Recovering Cushions - Pictures

While Hammie is in the shop, I decided it was a good time to work on new cushion covers.  I spent an afternoon at the fabric store, going through the discounted and discontinued fabric, looking for outdoor fabric that I liked and that would hold up well in the camper.

After finding what I thought would work well, I set to work sewing new covers.  I have never sewn anything in my life, so this was a major undertaking.  I ended up with this:

The dinette cushions are floral, the sofa is green with a floral back (that's it above in the second photo laid out as a bed) and the bunk is the striped.  I plan to sew curtains as well.

I was lucky that the cushion foam was in really great condition.  It was old, but not brittle at all.  In fact it was soft and clean.  I sprayed them all down with lysol and then febreeze before putting the new covers on them.  It was a huge savings not to have to buy new foam and I'm happy with the way they all turned out!

The Importance of a Clear Title

Hammie came to us from a man on Craigslist who traded building a deck for a camper. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that before he could sell it to us, he should have re-titled the camper in his name.  When we bought the camper, there was so much else going on that Kyle didn't realize that it hadn't gone through the process of transferring the title.

When I finally made time to go to the DMV and get it titled and registered, this oversight became a major issue.

I waited for an hour for my turn at the window only to be told they could not transfer the title because it was not in the seller's name.  The woman helping me was agitated by my questions regarding what the next step was if we couldn't get it titled properly from the original owner, to the seller.  There is a myriad of paperwork with complicated instructions, that become even more complicated as you go through them and her best response was that we needed to go back to the seller and get it done right.

My concern was that it was a Craigslist sale and so what if we couldn't get it done correctly?  I wanted the big pile of paperwork, just in case, and she didn't want to have to spend the time to go through it with me.  It was incredibly frustrating and ended up with me in tears because I asked her to do her job and help me and she called the security guard over and told him she felt I had threatened her.  It was a nightmare.

I called Kyle and cried on his shoulder about how nothing with this camper was easy!  He assured me that he still had the seller's phone number and would call him and get this straightened out. Thankfully the seller is a super nice guy and he was willing to go to the DMV with Kyle the following morning to get the title transferred to his name.  They arrived just as the doors opened, only to be told that the title printing machine was down and they would have to come back the next day.

The following day, they arrived at the DMV again, were called to a window right away and began the process of getting the title put in the sellers name (the man who gave it to him had already signed the title).  Another snag arose when the woman helping them could not find a North Star Travel Trailer anywhere in their system.  Originally she though she was not going to be able to help them when she remembered another database she could look in and was able to print a new title.  The seller then signed it over to Kyle and it was done!

Lesson learned.  ALWAYS make sure the title is properly signed and transferred.

Hammie Gets A Name

In those first weeks after the camper came to be ours, the kids and I had a bit of trouble adjusting to the idea that we would be giving up our tent camping for a broken down trailer.  Tent camping is how we identify getting out in nature and doing outdoor things.  Having a camper, especially one that needs more work than I was willing to do, seemed overwhelming.

After finding Parker Trailer and getting such good news from them about repair costs, we finally were able to think about a future with the camper.  I began to refer to it as "her" and "she" and one day as we drove by the trailer place and saw her up on the lift through the big glass windows, we decided she needed a name.

We tossed around a variety of names, among them Ethel and Norrie, but what the kids settled on was Hammie.  Hammie the canned ham camper, because it is impossible to say it three times fast.  You know what it means once you name something.  A name means it stays.  So Hammie is ours and we are all finally excited to have her.

Getting An Evaluation

After a sleepless night, worrying about the camper we parked and left in a shopping center, we woke early and headed over to haul it to the trailer place.  Finally we would have an official evaluation done and know exactly what our $800 camper would cost us to be user friendly.

We introduced ourselves to Toby, who would be our mechanic.  Clipboard in hand, Toby began to walk around the camper with us, asking questions and writing down the things we were concerned about. He exuded confidence that everything we asked about could be done and for less then we thought.  Both Kyle and I were feeling a huge sense of relief and gratitude that Parker Trailer had been recommended to us.

Just before we got ready to leave, I opened the door to the camper to get something out of it for Toby and upon trying to close it, it refused to close.  In frustration, I kicked it.  The framing around the door fell off.  Toby wrote something on his clipboard and calmly said, "We'll go ahead and add a door, too."

I knew that our camper would be in capable hands.

