The adventures of Tiggerdad (A collection of camping locations, mishaps, reviews, alterations, food, and whatever else I can find)

[bigdisneydaddy]

Glad I stumbled on this thread. We have been looking at trailers for a future upgrade and we actually looked at this model 2 weeks ago. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[tiggerdad]

Glad I stumbled on this thread. We have been looking at trailers for a future upgrade and we actually looked at this model 2 weeks ago. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I must say I have been well pleased with it. It fit our needs quite well and not too heavy. For a f250 or 2500 it is a very good fit in my opinion.

We rolled in about an hour ago. We rode through most of Alabama in a constant flood warning so it was a longer trip but smooth.


Truck's power and mpg are definitely improved with the upgrades. Mpg pulling camper went from about 9.7 to 11.5-12 depending on wind and terrain.

We'll be back at GSP in October. I'm gonna try for something more local in the meantime.

 

[tiggerdad]

Been working on a project for a few weeks now.

About 6 years ago I was cleaning out the loft of a barn on my family's property when I found several old, interesting items that I've tried to use. One of those items was the milk can that I eventually converted into the base for my current Mickey Lamp. Along with it, I found an old lantern. In terrible shape due to some members of the family apparently attempting to paint it over the years.


I think I found 3 layers of paint on it. It took a lot of work, I meant a lot!. I ended up ordering some lye from off of Amazon, mixed it with about 5 gallons of vinegar and set the lamp down in the solution for about 4 days. This stripped most of the paint off and I was able to sand the rest once I took the lamp completely apart.


This lantern was never intended to be painted, it was originally made dipped in melted tin and left that color, but the coating had long ago come off and now the best option was to paint it. Before that I had to fix the tank. It had 3 pin holes in it from rust and I used some automotive tank sealer to seal it back up.


I chose red as the color. I decided to go with paint that was intended for high heat to help it last.


Several coats of paint over 3 days






Today I finally got it put back together.


More in next post.

 

[2goofycampers]

Awesome job, it looks amazing.

 

[tiggerdad]

While working on the lantern I did some researching on it. It's a Feuerhand brand lantern. This company is in Germany. They are well known for lanterns. Company established in the late 1800's and still produces lanterns today. This particular model is a Nr. 260. They started making this model in the 1930's. These were sold all over the world, including the U.S. which is why it has it's information written in English.


The interesting thing about this lantern is that it was made prior to WW2. I found this out because of the stamp at the top of the tank that states it was "Made in Germany". In 1945 production stopped on all lanterns due to the allies closing in on Germany and more specifically the Russians. The family took its plans and fled. Later they re-established the company, only then they label was printed as "Made in West Germany". This at least means this lantern was made prior to 1940, because it was at that time that the U.S. stopped importing from Germany due to actions that would eventually lead up to WW2.


I intend to use it primarily as a picnic table topper. I have found the sucker puts off a good deal of heat so it might come in handy around the table during cooler months as well.

 

[PaHunter]

While working on the lantern I did some researching on it. It's a Feuerhand brand lantern. This company is in Germany. They are well known for lanterns. Company established in the late 1800's and still produces lanterns today. This particular model is a Nr. 260. They started making this model in the 1930's. These were sold all over the world, including the U.S. which is why it has it's information written in English.
View attachment 431415

The interesting thing about this lantern is that it was made prior to WW2. I found this out because of the stamp at the top of the tank that states it was "Made in Germany". In 1945 production stopped on all lanterns due to the allies closing in on Germany and more specifically the Russians. The family took its plans and fled. Later they re-established the company, only then they label was printed as "Made in West Germany". This at least means this lantern was made prior to 1940, because it was at that time that the U.S. stopped importing from Germany due to actions that would eventually lead up to WW2.
View attachment 431414

I intend to use it primarily as a picnic table topper. I have found the sucker puts off a good deal of heat so it might come in handy around the table during cooler months as well.

That is cool you were able to find out about the age. And the restoration went well, looks great.

 

[bama_ed]

Looks great, tiggerdad.

Ed

 

[friendofeeyore]

Good job! It will be cute sitting on your picnic table.

