Hi-Lo Renovation Day 7, 8 and 9

Whew, it’s been awhile since I posted on how the renovation is going on the 1961 Hi-Lo, so I figured I better get a post up here to show you where I’m at. I decided to clump together day 7, 8 and 9 because basically day 7-8 were just boring mundane stuff.

Keep in mind that these days aren’t concurrent. It was one day here…another day there. A lot of times it just depended on my schedule. Life tends to get in the way of these projects at times.

In any case, to catch you all up to speed, I have the following done;

1. Re-installed the roof, added new butyl tape and re-installed the J-rail and awning rails. Installed them all with new stainless screws. Let me just say that it’s definitely more of a challenge putting things back together than it is taking them a part. In this case the roof was a challenge because I added thicker insulation. Because of that it was more difficult to get the J-rails back on. The insulation I used was a tad thicker than the space allowed between the ceiling and the roof. I finally got it and hopefully it’s all sealed up tight and we won’t experience any leaking at the seams. Time will tell.

2. Stripped the two front quilted sections. Underneath the blue was a layer of black. I re-painted those white and hated it, so stripped them again and now planning on just polishing them.

Notice the left side of the roof as seen below is clean? Brillo pads work wonders for cleaning aluminum like this.

3. Painted the door side and curb side a off-white on the top half of the trailer. The bottom half will be key lime green. I had my little helper helping me 🙂 I’m using Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint and primer in one, semi gloss and applying it with foam rollers. I’m actually surprised at how nice it looks. Of course it’s not a professional paint job but heck this is a so much more cost effective and if I get a couple years out of it I’m fine with that! I mean it’s such a tiny camper it doesn’t take much paint 🙂

4. Installed the sub-floor and floor. Installing sheet vinyl is just a pain in the ARSE! There is just no nicer way to put it. Maybe some people just have a knack for it but the floor is one thing that I want to look perfect and it was definitely challenging me. The best way to install it is to create a template using poster board and then lay it on your vinyl and cut right along the edge of your template with a utility knife.

I think it turned out fantastic! You can’t go wrong with classic black and white checkers.

 5. Painted the tongue. I spruced up the tongue by giving it a new black paint job. Not quite finished with it as you can see. But it looks better already! Next will be the propane tank.

So that’s what I’ve accomplished so far. Next will be finishing stripping and polishing the front and rear quilted sections and then tackling the body paint. Thank you for following me along on this journey to renovate this cute little Hi-Lo. It’s a lot of work but very rewarding too. I can’t wait to finish it and take it on it’s first camping trip! Here is one last photo of Chiclet. I pulled her out from under the carport as it made it easier to work on her.

Until next time, Happy camping!