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Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Episode 1: Shed Spartan is a Yard Spartan Now



This is my 1949 Spartan Royal Mansion. I bought it from a man in Florida eight years ago. I paid $2000 for it, delivered. I stuck it in my shed and haven’t touched it.

1949 Spartan in the shed since 2012

In January 2020 I decided it was time to work on it. Inside the shed it was really dark and kind of scary, so when my brother and his girlfriend were here one weekend I made them help me move it outside. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet. I just want the room.

Preferred parking place for the Spartan
The shed spartan is a yard spartan now.

There's a length of aluminum skirting that unscrews for access to the wheel wells

One screw would not come out and I had to grind it off. It was a brass screw. This showed little corrosion against the aluminum so I think brass is a pretty good screw option.
I’m missing a wheel on the right side. This is a 30’ trailer with 2 axles. The men that delivered it borrowed a wheel off another truck they had and they took it with them when they left. I’ve been trying to find a replacement this whole time.

I decided to try moving it with just three wheels. I think it would’ve worked better if my grandma’s old isuzu was a little higher. The hub was gouging out the ground. We really wore out what was left of that old truck’s poor clutch too.

I actually bought two Spartan Royal Mansions in 2012. The other one was manufactured in 1951. It was missing an entire axle. I paid $900 for it.

Ally Min with the one axle

This wheel had 2 lug nuts

Ally Min's wheels take 6 lug nuts. Ally Mo has hubs with 5 holes for bolts
I repurposed the 1951 Spartan straight away. I wasn’t sure what I would do with two of these revolting old trailers, but since there were two available at the same time it just seemed logical to get a spare.

It worked out pretty great for the real glass marker lights. The one with both axles only had one light, but the other one had the other three. So I should be able to rig up some new brackets with LEDs to make this one have some neat lights on it.
I need this light on Ally Mo to round out the set. Ally Min had the other 3.
Inside Ally Mo there was a cabinet randomly sitting in the middle of the observation lounge. This was moved from its original spot because the previous owner wanted to get the refrigerator out. He said it still worked and he was using it. I let him have it. I still have the original refrigerator from the 1951 Spartan. It did not work. I took the compressor out and refinished it and use it like furniture.

Here's some photos of the refrigerator from the 1951 Spartan.







Here it is after I cleaned it up and took it to an auto painter and had it painted BMW Speed Yellow because I thought that was hilarious. Fastest refrigerator in the fifties.

Old refrigerator is just a cabinet now.

Here are some closer photos of some of the bad spots on Ally Mo's aluminum skin.

Terrible corrosion on the bottom of the back door

Rifle entrance wound probably

Scrape and a puncture

Something ferrous was wired on here

This is how they dealt with random penetrations. Glob it up with asphaltic sealant

Exit wound. Whatcha think, .22 caliber?

Something poked this hard.

This is some kind of latch for holding the door open. It wasn't a great choice.
I'm not that worried about all this exterior damage because it was fun patching all the stuff like that on Ally Min. Here's some examples.
Round patches over big holes look kind of neat

Here's how I cleaned up rust and patched the spot from the door latch on Ally Min.
The aluminum handle stops the door handle banging into the wall from wind.

Ally Min has a new wider door big enough to get a washer and dryer inside.
A lever handle can go behind the handle on the wall and keep the door open.

I don't know what I'll do with the doors on Ally Mo. I want them to not let lizards and frogs come inside. And roaches. I will think about it.

Here's the subtitles from this episode:
1
01:00:03,033 --> 01:00:06,000
I've been storing this old trailer for 8 years.

2
01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:11,199
I bought two at the same time. I rebuilt one and stuck this 
one in the shed.

3
01:00:11,300 --> 01:00:13,266
Linda: It's got to go a little bit forward

4
01:00:13,266 --> 01:00:16,266
I don't have plans for a grand adventure in a vintage 
trailer

5
01:00:16,266 --> 01:00:18,633
I just want to free up all that room in my shed.

