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Have been periodically posting updates in other threads showing the rebuild of our 1977 Shasta M1750.
Having tons of pictures, figured the time has come to start it's own more detailed thread.
We took ownership in January of '22 and planned to do a bit of updating to make it roadworthy and more comfortable for me and the wife. Wasn't looking to do a major reno and wanted to keep things within a tight budget. Just wanted something decent to drag around with my '65 3/4 ton. Boy were we in for a treat.
Original floor plan was designed to sleep 6. Our goal was to make as comfortable as possible for 2. Began by juggling the floor plan to maximize space. Decided to move kitchen to the rear. Went with a table and chairs in place of the built in dinette and added a convertible couch for sleeping.
It soon became a race against the clock as we had already scheduled time off for our summer vacation. While many things were left incomplete, it was (so I thought) good enough for its maiden voyage. As first time RV owners, we soon found out that the learning curve is steep. And expensive.
Neat to see the old ones correct, intact and still functional. Guarantee it's built better than today's rigs.
Whether it was built better or not than today's rigs is questionable. I've worked on a few of my friends' newer Rvs and agree that there ain't much to impress. Having said that, we uncovered quite a bit that left us scratching our heads. Even if it had been properly maintained I would question the realistic lifespan of the Shasta. Basically, a bunch of sticks butt stapled together and not much else. At some point the original assembly line clowns must've run out of staples or were pushing too close to quittin' time, 'cause we found a number of places where the framing was just along for the ride as there were no fasteners at all.
For grins and giggles, I wonder if this was factory specs or an upgrade
Definitely now a matched set!!!!!! I really like the modern retro approach on the inside and the floorplan should be really functional as compared to a "cram as much as you can into this space" concept!
Definitely now a matched set!!!!!! I really like the modern retro approach on the inside and the floorplan should be really functional as compared to a "cram as much as you can into this space" concept!
LOL, Hold my beer.
So, looking back on its maiden voyage, there were definitely signs that things were bad. Wallpaper started to pull, screen door wouldn't close right, screws mysteriously missing etc. Kinda fixed things along the way but to no avail. About a week into our trip I think I finally figgered out what was really going on. It was literally twisting and sagging and rattling itself apart with each passing mile. The rear was shearing sideways while the front was collapsing under its own weight. It slowly became the Shasta Disasta!
We rerouted our trip and did minimal driving, slowly making our way home. Took measurements each day to record the daily movement.
So now we've got a dilemma. After listening to friends and neighbors chime in with their quick fix ideas, there really was just no way to avoid the reality. There was only 1 way to save this trailer. Having already invested a bunch of time and money, we definitely contemplated just cutting our losses and moving on. But where's the fun in that? Besides, after lessons learned from all this, there was no way I'd buy another vintage trailer without proof that it had been rebuilt stick by stick. I am convinced that all these redone trailers you see listed on CL and FB, despite all their owner's claims, are just awaiting the same fate.
Let the games begin.
Be daring. Take the truck bed trailer, you have, cut in in half , length wise, to fit the trailer frame. Lengthen the body panels and build the trailer on that. I have a truck bed trailer that I had planned on making into an overland trailer for camping.
Not much of a frame by my standards. I think I would start there as everything after that is based off the strength of the "foundation".
almost all RV frames are like that. They don’t rely on the strength of the frame, but rather use the entire box structure to get the strength needed to be stable. That’s why RV frames generally make terrible foundations to build from for other purposes (e.g. car trailer etc.)
looking at the picture of the walls, that explains why it wasn’t stable going down the road anymore. Looks like lots of damage to the wood structure.
rebuild the frame to good as new or better and it will last another lifetime.
Not much of a frame by my standards. I think I would start there as everything after that is based off the strength of the "foundation".
Frame actually is not bad by Rv standards. Have added a couple supports where needed based on the new floor plan to eliminate some sponginess.
Originally Posted by john jamieson
Be daring. Take the truck bed trailer, you have, cut in in half , length wise, to fit the trailer frame. Lengthen the body panels and build the trailer on that. I have a truck bed trailer that I had planned on making into an overland trailer for camping.
That would be a sick build.
Originally Posted by meborder
almost all RV frames are like that. They don’t rely on the strength of the frame, but rather use the entire box structure to get the strength needed to be stable. That’s why RV frames generally make terrible foundations to build from for other purposes (e.g. car trailer etc.)
looking at the picture of the walls, that explains why it wasn’t stable going down the road anymore. Looks like lots of damage to the wood structure.
rebuild the frame to good as new or better and it will last another lifetime.
subscribing … I love these types of threads.
Agreed. I've built houses and I've built cars. Rvs are neither. Thinking otherwise was my first mistake. My second mistake was changing the floor plan. Combined with the wood rot, there was zero chance it would all stay together.
There's no turning back now. I've taken my lumps and will use what I've learned to rebuild. Better, stronger, faster. Well, maybe not faster.
With the frame stripped bare I've replaced all tanks and added a few extra supports based on the new floor plan since there were a couple spongy spots that I wanted to eliminate. Original floor was 2x2 sticks butt stapled with 1/2" plywood floor. New is 2x3 sleepers with 5/8" ply. All half lapped, glued and screwed. Also, old walls were screwed to outside edge of floor. New walls will sit on top of floor.
For this to work and for me to be happy I have 3 main things to focus on;
1-It must be stronger and only parts that will last another life time will be reused
2-Reduce weight without sacrificing strength
3-Completely customize for our needs but equally important to retain vintage look and feel
Walls are fabbed from mostly leftover cutoffs and scraps, gang glued then ripped and milled. As a woodworker by trade, makes for very stable, strong sticks since only 1x1-1/2 finished. Plywood shear at all corners. Again, all joints half lapped, glued, screwed.
Truth be told, I was never really a fan of the boxy shape this Shasta had. Combined with the interior design, it just screamed 1970s. I always liked the older, 60s style. Plus the older style would look better behind my '65. So, some changes.
I was able to purchase some replacement aluminum skins. Without breaking the bank, just a few would allow me to make some important modifications. First, I could eliminate/relocate the exterior storage compartments and place refrigerator where I wanted. Second, (for mind boggling reasons) the water tank fill hatch was originally about 3" lower than the top of the tank itself. WTF? At least now I could move it. And 3rd, I could change the shape of the roof. A nice sweeping curve would give me the look that I wanted without sacrificing headroom and would also support the new rooftop a/c
