LITTLE SCRAP OF HEAVEN
.....Where my thoughts and Creativity flows free

Friday, October 9, 2020

1979-1981 Sunline Renovation

 Love the way she turned out....  

I bought this Sunline from a neighbor who had bought it from the original owner.  The original owner took amazing care of it- the roof was impeccable.  Unfortunately, my neighbor lived in the camper for 6 months and moved it around his brother's yard several times.  In the process he busted the gray water tank on a rock, tore out a stack pipe and moved the camper while still plugged into the electric. :(   He also decided to paint part of the inside with black trim and doodled on the kitchen backsplash with white. 

Only 1 exterior light worked on the entire camper.  It took two days for me to figure out how the light circuits was configured, but once I did--I was rocking and rolling right through them!  She looks so much better with clean, functioning lights! 

The front door........ uggh. It was a horrible mess. My husband and I rebuilt the door and it looks amazing.  Definitely a project I never want to do again for this camper. I had rebuilt a door for my 66 and it was so much easier than this one!  (Exterior of door is shower stall lining Home Depot)  

Typical for Sunline's the front door had leaked and rotted the floor; luckily it was all recent and had not gone past the door.  The hatches had never been flipped so the gaps in the hatches allowed water in, I had to replace the rotted floor there also.  The hot water heater was leaking and also damaged the floor it was sitting on.  

None of the walls had any moisture (moisture meter) and they were all solid on the ice pic test!  When I removed the broken ceiling vent cover I was pleased to see absolutely no water had ever come either of the two vents (kitchen & bathroom).  

I removed the hot water heater and found a hatch online that I could put in it's place.  I had to modify the hole slightly.  The new hatch will house and A/C unit that can be pulled out to use and pushed back in when not in use.  I bought a small A/C that fits perfect. 

After tearing out all of the wet floor at the door, hatch, water heater- I built boxes out of wood and sister joiced them together with the existing wood.  Prior to building my boxes I hardened the wood with a wood hardener product.  Luckily the damage was minimal since the walls, windows, and ceiling had never leaked and it was easily repaired. 
All of the plumbing and propane lines were removed.  A new propane line directly to the stove was installed and a new water intake was installed directly to the sink.  Having one direct line to the sink means not having to worry about water damage in the rest of the camper. 

Since I could not remove the paint from the black painted cabinets, the decision was made to paint the camper.  I did take a video before painting showing every inch of the amazing ceiling to show the roof had never leaked.  People on the internet always warn about buying painted campers saying that they are "hiding" something... well NO, not everyone is hiding something.  Sometimes you have to paint because the previous owner screwed up the walls!   

The shower/toilet were removed and I built a toilet stoop that I laminated to match the kitchen counter and table that I made.  I used yellow penny tiles for the floor ( I still have to trim out the camper). I bought a Thetford Curve and it is an amazing porta potti.  Flushing toilet action and no smell!  Very easy to use.  

At this point I installed the new flooring- not fun.  The snap-lock tongue and groove is not the easiest to use because when you get to the back wall you have no way to snap it in. 

The kitchen counter top was 3 pieces which I made into one counter top out of 3/4 inch wood and covered with yellow boomerang laminate.  The table was pressed board and had been dropped at some point causing the corners to curl up.  I used the table as a template and cut my own out of 3/4 wood and laminated to match.  The silver edge trim is gorgeous(Home Depot)!  I am still working on finishing the edge trim!  The backsplash is the same gorgeous yellow penny tiles (Floor & Tile Direct) with flexible grout. 

All the hatches, vents, awning rails, etc. have new butyl, I scraped and sealed the roof (never doing that again - I will pay someone gladly as it is too hard on my arthritis) 

The inside is so bright and cheery, I do prefer the original wood, but I had to go with the flow for this camper!  

She is a great camper with a TON of storage.  We camped for 5 days a few weeks ago and had a ton of extra space.  I did not take the 'Bunks' out as many do to put knick knacks on display because we used them.  We stored our pillows, blankets, duffle bags, camera etc out of site on those shelves.  I say take a camper out and use it before you make a choice that might alter the usability! 

Still to do:  
  • Awning (oh it is gorgeous too!  check back)
  • Have bumper fabricated
  • Have spot on front hitch welded
  • Find hubcaps or moons
  • Build a screen door (this weekend)
  • Put door interior threshold back in place
  • Trim out the inside
  • finish the pull out bed portion for the banquette bed
  • ........ put her up for sale?  
Thanks for reading! 