6
01:00:18,633 --> 01:00:24,766
And if I clean this thing up and make it mouseproof? I'd 
have another 240 square feet of studio space.

7
01:00:24,766 --> 01:00:28,733
Linda: OK, now look. Look!
Harry: Somebody needs to back the truck up.

8
01:00:29,633 --> 01:00:34,666
My brother and his girlfriend came to visit and helped me 
move the trailer

9
01:00:34,900 --> 01:00:37,033
Barbara: I'll go a tiny bit.


10
01:00:37,033 --> 01:00:40,699
This Isuzu was my grandmother's daily driver. 25 years ago.

11
01:00:41,000 --> 01:00:42,400
Linda: Perfect!

12
01:00:45,966 --> 01:00:48,400
Harry: Alright, Clutch!

13
01:01:01,800 --> 01:01:04,800
Harry: Is it out?
Linda: Yeah.
Barbara: No, you're not out.

14
01:01:07,800 --> 01:01:10,800
Barbara: There's still a lot of trailer behind the wheels.

15
01:01:16,533 --> 01:01:22,733
Key detail here: There's supposed to be two wheels on this 
side. There's a bare hub dragging on the ground

16
01:01:23,433 --> 01:01:26,033
Linda: Excellent.

17
01:01:36,900 --> 01:01:39,900
Barbara: What smells weird?
Harry: The clutch

18
01:01:54,000 --> 01:01:57,000
Harry: How am I doing with that tree?
Barbara: You're good. You're good on the tree side. 

19
01:02:05,066 --> 01:02:08,066
Linda: Go forward, straighten it out, and then back it 
straight up.

20
01:02:12,500 --> 01:02:15,500
Barbara: That might be as good as it can get until I get 
another wheel.

21
01:02:19,366 --> 01:02:23,333
Harry: Go straight back now?
Barbara: Yeah.

22
01:02:29,333 --> 01:02:31,866
Barbara: STOP!

23
01:02:37,199 --> 01:02:40,199
Barbara: I can always move it again later if I get a wheel.

24
01:02:40,699 --> 01:02:43,699
Harry: The truck is kind of struggling

25
01:02:43,699 --> 01:02:46,633
Harry: I think I can move it just back. Make it a little bit
 more even.

26
01:02:47,266 --> 01:02:52,500
Barbara: It's awful close to the side of the shed. I don't 
think I'll be able to work on that side easily?

27
01:03:50,800 --> 01:03:53,800
Harry: I like the paneling. A lot.

28
01:03:54,433 --> 01:03:59,333
Harry: Haha, this is a weird fix. I guess the window leaked?

29
01:04:00,199 --> 01:04:04,133
Linda: The windows roll down! Like a car.

30
01:04:05,233 --> 01:04:10,033
Harry: Eww! It stinks like
Oh, there's a rat nest or a mouse nest.

31
01:04:11,900 --> 01:04:14,633
Barbara: All they gots to go!

32
01:04:14,633 --> 01:04:17,733
Harry: My nostrils are burning now. 
Barbara: Right, let's get out of here. 

33
01:04:17,733 --> 01:04:20,900
Harry: I might've gotten hantavirus.
Barbara: There's no hantavirus this side of the Mississippi

34
01:04:20,900 --> 01:04:23,900
Harry: >KLONK
Barbara: Awww, gosh!

35
01:04:23,900 --> 01:04:26,900
Linda: Ahh the hazards of being tall!

36
01:04:26,900 --> 01:04:29,900
Barbara: Oh, even I hit my head on that thing.

37
01:04:31,800 --> 01:04:34,800
The next day we worked on the blocks a bit more

38
01:04:54,566 --> 01:04:57,566
Hi. My name is Barbara. I'm a blank builder and a blogger


39
01:04:57,566 --> 01:05:00,866
and I'm on a mission to rebuild and repurpose this 71 year 
old

40
01:05:00,866 --> 01:05:05,199
aircraft construction aluminum trailer home, Ally Mo.

