The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

[Elliot Naess]

Well, it looks like Millicent may get some appliances after all. Look what followed me home!



Free. An old friend and former neighbor gave it to me. Because his wife said so. Paid $2.000 for it a handful of years ago; the seller delivered it to his house, all the applicances worked; he never even installed the hitch in his own pickup. I'm putting the hitch in my Dodge today, and dragging the thing home tomorrow (I hope). Should have it in smithereens by Tuesday, eh?

And the axles will become Millicent's new Kinetic Kontraption hauling trailer.

[phillbus914]

WOW! How come I never find theses deals? Looks like you have lots of useful parts there, take lots of pictures of the destruction.

[Elliot Naess]

...pictures of destruction...



All done.

(Oldie but goodie, eh?)

[timbuk]

that was an awsomeicture of destruction wheres the fridge? what year is that thing? cant you put it on the roof ill bet you like that guys wife! there is lots of stuff inthere that will be great take some shots if you can of the destruction i see elevator parts there.......

[Elliot Naess]

Elevator parts for my barn??? Hmmm... Well, some steel, landing gear maybe.... What do you see?

But I think the frame-and-axles will become some sort of flatbed. It is only about six feet wide, so it will not become Millicent's super-trailer. For a 5th wheel trailer, it is very small. But it made it home just fine, in spite of very weathered tires. So total cost to my front yard, about $50,- worth of gasoline. Even has current registration. It's a 1985 Komfort. Electric brakes on both axles. 13" tires and an odd large wheel bolt pattern.

How come I never find these deals?

I think that way about women.

Yeah, I'll take pictures.

[Elliot Naess]

All right, so my friend Robert GAVE me this Stick-n-Staple Camping Crate, and we joked about his wife Grace having made him get rid of it. Now, here is the technical reality of it:



I pulled out the roll-up window shade over the left window, to see if it might be usable for Millicent, and the wall siding came out with it.

This afternoon, I cut down a dying rotted apple tree in my yard. Tomorrow the Komfort, although I doubt it will yield as much firewood.

[Demonknight]

well if you need a place to toss those windows...let me know

[Roasting8]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

You want Millicent to look like this, do you?





(Clearlake VFW parade bus.)

People would really notice, as you're rolling down the street.

[Griff]

Yeah, and with a schnoz like that along with the high forehead, it would lend itself nicely to a set of Groucho glasses w/eybrows so you could drive through town unrecognized!

[Elliot Naess]

Originally Posted by Demonknight

well if you need a place to toss those windows...let me know

They are all yours, if you are close enough to come and get them. I have a couple other old RV windows also, that I'm not using.

Other things are up for grabs also, like the door (but it is very low). Anybody? I'm in Northern California, two hours north of Sacramento.

[Elliot Naess]

I knew these kamping krates were krappy, but I didn’t know how krappy. There are a couple of hand-holds on the back, and I grabbed one...



No tools were employed in this episode -- just a gloved hand:



“Oh. Pardon me, Mam. Maintenance.”

[Elliot Naess]

Amazing how small this Komfort Krate is. Bathroom measures 2' x 3' and 5' 6" tall. I can barely get inside there on a dare. Bathroom I'm building in Millicent measures 3' x 6' 6" and 8' tall.

Guess what I found in the trailer! Big ring binder full of original instruction books for all the appliances! And the refrigerator was replaced in 1998, so it might actually maybe work!

Lots of weird stuff in the thing -- weird to me. Cable TV hookup and "Up periscope!" TV antenna. Thermostat-controlled furnace. Does not compute with my concept of "camping"!

More demolition tomorrow.

[Demonknight]

oh sweet...I was kinda joking around but... can't pass that up....

[Buster]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

They are all yours, if you are close enough to come and get them. I have a couple other old RV windows also, that I'm not using.

Other things are up for grabs also, like the door (but it is very low). Anybody? I'm in Northern California, two hours north of Sacramento.

