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This thread will serve as a log of my restoration progress. This is not a typical restoration as commonly seen with vintage trailers. There are two parts to this- the restoration and the tribute. This trailer will serve as a tribute to my childhood trailer (more on this below), as well as be correctly restored back to late 1996 standards. I will do as much as I can to keep original parts and materials, or restore things to correctly look like the trailer did when new.
Some of you may be familiar with my want ad here:
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f79/wanted-1997-sunline-solaris-t-2653-a-11119.html
While I'm still searching for that one and will probably won't ever stop until I find it, I was doing some thinking over the last couple months that I should really find one similar to it to enjoy, while I can still find one. This particular year/model is so me...it inspired my bedroom decor as a kid, it inspired me to restore three other Sunlines to resemble it, and of course it has caused me to track about 3500ish Sunlines in the registry. My criteria seemed reasonable enough...it had to be a 1996 build '97 2653, with a double bed and not twins. I'd love for it to also have the Mountain Green Floral interior, but I'm more concerned about overall condition than having the correct interior color. I don't want another major project, and keeping things looking original is much more difficult when flooring or paneling has to be replaced.
I've been watching this particular trailer for sale for the last five summers, and the seller decided to drop the price significantly to move it before winter. With that, I decided it was at least worth a look. Drove up there last Friday and ended up towing it home. This trailer will be a tribute trailer to the one above, so I will be trying to restore it as accurately as possible.
It's a one family owner coach, custom ordered in September 1996 and purchased new in early November 1996. The owner passed away in 2012, which prompted the family to try to start selling it then. For whatever reason, it never sold all these years, and they'd store it inside at a local fairgrounds every winter. I was concerned about missing components in the pictures (such as the chair, bedspread, front curtains, etc.), but I was surprised to see pretty much everything reappeared when I saw the trailer in person. The trailer was almost exclusively used as a seasonal trailer at a campground in West Michigan, so road miles are minimal. I like the fact that it still sports the factory original Canadian Goodyear Marathons, which look in surprisingly good condition. After airing them up to 50 from 22 psi, I made it home without trouble. Since the Marathon isn't made anymore, I will try to use these tires locally as long as I can, but I will have to replace them eventually so they don't hinder my using the trailer.
The seller had assured me that the trailer had no water damage, and I was really hoping for that, because I don't want to tear another one apart. When I inspected it, I didn't find any at all and besides the moth ball smell, it didn't seem musty. Climbed up to inspect the roof and everywhere that I checked, the roof had a firm feel to it to indicate good bud board, despite the seams looking very questionable. This past Sunday, I completely went through the coach, wiping down every surface inside and out. With the moth balls removed, the inside has been smelling better and better every day. In wiping down the walls, I did find one small spot of water damage simply by feel, it was hard to see by eye. I immediately grabbed a ladder and inspected the roof in that spot. The seam was certainly compromised, but I was happy to find the bud board was still decently firm. Softer than other areas yes, but not rubber band feeling at all.
The next day, I stopped and picked up three tubes of Dicor 501, and had the entire roof resealed that evening. I scraped everything out of the questionable area and re did it all, but only removed loose parts and debris from the rest of the roof. I don't think this water damage is serious enough to warrant pulling the trailer apart at this time, since the leak is very new. Without a doubt, had the trailer spent a winter or two outside, the damage would be much worse and more widespread.
The rest of the trailer has just needed a very thorough cleaning and minor mechanical work. All four scissor jacks have various issues, so they will be replaced with four original style Liftco jacks, after the frame is scraped and painted. Due to the minimal road mileage and pretty minimal usage overall, the trailer is in phenomenal shape under the dirt. Interior was pretty well kept and exterior skin is nearly perfect, except for a slight tree branch dent in the back corner. If I ever open up the corner, I can probably push this out completely.
I'm sure some of you are wondering...no, the '07 isn't going anywhere. That will remain the nice one for actual camping. This one is pretty much going to serve as a personal studio/man cave at my house, while the '07 chills a few hours away with the protection of four walls and a roof.
This coach came with most documentation, even though some seems to have disappeared. I have the QCC at least, indicating a birthday coming up at the end of this month. I was lucky enough to find the original license plate and a registration inside as well, which I can register the trailer with when it turns 25. I'm excited to do that!
So far I have found that restoring a Sunline will be a bit more difficult in general compared to 10 years ago. Water heater doors have changed slightly with a logo addition, refrigerator access doors have also had a logo added, Bargman #68 series clearance lights are no longer available, etc. Luckily a few things have worked out really well- such as Hehr sending me brand new red stickers for the windows, and new baggage door catches were exact replacements.
