Day 546, Just beautiful!

The Traveleze coming all together

I received a phone call that the headliner in the Rolls had been fixed and was ready to be picked up.  I was surprised it was done so fast so I made arrangement to get a ride into Bend with my brother at 4 pm.  The car was parked outside and they said it was quite a chore but they were able to get apart and replace the bad panel of insulation.  I was pleased with the work and paid them for their work.

The Marvel refrigerator in place.

Immediately from there I went to Flyte Camp to look at the Traveleze.  The trailer is really turning out great and I couldn't be happier.  The windows are looking fantastic, the appliances look fantastic and it is really exceeding my expectations.  I needed to order a mattress, so after I was done looking at the trailer I went to the mattress shop to see what they could.  The size is of course a custom size and since the location of the back bed is not wide open it will have to be made of foam, so the mattress and be folded an put in place.  I was quoted $650 for a foam mattress and that just seemed extremely high, so I said I would think it over.  There has got to be something better.

On the way home the Rolls had a belt squeal under the hood, when the car was under acceleration.  After a while it quit and I noticed the battery was not charging, so I figured I broke a belt. I wasn't very far from home, so I knew I could get the car home and will make an appointment for it this week.  It's always fun to try to keep everything running in top condition.

The Traveleze is really coming along and should soon be ready to go.  The wheels are on order and are being made as we speak and will be arriving in 10 days or so.  The glass for some of the windows should be ready tomorrow.  The mattress and lamp shade covers I still need to order. I think I want to put the shelf in above the window but I want to see what it will look like before I say go for it. Justin and I talked about getting a basic chrome bumper for the back end to finish it off and other than some cleaning and touch up the trailer should be ready to go.

Day 545, The Traveleze comes together.

The Traveleze coming back together.

Today I got a few pictures from Justin of the Traveleze; it is looking absolutely amazing.  I can't wait to see it for myself.  There are a few things I need to order still including the mattress for the back bed and the lampshades for the three sconces.  I also had a discussion about the shelf that goes above the front window and weather or not to put it back in.  I have mixed emotions and will make a decision tomorrow when I go take a look.  I think I want to put it back in just for the sake of keeping it, but it me be a distraction from the clean lines, I'll just have to wait and see.

The kitchen in the Traveleze.

My excitement to have the trailer all done and back home is really starting to build.  I can't wait to get her home and be able to spend time tinkering with it and give it a few personal touches.  I've never owned a trailer, so this a new experience and stocking the shelves with supplies is going to be fun.

Tomorrow I will run into Bend, take a look at the trailer and decide on the inside shelf.  I also want to run to The Mattress Factory and order a mattress and get that on order.  They will have to custom make the mattress to fit the space and I need to pick out the firmness that I want.  The mattress will have to be able to bend and fit into the space.

It is exciting to see it all come together after all these months.

Day 544, Sunday

It was a pretty uneventful day, but the highlight of my morning was sleeping in until 8 am.  I felt rested which was nice for a change.  It was my typical Sunday, church at 11 am, I picked up my friend Doug on the way and after church we had lunch at Mazatlan, which hit the spot.  I only see Doug on Sundays and we always talk about doing something but it never seems to happen.  Doug was instrumental in helping scrap the layers of roof tar and paint off the Traveleze in the first few weeks.  Little did we know that all that work was for nothing and I would end up putting all new skin on the trailer,  I'm hoping I can talk him into helping me polish the new skin to a high shine.  I will probably owe him a lifetime of lunches at the restaurant of his choice.

I spent a good portion of my after noon ironing a huge pile of cloths that had accumulated in my closet and at the bottom of the pile a Christmas tablecloth.  That pile started before Christmas, yikes!  Anyway after a good hour of ironing I was done and I could actually fold up the ironing board.  It was nice to reclaim my closet.

That was about it for Sunday. It was a nice relaxing, yet productive day. I event had time to do a little car shopping on line.  I can't seem to make up my mind on what to buy to pull the trailer with, but I have a feeling when I see it, I'll know.

Day 543, Satruday

All week long I dream of sleeping in and this morning I was wide awake by 7:30 am.  I had a poor night sleep and coughed until 1:30 am, but I finally crashed and I actually felt halfway alive.  I spent the morning cleaning up a few things around the house and I did my usual weekend chores. 

