click here!

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Aluminum Christmas Tree

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Stripping and Polishing continued….

by projectmidge

The aircraft stripper from VTS worked GREAT! It could not have been easier. We brushed it on about 3:00 pm and rinsed it off about 6:00 pm SO EASY!

Stripper Applied

Rinsing. I know, I know. He is standing on the TOP of the ladder. …

The last we will see if the original WBCCI numbers :(

The last we will see of the original WBCCI numbers 😦

Because we got the stripping done so soon, the polisher arrived this morning and started polishing! He is doing the bottom half today and the top tomorrow. It looks fantastic! It is very interesting to see a professional do it. There is definite skill involved!

Polishing!

I can’t wait to see it completed! I will post the pictures tomorrow.

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Polishing Vintage Trailer

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Ugh….Stripping and Polishing

by projectmidge

Well, we have started the filthy and tedious process of stripping and polishing the Globe Trotter.

We are learning as we go along. Probably not the recommend strategy, but it’s working for us. I’m the stripper and he’s the polisher. We are doing a section at a time. The gel stripper that we got at the big box store is not working very well on the clear coat. I have read on AirForums that Citri-strip works pretty good, but I’m having a hard time convincing hubby that it actually works. He thinks the only thing orange juice is good for is VODKA. I can’t really argue with that. We have ordered some aircraft stripper from Vintage Trailer Supply and it should arrive today. It gets great reviews, so I’m hoping it will go much quicker.

Here is where we finished up yesterday:

Not quite 1/2 way. It is only the first phase of polish. Approximately 10 hours of work. It looks so great! The polished aluminum detracts from some of the dents, dings and scratches. I was afraid it would highlight the imperfections, but it doesn’t!

So…..while we were at the truck supply store getting polishing pads and supplies, a gentleman came up to us and gave us his card. He is a truck polisher. He does all the chrome on big rigs. We gave him a call and he came by last night to look at the Airstream. If we get all the clear coat stripped off, he will come and do the mirror polish for a VERY reasonable fee. He will come by on Monday and get to work! So excited to see it done! He will have it done in 2 days.

I am really hoping it goes smoothly. I will be keeping an eye on the polishing crew to make sure nothing gets damaged. If they do a good job, I will post their contact information and our cost. I’m reluctant to post any of that information until we have a polished trailer! Stay tuned!

On a fun note, the Denver Modernism Show is this weekend! It is such a great time! Hoping we will find some great vintage treasures for the trailers!

Here is their link:

Denver Modernism Show

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Vintage Trailer

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Built in Dog Crate/End Table

by projectmidge

My super talented husband finished building a built in dog crate/end table for our little Ralphie Rose. She is quite the chewer when we are not there. We don’t envision leaving the dogs for more than a few minutes, but now Ralphie Rose will be contained and unable to damage any of our hard work. He also finished the shelf that covers the fresh water tank and pump behind the sofa. So glad I married a multi-talented man!

A tuckered out Ralphie Rose

The next major undertaking is stripping the clear coat and polishing. I didn’t think we were going to do it, but the aforementioned husband took it upon himself to polish a small area on the back of the trailer and now we will have to do the whole thing….it looked so great! He was just anxious to try out his new orbital polisher….why did I let him buy that stupid thing?! Oh, well. It will look awesome when it’s all shined up! I will post pics of the polishing mayhem soon.

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Dog Crate Uncategorized Vintage Trailer

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Sibling for Midge :)

by projectmidge

Well, we have somehow acquired another vintage camper: A 1965 17′ Holiday Rambler!

We bought a 1967 Holiday Rambler 20 years ago when we first got married. It was absolutely PERFECT. It looked brand new. It even had all the manuals and receipts from the original purchase. We loved that little camper so much. Then we had a couple kids and sold it for a new, larger camper. We have always regretted selling it.

A few days ago my husband happened to spot this 1965 Holiday Rambler for sale in Craig, CO, and now it is ours! The inside is in absolutely wonderful condition. The outside could use a paint job and we need to find some new decals and emblems, but it does not need any major work. All major systems are working great! It has new tires, too. I will reupholster the cushions (they are fairly new), and make new curtains. It is so cute and it is such a relief that it doesn’t need any work!

Midge is still my dream trailer and will stay with us in the Denver Metro area for trips based out of there, and the Holiday Rambler will stay at our property on the Western Slope for trips out of there! It’s perfect!

Here are a few pics of the Holiday Rambler….yet to be named 🙂

1965 Holiday Rambler

I love the louvered windows!

But wait, there are more pictures HERE!

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Holiday Rambler Vintage Trailer

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New Axle!

by projectmidge

This isn’t the sexiest of items or the most glamorous, but it was much needed. My husband jacked Midge up in our driveway and over the course of a weekend replaced her worn out axle. When he pulled out the cutting torch it made my heart stop (he had to cut a couple bolts that wouldn’t budge)….I had visions of Midge in flames, but he knows what he’s doing. It made me quite nervous, but it went really well. He will have to patch some of the belly pan, but not a big deal. Midge is a couple inches taller….but what girl wouldn’t like that?

