The Adventures of Sweet Pea, The 1955 Westerner

Sweet Pea has been sold

2008-12-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Sweet Pea,
I hope you enjoy your new owners and get a well deserved fixing up. They just don't make them (you) like they used to. Sorry that our time together is over, but glad to know you'll still be truckin'. Thank you for providing a cozy place for me to call home in the desert. It won't be the same without you. Take care.

peace and love,
missjenny

More Photos

2008-10-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to more photos...

1955 Westerner For Sale

2008-09-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am moving and am not able to keep my dearest Sweet Pea. I originally bought her on eBay and have taken her to Burning Man for 3 years. She tows great, is all original but a little rough around the edges and could use a little TLC. She's a "Canned Ham" style trailer. Easy to tow, cozy and super vintage stylish.

Sold as is, some cosmetic repairs needed. Sun roof leaks and there is water damage on the ceiling wood paneling. This existed when I bought her and I've stored her with a a tarp to prevent further leaking. Outer skin is showing age and needs repairing at some point, but nothing that prevents enjoying her. Since I used her for Burning Man I figured it wasn't worth making these repairs yet. I did buy her new tires 3 years ago. She's only been on 3 trips so low mileage on the tires.

Here are the original specs:

Kitchen includes oven, stove top and small sink. I have never used it but it's apparently all ready to go. The fridge needs repair.

Removable dinette and storage under seats

She's was a movie star with a previous owner. Was in The Fast and Furious with her beau Vin Diesel.

Very comfy bed nook. Sleeps 2 cozy. Check out all my photos on Flickr.

Please contact jenny@missjenny.com!

Quiet

2008-05-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Sweet Pea has endured 2 trips to the desert and back with us. She rests peacefully in storage with the hopes we'll swing by in Aug to pick her up once again. We're eager to take her for a spin.

In the meantime, I'm onto a new project and a new blog with more fun stuff. Come visit the Budcozy Blog.

Almost Famous

2007-05-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

The big news is that Sweat Pea had her 15 min of fame with Vin Diesel. I had forgotten about this little detail from her past until the other night when we were watching The Fast and The Furious when Dave recognized her. She has 3 scenes, 1 at Vin's garage and 2 in the desert during race wars.

Home Sweet Home

2006-09-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

The trailer served as a great home for 7 nights. We lived in the Hoodville camp (42 peeps) within the Alternative Energy Zone Village (500 peeps), on Chance Street @ 8:00. A definite upgrade from a tent or dome. The greeters at the gate welcomed us home, and we pulled into camp just before sunset. We set up the standing jacks (Dave even brought a level), organized a bit of our gear, and headed out on our bikes and into the night. My friend Mike did a nice write up of some of the art highlights.

Dave took these photos of the trailer, and many more. He posted some to flickr.

It was a great first run, and gave us a chance to see what else would be good:

Hooks
Add inside to hang gear, hats, goggles, dusk masks, etc.

Shade Screen
Create an easy up Aluminet shade structure to go over the trailer, with a front porch shade. Maybe even a hammock.

Clothing Rack
Set up outside, so you don't have to be constantly digging around for stuff. We ended up not wearing a lot of stuff because it becomes too hard to find everything. Susan set up her rack, and the next morning new clothing had been added by an anonymous costume fairy of some sort.

Map
Post the city map outside the trailer so friends who stop by can mark where they live. It's really hard to remember and find camps.

Messages
Add a mailbox or wipe board outside with the map so friends who stop by when we aren't home can leave a message.

Gettin' stuff done!

2006-08-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

Curtains. Check.

Battery - Inverter - Outlet - LED lights. Check.

Screen door latch. Check.

Peach sorbet from tree. Check.

Feels good to check things off the list. Last night I sprayed all the gold curtain rods and brackets with silver paint. Dave installed the screen door latch so it doesn't flop around anymore, and double checked to make sure the spare tire will fit. We determined that the bottle jack I bought is too small and I'll need to return it for 2 larger ones. I finished the large bedroom curtain this morning, and then invited Mary over for peach sorbet (made it last night, picked from my tree) to eat in the dinette. Annabel and Ethan stopped by and another guy stopped in to ask about the trailer who just bought a similar one recently. Lot's of activity. Now I need to get back to my list for the trip. Inventory batteries, mend my clothes, organize the piles of stuff that have swallowed up my living room, and get my bike lubed up.

