Author Archives: robsworkshop

70’s Enclosed Trailer Page 5

Nov 29 2024

I’ve gone a long way on this project before the end of November.

So let’s keep going shall we…. It’s time to re- install the axle and the hubs. Easy when you have new bolts and parts. And this allows me to double check the squareness of the hitch. Only 1/8″ out.. not enough to cause a problem.

And bonus ! That means it’s not seized anymore. Cleaned up the hubs and replaced the broken wheel stud. The grease is still good, which really surprises me. And the outer bearings are like new ! So a little paint and then put them back on, with new grease.

I’m thinking this will be presentable. Those dust caps are interestingly big. They are threaded on too. I need to get some 3/4 plywood now for the floor and the tailgates, so I can weld the hinges in place and finish the painting. And I had to make a new frame for the lower tail gate using some pieces from the top tail gate.

This is my new frame… taller when closed and over laps the top one to hold it closed.. It was the opposite way originally on the trailer. this will be 3/4″ plywood and the top will be only 1/2″. The hinges are in place and work great ! You can remove the tail gate only if you have it horizontal.

It’s not heavy so easy to remove if it’s in the way.

December 3 2024

I now have all the plywood for the trailer.. so a few cuts and some grey solid stain on the good side for the outside. This is the front panel.

Two coats of the grey, and this one is done and ready to install.

The 3/4″ floor sheet gets a black enamel paint on the under side. When it was dry I flipped it over and slid it into place. Then the front wall could tuck in there too.

And there’s a peek at the way things will look. The sides are next. I kinda wish the grey was a little darker.

And there we have it… a three sided box..of sorts. Not painting the plywood inside because it will stay dry and will be subject to abuse of all kinds.

Also I’m going to put 3/4″ fillers along the sides of the floor. I’ll also be trimming off the excess bolt threads flush with the nuts. I’m cleaning up the fenders next, because they can also get put back on. They are going to stay bare aluminum.

If you look back at the photos on PAGE 2 , you will see a big improvement. They were painted white (or what’s left of that) and covered in moss. My jack is possibly coming today and once that’s on I’ll put the wheels back too. Time to clean up the garage and juggle things around for work on the roof. No jack yet so the trailer mover is needed..

Wow everything fits in the garage! I’ve already pried the pieces of the walls from the slots. Time to clean up the inside and paint that first. And then I realized why the roof was not heavy, and not rusted ! It’s aluminum… Geese do I paint it or sand it down ? Anyway it’s on and soon to be bolted down too.

See the nice cream colour on the inside.. Ya no more ugliness. And for those asking the question ..How did he get that big roof up there? well with the help of a beautiful assistant of coarse. I use the pipes that stick out each side so it doesn’t fall off.

With a bit of persuasion.. it slotted down on the plywood sides. I am going to paint the roof.. It’s pitted quite a lot, so the paint will help keep it nice longer. And done…

It’s not the best looking trailer. Using what paint I had has it’s challenges that way. But it’s in like new condition, which is the real goal. Hope my jack shows up soon. But next is the tailgates. And now I’ve painted the lower panels and will bolt those in place soon. Meanwhile my jack finally came today just a week before Christmas.

And it’s a perfect fit , and a perfect height. So the front stuff is all done. On to the rear doors..

January 2025

DONE !

Perfect ! Everything works as it should. Ready to hit the road. I’m keeping this little guy for awhile. Will keep you posted. And one final video….

So as I close off this trailer project , someone suggested a before & after photo…

All Done!

70’s Enclosed Trailer Page 4

Nov 21 2024

We are almost to the painting part …just one more thing to do.. Make that two.

The new Tongue !

Couldn’t line it up with the old tongue one under this one.. it was not true. But the frame of the trailer is square so I’m going with that. Worked out good . one more piece to weld on the front and some hooks for the safety chain, but I’m not sure where it goes. However I am sure where this goes… The front cross plate.

It’s really just a cover for the tubes so they don’t fill with crap. I almost forgot about a spare tire mount.. That’s next.

And here’s how I did this.. For extra support this will be bolted to the front wall, and that is planed to be 3/4 plywood. And we are ready for some paint…

Yes nice colour… That’s my little bit of brown to make the red darker. How about a new video update..