About two weeks later, Toby called with some news and a question for me.  His news, was that the camper was only attached to the frame at one point.  All of the others had come apart and the suspension was broken.  He couldn't believe that my husband had driven the trailer across town to our house without losing it off of the frame.  Truly nothing short of a miracle.  His question was, how much did we want to spend on the camper?  They had gotten it in the shop and he had a list of to do items but wanted to know our budget and priorities.  We had decided that our initial budge is between $2000-2500.  In order of priority, our check list includes:

• Completely redoing the suspension.
• Wheel Bearings
• New hitch
• Stabilizer jacks
• New Tires
• Rewire brakes, electrical
• New gas line
• New water tank and line
• Replace rear window
• New door (because I broke the old one)

There may be other things that come up as the get into the project, but these are our starting points.  Toby seems confident that he can stay within budget for these items and we are thrilled to know that our camper is in such good hands.

Getting Hammie To The Mechanic

Things did not go exactly as planned on the day we were scheduled to take the camper to the mechanic.  Kyle left work early to come and pick the camper up from storage and take it over to Parker Trailer.  His vehicle has the hitch on it and I am not quite comfortable towing a broken down camper.

We got to storage at about 3:30pm, picked up the camper and headed the 10 minutes down the road to Parker Trailer.  Just as we reached the corner where we would turn in to the business, a police car pulled in front of us and blocked off the road.  Surprised, we decided to turn the other direction, go around through a shopping center and cross over into the trailer lot that way.

The camper was bumping and clanking as we carefully picked our way through the shopping center lot.  Just as we reached the area to cross the road, another police car pulled up and blocked the road.  We could not get our camper to its appointment.  Frustrated, I hopped out of the truck and went to talk to the police officer.  Apparently the gas station on the corner had sustained a 50,000 gallon fuel spill that shut down all access points into the area.

It was all I could do not to cry.  I so badly wanted to drop this broken down, more trouble than it's worth, camper off at Parker Trailer and find out once and for all if it was even worth repairing.  And now we were stuck in a shopping center with a camper that was on a broken something.  After a bit of back and forth and calling and rescheduling our appointment for the morning we decided to take it back to storage.

Unfortunately, by this time there was only one way back, and it was across a median where traffic control officers had opened up a spot for stranded cars to jump the highway and go the opposite direction of the fuel spill.  There was no way we could do that with our broken down camper.  Our only option was to leave it parked in the shopping center parking lot.  We backed it into a secluded space and unhitched.

As we drove away, I told Kyle I hoped someone took it in the night and then we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.  It seemed like more of a headache than it was worth.  He kept reminding me of what the people at Parker Trailer could do for us and what the payoff could be.  I only hoped he was right.

Finding a Mechanic

After spending the majority of the day cleaning out the camper and assessing the repair issues, I locked it back up and went inside to see if I could find a mechanic who would work on a 1969 North Star Camper.

Before making calls, however, I decided to google and see what I could find out about the old girl. The answer, was nothing.  After two hours of searching, I could not find one single piece of information about North Star Travel Trailers.  There is a company called North Star Campers, but they specialize in over the cab pick up campers.  Perhaps at one point they made Travel Trailers, but for now, I was hitting a dead end.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the lack of information regarding our camper, I began to call RV and Camper dealers and repair facilities in our area.  We live in the Denver metro area, a place well known for outdoor activities and a camper dealer on every corner, or so it seems.  Unfortunately, every place I called told me that they didn't work on campers older than 10-15 years old.  A couple of them told me they would work on the North Star, but it could cost upwards of $10,000.00.  And no, I am not exaggerating.  I was shocked and disappointed.

There was no way my husband or I could do the undercarriage work on the camper.  It was completely beyond our skill set and because the drive to my parents would take over 9 hours if we were to tow her there so my dad could help us- with her clanking and maybe crashing along the way, it seemed like we might need to give up after one day and put it back on Craigslist.

In the meantime, I knew we had to get the camper moved from in front of our house.  We live in an HOA covenant controlled community and having an old camper sitting for more than two days would get us a notice of violation.  I began to call RV and Camper Storage places and finally settled on the RV Vault near our house.  I drove over without the camper (my car isn't set up for towing) and met with the owner.  He was wonderful.

