Several people have re-walled their units with cheap paneling, installing it backside out, thus allowing for primer and paint to adhere easier. Final result--looks great. We used "TSP", a product in the paint dept, that when used properly, preps paneling for paint, also works great.

backside out? I don't quite understand that sorry. Do you mean a wood panel was used but you put the wood panel side facing out and prepped and painted the backside of the panel which was actually the side showing inside the trailer?

Sorry I took so long to answer. Yes, find cheap 1/4" paneling with a smooth backside. This gives a smooth surface rather than the regular grooved panel look. Once in place, it can be primed and painted for a custom look. Many paints now come with the primer mixed in to skip that step. On the old paneling, we painted the lower half a warm grey, then painted all the cabinets and trim gloss white for easy cleaning. Then mixed some white and grey for a lighter grey upper half. Painted the ceiling white also. Made the whole place look much larger. Super easy to wipe down with soap and water. Main thing was to get rid of that tired old stuffy dark paneling look.
Tree

Get on the roof, look for cracks, run all appliances, raise and lower unit, take awning in and out, flush and run water, check under sinks, toilet for leaks.
Hope that helps,
lws4049

look for roof leaks which can cause serious damage over time including, lift cable rusting, wallpaper sagging, rotting roof deck

Chris Stoute
416 225 2654

My husband has a 1962 Hilo in the garage. It suffered a lot of water damage after being vandalized that we were not aware happened. So we started to take the outer skin off and it was all rot inside the walls. The inside didnt suffer too much except for aging. We got it into the garage and there it sits. I calculated an rough price to have it restored by the people who bought the HiLo warehouse but it would be too much to transport it. Otherwise I would do it in a heartbeat. We are in PreaPrescott His dad was original owner and my husband bought it from him in the late 70s. I may be able to help a little. I painted part of the interior walls years ago and did not like it so I didnt do the rest. I made new cushions, curtains and replaced the floor with stick on tiles (they sell much nicer stick ons nowadays). I would love to restore but don’t know how to go about it as my husband is aging and so am I. We gave an 85 Chieftan Winnebago we are using these days locally. I would live to pull the HiLo behind it! Looking forward to your pics. Hopefully I can post an exterior link to Flickr. Https://flic.kr/s/aHsmpt3jjj

Good luck. It’s a very satisfying process to see bring it back to life base on your vision and hard work. Enjoy the journey!

You sure have a wonderful project to complete. Keep the photos coming. It great to keep these old trailers on the road.


John Fargnoli
2403 Tow-Lite
2007 Aspen
Equalizer Hitch

We used 1/4" luan paneling. Primed then painted.

hey yeah if i ever get out of this dam wc. cable system is prolly exact same i coul walk ya thru putting in new cables which i did in my post some right some may be wrong nt a know it all. lol check out my post (1964 i found free in a field) take old timers advice they gave me, replace ,all4 cables one at a time i explain in 1 post exactly how to do it but others have lots more info its just how i did mine sides or back shouldnt matter still same strategy if i can help more just ask ty if you need leds let me know 12vdc run off solar i have lots of parts rebuilt, sanded, stained my '64 inside put in solar 12 vdc-120vac variable controller took stove out hid it under counter it now serves to cook in summer heat in winter, put mini frdge in its place look at my post 26,000 views! lol sure may be 1 or 2 inches off left to right or front to back but who gives a rats arse cant notice it unless yer looking for it dont change yer living space! just read my whole post 9 pages tho lol tree clmber, jack and jant, garry, sam all help ya out but they all got newr models i aint rich as all them j/k :) oh by the way making my up/down crank 12vdc also
ty mike

man i didnt and wouldnt attempt to take top off course had no way to do i. if you can thats best way to go,by the way i have a '64 voyager 800

Wow tons of replies thanks everyone!

I am hoping to get to do some work to the trailer this weekend. Waiting for a couple supplies to arrive that I got online. I do have a new roof mounted vent that I am hoping to install, but need to re brace the roof on the inside first.

What sandpaper grit did you all use to prep the outside metal exterior for paint. I am going to have to use a seperate primer I think to go over the black first. Not too sure what the colours of the trailer are going to be yet

Can someone help me find a post...I tried but haven't found exactly what I am after.

My top by the door when lifted doesnt sit inside the track near the door unless you push it in. Is there a way to fix this so its a more snug and tight fit to the lower body?

Ideally it would be without buying new, I am trying to do this trailer on a budget. It seems like the top rails are quite a bit narrower than the bottom guide tracks.

Thanks for any help of how to fix or links to a thread with a descriptive write up already on this topic

I looked at your thread! Great help! Our cable system isn’t actually that old the guy I got it from had it replaced w in the last ten years. I am just taking too off to redo everything. I’ll take any info you got! Gonna redo wiring and gas as well for new appliances!

I will pull mine out and take a look at it when I’m home from the fire station man.

I have a 68 and completely rebuilt the top half. Camped in it for the last 4 yrs and now it's a mobile photo booth for my business. Enjoy the build!!

Looks great! Did u separate the top and bottom to replace the inner paneling?

@hbassani- That looks awesome, nearly identical to mine other than the location of the stove.

This weekend has been a write off with guests around which is always nice, but just didnt leave me any time to tackle the trailer. I was gonna try to put on my utility trailer tire to see how it would fit but looks like that will have to wait also.

The plan is to have it in camping condition by Sept. might not be painted by then but hopefully interior will at least be put back together

been super busy, but got to re inforce the roof a bit, hoping to get to the new roof vent and roof next.

Still unsure of what interior side panels and ceiling I want to put in. something affordable and side panels need to be paintable.

How are you doing the interior panneing? Did you separate the top and bottom? If so how’d it go? If not how are you doing it. Thanks!