Will need two coats as usual, and once that’s cured I can get too the wiring and my aluminum plates. Taillights are coming soon so that should finish up the wiring. So let’s make a place for those lights.

Yes it’s my one bit of fanciness. But really it’s to cover the holes from the old lights. And with some of the extra aluminum sheet I made these purely decorative triangle plates..

Now time for some wires.. And as always I run ground wire direct to the lights. Using the frame as the ground can end up being unreliable over time. Also all the new LED lights that I use have a ground wire coming out with the other two. This trailer will have the simple wiring. That’s a four pin plug with just three wires running down each side to the back. Here’s the harness I found in my stash.

And two amber marker lights …also from my stash. No penny lights on this trailer.. we are going more conventional, but still LED’s. And they have a nice home on the front angle brace.

Below are the lights I have on order…

See ! Ground wires.. yes they put a wire ring to attach the ground wire to the body / frame. But not me.. I was going to go with the long skinny lights like I used on the Westward Ho trailer. But I’m going with these because they work best on this trailer.

And the license plate light and side markers are all in one.. Easy peasy.. And as simple as it gets. While I’m waiting for the lights to come, I tipped the frame back on it’s side. This way I can weld the eye that the safety chain will attach too.

Remember the trailer is tipped on it’s side… so the eye is welded to the underside of the tongue. There’s the jack with the BIG wheel that is going on this trailer. While I was in the painting mode.. I painted the good side of the wheels.

Sure would be cool to find hub caps for these. My coupler and tail lights came ! A couple of holes later and….

There you have it. 1/2 ” grade 5 bolts with ny-lock nuts.. Not coming off any time.. And I got right to work on installing the two tail lights. Solder and heat shrink inside loom, Nothing better. And I got to try out my new trailer wiring tester that I made.

I like these tail lights they are perfect for this trailer.

I tried the wheel jack and it’s too big, and too tall. So I’ll have to see what to do for a jack. Here’s a quick little update video…

And with that it’s time for a new page..

Page 5

70’s Enclosed Trailer Page 3

Nov 16 2024

Tipped it over !

And the trailer stands like this safely while I clean up the underside. I’m having second thoughts about my plans to add a foot to the length. Adding to the tongue length is a very good idea.. But the amount of work to add that foot… maybe not. And there’s other considerations, like the spacing of the cross pieces. So I’m really talking myself out of that idea. And this video tells why.

Yup.. got a new plan.. And since it’s easy for me to tip the trailer by myself … I put it back right side up. Cleaned up the last of the welds on the floor panels. Trimmed the back so my tailgate will work.

That should do it for clearing the tailgate. And I patched the strange shaped hole in the panel behind the left fender.

Not prefect but good. We are not restoring a classic car.. it’s an old trailer. The next thing I did was wire bush the frame… Yes just a wire brush not the one on the grinder. Rather than fill the garage full of rust dust and who knows what. I’m trying something else. The “krud kutter” mild acid and rust sealer.

As you can see it turns rusty metal black. Once dry in a day or so, it will be ready for paint. Most of the metal on the trailer is rusted bad and pitted but still strong. I say embrace it and let it be ! Meanwhile I cleaned up the axle with the springs and gave it a satin black paint job..

It’s not dry yet.. hence the shiny spots. My new bolts and the shackle arms came today so this will be ready when the frame is.. And the wheels are next, so they will be ready too just in case I want to move the trailer. There’s a bit of welding to do for the under side of the trailer. Then it can be right side up for the rest of the work. And I have a plan ! I’ve been looking through my paint and I need to use what I have.. I have the white paint for the inside of the roof. I have a can of the regal red and some brown … so I’ll mix up the burgundy colour again for the lower frame. I still have some grey solid stain I can use on the outside of the plywood sides. And I’ll make up some off white for the roof. I’ll need to buy the plywood. Two sheets of 3/4″ , one for the floor and one for the front wall and the lower part of the tailgate. Two sheets of 1/2 ” for the side walls. Left over pieces will be handy for the Award trailer work. With the welding on the underside done, and the undercoating paint on..

This stuff is easy to spray on.. And this is 80 % of the frame painting done. As part of the welding I did , the filler pieces where I cut the bumper are in place too.

When all is dry it’s time to go right side up for the final time. And now that we are sittin pretty I have a plan for the tail lights. So I do need to remove the old ones.. The torch came out for this and off they came.

