Willys Trailer

I'm sure you ladies who read my blog won't appreciate this post, but there are some manly men out there who need to hear this news and see the pictures. Since I got my Land Rover, I've been thinking it would be cool to have a 4x4 trailer to go with it. These were popular in Kenya with Overlanders - folks who were traveling around Africa or just going on safari as they could pack all their gear in the trailer leaving the vehicle available for passengers or just free to drop the trailer and go exploring. Often the little 2 wheel rigs had a tent that folded out on top of them and you could leave everything set up and go exploring without breaking camp. They are full of little nooks and crannies for storing things - water jugs strap on the side, kitchen utensils - everything you need for camping. Plus, you can just leave it all packed up in the trailer when you get home and it's ready to go next time!



The only problem with these commercial rigs is that they are very expensive. And, I've not seen them for sale in the USA. That doesn't inhibit me, though! I'd seen some on the web that were homemade and got to figuring I could do the same. About this same time, there was a community farm sale near Abernathy where a neat little green trailer appeared. It was just perfect - small, lightweight, high off-road stance and had lots of little extras like tarp hooks, parking break, swivel hitch, shocks, etc. It was very old looking and had lots of rust damage in the bed. One of the tires still had the tread on it, which was the old military tread from way back when. It was a purpose built military trailer obviously. I went to the farm sale intending to buy it - if it was cheap. Only one other person bid against me and I won it for $100. I also happened to buy some good mud tires for it at the same auction - $2 each.



Happy with my bargain, I brought it home and got on the Internet to do some research. It turns out this trailer was built by Willys specifically to go behind the M38A1 military Jeeps from WWII. It uses the same axle as the Willys Jeep so the bearings and tires would be interchangeable for easy maintenance. I discovered my trailer was missing several features - such as the parking brake handle, a fold down jack, a fitted tarp and the orignal pintle hitch has been replaced with a farm type hitch. The original trailer also didn't have the tailgate that somebody made in mine. The little trailer was originally watertight and would float with up to 500 lbs of gear inside. Judging by the design and features on mine, it was actually a post-war model produced in the early 1950's. Good restored models bring over $1500 on the net these days, so I got a steal!





Now for the pictures. It's not pretty, but it will be a good little trailer once it's fixed up a little.

The rims are 16" , which match the Land Rover for now. I'd like to change the LR to 15" because tires are so much cheaper for that size.


Notice the little hooks all the way around it. You can buy a fitted replacement tarp for it that had bungee sewed into it to match these hooks.


The hitch is actually on upside down. That bracket on the top should be on the bottom and holds the kickstand jack. I'd like to cut off the farm hitch and replace it with a 2" ball.


It's really rusty inside. The kicker is that whoever parked it with the tongue on the ground could have opened the built-in drain plug in the floor and prevented this!


My trailer had a custom-built tailgate. I think that makes it much more functional. You can see the tires I bought inside it. They look pretty cool mounted, though that little project cost me $60 for mounting and new tubes!

The little trailer pulls real nicely and I think will be perfect for hauling camping gear to the mountains!

WC Remodel - 3

Here are a few more pics from this weekend's work. Well, actually the painted bedroom was done the day Jill got home from Dallas!

The bedroom is now khaki colored - I'm sure Jill can tell you the official color's name if you are so inclined. This is the view looking at the closet door.


This is looking at the west window.


And this is looking at the north window. You can't really see the texture, but it looks 100% better!


I got some work done in the bathroom yesterday. This is the vanity in place for measurement. It will be removed before I lay tile. I want the tile underneath it for the extra height.


This is the linen cabinet that is set back into the wall between the studs.


Looking into the linen cabinet, I had to notch out one corner to go around the corner stud. It will be caulked and the stud was sanded and sealed. It doesn't quite match, but once it is full of towels you will never know!


This is the commode corner. Mother Jill suggested a chocolate brown color above the beadboard wainscoting, so we are trying it. Not sure if we like it or not. It is much easier to paint before all the trim is up, though!


Here is what happens when you take the cheapest plumbing bid. I got ready to install the shower and put down the base. There wasn't a drain pipe in the hole. So, I drew a circle where the drain pipe should be. It's way off. I told them to center the pipe at 12"x12". they did it at 15".


Finally, I got the medicine cabinet installed. It is right above and to the side of the vanity and the shower will be in the big white spot beside it. Since the linen cabinet butted against a wall, I didn't need one piece of the crown molding. I was able to redo it a bit and make it fit this cabinet, which didn't have a molding. It turned out looking much better and seems to help it match better too.

We went to Lowe's after church and picked up the beadboard and electrical supplies. Soon it will be looking much more finished and have it's own lights!

WC Remodel - 2

It's been quite a long time since I updated my blog, so I thought I'd post a few more pictures of the progress in the bathroom. I've been able to make some relatively steady progress and things are starting to shape up! These pictures are from 2 weekends ago while Jill was out of town. I was able to get all the sheetrock finished and textured! Last weekend nothing much happened since it was Avery's birthday and Jill's folks were here.


Since I was going to be doing texture, and it is SO messy, I decided to go ahead and do the bedroom and closet while I was at it. So - it took A LOT of blue tape and plastic to keep all the flying texture off the things I didn't want textured!


Looking into the closet - I had to add sheetrock on the back wall of this closet. When that wall was added to create the hall bathroom (10 years ago according to the date and signatures written on the studs) they never finished the job. Now its done and textured to boot!


The bedroom door and air conditioning vent hole. Lots of patching was done to cover up all the cracks and dents. This room had no texture on the walls so you could see every little hole and dent.


Like I said, lots of tape and plastic.


It was REALLY messy! Everything was coated in fine powder dust from sanding the sheetrock. I found out too late you can wet sand sheetrock and avoid this!


This hole in the bathroom will be filled with a set-in linen cabinet. I had to use the stud space inside the wall so the cabinet would set back enough to clear the door opening. That was after making the door 6" narrower and adding that length to the wall you see here beside the blue tape.


Once I got the texture runny enough to flow through the machine, it worked great and went fast. My arms were sore for days from holding up 20 lbs of mud above my head!


Looking into the bathroom from the Master Bedroom. On the right, where all the white is, there used to be a door leading to the staircase. Not anymore!

We had a good time together. Avery is working in the "shower" area. Right above me you can see the hole where a cabinet will be set into the wall.

Avery was a BIG help and LOVED the mud!

I'll post more pics of this weekends progress soon!