**   I am a woman that uses power tools!  My husband helped on some of the projects.. but 90% of the work was done by me.  
  • Propane line professionally installed and tested
  • Electric terminated to breaker and inverter by professional    












Monday, December 11, 2017

Marvelous Marlon Update

Our beautiful puppy is now 22 weeks old, very healthy.  A whopping 18.5 lbs, he gained 5 lbs in the past month!  Such a blessing! 



MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I have so many pictures that I have not posted yet from Camping this summer.  Time has gotten away from me.

From my house to yours..... A little Holiday Cheer!


Monday, October 9, 2017

Salisbury Beach Hoot N Howl Vintage Rally

 Just got back from a great weekend at Salisbury Beach MA camping.  We had amazing weather, especially for this time of the year.  Shorts and T-shirts with a beautiful harvest moon and a warm breeze at night. 

Unfortunately our little hurricane rescue Chihuahua passed away from a brain tumor on September 5th and I was dreading going camping without her.  Thankfully a beautiful blessing came into my life the day I was leaving for the camping trip.  I delayed leaving waiting for my daughter--who drove all night to pick him up in PA and bring him home (thank you Baby!), made it to the house with him.  He was covered in urine and dirty, but went straight into the tub without a single fuss! 

All cleaned up! 
His name is Marlon, he is supposed to be a mini-goldendoodle; but whatever he is, is fine with me!  Mini, huge, mutt-- no worries.  Unconditional love comes in all sizes!  Dogs are great for anxiety :)


Getting ready for Bed
Play hard/Sleep hard: Puppy Motto












Here are some pictures of the Star Motel decorated in her new Halloween Theme!  I love, love, love the fabric!  Also pictures of some of the other campers at the Rally. 

All Fabric from JoAnn F



































Thursday, September 7, 2017

Vintage Rally at Copake, NY KOA

     We went to another Rally!   This has been a great First Year!  This time we ventured to Copake,  NY from Rhode Island.  We took the back roads and the scenery was AMAZING! Very relaxing easy ride. We left home at 6 am to assure we would beat the morning rush hour on Route 95, we exited the highway in CT at exit 69.
     This was the first rally for Copake, NY and Cathy Reinard did a great job! The bathrooms were spotless, the staff was friendly and went out of their way to make us comfortable.  They are already booking for next year and the slots are filling up very fast!   Yes, we already booked and are so excited to go back.  The towns surrounding are picturesque. You can go "junking," "antiquing," and to "tag sales" in NY, CT, or MA all in one day.  Several little diners are near the campground and VERY reasonably priced.  We ate breakfast twice at Dad's Diner.  A little farm has fresh made Ice-Cream about 3 miles from the campground--and it was D-lish!
     The Vintage Campers were on display Saturday from 1-3:30 and we had such a great turnout!  It was a lot of fun to entertain the people from the "Big Rigs," they were all so kind and I received great feedback for my hard work!  Prizes were awarded by vote for 1st, 2nd & 3rd.  Click on Photos for a larger View!
     JJ's Cosmic Star --   Star  was decked out in her Elephants this trip. 



This little Beauty won First Place!  A Shasta owned by Ed & Denise Enea.  I just loved, loved, loved this camper!!  A 1957 pulled by a 1957 Bel-Air, they had the total package



 This little Scotty won 2nd Place!  Owned by Clete and Erica LaMere.  She is a 1959 called Miss Daisy restored by her awesome owners.


This is a Boat & Camper Combo and he won 3rd Place.  This was lovingly restored by the owner when the owner was a mere 17 years old!  Wow, what a vision he had as a young man.  The paint is pristine!

 Tracy and Arthur N own this gorgeous Garway.  They are vintage enthusiasts who give it their all!  Arthur can always find the perfect vintage accessories at the best prices.  They recently purchased their paneled wagon to pull the camper.



     Who doesn't love an Airstream?  We had several, very different themes.  I just love the sleek body of the airstream.  The first one has a Black/White Coffee Theme.  They might be naming him Joe


  This Airstream is owned by a Sister-On-The-Fly, named Gail.


Both of the campers below are painted on the inside.  I look at these and want to run home and paint the inside of Star to be so bright and fresh.... I am sooooooo torn between painting and freshening up the wood with Shellac.  I decided at the beginning of my Reno to give myself a year or so to really think about it.

Many of us are in our first year Vintage Camping, and for Nicole Christensen, this was her first Rally! She is an awesome blogger at http://www.farmgirlbloggers.com - Check her out ! This little beauty is a Nomad 1966 and her camper name was still pending. I must have missed the inside pics.

This camper is called Plain Jane but she certainly is not!  I just LOVE the fresh, sweet, cute, comfy, cozy look of this camper!


 I didn't have time to talk with all the owners, and not all are pictured, here are some more for your enjoyment!



 *First Timer- Erica and her Shasta




*First Timers: Winnebago