You will see later what my plans are. Now it’s time to weld the plywood protector piece back on.

And there you have it. The 3/4 plywood floor slips into this at the back of the trailer. It’s now time to work on the trailer tongue. And also time for a new page….

Page 4

70’s Enclosed Trailer Page 2

Nov 4 2024

This is page 2.. the starting / introduction page is HERE

Into the garage and the work begins…

I stored some things in there… out they come.

And the ramps for weight… not needed anymore. Made a video as well.

Well I got right to it.. cutting rusty bolts and separating the roof from the walls.. Ended up just cutting the plywood sides.

Those 1/2 ” plywood sides are stuck into the roof really good, even though there’s no bolts holding things. The bottom rail of the roof is slotted for the plywood. I’ll remove those pieces later. All the bolts that hold the plywood to the angle iron will need to be “force ably” removed with a cut off wheel. Once I have the roof off the (much lighter) trailer can be lifted to a good working height. It’s Demo Time !

The roof is off ! Now I can work on the walls.

Hey look a nice utility trailer.. Pretty soon just a metal frame. It’s a lot of work stripping this one down. And no I’m not keeping the rotten plywood.

Notice how I cut around the fenders.. It was easier to work this way. It would be sad to have to cut the four uprights off. Well particularly the two with the tail lights. As well as a lot of work. I can’t flip the frame over obviously with those there. But I’ve decided to just tip it on it’s side to avoid cutting too much. That 4 x 7 ft piece of plywood floor is next.

And under that is a badly rusted steel floor full of holes and not flat. This needs to go Bye Bye. I have to cut it in sections because of the cross frames. And hopefully get all the welds. I now have a clear plan of what to do.. Starting with the hitch.

If I cut it like this… and add another 18 inches of the 2×2 tubing beyond the end, welding it to the top of the one already there. That will give me the right height I want. And room for a fold-up jack. The frame is still quite heavy… so I need to remove as much as I can. I see that the spring eyes and the bolts are rusted solid. That’s not good , so I’m having a battle with them.

There’s no way to save these. Need to cut them, and that’s a shame because these ones have grease nipples. HA! I won the battle… and I did not need to cut them. Heat and a big hammer was the ticket.

Now I can put the axle on a saw horse to clean and paint. I’ll get a new set of bolts and shackles so things will work the way they should. The naked trailer is still heavy but I think I can get it tipped on it’s side. That rusted sheet metal under the floor was adding a lot of extra weight. So I went to work and removed all of it. Now I really can manage it.. So let’s start a new page..

Page 3

2006 Chevy Avalanche Z71 Page 5

November 2 2024:

Well let’s get down to the mechanical work that needs to be done.

The visit to the shop I use here where I live was yesterday, and I got a new list. Some has to be done within a month for insurance purpose’s. I’ll list those three first. Some can wait a bit. Here’s the list:

New tires. No surprise but needed badly
Steering pump and Pittman arm. That’s my loosey goosey steering.
Wheel alignment. Also part of the problem.
Left CV axle. For sure.
Rear shocks.
Right front axle seal.
Rear differential cover seal leaking
Left rear wheel has missing stud.
Two codes show up.. Evap leak & key in ignition.
Battery is weak.

Some of these things I will do, like the rear shocks. One thing not covered in the list is the hard shift from 1’s to 2’nd gear. Very common for these transmissions, and fixable by a transmission shop. Meanwhile I got the new LED flasher installed, and the the bug / hood protector too.

Look’n spiffy.. A week from now the Avalanche is scheduled for four new tires, and the next day for the steering fix and wheel alignment. Then we’ll see how nice it drives.

# 1 Can get crossed off the list.

New tires are on and the driving experience just got better. Still wanders all over but that is next. Defiantly a quieter and smoother ride.

This are the same brand of tires I had on the 2009 Avalanche. All season all terrain. Now #2 is the steering.. New power steering pump and some other parts… plus a wheel alignment, and now we have no more wandering Avalanche . And we passed the safety inspection. So I’m now driving it. And that’s a good thing because as if on cue the Buick has a failed alternator. And it’s going to take a week to fix.

