Baby’s Got A New Pair Of Shoes! And…

With the interior of the Pink Paradise (nearly) done (I feel like I’ve said that before!) we have started to work on the outside.  The other day I spent a couple hours (no exaggeration) scraping old bumper stickers off of the siding. 

Side note: Gradually, I’ve been picking up vintage items for the camper. I’m a thrifty shopper and nearly everything I’ve bought so far has come from auctions, estate sales, thrift stores and the dollar store.

The new cedar bathroom below smells so good!

The first thing we replaced on the exterior of the camper was the tires.  The old ones were seriously dry rotted and there was no way they were going to take us very far from home.  And besides the tires, we had to replace the jack and install the propane tanks and holder. 

It does seem that some days the work on the Paradise will never end.  Yet to come, exterior lights, prep and painting, awning, and God only knows what else…

A New Look for The Joy of Caking And A Frolic Update

Finding a new look for a blog feels similar to buying a pair of good shoes.  You have to try them on and walk around in them for a while to see if the fit is right.

Having said that, I  just redesigned my blog and I am waiting to see if it’s a good fit, so please bear with me.

I also realized that there hasn’t been a Frolic (vintage camper) update in quite a long time.  For some reason, I don’t feel like we got a lot accomplished last month in the camper.  But, here are a few important accomplishments.

We hooked up gas to the original hot water heater and found the orifice was corroded closed and was preventing us from lighting it.  Hubby located a new one and changed it.  He also gave the burner a thorough cleaning.  We now have a working hot water heater.  Yea!!!

Along with the making sure we have hot water, we also made sure the stove and oven were in good working order.  And here is what we found.

Both the stove and oven lit without any trouble.  Yea, again!!! 

And do you remember the ugly wheel well that stood out and needed to be covered?

That has been taken care of as well.  Since this picture, I have primed and painted the storage bench and lid.  There is still a bit of trim work to be done, along with a cushion to be made.  Progress is slow but steady. 

I’ve also been busy looking for vintage items to put in the camper.  So far, I’ve found a cute vintage coffee percolator at an estate sale for $3.00, and a vintage dish towel for .10 cents at a local thrift store. 

Coffee anyone?

From the 13th – 16th of this month there is going to be a vintage camper rally at Sampson State Park. The Pink Paradise will have to sit  this one out, but we are excited to see the other vintage campers that will be on display there.

And there you have it.  A new look for The Joy of Caking, and a vintage camper update. 

To see all of the posts related to the restoration process of the frolic camper so far, just type the word Frolic, Pink Paradise, or vintage camper in The Joy of Caking’s search engine found on the right side of the page. 

 

Vintage Camper Re-Plumbing–Not A Job For The Faint Hearted

The Frolic, also now known as the Pink Paradise, has had some serious plumbing issues. While much of the work is still being completed I thought I’d share an update.

Since a few of the exposed PVC pipes and copper lines showed obvious damage, we decided to remove the shower insert to get a better look underneath.

This was a good move on our part since we found the lines under it in need of replacement as well.

Here are some signs of the damage, and here are some before and after shots of the shower insert.

To work on the water lines, check the pump, and remove the fresh water tank (to clean it and check for leaks) we had to remove the table, along with the recently upholstered cushions. I felt like we were moving backwards instead of forward.

The 12 volt operated water pump (below) looks ancient, but the good news; it still runs!

While working under the seat we found carpenter ants that weren’t very eager to vacate the camper.  Here is an example of the damage the can cause.

Here is how we evicted them.  It took 2 foggers to do the job.

Below, we have replaced the ant infested wood, cleaned what was a terribly dirty and looked almost unsalvageable fresh water tank, and started running new water line. 

We found the kitchen sink faucet was filled with a mud wasp nest so we replaced that too.

And here is proof of our progress.

What’s next?  We still have to check the gas lines for safety reasons, ensure the hot water heater works, and check out the furnace too.  We need to  finish the bathroom plumbing, track down a water leak (when it rains) that we noticed in the bathroom, and hopefully after we get those things out of the way we can start rebuilding the bathroom. 

I have been working on the curtains for the Paradise.  I think you’re going to like them, but that’s a story for another day. 

So, are you ready to buy a vintage camper to re-do?  Or, do you want to hire us to do it for you?

To follow the Pink Paradise project from the beginning, and see all the updates along the way, type Pink Paradise into my blog’s search engine.  You’ll be able to read each post featuring the Paradise.