41
01:05:22,300 --> 01:05:26,333
Now what is the deal with this missing wheel?

42
01:05:26,333 --> 01:05:31,166
When the previous owner delivered this trailer in 2012 they 
used a wheel from another vehicle they owned

43
01:05:31,166 --> 01:05:36,333
They towed it over here from Blountstown and backed it right
into the shed.

44
01:05:40,400 --> 01:05:45,400
They brought a floor jack with them and put it on blocks for
me. Then they took the right front wheel. 

45
01:05:45,400 --> 01:05:50,400
I wasn't worried about it because I'd bought another 
Spartan that was missing an entire axle

46
01:05:50,400 --> 01:05:54,566
And I was planning to take off the remaining axle and put it
up on blocks for good.

47
01:05:57,599 --> 01:06:02,000
So I'd have two whole extra wheels.

48
01:06:02,000 --> 01:06:08,133
I'd completely finished rebuilding the 1951 Spartan, 
currently nomenclatured Ally Min,

49
01:06:08,133 --> 01:06:14,933
before I noticed they changed from a 5 bolt pattern in 1949 
to a 6 bolt pattern in 1951.

50
01:06:19,633 --> 01:06:25,933
OK, I've been operating under a false assumption. I thought 
these were 5 on 5 spacing

51
01:06:25,933 --> 01:06:30,066
Which would mean that this distance should be three inches

52
01:06:30,066 --> 01:06:33,066
But this is three and a quarter. 

53
01:06:35,366 --> 01:06:41,199
It's 3 1/4. There's no way that... How would I think that 
was 3?

54
01:06:43,033 --> 01:06:46,033
It's obviously 3 1/4.

55
01:06:47,800 --> 01:06:53,300
Yes, I measured three times. Shut up! I'm not an expert in 
wheels.

56
01:06:53,300 --> 01:07:04,133
The underside is like tarpaper. Like really thick tarpaper. 
Some asphalt impregnated masonite or something.

57
01:07:04,133 --> 01:07:09,500
And these aluminum channels, I guess, are holding it up? 

58
01:07:09,500 --> 01:07:19,566
So what I gotta do is come under here and remove these 
aluminum channels and let all of this drop away.

59
01:07:19,566 --> 01:07:28,500
Here's the edge of that stuff. So it was two strips of 4 
foot wide stuff, I guess.

60
01:07:28,500 --> 01:07:33,566
Two years later they'd switched to aluminum going across the
 bottom of the trailer

61
01:07:33,566 --> 01:07:38,500
Taking off the belly pan was one of the first things I did 
on Ally Min

62
01:07:38,500 --> 01:07:43,566
I wanted to put piers under it and the belly pan had to go 
first

63
01:07:43,566 --> 01:07:51,500
They'd also switched from rock wool to fiberglass insulation
 by 1951.Yuck

64
01:07:51,500 --> 01:07:57,133
Working on a slab was nice for that part. I don't want to 
get insulation in the grass. 

65
01:07:58,566 --> 01:08:02,300
It would be a lot easier to work under here if I jacked this
thing up even higher.

66
01:08:02,300 --> 01:08:05,300
But not today

67
01:08:52,399 --> 01:08:56,466
This is the only clearance light left on Ally Mo
 

68
01:09:00,399 --> 01:09:04,199
This part is glass and stainless steel.

69
01:09:04,199 --> 01:09:07,433
It'll clean up nice, like this one from Ally Min


70
01:09:10,833 --> 01:09:15,166
That Spartan had 3 clearance lights.


71
01:09:23,266 --> 01:09:26,266
Amber for the front, red for the back

72
01:09:31,533 --> 01:09:38,666
Since Ally Min is now a permanent structure I put patches 
where all the lights used to be.

73
01:09:45,366 --> 01:09:52,800
I used a marine grade alloy for my patches. After 7 years in
 the weather they're still shiny. I don't mind.