December 2024:

Alrighty Early this month was another visit to the shop and we can cross more off the list.. # 2, 3, 7 and 9 all fixed. Also some wiring in the steering column. No more check engine light. We don’t need number 6 on the list. And it’s driving great. So much so that I’ll take it to Edmonton just before Christmas. The CV axle can wait till spring.

Update: Wouldn’t you know it the check engine light came on again… This time it’s the knock sensors. Motor operates just fine without them, but they will need changing if I want the light out. I drove over 700 kms over the holidays without any problems. Somethings I have noticed… Warming up in the cold takes longer than it should . So I’m thinking the thermostat needs replacing. But the heated seat makes up for it and I have to turn that of within ten minutes or my but gets too hot. There is a howling noise coming from the drive line when pressing the gas pedal, or under pressure. Also the motor roars out louder when climbing a hill. this could be an exhaust manifold leak caused by broken bolts. So I’m going to make a new list.

Transmission needs a service.
Needs a new thermostat.
Replace the knock sensors.
CV axle still needs replacing
Exhaust manifold bolts needs replacing.
I will need a new windshield come spring.

So we will pick away at these things as funds allow. So far the battery is hanging in there, but winter is just started and some very cold weather is yet to come.

2006 Chevy Avalanche Z71 Page 4

Oct 20 2024

Two more things remaining to do..

Got to fix the rust hole in the rear panel.. and the flaked off paint on the passenger front door. Oops no “before” photo.. but it’s in the video. Trust me the paint was flaking off just above the rubber side moulding. Only the front door. Right down to the primer.

Not no more ! The great thing about a plain white vehicle, easy to match the paint. And here’s the last body fix.

Can you tell where I painted ? No ! Only half way up the lower panel.. Yes the match is that good. No more rust. Now for round three of the hatch cables. They still keep braking apart. This time I got some steel cable and some real cable crimps,

And yes this made for a much stronger cable. I even put some heat shrink on the steel cable.

There ! take that.. Dare you to break.. If you do I have lots of pop rivets and cable.

Today I got the chance to go parts shopping and I got the tools & jack, plus a new end for the tube where the handle goes in the bumper. With lock but no keys.

These things are in excellent condition. I put the jack away under the right rear seat. The other tools I used to “try” to lower the spare tire.. Got it down about 6 inches and hit a stuck part.. So there’s some work to do.. The bumper cap needed a good cleaning and it needs to be installed.

As for putting that locking cap back.. No I don’t have the key and it’s not needed. So let’s figure out the lowering of the spare shall we… Well that was fun.. NOT! Five hours later I got the tire down. After years of cranking the spare up under the back of trucks, some brainy engineer thought we needed a safety catch. Just in case the cable broke. Ya right.. That happens all the time… NOT! The cable mechanism to lower the spare works great.. It’s not seized up nor is the cable rusty. But the safety catch was seized.. Sure glad I’m doing this now, in the shop, with all my tools. There’s no way you can do this on the side of the road. I’m fixing that dumb idea.. I have a grinder !

Here’s what my spare looks like. Good tire and still holds air, just a ugly looking rim. Let’s make it look better. Just some black rust paint is good enough.

There! Now I won’t be embarrassed to use this spare. But hopefully I will never need it. I took the whole spare tire holder mechanism out too so I could make it not look so rusty.

And fix that safety latch for good.. Here it is and it no longer has a hook / catch.

It was seized up so bad that no amount of lubricant was going to fix it.. PLUS it’s riveted together. The winch part still works as it should. Most likely because it’s well protected from the elements. I’ll grease the cable lightly before winding it back in. Should be able to put this all back where it was…just better looking. Done and everything worked great. And with that..I believe I’ve got a lot done now. But really never say that. There’s all ways more. Yup.. still some mechanical fixes. And in time new tires. I have a new hood bug deflector on order. That will cover up the paint chips and road rash. I have to change the flashing relay for a LED one. Change the cabin air filters. And lastly get an inspection done for me and the insurance folks. This will tell me how to move forward with the mechanical stuff. So time for a new page..

Page 5

2006 Chevy Avalanche Z71 Page 3

Oct 13 2024

And now with the back end to the bench we have a few things to do.

The tailgate makes a nice work place…

Remember the list !

