Fast forward to Aug. 28. John called me over and showed me an ad on Kijiji for a 1980's era Cadet Travel Trailer. He suggested that we take a drive to Welland and see if the trailer was still available and have a look at it if it was.
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| It was hard to see what we were looking at but I knew we had found something special. |
We wound up buying the little trailer for $500.00! The sellers had been working on the trailer before they started their family and it had been sitting in their garage for quite a while. It had originally belonged to his grandpa. They had fully gutted the trailer, in preparation for refinishing it and rebuilding the interior. The original fittings were included in the price and he threw in some of the items that would be needed to do the fixing up.
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| The sink and a few other odds and ends that came out of the camper when it was gutted. |
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| More bits and pieces |
We went over on September 1 to pick the Cadet up. Chris had it pulled out into the driveway and had the stuff that he was storing in it cleaned out. It was entirely adorable just sitting in the driveway waiting for us! After making sure that the trailer was secured with some ratchet straps we were on the road.
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| Waiting to come home |
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| Holes covered with duct tape for the trip home. |
On the way we actually pulled down the pop up roof into the trailer and rearranged the ratchet straps to hold the back window down so that it wouldn't flap around. We made it home to Guelph with no mishaps and took some initial photos. John then took the trailer to the place that we use for storage and I started to do some planning and thinking. I still want to maintain my original idea of a beachy cottage theme for the décor, and will be able to use the things that I had originally bought for the Peanut in this restoration as well. Given this theme that I will be going with I have christened the camper the Sea Shell.
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| Left side view - the pop up is in the trailer for the trip. |
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| Rear view - we'll be changing out the lights to something more correct |
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| Right Side |
We are hoping to be able to rearrange the garage to allow us to bring the Sea Shell back so that I can work on it at home. First steps will be to checking all over the fiberglass and repairing any holes that I come across. Once that is done I will be replacing the support beams in the floor by laying boards into the grooves of the floor and glassing them down. I will then put in a new plywood floor, possibly of marine grade plywood. I am debating on how to redo the walls and ceiling. These campers originally had a headliner type fabric on the walls and ceiling. I am considering redoing it with this same material. It is accurate to the trailer and might be the best option. I'm still mulling it over.
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| Window surrounds and water tank. This is the back of the trailer. |
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| Some of the items included. Gaskets, curtains/screens and a fridge. The front of the trailer is to the right. |
We have been lucky enough to find a fellow in Guelph that has another Cadet Trailer that is all original. He has very kindly said that we are welcome to come over and take any measurements that we need and see how things are put together. I am not planning to put water or propane back into the trailer, which will simplify things.
I am planning to put in a bed/table arrangement much like most trailers have. I want to put a counter top arrangement in, for food preparation. I will get an induction cook top to use for some cooking. I am also wanting to put a closet of some fashion in as well as some other cabinets or cupboards for storage. My exact layout will come about as I work on things, and get it figured out.
I don't believe that I need a refrigerator in the camper. I will be using it primarily for road trips and will use coolers with ice/ice packs for keeping food cold. Typically on a road trip I will stop at a grocery store and buy food for a day or so and then replenish as I need to. I would use a fridge minimally and don't think I will mess with one. One less thing to break down.
The Cadets have a "pop up" section in the roof to allow more headroom and ventilation. I am planning to make screen inserts for the pop up area. This will allow for lots of ventilation when it's up. I will also be making screens for the front and back windows. They swing open to allow additional air flow and it will be wonderful to have the screens on them. It will be almost like sleeping outside I think! The back window does have some damage on the upper left side - I am exploring my options to try to repair it. I understand that these windows are not easy to come by.
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| Pop up cover tucked safely in the camper for the trip home |
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| Pop up area open to the sky |
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| Upper left corner of the rear window - you can see the crack below the hinge area. I have a couple of ideas on how to fix it. |
As mentioned I am planning to go for a beach cottage theme for my little Sea Shell. White or light beige walls, Caribbean blue and sandy beige accents. I want it to have a light, airy feel.
As you can probably tell by the wordy post, I am excited about my little Sea Shell camper. I am anxious to get started working on it, and realizing my dream that I have for her. Thank you for coming along on my journey.
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| Isn't she adorable, even with all the work she's needing? |