While it remains a work in progress, here are a few pictures:
When I first saw it:
After a fresh wash:
......
The original Craigslist pictures, which I saw every summer since 2012:
Some of you may be familiar with my want ad here:
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f79/wanted-1997-sunline-solaris-t-2653-a-11119.html
While I'm still searching for that one and will probably won't ever stop until I find it, I was doing some thinking over the last couple months that I should really find one similar to it to enjoy, while I can still find one. This particular year/model is so me...it inspired my bedroom decor as a kid, it inspired me to restore three other Sunlines to resemble it, and of course it has caused me to track about 3500ish Sunlines in the registry. My criteria seemed reasonable enough...it had to be a 1996 build '97 2653, with a double bed and not twins. I'd love for it to also have the Mountain Green Floral interior, but I'm more concerned about overall condition than having the correct interior color. I don't want another major project, and keeping things looking original is much more difficult when flooring or paneling has to be replaced.
I've been watching this particular trailer for sale for the last five summers, and the seller decided to drop the price significantly to move it before winter. With that, I decided it was at least worth a look. Drove up there last Friday and ended up towing it home. This trailer will be a tribute trailer to the one above, so I will be trying to restore it as accurately as possible.
It's a one family owner coach, custom ordered in September 1996 and purchased new in early November 1996. The owner passed away in 2012, which prompted the family to try to start selling it then. For whatever reason, it never sold all these years, and they'd store it inside at a local fairgrounds every winter. I was concerned about missing components in the pictures (such as the chair, bedspread, front curtains, etc.), but I was surprised to see pretty much everything reappeared when I saw the trailer in person. The trailer was almost exclusively used as a seasonal trailer at a campground in West Michigan, so road miles are minimal. I like the fact that it still sports the factory original Canadian Goodyear Marathons, which look in surprisingly good condition. After airing them up to 50 from 22 psi, I made it home without trouble. Since the Marathon isn't made anymore, I will try to use these tires locally as long as I can, but I will have to replace them eventually so they don't hinder my using the trailer.
The seller had assured me that the trailer had no water damage, and I was really hoping for that, because I don't want to tear another one apart. When I inspected it, I didn't find any at all and besides the moth ball smell, it didn't seem musty. Climbed up to inspect the roof and everywhere that I checked, the roof had a firm feel to it to indicate good bud board, despite the seams looking very questionable. This past Sunday, I completely went through the coach, wiping down every surface inside and out. With the moth balls removed, the inside has been smelling better and better every day. In wiping down the walls, I did find one small spot of water damage simply by feel, it was hard to see by eye. I immediately grabbed a ladder and inspected the roof in that spot. The seam was certainly compromised, but I was happy to find the bud board was still decently firm. Softer than other areas yes, but not rubber band feeling at all.
The next day, I stopped and picked up three tubes of Dicor 501, and had the entire roof resealed that evening. I scraped everything out of the questionable area and re did it all, but only removed loose parts and debris from the rest of the roof. I don't think this water damage is serious enough to warrant pulling the trailer apart at this time, since the leak is very new. Without a doubt, had the trailer spent a winter or two outside, the damage would be much worse and more widespread.
The rest of the trailer has just needed a very thorough cleaning and minor mechanical work. All four scissor jacks have various issues, so they will be replaced with four original style Liftco jacks, after the frame is scraped and painted. Due to the minimal road mileage and pretty minimal usage overall, the trailer is in phenomenal shape under the dirt. Interior was pretty well kept and exterior skin is nearly perfect, except for a slight tree branch dent in the back corner. If I ever open up the corner, I can probably push this out completely.
I'm sure some of you are wondering...no, the '07 isn't going anywhere. That will remain the nice one for actual camping. This one is pretty much going to serve as a personal studio/man cave at my house, while the '07 chills a few hours away with the protection of four walls and a roof.
This coach came with most documentation, even though some seems to have disappeared. I have the QCC at least, indicating a birthday coming up at the end of this month. I was lucky enough to find the original license plate and a registration inside as well, which I can register the trailer with when it turns 25. I'm excited to do that!
So far I have found that restoring a Sunline will be a bit more difficult in general compared to 10 years ago. Water heater doors have changed slightly with a logo addition, refrigerator access doors have also had a logo added, Bargman #68 series clearance lights are no longer available, etc. Luckily a few things have worked out really well- such as Hehr sending me brand new red stickers for the windows, and new baggage door catches were exact replacements.
While it remains a work in progress, here are a few pictures:
When I first saw it:
After a fresh wash:
The original Craigslist pictures, which I saw every summer since 2012:
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