One cool trailer

Well, that "real" winter weather that I mentioned in my last posting - it is still going on. Lots of rain & stormy conditions. I love it! But it makes it a bit tough to get work done on the Chiclet. Glad I have no time frame to get 'er done.

A few weeks ago I wanted to see if I could tackle the interior electrical system. I had already gone to my local Tru Value Hardware & purchased everything I needed (plus some extra stuff "just in case"). So I got out my bag of goodies, spread it out on the floor & quickly realised I had absolutely no idea how to begin. HELP! I put in a call to my buddy Rick the mechanic. Not only did he take my call, but he said he would be happy to work for me again. Cool. I would rather ask for help then mess things up - electricity & propane are not something I want to take any chances with. Plus, Rick is willing to teach me as he works. A perfect situation for me!

I decided I wasn't going to waste a perfect day without rain ... I could get started on the insulation. I took some quick measurements & ran over to Home Depot. I purchased a bunch of sheets of foam board insulation. I have heard other vintage trailer owners say that the insulation makes a huge difference in the comfort level of their trailer. I'm not worried about getting cold - its the heat I can't stand. And since the Chiclet is completely skinned, I might as well do it right.

This was going to be a fairly straight forward project - cut the boards with a utility knife & fit the pieces into the wall spaces. I knew it would be tedious - the curb side wall has 23 small areas to fill in. But at least it was easy to access - the roof was a whole different story. The top skin isn't attached. I have it just "resting" on top of the Chiclet for lack of a better place to put the large piece of aluminum. This means if I need to put an insulation board up there, I have to brace the skin up. Argh!!! To make matters worse, none of the sections were completely rectangular. For example - it might be 72" long but vary from 15" down to 14 1/2" in width. Plus, on the lower front & back areas, the curvature of the trailer is such that I had to "score" each panel so it would fit correctly under the skin. I then covered each score cut with duck tape - I don't want any drafts getting through. It took a lot of time & used up what little patience I had that day, but I got 3/4 of it done. I will wait to do the street side after all the wiring & gas lines are in place. With all new insulation in place, the Chiclet should be nice & cozy when I take my afternoon camp naps : )