Remove the seats now that I have the proper tool.
Clean the carpets. New floor mats are coming.
Paint the trailer hitch. Can’t have it rusty.
Repair drivers side rear hatch cable.
Fix leaking gaskets on the box covers

Ok don’t get upset, but I skipped to #4 on the list. And I decided to replace both. This is what I’m talking about. And we are looking at the driver’s side. In the above photo I have them both open beyond where they would with the cables. The cables hold the hatches just beyond 90 degrees.

I’m not aware of these being a part you can just buy. So I’ll will be making my own. Mine may not look as scookum as the factory ones.. But then again those broke ! The passenger side is so close to breaking I may as well make two sets.

And those hinges are rusty. Nope can’t have that .. As you can see these are riveted on, so not easy to replace. I may use small bolts, or pop rivets just don’t make them tight. And the pop rivet idea works.

Yup that’s electrical wire and crimp fittings. I’m cleaning the hinges and painting them too. So skip back to #1 on the list. Drivers seat ! Came out easy with the right tools. And I’m $1.75 richer. I wonder what I’ll find under the passenger seat ? A quarter ! Now I have two bucks !

Not near as bad as it could be.. This should clean up real easy.

Yes it sure did ! Once it’s dry I’ll put the passenger seat back. The drivers seat will have to wait. Number one and number two are done. Well my fix for the side hatches did not work. The crimp on the wire was not strong enough.. So I’m making new ones with a stronger crimp and better wire. And I’m waiting for some pop rivets to arrive tomorrow. In the meantime I’ll remove the bottom seat cover. I was pleased to see the heater pad to be in perfect condition.

I’ve watched the videos on how to install these covers.. so I should have no problems. Oh my new floor mats came yesterday. The carpets are dry today so here they are.

The rear mats even cover the hump! That great…

The front’s are very basic but do the job of protecting most of the carpet. Sorry about jumping around from one thing to another. However I’m waiting for things to come, dry… and that’s how I work anyway. Passenger seat is back in, and it’s never going to look this clean again.

But I will try. There’s still a few things on the list, and I’m finding more… but let’s not rush into it. One more thing I did take the tailgate handle apart ( I know how ). Cleaned and lubricated and it works great. There’s protection product that blackens the plastics on the rear parts. It’s a nice contrast with the white.

I’ve got two days till the seat cover comes so I’ll work on the hitch and the spare tire mechanism. And the (hopefully) final assembly of the side hatches. Also paint the bottom of the doors.

Yeah! This time it works, and looks close to factory.. , So far so good.. Much stronger than my first attempt. As for the spare tire lowering mechanism… I’ll need the tools from an auto wrecker to make that work. That means today is hitch painting day. Done ! And paint the bottom of the doors too. It’s taking a while to work through the list.. Meanwhile the hitch is all painted up nice, and I use some undercoat spray on other bits under the rear.

Yes it does not look new that’s for sure.. But it’s got rust sealer under the paint.. should do well.

And with this photo you can see I’ve installed the new seat cover. Was not hard to do.. And that’s the list all done, except for some bodywork. That’s next .. So here’s a new video.

Mechanical stuff is next.. New page for that.

PAGE 4

2006 Chevy Avalanche Z71 Page 2

Oct 11 2024

With all washing done outside now it’s time to welcome the Avalanche into the garage.

What’s going on with the grill… Well that’s me changing the messed up flat black Chevy bow tie back to gold. Sorry it was bugging me. No I’m not sorry…

That looks bad, and if your going to shine up the rest of the front …well we need to fix that.

More to my liking!

I’m doing other things too. While we are up front I changed the daytime running lights and the turn signals to nice bright LED’s When they arrive the fog lights will be LED’s too. And there will be more to change in the interior. I also tested the trailer plug , and it shocked me by working 100% correctly. Today I got my new key fobs, 4×4 buttons, and new LED door lights, Now it’s time to rid the Avalanche of the parasite called a “remote start”. Of coarse it’s not working, and of coarse it’s causing problems. This means the driver’s seat may have to be removed. Two reasons for that… easier to work under the dash, and I need to replace the leather seat bottom. And wouldn’t ya know it.. there is special bolts holding the seat.

What the heck kind of nut is that! I’ve ordered the right sockets. Due to arrive in a few days. In the meantime I will work under the dash with the seats in. So I took the dash apart.. only takes me a few seconds because I’ve done this many times. Now I can find that problem black box.. AANNDD Found it !