74
01:09:58,333 --> 01:10:01,333
I have not touched the inside of this since I bought it 8 
years ago

75
01:10:04,100 --> 01:10:07,800
This is something I looked at and said, "Wow! I want to pay 
$1000 for that!"

76
01:10:08,800 --> 01:10:10,366
In fact I think I paid $1500

77
01:10:10,366 --> 01:10:12,433
The door is about 5'8"

78
01:10:14,966 --> 01:10:18,399
So I can go in it no problem but I often hit my head coming 
out

79
01:10:21,166 --> 01:10:25,333
This piece of paneling covers up a roof vent 

80
01:10:26,300 --> 01:10:29,300
There's a hole right here in the roof.

81
01:10:29,300 --> 01:10:33,133
So I guess at some point they just covered it up

82
01:10:37,666 --> 01:10:40,666
This closet is where the electrical is located

83
01:10:43,766 --> 01:10:47,399
Latching handles are kinda cool

84
01:10:47,399 --> 01:10:50,399
I guess the latch is broken

85
01:10:52,566 --> 01:10:54,300
There used to be a heater right here

86
01:10:54,966 --> 01:10:59,699
The stock units had a heater so there's a sort of a roof 
vent right there.

87
01:10:59,699 --> 01:11:04,166
Where anything and everything can come and go as it pleases

88
01:11:04,333 --> 01:11:09,133
So I like to remove things like that and just patch the hole
 in the roof

89
01:11:09,666 --> 01:11:14,966
I haven't cleaned this at all. This is the way it was 
delivered to me.

90
01:11:15,833 --> 01:11:16,933
I paid money for this

91
01:11:18,933 --> 01:11:21,033
These little shelves are original

92
01:11:21,566 --> 01:11:25,500
And I don't know what these little holes are for. 
Ventilation?

93
01:11:26,666 --> 01:11:31,333
This is one of the roof vents. There's another one under 
that ceiling that's just covered over.

94
01:11:34,133 --> 01:11:38,300
What I did on the other Spartan was I took out all this 
business in the middle. 

95
01:11:38,300 --> 01:11:41,300
I put closed cell foam on the bottom side of the cover 

96
01:11:41,300 --> 01:11:45,899
And then just used a cricket clamp and just cinched it down 
tight

97
01:11:46,100 --> 01:11:49,100
And I don't often open the covers

98
01:11:50,433 --> 01:11:53,966
But I still have the vents, in the other Spartan. 

99
01:11:54,133 --> 01:11:57,133
And they haven't leaked or given me any problems. They're 
air tight.

100
01:11:58,833 --> 01:12:00,800
Look, it came with a fire extinguisher

101
01:12:04,233 --> 01:12:07,233
There's a sort of a duct from the heater. Interesting

102
01:12:11,633 --> 01:12:15,800
The kitchen was just this nasty when I bought this thing. 

103
01:12:18,866 --> 01:12:20,533
The other one I just gutted it.

104
01:12:21,133 --> 01:12:24,933
I didn't try to clean it or do anything, but, I don't know.

105
01:12:24,933 --> 01:12:27,933
We'll see when I get into it what I want to do

106
01:12:27,933 --> 01:12:29,500
Another roof vent

107
01:12:30,066 --> 01:12:33,066
Here's a dome light just like in a car.

108
01:12:34,533 --> 01:12:37,533
I don't remember there being one of those in the other 
Spartan

109
01:12:39,300 --> 01:12:42,333
This stove is original. It was a propane gas stove.

110
01:12:45,199 --> 01:12:48,199
And it's probably in pretty good shape. I don't know what 
the hell this is

111
01:12:48,766 --> 01:12:51,766
I think a rat has probably built a nest in there. That's 
awesome.

112
01:12:53,133 --> 01:12:57,899
But I will probably remove this and clean it up and see what
 the story is. 

113
01:12:58,133 --> 01:13:00,899
Maybe I can use that

114
01:13:00,899 --> 01:13:03,899
I don't even have an oven in my house

115
01:13:06,199 --> 01:13:08,433
There doesn't seem to be any rats living in there

116
01:13:11,766 --> 01:13:14,033
I think it's weird though, how it covers up the cabinet?