 

[Teamubr]

Very nice! The history is pretty cool too.

j

 

[JETS70]

Looks good tiggerdad

 

[2goofycampers]

Curious, do you know it's monetary value?

 

[tiggerdad]

Curious, do you know it's monetary value?

I've seen some in great condition, with original etched globes (mine not original globe) selling for $250 or more. Those are the ones with intact original tin coating and no rust or pinholes. This one likely in the $50 or less range.

 

[2goofycampers]

I've seen some in great condition, with original etched globes (mine not original globe) selling for $250 or more. Those are the ones with intact original tin coating and no rust or pinholes. This one likely in the $50 or less range.

We are Antique Roadshow fans.

 

[tiggerdad]

Another project. Earlier I talked about my outdoor kitchen, more specifically my outdoor refrigerator door and latch.


You see the tankless water heater cover on the right? When water heater is running it is blasting out the heat...right on the door.

The latch is too short.


Also, the latches are only attached with very short screws which are in fiberglass which is very weak. When the door is open and latched, you couldn't see it. DW on the very first day we had camper home actually pulled the latch completely out of the door due to this. To solve these problems the first thing I did was buy a longer 6" latch.
.

I replaced the 4 screws that hold the latch to the side of the camper as well. The original on the left, the replacement on the right.


Inside the wall, this location is under the refrigerator and beside the water heater, so not really visible. I put a piece of 3/4" wood on the inside of the camper for the longer screws to go into, thus giving it a stronger bite. On the door, I did something a little different. I removed the 4 small screws and replaced them with bolts of the same size. Problem is, the bolts needed to be black on the outside to match the latch and white on the inside to match the inside of the door. I manged this with an old cup. I ran the bolt halfway through the cup and painted the head and end different colors. The cup kept the paint separated.

Black on the inside of the cup for the head of the bolts.

and white on the outside for the part inside the door. I also painted the washers and nuts white as well



When finished:




I might need to add a metal plate inside the door, painted white as well for more support. Will have to see. Anyway, it gave me plenty of room now to keep the door from potentially getting too hot.

 

[friendofeeyore]

Good job, Michael

 

[tigger92662]

If you hadn't told us what you did, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference with the new screws
It's a shame the way this stuff is built

 

[tiggerdad]

If you hadn't told us what you did, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference with the new screws
It's a shame the way this stuff is built

Appreciate it. Yeah, it was a very quickly noted design flaw. Had they allowed the door to the fridge to open upwards like the larger kitchen door to its left they would of avoided that problem.


Oh well, it was an easy fix. On to the next project...

 

[tiggerdad]

Speaking of the water heater. The metal door that covered it was fading quite bad when we bought it. I decided to strip it of its moving parts, sand it, and repaint it so it had a newer look to it.




You can tell I did the work while I was also replacing the above latch as you can tell the latch is removed there to the left.

 

[tiggerdad]

Another fix was to a cabinet door, or as the case was, a lack of a door.

Under the fridge is the tankless water heater. The "door" over this was a perfectly cut cabinet door, but instead of being on hinges with a handle, they just used two screws to put it in place. Making it difficult to access the heater, but there is also some valuable space in there that could be used for non-flammable items to be stored such as pans.

So I took the two screws out.


This is what the area behind the door to the tankless water heater looks like. Ultimately I zip tied up the loose wires and made them tighter and less messy and better secured the water lines.


I filled the original screw holes with wood filler and allowed it to dry. I then used wood stain touch up pens to blend it in with the original color.


I managed to find the color matching hinges at Lowe's. I also managed to find the exact handles at Lowe's as well. Strike of gold.





Finished product:


It's not perfectly centered, ended up being just a little to the left but the way I had to mount the hinges forced my hand on that. I could of cut out the wood to allow the hinges to sit a little more to the right, but if I had messed that up it would of been game over and no fixing it. Not worth it in my opinion. At least now I can more easily access the heater if nothing else.

 

[tiggerdad]

Finally!


Tiggerdad

Has come back

To Gulf State Park!

Rolled in, this time on @PaHunter old site 61.




Place appears about half full currently.

More to come.