A day of sewing

2006-08-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today I got pretty far sewing curtains. I've been able to use sheets and fabric we already had, so this has been the most economic day so far. I feel a little bit like Maria sewing dresses out of curtains. They are nice and thick, so will hopefully block some sunlight and heat. And they follow along nicely with the tiki or south pacific look that was already started by previous owners. I may have already mentioned it but hte trailer came with a hula girl and a totem decal. The curtains have an earthy bamboo and leafy look. I'll post a pic once they're all done. I still have the large bedroom window and the large kitchen window to do tomorrow.

Dave finished up the jack stand wheel and safety brackets. It's all real strong and straight now. We're going to head to Home Depot to pick up a bunch of stuff, even though we hate that place. I always feel like I'm going to snap when I go there.

More items to check off the list

2006-08-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'd really love to move onto the fun stuff like the curtains, LED lighting, and vinyl lettering ... but first up tonight, Ken helped out by doing some well needed work:

1) Removed propane tank.
I'll add a new one at a later date

2) Trimmed the jackstand where it was rusted and broken.

3) Removed the broken thumb screw from the jack wheel.

4) And he provided all the nuts and bolts we need for our new safety brackets.

Yay Ken! This isn't the first time he helped me out. He's a great neighbor.

5) Ok, and I did end up buying the LED lighting afterall. I had to do something fun. LEDs are really energy effecient and will work great with the deep cycle 12v battery I still need to buy.

• 1 red string for inside
• 2 blue strings for running along the outside profile of the trailer
• 2 bulbs to replace the incandescents

Tires. Completed. Finally.

2006-08-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Finally a big item to check off the list. Phew! Why was it so difficult? Why doesn't anyone know anything about tires? Dave called a guy who does restorations, and the whole tire rating system was news to him. Wha? MetroRV totally spaced. Jerks. Dave noticed that a big RV manufacturer ships with LT tires, not ST. Hmmm. No one on the yahoo vintage trailer group responded to my question. The guy at Wheel Works didn't understand what we were asking (duh), and we finally got helped by the other guy who knew what he was doing. The guy who did the tire work seemed cool, and waved the "hang loose" as we drove off. Last item remaining, is to pick up the spare tomorrow.

So, if you need to know anything about trailer tires. Ask me. Now I know.

New tires:
Carlisle "C" 205/75D15
15x5 spoke rim/wheel

We went down from the P 215 radial to the ST 205 bias. This is a slightly smaller tire in diameter (205), plus a more narrow tire in width (ST). We went with bias instead of radial for a couple reasons: 1) light trailer 2) bias is less bouncy/sway 3) tire pressure less tempermental than radial. Radial would have been fine, but we went on the recommendation by Vince at Wheel Works that the bias with the lighter trailer will be a smoother ride. Dave already noticed a difference.

Weekend Progress

2006-08-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

Dave gets all the credit for doing a lot of work on the trailer this weekend. He took time off from his bathroom remodel. I was his beautiful assistant.

1) Sealant
He got up on top of the roof (delicately) and scraped out all the old crusty sealant and added new sealant around the roof vent and various seams. I helped scrape the side seams and we resealed those too. The sealant is a metalic silver color so it actually makes the trailer look better with all the seams freshly done. Hopefully this plugged the leak. We'll bring a tarp too, just in case.

At some point I'll need to completely sand down the roof and put a fresh coat of roof paint on. It's old and peeling right now.

2) Jack Stand
He drilled new holes into the jack stand wheel caster and will try to cut out the old rusted/busted turn screw. He'll also drilled new holes into the jack stand, and then we'll be able to insert a bolt to hold the wheel in place.

3) Tires
We ordered 3 new "ST" tires to be installed on Wed (one spare). The current tires are useless to me now. I'm pretty annoyed with Metro RV. They should have caught this. I paid them to.

4) "U" saftey chain brackets
Dave found the "U" shaped brackets that Ken (neighbor) will weld onto the hitch for us (Wed). Local shop: Ideal RV in Redwood City

5) Registration & Title
I am happy to report that I have completed the registration and transfer of title. I only had to go to the DMV twice, not bad.

Learning about tires

2006-08-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

The process of learning about getting a spare tire has led me in the direction of getting news tires, and keep the current tires as spares (which are rated for passenger car only).

Here are some highlights about the ST (trailer) rating:

• One of the benefits of an ST tire when it comes to trailering is that it
has about 10 percent more load capacity than an equivalent LT tire

• Furthermore, the ST's mold shape is designed to accommodate trailer
wheels, which are typically narrower than P and LT wheels.