117
01:13:14,033 --> 01:13:17,033
I mean, why is there a door there? How are you supposed to 
use it?

118
01:13:18,100 --> 01:13:21,100
But that's really the way they made em. Just weird.

119
01:13:23,399 --> 01:13:25,233
It really takes up a lot of space

120
01:13:25,233 --> 01:13:30,966
To actually use the thing it would be better to not have 
this cabinet and just have a hot plate or whatever

121
01:13:34,800 --> 01:13:37,800
Oh here's an example of what the insulation is like

122
01:13:38,699 --> 01:13:41,300
It's like a rockwool product

123
01:13:41,300 --> 01:13:47,233
And the rats and mice have been extricating it from the 
inside of the walls and floor this whole time

124
01:13:51,066 --> 01:13:54,366
This little tightness here? I don't like that

125
01:13:55,533 --> 01:13:58,533
The way this door works it's a slider

126
01:14:03,800 --> 01:14:07,966
But it's so very narrow. Still works though

127
01:14:11,533 --> 01:14:14,533
I can't even back up far enough to show it without bumping 
my head on the ceiling

128
01:14:16,533 --> 01:14:19,300
But it's just really dark and creepy in here.

129
01:14:19,300 --> 01:14:23,100
But it's not nearly as dark and creepy in here now that I've
 moved it out of the shed

130
01:14:29,533 --> 01:14:33,199
It needs to be gutted


131
01:14:34,466 --> 01:14:38,966
And even these cabinets that look nice, its a nice curved 
surface

132
01:14:38,966 --> 01:14:43,300
But down at the bottom the plywood is delaminated and it's 
just not....

133
01:14:43,300 --> 01:14:48,566
It just all smells gross and is just too damaged by moisture

134
01:14:49,466 --> 01:14:50,466
The floor is damaged

135
01:14:52,366 --> 01:14:55,366
It just all has to be thrown away

136
01:14:56,733 --> 01:14:58,766
But I'll save the parts I can

137
01:14:59,766 --> 01:15:06,466
Look at this little light switch with a pull switch. The 
whole wall flexes when you pull on it

138
01:15:10,300 --> 01:15:13,300
This window is broken. There's a piece of plexiglass stuck 
in there.

139
01:15:15,699 --> 01:15:18,699
I need to get a new roll-up window

140
01:15:18,699 --> 01:15:22,899
I replaced these, I mean, I replaced the gasket and stuff, 
in the other Spartan

141
01:15:23,899 --> 01:15:28,566
You know it probably took me two weeks of just working on 
the back windows

142
01:15:29,466 --> 01:15:31,899
I took these parts off and repainted them

143
01:15:32,666 --> 01:15:34,233
And it came out nice

144
01:15:34,699 --> 01:15:37,533
The trim around this is kind of weird

145
01:15:37,566 --> 01:15:40,566
I built new trim around the other one, in the other Spartan

146
01:15:40,733 --> 01:15:43,733
And I took off all these window parts and cleaned them and 
repainted them

147
01:15:47,433 --> 01:15:51,966
I do not know why these light fixtures are here. This makes 
no sense.

148
01:16:01,399 --> 01:16:05,133
This was the bedroom. I don't know where the bed was? I 
guess it came straight off the back?

149
01:16:07,566 --> 01:16:10,566
I'm not sure. Look! There was a phone in here!

150
01:16:11,966 --> 01:16:13,466
Oh, you wanna see the bathroom?

151
01:16:13,466 --> 01:16:17,633
There's a mirror on the back of this door. I don't think the
 other Spartan had that feature

152
01:16:20,000 --> 01:16:21,933
I think these mirror clips are original

153
01:16:23,199 --> 01:16:26,199
And I think there's one missing because a guy in Sweden 
bought one from me

154
01:16:28,533 --> 01:16:31,133
I love this door handle

155
01:16:31,133 --> 01:16:37,566
I took the door handle from the other Spartan and I gave it 
to my Aunt Jano and she uses it on her screen door

156
01:16:37,566 --> 01:16:42,366
Look at the lock on it. You just slide that over and now you
 can't...

