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Continuation of Cynthia's 1974 HiLander Rebuild


The original walls were 1/2" plywood pieces held together by corrugated fastners. 
Many of them had rusted and some even rusted completely through like you see here in this picture.


I had to learn about biscuit joints...watched some web videos and found a biscuit bit and router mount at Goodwill for $4.55!  Pipe clamps were something else I had never heard of.  I had to set everything up in my garage since I don't have a workshop.  

My jigsaw died on me so all I had was a Black and Decker Alligator to cut the walls.  It was slow going but it worked.  After reading several posts about Scotty construction I decided to use both the original sidewalls and the skins to get the template right.  The skins were 7/8" larger than the sidewalls but they helped me when I needed to double check the curves that had rotted away on the walls.  In this picture it looks like I might fall through once the wall was cut but I was braced on some extra boards on sawhorses.  I could hardly move my hand the next day after cutting the plywood and then the beadboard!

I wanted to add beadboard to the inside wall of the trailer but the only true wood product I could find was 1/4" thick.  I had to make sure that I kept the original width of the trailer the same so I cut the beadboard short around the bottom edge and the wheel well.  Here is a picture showing the offset.  Used Gorilla Glue and staples to attach the beadboard.

I have never built a cabinet before but the kreg jig and the utube videos really help out a lot!  I am going for a vintage cottage look inside the trailer as you can probably begin to see.  I learned quickly that I don't have the skills (yet) to build stained cabinets because I make way too many mistakes along the way.  Wood putty is now my best friend (as you can see on the corner of the top cabinet an example of a "fix" in progress)  But I have read where Rob says build it to your skill level so I am fully embracing that mantra.

The top cabinet is just tacked in place as well as the Facade backsplash....just to get the feel of things. I am doing a "distressed" look for the cabinets (all the better to hide my mistakes!)  Both cabinets have one coat of primer, one coat of wall paint and two coats of the blue. The top cabinet is the final look....it has an antique glaze on it.  The bottom cabinet shows how it looks before the glaze is applied.   I like how the glaze gives it a deeper, richer feel.  Here is a close up shot of the distressing on the cabinet face.


Thinking about how best to mount a battery here.

The most intimidating part for me was the electrical work.  I yanked everything out and started from scratch.  Whenever I would read through the posts here about electrical I have to be honest....my eyes glazed over and my brain went to mush. I just couldn't get it in my head but I knew I had to get this part right so I had a very good friend help me out via suggestions over email and bought a basic wiring book.  Lots of questions later and many hours breaking it all down little by little I got 'er dun!  When I plugged everything up nothing smoked, sizzled or burned down.  All the outlets worked and I was dancing a jig.  But Whew!  I'm glad that part is over.  I'm having my electrician come by just to sign off on things before I take her out....just to be 100% sure.

Last night I got about three quarters of the ceiling panels installed.  BOY!  Does that make me a happy "soon-to-be-camper".  It made such a difference to see it come together with the ceiling.  Here is a shot of the first panel that went on.  I had to relaminate the table and cut it down to fit between the new dinette benches.

You can see that I changed out the original table leg for something that went more along with my cottage theme.  I have a small antique table on my porch and I liked the side of it.  I had my 14 year old daughter make me a template on poster board and cut it out of a scrap board I had in the garage.  I think it turned out cute and adds some interest.

This is a shot of the outside front.  I had to pull out my old pictures to arrange the support slats.  I hope I have them in the right place.  My next step here is to put some exterior paint on it to help seal it up a bit.

OK this picture turned out a bit blurry but it shows the inside of the ceiling.  The welting matches the finish perfectly so I was happy about that.

I would like to say that my plan all along was to use corrugated metal for the curved wall in my Scotty but that would be a big fat lie.  I originally kerfed a piece of luan FOR HOURS AND HOURS.  It was hot. It was tedious. I had to put it over 60 kerfs and I should have done a 100.  When I went to install it the thing broke.  After a few choice words of frustration it was on the Plan B.  I actually ended up liking Plan B better!
It was easy to put up.  I used some self etching primer, sanded it like crazy.  Two coats of blue and some antique glaze and I was done.  No more kerfing for me.  But now....the most important feature of all:

Yep!  The wine rack.  Just enough space for four bottles.  I found the plans on ehow.com.  You basically take a wide board, drill your holes to the right size and then cut the board down the middle and you end up with two sides with half circles in them.  I made one with small holes for the front and big holes for the back ends of the bottles.  I will be running my 12 volt system next....gotta read up on that first though.

This was a $4 thrift store find.  I was looking for something with the cottage feel.  Had to paint it and add the switch.  I realized later that the bunk bracket was put on upside down AND it was almost two inches too low!  I fixed it and now I have more head room and better clearance for this light.

The one and only drawer in the whole trailer.  Was planning on two drawers but I love my music so the speakers took priority.  Still need to get the top trim piece on and the drawer pull. 

This chandelier is now my very favorite item in the Hilander (the wine rack moved to second place once I got this baby in place).  I had to do some reinforcing on top to make this work but using one of those shallow ceiling fan boxes bolted between two rafters worked well.  It is rated to hold 70 lbs but the fixture is only about 5lbs.

 


National Serro Scotty Organization | Delton, Michigan 49046