The vintage trailers came equipped with various heating units. Ours has a Duo-Therm diesel (yes, you read that correctly) heater. I had taken ours apart when we first got the trailer home due to severe mouse infestation. I cleaned it and reassembled it and since I have the original paperwork, stating that I have a LIFETIME WARRANTY for the unit, I got online and sure enough, Duo Therm is still in business. I really could not figure out how to operate it, and in talking to Dick, the original owner when we first saw the trailer, he said he had used it and it worked great. I just didn't ask him HOW to operate it. So, when I called Duo Therm and stated I owned one of their units, ahem, from the 50's, and I had a lifetime warranty, I needed some information. There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. I'm sure the 20-something receptionist hadn't fielded a call like that before. So, discouraged that there was no help from the company (I'm sure if I pressed it, someone with grey hair there must have known about an archive for old manuals) I just played around with the unit in my shop before putting it back in the trailer. Sure enough, a piece of paper, a match and some diesel in the tank and voila….heat. But, I had not tried it out in the trailer once it was back in.
So, down south here, it is cold at night….in the 40's actually. Brrr. Our little electric space heater was okay, but you can't keep it on all night, nor can you operate it with the water heater on or the microwave (too much juice for the old wiring and breaker box) So, I got some diesel, and fired it up. Wow, what a great heater. It has high, medium and low settings and a fan that circulates the heat in different directions near the floor. It is the cat's meow. So, now we are warm at night and no, the vent from the roof does NOT belch black smoke (thank goodness). If anyone has one of these heaters and needs some instructions, just let me know.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
100 square feet, 2 people, 15 pairs of shoes
Now you would think that would be a recipe for divorce, but thanks to the fellas that designed this great trailer back in '55, I'm not going to file. My wife's shoe collection, which she absolutely, positively must have along, is safely out of sight and yet handy to get to. We are amazed at the amount of storage in this aluminum box. Here are some rules for living small over an extended time:
1. Close every single door as soon as you are done getting out what you need (saves a crack to the head)
2. Put each and every thing back in its spot immediately after use.
3. Only replace an item when it is totally run out (paper towels, milk, soap, etc)
4. Spend as much time outside as possible.
5. Move much slower and more deliberately in a small space. The trailer shakes too much otherwise.
6. Have patience. Enjoy.
1. Close every single door as soon as you are done getting out what you need (saves a crack to the head)
2. Put each and every thing back in its spot immediately after use.
3. Only replace an item when it is totally run out (paper towels, milk, soap, etc)
4. Spend as much time outside as possible.
5. Move much slower and more deliberately in a small space. The trailer shakes too much otherwise.
6. Have patience. Enjoy.
Monday, January 13, 2014
We are living in the Boles
It has been a while since I posted anything. We have had it at the Pismo rally and the Lodi Towerfest rally last August and had a blast. We took it down to the Ride the Wild Surf Vintage Trailer rally in Newport Dunes on October 11th, 2013 and then found indoor storage in Mission Viejo for the winter so we would not have to trailer it home. We plan to pull it back to Newport Dunes for a few weeks then head to Palm Springs and stay in for the month of February and be in P.S for all the mid century events planned. There are home tours of some of the finest 50's and early 60's homes, car shows, vintage clothing shows, and a trailer show downtown. We had to get permission from the management of the RV resort in Cathedral City to bring our 59 year old trailer in, as no "rigs" over 15 years old are allowed. We sent in pictures of the exterior and interior and after a high level meeting, we got the okay.
It will be interesting to see what the snow birds who are there all winter think of us in our 24 ft. aluminum "rig". We look like a teardrop trailer next to the huge motorhomes. The other unknown is can the two of us live in such close quarters for 6 weeks? I guess it is the same as living aboard a boat or trawler, folks do it all the time. Our expectations are high, we will post about our adventures down south.
It will be interesting to see what the snow birds who are there all winter think of us in our 24 ft. aluminum "rig". We look like a teardrop trailer next to the huge motorhomes. The other unknown is can the two of us live in such close quarters for 6 weeks? I guess it is the same as living aboard a boat or trawler, folks do it all the time. Our expectations are high, we will post about our adventures down south.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)