Like a sad, abandoned puppy awaiting adoption, she sat for years on a back lot in our lake development. The large hole in the doorway looked unwelcoming, and packrat debris against water-damaged paneling added to the impression. But when I stepped inside and looked around I felt a strong pull to take her into our loving care to bring her back to life.
When I mentioned this “find” to my wife, Diane, she wanted nothing to do with another project. Yet, after 45 years of marriage, I knew her well enough to know that if I could just get her to take a look she would fall head over heals over this charming 1961 Shasta 19’ Deluxe. I was right. We contacted the owner who, unbelievably, offered to give it to us for hauling it off! Feeling guilty about taking it from a stranger, we wrote him a check for $150 to finalize the adoption. The rescue began with installing new tires that enabled us to tow it to our lake house nearby.
As many who are into vintage camping know, there was more to the restoration than we initially imagined. Water damage is the enemy of all vintage campers and there was plenty of it in Angelica, the name we gave her by way of admiring her shiny wings. I removed the entire front of the trailer to replace rotted out framing and water damaged paneling. It was a good thing we opened her up or we would not have been able to replace the refrigerator. A cooler barely clears the narrow doorway.
After I patched the floor, Diane went to work on removing old tile and laying down new. She shopped for curtain and cushion fabric and began the extensive work of prettying up the interior. With her trusty sewing machine she also made an awning and some artwork for inside. I tackled the framing, panel restoration, lighting, plumbing, packing wheel bearings and refurbishing the brakes. We sealed seams, painted, and tested systems to prepare for launch. How exciting it was to take our maiden trip to a nearby campsite where we invited several friends over to christen her with a bottle of champagne and enjoy a nice dinner together under the awning!
While working on Angelica we joined several organizations to connect with others interested in camping. Over two years we’ve made many friends in camping communities, including NOMADS, a non-vintage organization of retired United Methodists. Our first project was in Moore, OK where we were involved in tornado disaster relief. Our Shasta was dwarfed by the large, new rigs belonging to the others on our team.
Phase two of our Shasta project is currently underway. It involves fixing up a newly acquired tow vehicle–a 1959 Dodge Custom Sierra Spectator wagon. A California car, it’s pretty rust free but needs some freshening up of the interior. Interestingly, the car is a “spectator” version, so named because it has a back-facing third seat. We think our grandchildren will enjoy that feature some day when we take them along. In their excitement with going camping, they can keep Angelica in their sights while we journey down the road to set up camp.