Taking out the old axle.

Dropping the old axle.

Old Axle….gone!

Shiny new axle!

New Axle

New Axle! Midge is standing tall 🙂

Since we have gotten the new axle installed, we’ve scheduled our next trip with Midge. We will be going to Estes Park and Grand Lake in Mid September! Yay! Hopefully, the leaves will have started to turn. I love Aspens in the fall!

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Uncategorized Vintage Trailer

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Maiden Voyage Successful!

by projectmidge

First trip out of the alley since arriving August 2012

Loaded and Ready!

Midge in the side view mirror!

Our maiden voyage to the Starlite Classic Campground in Canon City, CO was a success! We headed out Friday morning, July 5th. We arrived at the campground around 1:00 p.m. The campground is awesome!

Starlite Classic Campground

The wild fire has drastically reduced the tourism in this part of Colorado. It is sad to see so many empty campgrounds. We had a blast, though. The Royal Gorge is beautiful. The amusements and bridge were closed because of fire damage, but you can still hike to the gorge.

The owners of the Starlite were great. They have some amazing vintage campers for rent.

Cute Canned Hams for rent

Spartan for rent

The Long Long Trailer for rent

Midge looked quite tiny next to the big Spartan!

Midge next to the big Spartan

We may be making another trip to the campground in August for their “Trailer Trash Bash”. Check out their website.

Everything worked great in the camper. We had a small leak under the kitchen sink, but it was just a pipe that needed to be tightened. The bed was really comfortable and we had plenty of storage. Now we can’t wait for our next trip!

Here are some random pictures of our 1st outing with Midge:

Enjoying the view. We could see the Royal Gorge Bridge from our campsite.

The awning actually worked!

Trying to get artistic…

2 of the 3 weenies

Us and the girls hiking at the Royal Gorge

A tuckered out Ralphie Rose

Nighttime for Midge

Our neighbor the Spartan

Beautiful sky

The “Boneyard”. Trailers waiting for re-hab.

Not sure why, but I like this picture

I highly recommend checking out this campground. Actually, any of them in the Canon City area. The area is struggling with such a drastic drop in tourism. There is still so much to do here: Ride the train through the gorge, river rafting, hiking, helicopter tours. We will definitely be back!

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Uncategorized Vintage Trailer

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Maiden Voyage is Scheduled!

by projectmidge

We have a date for Midge’s maiden voyage!

We booked a few nights at The Starlite Classic Campground near Canon City, CO. They had several cancellations due to the forest fires, and we figured it would be the PERFECT campground for our 1st trip. July 5-7!! I am really excited to see the vintage trailers.

I better get to work! There are still several little things that need to be done before we ROLL.

I tackled the awning!!!! No small feat, let me tell ya. I am not a seamstress. Sunbrella awning fabric is HEAVY. The finished product is 10′ X 7′. It fit in the awning rail perfectly! I don’t have a picture of it in service yet. I still need to purchase some poles for it. I will get some pics after our maiden voyage. Here is a picture of the sewing in progress:

Awning in progress

I need to thank my 16 year old son for assisting me with this. I could not have gotten it done without his assistance in maneuvering and manhandling the bulky fabric. I also would like to give props to my old Kenmore Sewing Machine! The machine is a rock star. I bought it on Craigslist a few months ago….and it is awesome!

I found do-it-yourself awning instructions online. I will try to post a link to the site. It was quite easy to understand.

I will confess now: You know the side panels of the awning? The short little sides that hang down and make the awning kind of cute? WELL…I sewed one side on backwards. I did not realize this until I was finished. I am hoping that it is not noticeable when the awning is up. The fabric is almost identical on the front and back, so I am just going with it as is. I AM NOT RIPPING OUT THAT SIDE AND DOING IT AGAIN. NO HOW. NO WAY.

Now I need to get packing!

We will let you know how the maiden voyage shakes out….hopefully, fun and frolic and zero drama. I am so excited to see Midge in the rear view mirror!

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Uncategorized Vintage Trailer

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We are still here!!!!

by projectmidge

Exterior with window covers.

Well, I am back. Finally! Project Midge has been keeping us very busy this Spring!

We did not give up on her….although there were times we wanted to!

Here is a list of the things we’ve gotten accomplished over Winter 2012 and Spring 2013:

*GUTTED entire trailer. The gaucho couches were not salvageable. They looked ok, but did not function properly and the wood had some water damage from the windows leaking. We saved the bathroom pieces and the overhead cabinets.

A mess of electrical wires

Old Water Heater

G U T T E D

*Repaired a small portion of rotten floor in rear bath.

*Installed new subfloor over the old one.

*Installed yellow VCT tiles. We got a great deal on them at Bud’s Warehouse in Denver. It is an awesome place if you need small quantities of something.