We drove around and he let me pick out a spot that would work for our camper.  We discussed pricing and short term storage and when I told him it might only be for a month and explained the camper and it's issues to him, he asked who I had asked to do work on it.  I shared who I had called and how disappointed I was that no one could help us.  He asked if I had called Parker Trailer.  I had not, as I didn't know they existed.  He assured me that they would be fantastic and even told me who to ask for over there.

I left the storage facility, with plans to have Kyle bring the trailer over the following Monday and excited to return home and find out if the people at Parker Trailer could actually help us.   I was actually nervous as I placed the call. However, I quickly discovered that I had no reason to be.  The people at Parker Trailer acted as if working on a 1969 vintage camper was something they did every day.  Every issue I mentioned, their response was, "We can fix that."  It was so encouraging.  I made an appointment for two weeks out and breathed a sigh of relief.

We might get to keep the camper after all.

Hammie By The Light Of Day - Pictures

Stepping outside and seeing the camper parked on the curb in the morning light, I couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation and hope.  Walking around the outside, there were definite places where the camper had been sealed for leaks, rather poorly and messily.  Someone had backed it into an object at some point, but I loved the fin on the back immediately.  Surprisingly, the skin was in really great condition and all but the back window were intact.

The first thing I did was crawl underneath and take a look at why she was listing to one side.  I didn't know what it was called, but it looked like a U shaped hanger was laying down instead of standing up and I hoped that a mechanic could quickly fix the issue.  While a bit surface rusty, the underside looked relatively good and all the metal pieces were in good shape.

I decided that even though I didn't know what exactly was wrong, this piece was the reason for the clanking.  I made a mental note to call a few camper places later and see if I could find someone to fix the issue.

Next, I went inside to assess what really needed to be done inside the camper.  There is only about 25 square feet of floor space.  The camper is only 12.5 feet from bumper to hitch, so it is compact.  To the front is a dinette that makes into a twin sized bed.  The fridge is an icebox, which we like so much better than worrying about keeping an electric fridge working.  It has a sink and a three burner stove.  To the rear is a sofa that turns in to a full size bed with a retractable bunk above it.  The bunk is a little bit larger than twin sized and will be perfect for our little girlie.

There is a lot of storage in the camper.  While there is a bit more water damage in each corner that I had missed the night before, pressing into the corners, they were not soft.  I pulled all of the cushions out and set to work with a bucket, a rag and strong cleaner.  As I scrubbed and cleaned I made notes of things that would need attention - having the corners inspected for stability and rot, replacing the rear window, reupholster the cushions, paint the walls, new curtains.  For the most part, cosmetic. 

The floor had spent it's entire life covered with a carpet, which the seller removed for us.  The floors were in perfect condition, which was a nice surprise.  One interesting thing about the camper is that it has a propane light that also acts as a heater.  

While I was nervous about the mechanical side of things and the mysterious clank, I could feel myself getting excited about the potential.

Hammie Comes Home

It was dark already and it felt like Kyle should have been home with the camper already.  He had gone after work to pick up the little North Star camper we had spotted on Craigslist the day before.  Always impatient, I picked up the phone and called him.  He answered on the second ring, telling me that he was talking to my dad on the other line and driving as slowly as he possibly could in order to make it home safely.

It seemed that the tail and brake lights on the camper did not work.  It also seemed to be making a loud, rhythmic clanking noise and he wasn't sure why.  Thus the phone call to my dad, hoping he would have some idea what the problem might be.  At this point Kyle may have had a bit of buyers remorse as a clanking camper was not what either of us wanted.

About 45 minutes later, he finally pulled in to the neighborhood.  I heard him coming as he came down the main road - CLANK, CLANK, CLANK.  My heart sank.  For while my dad is a hot rodder and an amazing mechanic, he also lives seven hours away from us and although I know how to do some very basic things, I am in no way qualified for a major camper overhaul.  I stood in the driveway with nervous anticipation as Kyle rolled to stop in front of the house. 

In the dark it was hard to see the outside of the camper well, but armed with a flashlight, we cracked open the door.  It was musty, but not damp smelling.  The camper listed to the drivers side, enough to make us feel unsteady as we looked around.  I went immediately to the corners, checking for water damage and my heart sank as I saw the dark spots in the corner on the drivers side and under the back window.  It dropped even further when I opened the back window curtains and discovered the six foot window was missing completely.  Covered by an outside awning and curtains on the inside, Kyle didn't think to look at it.