And it’s 5 lbs of wires.. Looked up the wiring diagram for it to make sure I have all the connections.. Now your going bye bye.

And this is what I think of aftermarket remote starters. That’s the round file !

And With that done.. I was able to program one of the new Chevy key fobs I just got.. WE ARE GOOD ! While I have the dash apart I’m going to do some cleaning and change the older brake controller for the new ” Primus IQ” trailer brake controller. I have now done a good cleaning of the interior, except for the driver’s seat and the carpets. I have a week to do those things. Here’s a new video #2..

I’m finished with the front of the Avalanche for now, so today I’ll turn it around and back it in. There’s a bit of work to do on that end of things. Here’s my list..

Remove the seats now that I have the proper tool.
Clean the carpets. New floor mats are coming.
Paint the trailer hitch. Can’t have it rusty.
Repair drivers side rear hatch cable.
Fix leaking gaskets on the box covers

And of coarse install the new seat cover when it comes. One last photo before I turn the truck around.

All spiffed up except for the front of the hood. Let’s start a new page for that list.

Page 3

2006 Chevy Avalanche Z71

Sept 30 2024

This is replacing “Gramps”

I’ve lost count of how many Avalanches I’ve had over the years !

What ! Ok I’m told this is number seven.. What can I say… I love’m !

I have a post about those many many Avalanches .. HERE

All I have for now is the photos from the ad.. and the Avalanche is still in Edmonton because it needs a left front hub replaced before a long trip. I’m in no hurry, and will pick it up when I get a ride up there.

It looks good in these photos.. And the body is way better than others I’ve seen, the interior is also very good. However we need a bit of mechanical work. Oh .. runs and drives, the motor and transmission also seem fine..

I’ll start with the positive stuff first. This one is a Z71 off road package with the 17 inch wheels. The model is a ” LT ” which is the deluxe model of that year. As you can see leather heated memory seats, Bose 6 CD stereo, Power folding mirrors, Trailer towing package, Auto climate control, Steering wheel controls and all the usual stuff that Avalanches have. And as an added bonus this one has the 4:10 rear end gears for better towing. Roof rack and the owners manual is in the glove box too!

Ok enough of that… Now for the BAD ! The driver’s seat has a tear in the usual place.. They always do. But that is an easy fix, and it’s cosmetic..

Let’s see where to start.. Right away I need a new left front wheel hub, and possibly CV boots on that side too. The muffler is rusted out and the tail pipe is missing.. Too loud for me ! The check engine light is on… Told it is the O2 censer? We will see. The rear diff is wet from a leak.. The windshield has a big crack.. ( Alberta ! ). Someone installed an after market remote start piece of crap.. and of coarse it does not work and the cause of the locking not working.. I suspect the AC needs work too. The battery is old but okay for now. Needs a good cleaning too… But that’s just fussy old me .

The Avalanche went to a shop my daughter uses for an inspection of what’s up.. what’s wrong , what’s needed…. Here’s the quote.

“Hello Rob, here is a list of items we found during the inspection you can let me know if you would like an estimate for any of it. WINDSHIELD CRACKED, STEERING WHEEL OFF CENTRE , TRUCK WANDERS, POOR SHIFT QUALITY, PASS SIDE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHT OUT, DRIVERS FOG LIGHT NOT WORKING, CODES FOR KNOCK SENSOR, EVAP VENT SOLENOID, AC REFRIGERANT PRESSURE SENSOR, MODE SWITCH CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION AND KEY IN IGNITION CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION ( there’s that f@%&g remote start), FRONT LEFT WHEEL HUB, MAY HAVE DAMAGE DUE TO OVER HEATING AND SEIZED CALIPER, Needs TIRES LT265/70/17 Thank you Alish.”

I corrected some spelling and added the comma’s. Well I knew of all these things but question the caliper. No mention of three of the things I was told by the fella selling the Avalanche. And they are.. The missing exhaust system, and the cracked CV boots. And the wet Differential ? Sooo The Avalanche is going to the muffler shop in Edmonton and they will also replace the hub. Not going to fix anything else for now just want to get it home..