*Cleaned and painted interior walls.

*Re-plumbed with PEX and ran new electrical with new main panel.

*Installed new water heater.

*New window seals and vent gaskets.

*Re-built walls, closets, and kitchen cabinets. We stained all the wood black. Some of the original pieces we kept had water stains, so we opted to go with a dark color.

New Closet

Walls

Walls and Upper Cabinet

*Replaced black tank.

*Original bath sink and tub were re-painted with Epoxy paint.

Reinstalling Tub

Bath.

Bath Vanity

*New toilet installed.

*Installed new curtain track and hardware.

New curtain track.

*I covered the overhead cabinet doors with fabric.

Upper curb side cabinet. Doors covered in fabric.

*I made the curtains and the little window covers/awnings. I need to finish the main awning. We found Yellow/Gray Sunbrella fabric on Ebay for a great price.

Curtains & Portable AC

Window Covers

*Made countertop. We ordered some charcoal boomerang Formica. We used it as a backsplash in the kitchen and also on the shower wall. It worked out really well. We thought about tiling the backsplash and shower wall, but were concerned the tiles would pop off while bouncing down the road.

Kitchen counter and backsplash.

Leaks are pretty much under control. I will not say we got them all, because I have a feeling it will be an ongoing battle.

So, it turns out the original refrigerator was the cause of the electrical short that was making the trailer hot. We junked it and have replaced it with a dorm type refrigerator. We will dry camp with this trailer very little, if at all. We also pulled out the original stove/oven and have replaced it with a small 2 burner gas cooktop. We rarely use the oven, and I would rather have the storage space.

The fridge didn’t quite fit in the original spot so we moved it to the street side across from the galley. I really like it there. We now have a proper “work triangle” in the kitchen : )

Fridge and closet.

Fridge.

We originally thought we could get by without an air conditioner. After working in the glaring sun, we decided that we absolutely NEED AC. We debated purchasing a roof mount, but we really don’t like how they look on the small vintage Airstreams. We opted for a rolling portable AC. We vented it out the floor. It works pretty well!

Curtains & Portable AC

I was originally going to sew the couch or dinette cushions, but we opted to buy a small Ikea L shaped sofa sleeper. The color matches and it fits perfectly in the Globe Trotter! It turns in to a bed very easily and has a huge storage compartment under the chaise.

Ikea L Shaped Sofa Bed.

Sofa made in to bed. The weenies love it!

Here are some additional pics:

Black stain, charcoal boomerang Formica, and fabric.

Winter 2012/2013

Weenies

We are almost finished! We need to check/replace the gas lines, complete some finish work and trim, install new kitchen window (the current one is plexiglass), re-screen the windows, and get the new axle on. Once finished with those items we can head to the hills and CAMP!

We had high hopes of getting the exterior polished and cleaned up, but that will have to wait for another year. I’ve decided the 1967 patina isn’t so bad.

Stay tuned for more ProjectMidge! Hopefully, from the road!

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Uncategorized Vintage Trailer

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And So It Begins…..

by projectmidge

And so it begins…..

Midge came out swinging – while manually maneuvering her into the parking spot my 19 year old son smashed his finger between the hitch and the timber block, and ended up with a trip to the ER and 5 stitches. The next day, while enjoying a cocktail in the trailer with some friends, their 20 year old son came up and got quite a shock when he stood barefoot in a puddle of water and touched the side of the trailer! Somehow the entire trailer was HOT. Oops! He is fine, and we all got a great laugh!

Immediate Plans: Safety inspection of electrical wiring (ya think?).

Next we will be removing the gaucho sofabeds and cabinetry to install a new subfloor. Not sure what our new flooring will be: VCT Tiles, Rubber Flooring, Cork, Bamboo???

1967 Airstream Airstream Airstream Globe Trotter Airstream Globetrotter Vintage Trailer

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projectmidge

Restoration of our vintage trailers. 1967 Airstream (Midge), 1957 Silver Streak, and 1961 Holiday House.

The Holiday House’s Big Reveal

We are still here! The Holiday House is rising from the ruins!

Mid Mod Trailer Trash at the Denver Modernism Show! And Updates!

Projectmidge project :)

Mt. Princeton Campground with the Holiday Rambler

Midge’s 1st Tin Can Tourist Rally!

Holiday Rambler Door Project, part 1

Maiden Voyage with the Holiday Rambler

Holiday Rambler – Inside is Finished!

Working on the Holiday Rambler

Happy Holidays From Midge :)

Stripping and Polishing continued….

Ugh….Stripping and Polishing

Built in Dog Crate/End Table

Sibling for Midge :)

New Axle!

Maiden Voyage Successful!

Maiden Voyage is Scheduled!

We are still here!!!!

And So It Begins…..

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Restoration of our vintage trailers. 1967 Airstream (Midge), 1957 Silver Streak, and 1961 Holiday House.

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