Clean Out Day

 

Not Coronavirus, Hantavirus

I figured I'd better get started cleaning out my 1948 Boles Aero camp trailer while I was still excited about acquiring it. Like most old trailers, Bolero had old bedding and soft goods that needed to go. And it had a small number of treasures stored inside.

Probably the most concerning thing was the rodent droppings. The propane furnace is located under the floor with a opening in the floor where warmed air would rise into the trailer. At some point the furnace housing got peeled back and so there was a wide open hole in the floor. I'm sure that the trailer, and the cushion batting in particular, made a cozy home for any field mouse that stumbled across it.

So I masked up with my 3M N95 organic cartridge filter mask and safety glasses. Same setup I use for spraying wood working finishes. Call me reckless, but I didn't use disposable Tyvek coveralls as the CDC website suggested.

I pulled up my small utility trailer to collect the trash for transport to the county refuse collection point and got to work.

I felt sort of bad pulling out the dinette seating and loading it on the trailer. The frame and spring work were first rate and still in fine condition. I have plans to rework the dinette area to be more flexible so I won't be reusing the seating. I stripped off the upholstery and batting material and set the two seats aside with the thought that I'd put them on Facebook "free" so that someone else could repurpose them. But in the end I loaded them on the utility trailer.

The mattress was next. It's currently a full size (or "double"). I was shocked how heavy it was. I tried not to think about the stuff I've read about 1/3 of a pillow's weight being made up of dust mites. Particularly since I had to wrestle the mattress to get it out of close quarters. When I got the mattress up I realized there was a box spring underneath!

I have no idea how they got a box spring in the trailer. There is literally no way to angle it to get it out. I ended up having to prop it up and cut the frame in half, then fold it lengthwise to get it out. The must have installed the cabinets after they put down the box spring. That would mean the same box spring has been in the trailer for 72 years! Yet another thing I don't want to think about.

The good news is all this is learning that I can apply to the rebuild. I'm going to have to think real hard about getting stuff in the trailer.

Underneath the bed I found a fresh water tank, pump, and a battery tray. This was pretty surprising to me. I'd read that these trailers had a 10 gallon water tank from the factory but this is much larger: it's 24 gallons based on the measurement. And the pump makes sense, but I'd also read that it was a hand pump arrangement when you weren't connected to pressurized shore water. The tank is very far back on the frame and offset to the side. Maybe this is random, but it makes me think I'd better work on weight and balance a little more closely before finalizing the floorplan. Finally, the battery. I didn't think there was any DC electric in the trailer. Mmmm.

I broke out my Shopvac with a HEPA filter, tried to keep the exhaust pointed outside the trailer, and vacuumed all the surfaces. It's still quite dirty but that's okay since I plan to gut it down to the bare frame after I take detailed pictures.

Almost ready for a trip to the county dump

I took a bunch of measurements to help with my preliminary layout planning. I'll share the layout ideas when they mature a bit. Stay tuned.