157
01:16:42,366 --> 01:16:49,199
Well, if it holds. And then you can't do it from the 
outside. Maybe you have to push it the other way


158
01:16:49,199 --> 01:16:51,233
But anyway, it's a pretty cool door lock

159
01:16:52,166 --> 01:16:55,033
This bathroom is all aluminum

160
01:16:55,033 --> 01:16:58,033
Maybe I can have enough light if I come inside here

161
01:16:58,033 --> 01:17:02,300
The other guy the previous owner tried to polish it to see 
how that would work  

162
01:17:02,866 --> 01:17:07,533
It works good. So this could be a very shiny aluminum room

163
01:17:09,833 --> 01:17:11,066
And this is the vent

164
01:17:12,466 --> 01:17:16,733
That looks like some sort of radiation warning

165
01:17:17,899 --> 01:17:19,666
And it's open to the outside

166
01:17:20,533 --> 01:17:23,100
There's a light in here, in the ceiling

167
01:17:23,633 --> 01:17:29,066
And the way it worked was you just stood over the toilet and
 just showered in here

168
01:17:29,066 --> 01:17:30,966
Just washed down the whole thing

169
01:17:33,166 --> 01:17:35,233
It's kind of small and closed in and scary to me

170
01:17:35,533 --> 01:17:40,333
The '51 Spartan had a window right there inside the shower

171
01:17:40,366 --> 01:17:42,633
But this one doesn't


172
01:17:43,533 --> 01:17:45,966
I just took this whole thing out

173
01:17:45,966 --> 01:17:48,966
The floor gets really damaged in the shower areas.

174
01:17:49,399 --> 01:17:52,000
So I just gutted all of this out of the other Spartan

175
01:17:52,166 --> 01:17:56,266
I cut it up with a reciprocating saw and took it straight to
 the recyclers

176
01:17:56,899 --> 01:17:58,500
I got about $170 for it

177
01:17:58,866 --> 01:18:01,866
Even the back of the door was covered in aluminum

178
01:18:04,766 --> 01:18:07,433
On the other one I took that metal to the recyclers

179
01:18:07,533 --> 01:18:11,899
Without realizing it was a different alloy than is available
 today

180
01:18:13,233 --> 01:18:15,466
I should have saved all the aluminum for the patches

181
01:18:15,699 --> 01:18:16,699
I didn't know

182
01:18:17,000 --> 01:18:17,733
My bad

183
01:18:22,100 --> 01:18:25,833
I don't know. It just reminds me of a brig. I just don't 
know if I want that

184
01:18:26,566 --> 01:18:28,066
Kind of spooky

185
01:18:29,566 --> 01:18:32,566
Anyway, that's the inside

186
01:18:36,000 --> 01:18:39,199
Maybe tomorrow I'll clean the kitchen

187
01:18:40,866 --> 01:18:43,866
You know, throw this junk away at least.

188
01:18:43,866 --> 01:18:45,899
Or see if it's any good.

189
01:18:45,899 --> 01:18:48,899
I don't know, could be a good coffee cup!

190
01:18:50,899 --> 01:18:52,500
Oh yeah

191
01:18:53,600 --> 01:18:54,800
Gross

192
01:18:54,800 --> 01:18:57,033
Gross gross gross

193
01:18:57,033 --> 01:19:00,033
Gross gross gross gross gross gross gross

194
01:19:20,966 --> 01:19:26,500
I only just realized I got one of the original steps for 
this trailer. They were both broken off Ally Min.

195
01:19:26,500 --> 01:19:29,166
It's supposed to slide under here.

196
01:19:30,866 --> 01:19:33,866
It's going in the shed for now

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That was the first episode of the Beachton Buck Rivet Report

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Go buck yourself

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