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The year is 2007, the month is November, and we are the proud owners of a tent trailer.

Not your average tent trailer... this 1978 Parkland trailer we found on craigslist, is certainly

going to be a project worth documenting... right here on home-workshop.com.

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As the "before" pictures indicate, this baby needs some TLC, but having paid what what we did for her, we knew that, and having the whole winter to play ( yeah right... we'll see !!!) we have plans, plans to use this mobile, camping, holiday home... Just bring on the summer, we'll be ready.

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This is what she looked like in the craigslist advert. I thought an aluminium shell, and pretty good condition canvas. Well, I was wrong about the shell. Turns out it's fiberglass in need of some attention, real bad!

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Without a tow hitch on my car, it took about a week to find a solution, and finally, after some negotiations and borrowings from neighbours and friends, our daughter's boyfriend towed the trailer home for us.

Haven't looked inside yet, but these are a couple of the glaring issues which need priority attention.

Left: The jack system needs major attention. Only one lifts, but that is the only one which doesn't retract completely. This has to be fixed before the rainy season starts in earnest. The cables have jumped off pulleys in the channels. The lifting system is top priority because every time we need to work on the trailer, the lid needs to have its ups and downs. Don't want to go through the next sequence of pictures whenever I get bitten by the let's-fix-'er-up bug.

Centre: On the way home, we had to make numerous stops to re-close the door. Luckily we had some wire with us so "lock" the door closed. The handle/lock needs replacement.

Right: Not really major, but the gas and electric systems need checking for safety. The gas pipe seems a tad short, which puts minor strain on the connections. The hookup gear is in good condition. 

First Day on the job!

November 10, 2007

Getting the lid up, solo, proved quite a challenge, but with some sequential lifting, and a little help from the cable system,

success was achieved.

Inside is certainly "campable", but an upgrade is in order. Hence the addition of this project in

www.home-workshop.com. 

First off, I removed all the canvas. This will make lifting the lid a little easier, as well as keeping winter off it.

I thought to get the lid to close would be a good idea (remember, back left didn't retract fully), so I had to cut into the paneling to gain access. Wasn't too difficult, and also gave me insight as to the workings of the pulley system, which led to my fixing 3 corners, still one to go!

Then folded all the furniture down and closed her up for another day.