Her youth remains a mystery. Decades ago she was placed in the middle of an orchard to be used as migrant worker overnight quarters, until that practice became illegal. Imagine that, the people who harvest the food we eat wanting to have running water, a working toilet, electricity and heat...the nerve...There she remained, abandoned for over 25 years. Sat on blocks for so long that a nearby fruit tree grew enough to start rubbing against the passenger side, damaging the stove vent and slightly marking the skin.
Her luck changed. A local young man drove by and decided she was worth taking home. He happens to be a vintage trailer enthusiast and an award winning trailer restorer who comes from a family of vintage trailer fanatics. It was destiny, no doubt. However, he had several other trailer projects in the pipeline so he decided to let someone else have all the fun restoring her. Thats when I saw her on Craigslist in early October. Called the seller who was not sure he wanted to part with her after initially listing her and receiving a lot of interested calls. I kept in touch and in late November went to take a look at her.
Overall the exterior was in great shape. Dirty but no major dings or dents anywhere. The roof was in great condition. The belly was intact, except one panel hanging loose from the rear driver side where the plumbing connections are.
Driver side:
The water heater had been removed and the steel plate that sat under the original water heater was used to cover the hole. Silver Streak placed a steel plate between the floor and the water heater and it is not uncommon for this area of the floor to rot out.
Front:
No major dings! The tongue had surface rust only. No propane tanks. The old regulator and hose as well as the propane tank tray were still attached, rusty. The battery box was missing its cover and the what remained of the battery was cracked,sun faded and all cell caps were gone.
Passenger Side:
Oh my...someone took probably a baseball bat and went to town on the inner door where the major damage was, enough to puncture the metal. A few smaller hits on the outer door frame and the skin. What I call "patina". The missing fridge access door was inside the trailer.
Interior:
Oh boy...To say it was very dirty is an understatement. A nice thick (1/4 inch plus...) layer of grease mixed with that lovely silt dust from the Yakima Valley covered the counters and floor. The walls and ceiling were covered in a greasy film.
Rear closet area:
Oh dear...Upon inspecting the back closet, in the corner were two small skeletons, kittens most probably. Had been there so long no fur was left, only bones with a little bit of parchment. I called the seller over and said:
"Umm, C____, there are two dead cats back here..."
"No way!"
"Oh yeah..."
Very sad discovery (but no reduction to the selling price...). I had a little burial ceremony for them later after I got home. Plan to have a silhouette of two kittens made from the original door skin and put in on the closet door as a memorial.
Kitchen area:
The original stove, fridge and sink were still in there as well as all the cabinet drawers and doors with their hardware. The kitchen upper cabinet was intact but very dirty inside.
Bathroom and Shower:
Pretty nasty...The bathroom folding door was still attached but in very sad shape.
Looking toward the front:
The gaucho bed frame was still there. The upper cabinet was intact, someone spilled a whole bunch of dried pinto beans in there a long time ago...The driver side table seat was gone. The table obviously is not the original. The passenger side seat was complete. The front upper shelf was very damaged, what you see is just the shelf panel hanging from the attachment rail. The three light fixtures were still attached but rusty. I later found a damaged fiberglass sconce under the gaucho bed. Only one bug screen was missing. The frames on the remaining screens were in good shape, no major bends.
Sold!
Here we are at Les Schwab Tire Center in waiting to get new tires. Passenger side baby moon hub cap was very rusted, the driver side was missing.
Put magnetic towing lights on her and next day we headed home, dead cats and all. Towed like a dream.