Gallery

1957

I had this idea of a 50’s hot rod theme I wanted to try on a vintage camper so I picked up this little 57 Corvette trailer to build as it was the size and shape  I thought would work well.  Previously used as a hunter’s trailer the dinette had been converted to bunk beds and it had all been decorated in a “Budwieser” theme and had been painted inside.  It did still have the original stove top and icebox though.

Corvette trailers along with some other brands such as Serro Scotties and Scotsmans have solid plywood sides.   I’m actually not fond of this design at all.  It’s difficult to rebuild and prevents anything like wiring and good insulation on the side panels.  With most side panels being solid as well as being a budget build I did replace the bad walls with new exterior grade plywood, but I really recommend using the old walls as patterns and building new walls in a more conventional way, framing with paneling.

Here’s what I came up with for the exterior.  Classic black with a polished top trimmed in red.  In a 50’s hot rod style we added red wheels with wide whites, new baby moon caps with ribbed trim rings.  I also added some details like the polished and painted propane tank and had a pinstriper put  a touch of  “Von Dutch” style pinstriping  on it and the trailer.

Not wanting to spend the time or money to strip all that blue paint off to a point a refinishing the wood we did repaint the interior.  The seats were done in Naugahyde in a 50’s car style with channel pleats.  We added aluminum ventian blinds to give it a bit of a 50’s diner feel and added the new floor in red and yellow 9” tiles with some black accent stripes that follow through to the original trim strips along the ceiling.  We even added a magazine rack with some vintage Hot Rod magazines in it.  I have to admit, even though I like stained wood interiors the colors in this one made it feel bright and open for a small space.