ANOTHER New Project

When I collected the little tractor I had to borrow a large enough trailer to bring it home.   It occurred to me that if I had a car transporter trailer I could cart the tractor about and, if big enough take the model T Ford further afield.   One approach to this is to get an old caravan and to take it apart to use its chassis as the basis for the trailer.

click to enlarge

I found this one time (1991) luxury caravan on E-Bay for just £30!   It had been stripped of its windows, lights and other re-saleable components but the chassis was fine.   I towed it home from Clitheroe and then told Pat. . . . . .

After a 'meaningful conversation' I agreed to dismantle it this week and so far it is going well:

The interior was stripped of everything on day 2

and by the end of day 3 the front wall was gone.   As a bonus I have found £2 in coins in various nooks and crannies so that brings the purchase cost down to £28!

And by the end of day 4 we are beginning to see the floor and its all important chassis.   I guess there is no turning round now:

The components are being sorted into wood, metal and plastic for re-cycling.

By the end of day 5 we are getting down to the chassis:

Only the flimsy roof now remains so the flatbed trailer should soon appear - today hopefully.

Having seen the extent of rotten wood in this caravan I am convinced they rot from the inside, probably due to winter condensation and lack of winter ventilation.   The actual wooden framework which rots is minimal - most of the strength comes from the laminated and glued sides.   It would cost pence to rot-proof the wood before construction but I guess the caravan makers actually want them to rot and need replacement.   Doh, there's me being cynical again.

oooOOOooo

Just a word about the method with this.   I have seen YouTube videos of people taking sledge hammers or JCBs to caravans and ending up with an awful mess of mixed rubbish.

I went to the local tip and had a meaningful conversation about it.   I said I would separate out the recyclables and bring them along separately.   That meant metal (1 1/2 trailer loads) and wood (three loads).   

The rest was plastic and fibreglass plus foam insulation (two trailer loads).   That way I had no difficulty getting rid of an entire caravan body.

I identified temporary sites for the three categories of waste as the dismantling took place.

I removed the inside first - mainly wood - after which the shell was quite wobbly.   Cupboards hold caravans together!   I removed the end walls then side walls, letting the very light roof cave in harmlessly at its own pace. The roof was easily taken apart when it was on the trailer bed.

I retained quite a lot of useful fixings - stainless steel screws especially.   And the chassis of course.