• A free-rolling trailer tire, on the other hand, isn't called on to turn,
swerve and grab the pavement like a steer or drive tire. Since it doesn't
need such a large footprint, it performs its task better by being
narrower.

• For the same reasons, ST tires don't have as deep of a non-skid tread as P and LT tires. A deep non-skid is necessary for driving and steering tires
in wet environments because it provides them with better traction.

• Having a shallower tread depth provides the ST tire with two benefits: (1)
it doesn't wiggle as much, which can help reduce sway, and (2) it rides
cooler, which adds to its longevity.

• Generally, the ST tire also has somewhat stiffer sidewalls, especially in
its lower section. This reduces sidewall flexing, helping it to track
straighter and diminish the risk of trailer sway. The stiffer sides also
lessen the risk of sidewall blowout.

Full article here:

A couple cousins

2006-08-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

The Westerner is seems to be pretty uncommon these days. I've been able to find only 3 others online:

• 1953 in silver

• 1953 12ft in white & red

• Early 1950's 12ft in white & red

The trailer still needs some things

2006-08-07T16:49:00.002-07:00

1) Spare Tire
Metro RV was going to charge me $250 for a spare tire and rim. I'm hoping to do this for less. So far I've learned that trailers need an "ST", rather than a "P" passenger or "LT" light truck tire. This article talks a lot about trailer tires.

2) New Frame Wheel Caster
The current one is a bit janky. The turn screw is rusted stuck which results in the tongue jack barely fitting. The whole thing looks like it could fly off. We've been keeping our feet clear.

3) Battery

4) Solar Panel

5) A Name
So far we haven't come up with the perfect name yet. Ideas so far are:
• Sparky
• 'Tater (as in a baked potato wrapped in foil)
• Sweetie
• Leche de Diablo
• Dusty
• Tiny
• Comet
• Astro

Suggestions welcome!

6) Curtains
Maybe some vintage fabric from here?

7) New Roof Vent

8) Seal the roof leak

9) Replace water damaged wood veneer

It Look's Like We Made It!

2006-08-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

We're back home. Some photos of the trip are here. The trailer is parked at Joseph's (I will now refer to him as St. Joseph of Generosity, or St. J-of-G for short). I'm feeling a bit drained from the adventure, but overall it went good and we had a great time. The trailer tows nicely. Here's the full rundown:

The Drive Down
We left around 7pm and made it to our Glendale motel around midnite. The evening drive went fast with no traffic. The Vagabond Inn is pet friendly and was only minutes from our first morning stop, so it was a good choice. I think I slept good, but only for a few hours as we got up at 7am again.

Friday
We stopped by Jame's house to pick up the registration paperwork and remainer of the material he had on the trailer. No title, but I think I'll be ok to register the trailer with the stuff he gave me. Lucy seemed to be enjoying the road trip.

Metro RV was a bit of a pain. I guess it's not really their fault that they don't know vintage trailers all that well, but I felt like I had to be on top of everything for them. They seemed really chaotic and disorganized.

• New Hitch
The hitch they installed didn't seem right, as the trailer pulled the back of the truck down way too much. It looked like it would bottom out at the slighted road bump. A different hitch with a higher profile seems to work much better. We will need to figure out a good plan for packing our gear for Burning Man, to distribute the weight better. We can't take a real heavy load.

• Wiring Harness and Converter
They had to add a converter box to take the truck's two tail lights (red brake + yellow turn) and wire those to the trailer's one red tail light.

• Propane
Leak fixed. We need to replace the tank, it's old and not up to legal requirements.

• Safety Cables
These will work fine for right now, but long term I should get 2 brackets welded to the front of the trailer hitch and install heavy duty chains. The cables wrap around the back of the trailer hitch for now.

Paso Robles + Wine Country RV Resort
The drive out of LA to the 101 was a total joke. 2 hrs for 50 miles. We got to Paso Robles late, so we decided to stay another day and go wine tasting and enjoy a bit of our trip.

A few brief observations about the RV resort:
1) We were the only old travel trailer. We had the smallest truck.
2) Only a brand new T@B trailer was smaller than us.
3) Most other rigs were huge-gigantic-enormous (and by "rig" I mean fully loaded, satellite tv, multi-popouts, rockstart style, shiny and new)
4) Most other rigs also towed a full size SUV, usually new.
5) We were pretty amazed at the amount of money people dedicate to this hobby lifestyle.
6) Several even had a utility-toy storage trailer in the rear of their rig, like our neighbor who stored his new harley inside.

