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Monday, February 8, 2016

Mrs. Calabash~ All the Work We Cannot See

Some time back,
I shared my ol' sweet trailer with you.
If you missed that one, here is that post.
Mrs. Calabash
Over the course of the past year,
it would appear as though I have just 'dinked around' with her.
But let show you what goes into this 'dinking around' business.
She didn't look too bad, right?
That is until you dig in and begin the work.
The last post were the "before" pictures.
These are the "during" pictures.
I have a feeling the during part is going to be on-going.
She had been 'updated' sometime around 1990- remember that?
One of the first things I did was pull out the cream and 'country blue' floral linoleum that was peeling up on the edges and seams, because
they didn't clean the original floor first.
It was put in in sections and was not done under the table.
It also made the bathroom door scrape.
The little blue flowers don't really show in the photos, 
but they're there, I promise.
The floor underneath is actually in pretty decent condition
and is much more neutral.
All of the cupboards featured a "lovely" 
(read tacky, low quality, poorly applied, stained, and dried out)
country blue tack paper.
Eeeeewwww!
This came out little piece by little piece.
If it were better quality, it might have at least come out in larger pieces.
Removed the plastic strip along here.
That little ladder rail that was there fell off - it was only hot glued on.
There was also country blue carpet hot glued to the shelf.
It's not there any more either:)
We knew the pump ran, but when we put water in the tank,
and turned on the pump, it sprayed water out the seal.
This is the picture I took before I pulled it out & cleaned etc.
I do that so I know which wires go where in case I need that reference.
The pump is now re-sealed and works properly.
I then went to drain the tank from the outside.
A little drip/trickle came out.
It took all day for the tank to drain.
Once drained, I removed the faucet, cleaned the corrosion out,
removed a ratchet head piece (I'm guessing fell in the tank and worked its way down,) replaced the faucet, and retested.  Works great now.
And last but not least. . . .
I have to say, I have a more intimate relationship with the potty
than I would like to admit.
I have disassembled and reassembled it.
It still has a drip, but at least water doesn't just run right through it.
It is functional:)
As a treat, I got an exterior black water holding tank.
Where we camp, there are no hookups so in order to use the potty,
we needed a holding tank.

I'm going to be a little ornery and stop here.
I'll show you 'after' pictures next time.
I know - cruel indeed.
It is amazing though, all the work involved that is really unnoticeable.
I think there are a lot of things like that.
We don't recognize the efforts of others, because we haven't
been there to witness the hours of labor.
That's just one of those silly things I think about on occasion.




9 comments:

  1. If you don't already watch it, you'd probably enjoy the TV show "FlippingRV's" (or something like that.)

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  2. Oh, what a mess inside the camper, but I'm sure you can handle it. She's a really sweet looking girl on the outside - I love, love those louvered windows. They're such a smart design since they can be open without rain getting in. Brilliant. I hope you plan on keeping them.

    We're, actually, looking for an sad, lonely older girl ourselves, but we haven't found what we want, yet. However, we were at a pawn shop today and picked up a brand new toaster oven for the camper-we-don't-yet-have for a pittance. We're getting her fitted out already; I wish she'd show herself.

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  3. you have certainly got a major project going on here and know how lovely you will make it, has she got a name I wonder best of luck

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  4. So much work! You'll enjoy the new look in the end though.

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  5. Can't wait to see the afters! That's quite the project you have there.

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  6. We are thinking about downgrading and going with some type of RV, don't know I want to have to revamp it, but kudos to you. Followed from The Art of Homemaking Mondays party.

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  7. Great work! I wouldn't even know where to begin with the pump and hot water tank.

    Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop.

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  8. wow! I have always wanted to try something like this, but never had the courage before! Great inspiration! Thanks for adding this to From The Farm, this is one of this week's favorites!

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  9. we have one of those "vintage" campers.
    It has been a work in progress, but I love it!
    The hard work pays off :)

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