Aside from those few items, leaning camper, clanking noise, water damage in the front corner, water damage under the rear window and a missing rear window, the camper was surprisingly in good shape.  The door was sticky and hard to close, but we attributed that to the leaning issue and not to an actual door problem.  

Because it was dark, we locked it up and went inside.  My plan was to go through it carefully the following day when I could do a better job assessing it and go from there.  Our hope was that everything was minor.  Our fear was that everything was huge.

Deciding on Hammie

When you look up 'vintage camper' on line, it is so easy to be taken in by the gorgeous, old time, creative, unique campers that you will find.  So many lovely campers, restored, remodeled, repainted and redone that you might think to yourself, "I can do that...."

This is what happened to my husband and I when we found Hammie on Craigslist.  Because Hammie was located a mere six blocks from where Kyle works, it was easy for him to run over and take a look.  The man who was selling this lovely 1969 North Star Camper Trailer, has received it in kind for building a deck for one of his neighbors.  He was selling is cheap, for $900 and it was parked out behind the house, waiting for someone to notice how lovely it could be one day.

With the sun setting behind the camper, it was easy to overlook all of the flaws.  What Kyle saw instead was the possibility, the potential of having our own little vintage camper and all of great times our family could have in it.  The only issue, is that neither of us wanted a project camper.  We wanted to be able to hitch it up and be on our merry way.

This alone deterred Kyle from saying yes at that very moment and so he left the camper sitting there, forlorn and lonely.  He called me on his way home and we discussed all of the pros and cons regarding an older trailer.  He assured me that everything wrong was only cosmetic and we could paint and patch and have a cute camper.  Going against my very type A nature, I said okay and we decided to buy the camper.  Kyle quickly called the seller back and said we would take it.  The man was so generous that he offered to knock $100 off of the price, saying he thought a family should have a camper to camp in.  They agreed that Kyle would pick it up the following day after work.

We had officially become camper owners.

Introduction

For fifteen years my husband and I have been avid tent campers.  Living in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, we are daily inspired to plan the next camping trip, to seek out places of solitude and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors.  We hike mountain trails, dabble in icy cold brooks and snuggle into our sleeping bags at the end of the day, happy in our little tent.

Our kids have been tent camping since our oldest was six months old. Tent camping is all they have known and we all love the privacy of the tent campgrounds and tent only sites that large trailers can't get to.  There is a solitude in tent camping that we have felt we could never reach in a camper of any sort.  In fact, we have probably been tent camping snobs for most of the past 15 years.  Tent camping seems like a much grander, freer way to get out into nature and up until this past fall, getting a camper wasn't even on our radar.

It's funny how life has a way of changing things up on a person, no matter how carefully you lay your plans.  After spending a year planning a two week tent camping trip to Glacier National Park, I sustained a severe burn to my left hand three days before we were scheduled to leave.  Note to all of you bacon lovers out there- spilled bacon grease can and will give you second/third degree burns.

While my burn doctor would have preferred we stay at home, as the risk of infection would be made higher by camping and the degree of care would be less available, I promised I could self care and would not get an infection on our trip.  I was desperate to go and determined that I would not use my left hand at all in an effort to keep it clean and on the path to healing.

What this meant was that my husband and children would be responsible for doing all of the camping packing, set up at campsites, cooking, clean up, etc.  and while I love the chores that come with tent camping, two weeks of car camping is a lot of work. On the way home from what was a beautiful trip to Glacier (and in which I did not get an infection and, in fact, healed beautifully), we began talking about getting a camper. We are getting older and the idea of camper, for the first time, seemed enticing.

First on our list, and what we fully intended to purchase, was the smallest Scamp Trailer available.  With a dinette that folds to a full sized bed and sofa that turned in to bunks, it would be the perfect size for our family of four.  Too small to want to spend much time in, we would still cook outdoors and be outside except to sleep.  We wanted something light enough to tow with our Toyota Highlander, easy to set up and mostly, inexpensive.

We began looking at Scamps on this site  and also on our local Craigslist.  We thought we found one that fit our needs in Delaware and were in discussions with my dad to see if he would like to accompany my husband on a road trip.  And then came that fateful Craigslist post that changed everything.  While double checking to make sure there weren't any Scamps closer to us, I stumbled across a small, 1969 North Star camper for $900 about six blocks from my husband's office.

This is the story of Hammie, the canned ham camper.