The Drive Home
I didn't realize how close Paso Robles is to the South Bay Area. It was a great drive. We left just before 9am, stopped in Gilroy for some garlic, and made it to Joseph's house at 12:15. The worst part of the drive was the rough road of 101 in Santa Clara to MV.

Trailer Storage
The trailer is now parked behind Joseph's house. It didn't fit under the carport unfortunately. This will work just fine though until we leave for our next trip at the end of Aug. But I need to find a new home for when we return. Dave backed the trailer down the long driveway, avoiding the tree trunk on one side and the house on the other, and maneuvured the trailer around to the right along side the carport. All in one try. Amazing. That man has mad skilz. Big thanks go to him for all the driving and positive supprt along the way. I couldn't have any way even begun to try this kind of thing without him. muy xxoo.

Final Report

2006-08-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the scoop from Jessie. Nothing major, but a bit spendy. Ouch.

1) Inspection is done. This includes bearings repacked, axel checked, tires checked, propane leak fixed (needs new tank). $350

2) Tires are good for at least 5000 miles.

3) Standing jacks good.

4) Spare tire. Holding off on a rim to save some money. $140

5) To change a tire I bought a bottle jack from Kragen. This is to be used with the standing jacks, and a block off wood under the jack if needed. $12

Tip: Online prices for Kragen are a bit cheaper, print out the page and they'll honor that price.

6) Hitch in stock for the Tacoma. $285 + labor

7) Waiting for truck to fit correct wiring harness. $125-ish + labor

8) Replaced saftely chain (only had one, and it was too small) $50

To-do:
• get a block of wood

Initial News From Jessie

2006-08-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

Not a huge deal, but there is a propane leak. He's got his mechanic looking into it. He called today to also get the truck's specific month/year so he can install the correct hitch. Progress is good.

First Steps - Tow to Metro RV

2006-07-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

Today the Westerner got towed from the sellers home to Metro RV, all in Los Angeles. So far everyone is being really friendly and helpful. Don from Larry's Towing said "that's one real nice trailer, real nice", and also suggested that we install a type A trailer hitch onto Joseph's truck. He said he's seen too many trailers that have broken free of the bumper hitch. I guess a tow truck man would know, as he's seen his share of trailer carnage I'm sure. He didn't seem to think installing new electric brakes would be needed as the trailer is quite light (only 1450).

We talked to Jessie at Metro RV about our list of things to check out and things to do. Basically an inspection for road worthy safety:

• safety chain
• spare tire & jack
• possible electric brakes?
• type A trailer hitch for truck?
• re-grease & re-pack wheel bearings
• running lights & turn signals
• interior lights
• fix storage bin lock
• wiring harness for joe's truck

We'll talk again Monday for an estimate and next steps.

2006-07-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

IT HAD TO COME ...
And it took many years to evolve it. There were many problems to solve in the building of the modern trailer. It had to travel smoothly, swiftly, economically. It had to be light weight, strongly built and able to withstand fast travel. It had to have the stamina to roll down thru the years awith little depreciation. Unlike the automobile it was not to be traded off every year or two. It had to do the thousdands of mile with little or no upkeep. It was to become a family jewel, a prized possession — a sound investment. It had to be a cabin in the mountains — a cotage at the sea shore — a haven on the desert. It had to be ready at a moments notice to provide sleep quarters, fine home-cooked meals, and restful relaxation after a long day's tour. These things were naturally built into this trailer because it was conceived and built by men who know trailers, who live in trailer and travel the highways on fast, safe, economical tours. Long experience taught us all these things and so ... We proudly present the Westerner.

• Fused electric circuit
• Plug-ins in each light fixture
• Dinoline fire-resistant sink-top adn table-top
• Standard garden-hose fitting on plumbing
• Easy-to-clean plastic upholstery in dinette (in exclusive western motif)
• Venetian blinds
• Screen door
• Silvercell fiberglass insulation
• 6.70 x 1.5 tires (fitting most late passenger cars)
• Innerspring mattress
• Porcelain enameled steel sink
• Modernaire 50-lb. ice chest
• Modernair 3-burner stove with ovenette
• Directional signal lights

$895.00
Without License and State Tax
F.O.B. Los Angeles

Water tank and Pump
Butane Lights
Brakes
Are Optional Extras