By noon I was ready to venture outside and I needed to run a few errands.  After being sick the month of January, I still had a few outside holiday chores to take care of.  I dragged the 12 foot step ladder out and took the wreath off the shop and believe it or not, I still had a tree up in the potting shed, ops!  It was a little crispy and I quickly got that mess cleaned up.

I ran my errands in town and picked up two bags of chicken feed at the feed store.  I drove the Rolls to give it a stretch and I must admit I felt a little out of place backing up to the loading dock for two 50lbs bags of feed. I got back home did a few more chores out side, cleaned the chicken coop, hosed off the front porch, and replaced several burned out low voltage lights around the yard.  It was nice to be outside for a change and even more importantly to have the energy to be outside.  The temperature was in the 50's, so I didn't have that cold air drain, that zaps all my energy.

1953 Hudson Hornet

I also emailed the guy in Salem with the 49 Hudson and said it probably didn't have enough power to pull the trailer so I would have to pass on the car, being that it only had the small 6 and not the 308, dual carb engine.  Moments after I sent the email he replied back that he also has a 53 Hornet with the 308 and dual carbs.  It is all original except paint and he is willing to sell that one too if I was interested.  I immediately called him to get the details.  The car is silver blue and pretty clean.  He sent me a few picture and the car has potential, however the silver blue isn't that exciting, but maybe in real life it will be.  I don't know what it is about these cars, but I love the shape.

In the mail today I received a book I ordered on line for the trailer, its a book from 1947 called "Cabin Craft and Outdoor Living" by Conrad E. Meinecke.  I wonder if their is any relation to the muffler empire?  Anyway, I thought the book would be fun to read in the trailer someday.

Day 542, Friday

With cold still hanging on I called to get a visit with my doctor, but the next available appointment is Monday at 11 am.  I could do the walk in on the weekend, but the idea of waiting to see the doctor on call doesn't sound appealing, so unless I cough up a lung, I'll wait for Monday.

Justin said the windows are going in, but I didn't get any pictures, so I will have to wait and see how it looks.  Anna sent me pictures of the wheels and caps that they will order next week along with the change order.  I keep hearing that cash register sound in my head, but I keep focusing on the end result.  I am so crazy, for having done this.  I could have a bought a very nice trailer and been happy, but no, I had to go down this path instead.  It's been a very interesting journey and while I can't say I would do it again, I would change the experience either.  In the end I will have something very unique that will bring me lots of joy, I hope.

1956 Ford Parklane 2dr wagon

At 1 pm I had a meeting out  at the Expo and afterwords I was shown a 56 Ford Parklane, 2 door wagon, with AC.  It's a project car that the guy is willing to sell me for a deal. All done it would be great for pulling the trailer, but I'm just now sure I'm up for another project.

My friend Tracy texted me, Dinner? and I said sure.  We ended up going to Bend and had a great meal.  I then got the idea in my head to buy a new bed at Costco.  I saw that they had a really nice Sterns and Foster mattress and I wanted a new one.  We headed to Costco after dinner and I loaded one on the cart.  Tracy said I should lay one it, good idea, so I did.  I sunk way into it and realized it was too soft.  That ended that idea and we went home.

Its a sad note, when a good Friday night is being home by 9 pm and ready for bed by 10 pm, but I was beat.

Day 541, More progress as the restoration nears compleation.

Screen door  and window back in place.

Today I had a meeting in Bend at noon and it was less than a mile from the Traveleze.  I needed to bring the keys to the trailer door handle and sample hubcap to show what size the trailer needs (10 7/8).  As soon as my meeting was over I headed over to Flyte Camp to quickly drop off the two items.  I couldn't wait to see how the progress was coming.

Today the windows are finally going back in.  After hours of work, lots of re-fabrication, all of the original windows are ready to go back in.  We still have not found the two window to replace the incorrect windows, but the replacement windows are a better match and will work until we can find the exact match.  Justin had the entire front window assembly ready to go in and one window was already in, along with the screen door.  The screen door is the largest single original piece left in the trailer and it was hanging in the doorway once more.  The windows are going to look spectacular!  I really can't wait to see them all in.