Elliot,
I did some work up on geyser mountain a few years ago over by cloverdale I believe and I remember Clear Lake being one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been in my life.
Dave

[Elliot Naess]

Thank you, yes, Mother Nature built a nice place up here. Too bad those pesky humans have torn it up so much. But the view of the lake can still take my breath away, oh yes.

[Elliot Naess]

Back to harvesting components for Millicent.



Bathroom and kitchen sink gone. I kept the double sink and faucet. Mostly, I'm using no tools -- just tearing it apart with my hands. Wires, moldings, hoses etc must be cut, but the structure just crumbles and tears.

Hooked up 110 VAC and got cold air out of the A/C, and got 35 degrees in the fridge, and ice in the freezer!

I had thought about saving some cabinets, and maybe the dinette, but it turns out that these things are not complete individual units. Instead, they are built together with the walls -- that is, the walls of the trailer form part of the cabinets and benches. So it does not seem practical to move these things to Millicent. Except the dinette table, which swings down to form a child's bed with the adjacent seats -- perfect for Peter and Jerri's baby boy. Shouldn't be any problem using it with a school bus seat -- and a home made bracket or two.

[timbuk]

yea no dought about it that there is the cheapest way to get the creature comforts plus you have the manuals for it all! takes more time putting it together....

[Elliot Naess]

Normal people would probably remove the appliances “surgically” before starting any wholesale destruction. Pahh! Instead, I peeled away the skin and lifted the appliances out as they became exposed.



The guts of the refrigerator, seen from OUTSIDE the trailer.





Some of the cabinetry came out with the fridge. I’ll sort that out later -- right now I just want to see that trailer frame nekkid.





A/C was too heavy for one man to lift down, but I did it. In the process, I caused quite a lot of damage to the plastic cover -- which is extremely brittle from sitting in the sun for 22 years. No problem; I’ll probably make an aluminum cover for it. I also broke some of the interior parts of the A/C -- even shaded old plastic is brittle! A/C mounts essentially with four big bolts. Controls screw to the underside of the unit. Runs on 110 VAC only. Nothing mysterious.





Peeling apart the wardrobe like a ripe banana, I came upon the furnace and some other stuff. MUCH easier than to figure out how it is mounted and wiggle it free! This I will NOT be using; too dangerous, and I don’t plan on much cold weather.





Not much left -- except several trips to the dump!

There is a reason these krates are called "stick and staple". That's all it is!

[reprobate]

Man Elliot, you're really good at tearing stuff up! I have to admit, so am I. It's putting it back together that I find challenging. Last week my girlfriend, Julie realized it was time to change the timing belt on her Honda Civic. Decided she was going to do it herself. Bought the Chilton's and went to work. Don't know what that has to do with anything, but I guess seeing your rescourcefulness made me think of it. Like you, intelligent and got all the looks.

[Elliot Naess]

Reprobate, you bring up an important point, and since it is now Sunday morning, I'll lecture on it a little.
It truly is easier to tear stuff apart than to put it together, and most of us are capable of falling in that trap. On my travels I see a lot of unfinished projects sitting in people's yards and driveways. Some of those projects are school bus conversions. The saddest example is up in Madras, Oregon, -- I know I've mentioned it before, but it's still sitting there with its faded For Sale sign. The roof was cut and lifted, and reattached with some random scraps of angle iron, and a skin installed on part of it, and.... The front cap was never done -- there is this foot tall "air scoop" between the windshield and the roof. Clearly, the builder's ability was overtaxed by jacking the roof straight up, and he took one look at the resulting "air scoop" and gave up.
I dare tell this story, because I'm a world class collector of unfinished projects myself. True, it is all part of aiming high, without which we'd never hit anything worthwhile. But a school bus a too big a project to quietly hide, incomplete, in a corner of the garage. So make sure you have a plan for Putting It Back Together. Or... for Taking It All To The Dump, when you are done Finding Out What Is Inside. (That's OK Too!)
Just don't let it sit in a pile in the yard -- which is why I'm going out now to finish off the Komf-o-Kamper and pick up all the little scraps on the ground. Sermon over.

Now, as for Julie.... Have I asked if she has a sister?