TA DA! Oh happy day, it’s done! Whew…let me just say that it was a LOT of work, a lot of sweat, a little blood and a few tears {of frustration} along the way but it’s finally done! I call it done but I do have a couple things left and one is to figure out the best way to re-vamp that front window rock guard you see in the first photo. For now it’s done though and I’m ready to go camping!
If you visit this page –> http://littlevintagetrailer.com/category/articles/restoration-maintenance/ you can scroll back through the posts and see the renovation progress on this trailer.
So without further ado, here are some before and after photos for your viewing pleasure. I hope you like it! I’ve been getting a lot of interest from folks asking if Chiclet is for sale. That is a possibility but I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought as I am just enjoying it at the moment.
I have to give a little shout out to George over at www.robossonsupply.com for the fast shipping on the itty bitty shutters. If you need shutters these guys have all different sizes and ones that are paintable too!
Dinette/bed area “Before”. Not bad at all right? Although this photo doesn’t show the rot around the lower edges of the top half that I replaced. But overall this little 9.5 foot trailer was in good shape.
Dinette/bed area “After”. I had Deb over at www.cushionrecoverie.com whip up some zippered cushion covers for me and I love how they turned out. I installed the new checkered flooring and sewed the curtains. I also re-stained and shellacked the birch. Getting a good photo in a 9 1/2 foot trailer is a challenge so I had to sit on the kitchen counter 🙂
Here is another angle. In this one you can see a peek of the hammock. Yes, believe it or not there is a way to set up a hammock in here and I’ll show you that in a minute. Also a teeny peek at the ceiling. I took off the roof aluminum, tore out the white fiberboard ceiling and replaced it with birch that I stained/shellacked.
I’ve been asked how I plan on decorating the interior and honestly I haven’t given much thought to that really. Mainly because I have been too busy just trying to get the trailer done and also when I think about decorating it I have to keep in mind that the top half comes down onto the lower half, so that means anything you put on the walls would have to come down. So for now I think I’ll just enjoy the look of the birch and will maybe add few things for the kitchen counter.
Kitchen “Before”. Again, nice shape to begin with. Notice the ceiling? I like the birch ceiling better. I also added a layer of insulation between the new birch ceiling and the roof.
Kitchen “After”. The main thing I did is rejuvenate the wood by re-applying stain and gloss and of course adding curtains.
Ok, remember I mentioned how you can add a sleeping hammock? Here is how it works. I’ll update this photo once I get a better one. It was dark and not the actual bedding I will use. But you’ll get the idea. My 5 year old will sleep in the hammock. So technically it will sleep 3; two adults and a small child. If we absolutely had to we could also put a cot on the floor in front of the kitchen and sleep one more person there, but that would be a challenge for those midnight runs to the port-a-john! Oh and in the photo below, under the bed we keep 3 storage bins with lids that hold clothing and essentials.
Another view showing the area where you could actually place a cot on the floor for another person. There is about 28-30 inches width and 6 feet in length for a cot.
So there you have it. A renovated 1961 Hi-Lo. Someone asked me recently if now that I’m done with this one am I ready to start on another? Um, no. While this was a lot of work (especially installing the new seal and replacing rot), it was fun too but I’m ready to now take it out on some camping trips and enjoy it. Plus I need to get up to the Tiny Lake House and finish up the Chalet tiny house.
If you see us towing Chiclet down the road be sure and wave!
Happy Camping!
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This is absolutely adorable! I love the idea of Hi-Los very much but have never seen this tiny of one before. It’s everything you need in a tiny space! Love, love, love! Would you mind explaining how it goes up and down? I’m assuming it is nothing like the newer ones that have automatic lifts.
Nicely done. I love the sleeping cot the best – such a great idea. Happy camping and enjoy!
So inspiring! The trailer looked good before but you made it so much better! This is really inspiring.
Kelle, it looks just wonderful – I LOVE the curtains you made! I’m amazed at all the space in this little trailer – gives me hope for our 10′ sitting in the back yard waiting for renovation. Deb
Absolutely gorgeous! Looks like it was tailor-made for me! How’d you know my color preferences?! LoL
You did an outstanding job!
I just have to tell you how very impressed I am! What a lot of work; what a lot of gratification!
I have a Hi Lo. It has a badge at the entry door. Where is the Vin# located
I recently became owner of on of these campers. yours looks great. I am planning on restoring it because it is in good shape. hope it turns out as well as yours
My dad just acquired one of these – looks exactly like yours – the bottom section is great, the top section, however is in need of lots of love. Could you share where to get the seal, and did you have to replace any of the paneling – we will have to so looking for suggestions there. Looks like we will have to replace the whole door side top section inside, under the backwindow, under the front window including the blocks that held the cable to crank it up / down… going to be a bit of work so any guidance would be great. I’ve stalked all your pics and comments and appreciate your sharing anything else you think would help or pointing me in the right direction.
Hi Myra,
You can find the bulb seal here: http://hilotrailerparts.webs.com/apps/webstore/ It’s sold by the foot so be sure you measure so you order the right amount.
Yes, I had to replace almost all of the lower 6 inches of wood paneling in the one I re-did. It was a pain! I love these little Hi-Lo’s but the way they are made to go up and down makes them more challenging to work with. One of the hardest things was actually lifting the top half. In order to replace the seal and remove/replace wood you have to have that top half jacked up higher than the bottom half. Basically you would need to place 2 x 4’s that are tall enough to support the upper half and wedge them under the top half (crank the top half all the way up as far as it will go) then un-connect the top half from the cables. Next you need at least 4 strong people to lift the top while a 5th person lays 2 x 4’s sideways under each corner. So essentially it’s up off of the bottom a couple of inches. That will give you enough room to work with in getting the seal replaced and replacing the wood. It can be a dangerous maneuver getting that top separated and sitting on the 2 x 4’s like that so please, please be very careful. Look at the photos on this page and you’ll see how we placed the 2 x 4’s in the corners to hold it up above the bottom half. Good luck and I’d love to see photos when you are done!