I headed back to work shortly and I soon received a text from Justin that he was having difficulty finding the hub caps from all of his normal resources.  Naturally nothing on the trailer has been easy to find and it is looking like the deep cone moon hub caps measuring 10 7/8 are next to impossible to find.  I think at this point the best thing to do is order new wheels with new moon hub caps.  It's going to cost another arm and a leg, but at this point I really don't want to skimp.  Justin I talked about several options, including just using trim rings, chrome lugs and new grease caps, but I some how feel that might seem incomplete.  My guess is, is that new wheels and caps are in the Traveleze's future.  The new white walls tires arrived and I can't wait to see them on the trailer.

Straight from Portland, a cool retro spice rack.

Another purchase that is turning out to have perfect timing is the purchase of the vintage spice rack.  I have no idea why I though I needed it, but it looked very retro 50's and I think it will look great in the trailer.  The rack was on Craigslist in the Portland area, and a buddy of mine was over in Portland attending a conference, so I texted him.  He said sure he could pick it up and the place turned out to be right on his way home back to Central Oregon.  I had a Son's of Norway meeting tonight in Bend and I stopped by and picked it up on my way home.  The timing was perfect.  I'll wait to install it in the trailer, but it really is cool.

I got home about 8:45 pm and my lingering cold was getting the better of me.  I dragged the trash can down the driveway, fed and watered the chickens and then went in to crash.

It was a great day.

Day 540, A big day for the Traveleze

Picking out the webbing for the blinds.

I got a text from Flyte Camp today, asking for my input on the interior wood blinds and the awning fabric. I am horrible at this kind of stuff, so I ask for Anna to pick out what she liked and I would come in and look at it.  I trust her and Justin's taste way more than I trust mine and between the three of us I'm sure it will be awesome. 

Justin texted me pictures of the front end of the trailer.  The two tanks are on and the two rock guard panels are on that will protect the aluminum from stone damage.  I think it looks fantastic and when Justin texted me the pictures I played a bit of joke on him and said, aaaah can you take it off I don't like it.  It killed him and I immediately texted back saying just kidding I love it.

Anna is going to order everything this week and help me order a bed for the back of the trailer.  I guess there are all kinds of options and this is one place I don not want to skimp.  I like a good mattress and even in a trailer I'm going to want something comfortable.  The trailer is turning out just amazing, exactly as I had hoped. 

New tanks and rock protection on the front of the Traveleze.

The entire team at Flyte Camp have done an fantastic job.  They understand the balance of not breaking the bank, yet not letting quality skimp.  Their work is outstanding and I couldn't be happier.  I am so proud of them and their work. 

The windows should be going in this week and the punch list is down to 11 items.  Whitewall tires should be mounted shortly and then it will really be over the top.  The screen door is original and completely refurbished and looks awesome.  I joking told Justin, I'm going to tell people I brought the screen door and said build me a trailer to go around this, as it is the single largest original piece of the trailer.

We have temporary windows to use until we can locate the windows I need and when we find them, we'll trade them out.  We are just weeks away from the trailer being finished and then I will need to polish it.  I also want to put stripes on it to match the original Traveleze pattern, but I might wait and see what kind of car I get to pull it and what color the car is.  I might want to color coordinate the stripes with the car.  I'll have to wait and see what I think.

Day 539, Looking for "stuff" for the trailer.

The day started off with snow and then switched to heavy rain and it rained all day.  The sky was dark and gray all day and the sun never came out.  I had back to back meetings all day, five in total, ending with a business After Hours that went until 5:30.  I got home at 6 after stopping off at the store to buy some allergy medication.

Vintage spice rack would look great in the trailer.

I spent the evening looking for 50's stuff that I might want to put in the trailer.  I found a really cool spice rack that would be cool mounted in the trailer.  I will have to call on it tomorrow and see if I can have it mailed to me.  There are so many neat vintage things on line.  If I don't go broke restoring the trailer it will be a lot of fun locating period correct items to decking the trailer out.

I spent a little time today looking for clip on half lamp shades to go on the three sconces in the trailer.  Flyte Camp had found the ones I wanted, but it turned out they would $181 plus shipping to buy them.  Yikes, that is just too much for three tiny lamp shades.  I'm looking for a parchment look, with the heavy lace stitching around the edges.  I know they are out there and they shouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

As for the chicken's they haven't laid an egg in two days.  It's going to be time for a BBQ if things don't change soon.  I was in bed by 10.