1983 10' Sunline

[bman1985]

Just picked up this little camper. It's been partially disabled due to water damage I'm planning to turn it into a photo booth trailer. My question is is any of the wood structural or is the metal all the structure needed?

[sep]

The outside aluminum skin comes off from the bottom. It is held on by staples. The frame is basically 2x2 dimension lumber with bat insulation. The interior is similar to paneling or may in fact be paneling roughly 1/4" thick. I'm not sure if that is what you are asking but I figured I'd give it a shot.


Steve

[bman1985]

More what I need to know is if the wood is necessary to keep the thing from falling apart or does it just support the paneling. I attached some pictures of what it looks like inside now

[sep]

Oh, I see what you are talking about now. I'd be only guessing so I'll let someone else answer that knows what the structural integrity is for these smaller/older Sunlines.


Steve

[JohnB]

Hi Bman,

Welcome! Your pics really help explain what you are talking about.

The wood in the walls and the ceiling are structural. Even the floor. If you take out all the studs in the front wall, there is nothing left to hold the siding on. And there is nothing left to hold up the front of the roof.

The side walls carry more load then the front and the rear, but they are all structural.

See this thread by Sunline Fan. He has a 79 camper similar in vintage to yours that he has totally taken apart and restoring it.
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f6...-mc-18647.html

The inside paneling, the outside siding, the internal cabinets all create rigidity in the camper. And then there is the wood studs in the walls which are even thinner on the older campers. Some are only 3/4" thick studing (1" nominal wall) where the newer campers are 1 1/2" thick. (2" nominal wall)

So yes, the camper will come apart towing down the road without the wood studing and some form of wallboard.

Hope this helps

John

[Sunline Fan]

Yep, these trailers are a sum of their parts. The trailer itself without metal or without wood is very weak. On that same note, if the wood is pretty rotted, it will be weakened significantly.

Also, your trailer isn't a 1983. It's a 1978 or 79 Sunline 12 1/2' MC. I'd need to see more pictures or the serial number to confirm which it is.

Your trailer looks in great shape on the exterior, so hopefully it's a good candidate to fix up! If you are getting rid of any of the interior components and not using in the rebuild, let me know, I see a few things in the pics that I could use.

[bman1985]

Exterior is decent, interior is a different story. I'm surprised at all the features this tiny thing has
Thanks for the info on the year. The guy I bought it from said it was an 83 but he didn't have a title. The only numbers I found on it are a black tag by the door and some numbers stamped near the tongue. Anyone know how to decode them?

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by bman1985

Exterior is decent, interior is a different story. I'm surprised at all the features this tiny thing has
Thanks for the info on the year. The guy I bought it from said it was an 83 but he didn't have a title. The only numbers I found on it are a black tag by the door and some numbers stamped near the tongue. Anyone know how to decode them?

The numbers on the back tag aren't related to Sunline, and are relatively meaningless. However, they were issued chronologically, so it can help identify a year if there's no serial number present.

The serial number stamped on your tongue looks correct, and looks like 283878. If so, that would mean it's a 1978.

[bman1985]

Great thanks! What parts do you need? I've got the thing gutted and useful parts set aside. I'm not really using any of it.

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by bman1985

Great thanks! What parts do you need? I've got the thing gutted and useful parts set aside. I'm not really using any of it.

- Some cabinet pulls, maybe drawer fronts with them
- Interior light fixtures (2)
- Cushion covers

[bman1985]

Cabinet and drawer fronts were all missing as were the cushions. I have both interior lights, they're rusty but complete. I don't need them.