Sure enough they found the caliper to be damaged, so got that replaced and new brake pads. Driver’s side axle boot is split , but I’ll fix that. It’s funny no one is mentioning the rear differential ? The Truck should be good now to drive back home safely. So I’m taking the bus to Edmonton this weekend and do just that. And that worked out good. Got all the fixes done quickly and at a very reasonable cost. Drove the Avalanche the three and a half hours home without any issues. The steering is still a little loose. Or an alignment is needed, and I think the front axles are protesting. But the truck was WAAAAYYY quieter and the cruise control worked perfectly. I could be hearing and feeling the 8 year old tires.

We are home !

And I’m taking inventory of the things I found inside.. The manuals, inspection sheets from 2021, key fobs, the proper antenna and a pair of RV mirror extenders.

I thought I’d better make sure the mid-gate works. Sure enough the cover that covers this gap and folds with the mid gate has come off it’s mounting, and there’s what seams like 19 years worth of dirt too.

So there is certainly some cleaning to do… I’ll start tomorrow. Mostly the interior and the motor bay.. I thought of a way to fix the broken mounting ears on the cover.

This is some kinda moulded fibre something ? And these hold the whole thing in place.. I’ve seen this before. They brake if you jam something up front and it catches the lip. Here’s my fix. …

Pop rivets ! and a custom metal ear. After the cargo area was clean and dry, I re-installed the cover.. Speaking of cleaning… How’s this..

That looks like a rust stain.. Nope it’s from heat ! And that’s what you get for not replacing the tail pipe from the muffler back. Good thing the rubber mat is not damaged. As I clean I’m realizing that the body and all the “avalanche” bits and pieces are in very good condition. No dents.. All the covers and cubbyholes work the way they should. While I had the pressure washer out I cleaned the door frames. Also treated some rust spots.

Looks great ! Original white paint by the way. Someone liked those “Bose” speaker emblems a lot.. They just had to have them. The interior will get it’s turn for cleaning in the garage soon. But the motor is next while it’s outside. Darn I forgot the “before” photo.. But anyway here’s the after.

It wasn’t super bad.. mostly dusty. Just as long as I feel better. I took the two headlights into the garage for a good polishing. And then I used a ceramic coating on them.. Yup they are better too.

Now the turn and DRL’s look not as good. Oh well… One more thing too do while I have room in the garage.. Clean and treat the box covers. Found a good product for fixing the faded grey.

Supposed to last a year.. We will see.. But it really did remove many years of fading. And now they look new and so does the other plastics !

Looks like it’s wet.. But it’s not. So with the messy stuff done, it’s time for the Avalanche to visit the garage… But first here’s a new Video I made..

New post for the interior work…

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1993 Award Classic 23 Page 4

Let’s get going on the cabinets !

Or at least the doors and drawer fronts. Then they will be ready to install in the spring.

Above we have the two doors from under the sink from both trailers. One painted black on the front only , and one not. I’m carefully removing the build sheet from our trailer to apply it over Dave’s door. You can also see the black painted furnace cold air intake on the pile. This is unique to our trailer so it’s the only one I have. I stripped the black paint off and now it looks like new. Wood plugs cover the screws on this and also on the two wall mirrors.

This is finished with Minwax Polyshades classic oak satin finish. All the doors and fronts will get this treatment. They will also get new handles to match the gold ones used in our trailer.

Here’s the old and the new. And the old are looking old. Got more of the gold ones coming. I should say that I removed anything that can be taken to the garage to work on.. The trailer is about to get covered , and will stay that way till spring. One other thing I removed was the bathroom door. It too was painted black only on the outside. Nope I can fix that.. Here’s a few photos showing the transformation.

Stripping the door down using a friendly paint stripper. Then I applied a dark stain, wiping it off right away to even out the colour.

Still needs a second coat but now we have an oak door on both sides. But the satin poly finish will make it “pop”. Meanwhile I’ve been collecting some of the electrical goodies.

Blue penny lights to use as night lights. ( I have more coming). And two different types of USB charging ports. I like the one on the left. These will be replacing the useless TV cable outlets.

Now I’ve finish all the re-finishing that needed to be done. All the parts and pieces have been stored back in the trailer. Except for the ones that will be modified like the night stand. It was a warm day so the cover went on too.

I like to keep mother nature away for my RV’s as much as I can. These covers breathe and repel water too. All ready for winter !