Tin Can Tourists 94th Annual Winter Convention at the Sertoma Youth Ranch, Brooksville FL

We spent another great weekend with the Tin Can Tourists. The Youth Ranch is located under some very tall Live Oaks. Beautiful spot.

Here we are…all set up under the trees. Jim put an extension on one corner of the awning to run water off. A severe thunderstorm was predicted…but missed us.

We forgot our chairs so moved the end of the picnic table under the awning. Left the icemaker at home so Jim used the table to make morning coffee.

A few more campers…..

The couple with this bus have a beautiful cat that travels with them. It wears a harness and walks around like a little dog.

This makes a nice little traveling camper. During “open house” I had a lady mention she had one that was from the late 60’s. I asked if she were a TCT member and she said no….she didn’t have an Airstream.  There are a  lot of them in the club but it is open to anyone who likes to camp….even if it isn’t an Airstream. Vintage campers are most common but all are welcome.

 

If you look closely at the picture of the Airstream on the right side….you can see what looks like a small door. It is actually a door within a door. Open the small door and you have a screened door. Pretty unique idea.

Everyone sets up their trailers differently….the lady who live here made this. It is beautiful.

A friendly group of people.

And we thought ours was small….there were two this size there.

Look how beautifully she has this done up…..The bed makes into a table and bench seats and I believe it had a small sink, fridge and stove top.

 

This camper is 45’ long….and the couple restoring it are doing the work themselves….anyone remember the movie “The Long Long Trailer” with Lucile Ball and Desi Arnaz?   Well….we got to watch it…with the side of the trailer as the movie screen.  How appropriate…

Here’s a motorhome you wont see everyday.

It belongs to Rodney Kershaw….and he is planning a TCT meet in Lake Charles LA in Sept. Sure sounds like fun…hope we can make it.

“Pot Luck” supper  turned out to be a feast!

Jim had a new friend as we were getting things packed and ready to leave. She had been hanging around the night before. Larry told us she was there last year too. It was kind of nice….most people don’t get to see just how beautiful they are or get to pet one.

 

I didn’t take pictures of all the campers….and I didn’t get the makes and dates. I’ll do better next time. Guess I was having too much fun.

Hudson Club meet…. Deland, FL 2.14.14 to 2.16.14

We hooked up our little camper and headed for Deland, FL

The Hudson Club was having a 3 day meeting at Bill Dreggors Park.

Here is our traveling setup. 

The bigger Motorhomes and Truck Campers that were towing trailers parked in the lot, but Jim backed us onto the grass so we could put up the awning.

The ladies we bought the camper from gave us a small wooden folding table that is perfect for the small ice maker. Our little fridge runs on 110 and only has a tiny freezer. We were dry camping and had to run the generator every now and again to keep the fridge cool. The Yamaha 2000 sits on a platform that Jim welded on just below the spare tire on the camper. He had to move the spare up to make room for it. Works well.

I made the awning and Jim made the poles and tensioners.

Here is my favorite Hudson.

and a few more…..

A work in progress….I think it has airbags that raise it up for driving. He brought it in on a trailer but drove it on and off.

I think ours had all this chrome on it at one time….

The lady that owns this pretty truck drove it in each day….even in the rain.

Not a Hudson….but a beauty still….

I believe this is a Matador.

We had a great time….lots of good food and made new friends.

Jim met Mark, who had a 1963 Mercury Comet. Mark was anxious for Jim to start the Hudson so he could hear it run, so he hung around till we were ready to leave….good thing he did…..it wouldn’t start.  The starter had a crack in it. Only 3 weeks old. Mark ran Jim to the auto parts store for a new one and went home for tools that Jim needed. Did I mention new and good friends?  Thanks again Mark!!!!!

Once they got back with the new starter it was only a short time and it was running and we were on our way home. All in all…..a great weekend.

New Awning for Scamp….new paint for Hudson 2.12.13

I wanted an awning for the Scamp but professionally made was more than our camping funds could handle …so I ordered some awning material from www.Sailrite.com and made my own. Material, thread, needles, binding, rope and poles cost around $200.

The material was 46” wide …and I was sewing two pieces together……I had to roll it up to get it through my little portable machine.

I had enough material for a scalloped border on all 3 sides..but we opted to make it 8’ x 7’ instead of 7’x7’. I think we made a good decision. Less bending for Jim when walking under it.

I trimmed the scallops in black to go with the car. Trying to tie car..camper..and awning together.

 Jim made the poles out of big dowels. We had seen one at the Tin Can Tourist meet that had been made this way and really liked it. The tensioners make it so simple to put up. Jim already had the rebar stakes made for a previous project. He painted them red for better visibility.

We didn’t have it drawn as tight as we could have since the track (rail) for the awning edge had been installed the day before and we  wanted to make sure the caulk was dry around the screws.

Jim will be able to stand up under the awning when tightened up. ….not so inside the camper.

Sure looks tiny doesn’t it?

If we find we need them…I can make screens and a wind guard for it….only trouble is..everything extra is something that will have to be stored either in the car or camper.

Red is not my favorite color…but with the red on the wheels of the Hudson and the red S and stripe on the camper, I felt the only color for the awning could be red. White would be cooler but show more dirt and black just wouldn’t do in the heat.

Dual exhaust?  No….Jim mounted these under the camper to carry the 6’ awning poles.

Jim has spent the last week fixing spots on the car. There were several places where rust was bubbling up and he wanted to remove the cruiser skirts that came on it…that meant filling in the holes for the magnets and bolts. Once you do that you have to repaint.

Dressed and ready to help if needed.

Temperature is in the 70’s and not a hint of a breeze…perfect for painting.

Having roll up doors on the rear as well as the front helps for ventilation. You can see the screened area between the sides and roof. They also help with air flow.

Jim prefers to work on the engines…not the body and not painting…but he can do it.

There is a knack to getting a good paint job besides having the paint mixture right…..You have to have your timing down pat.  Too fast and it goes on too thin…too slow and it’s too thick and runs. Jim moved at the same rate of speed over the whole car.

Hard on a bad back…you cannot stop…stand up and stretch…just keep moving at the same pace.

It is wet and looks very shiny….but will dry to the flat satin finish it had before.

All dried and ready to ride.

Jim picked up a set of fender skirts and will get them fabricated to fit the Hudson. He doesn’t like the squared wheel well. The body had so much work done to it he doesn’t feel Hudson skirts would fit it anymore.

Friday we go to a Hudson car show…..dry camping at the site. Gives us a chance to use our new awning and see how it works and what else we’ll need. Then we have another Tin Can Tourist meet a few days later. All these little camping trips should get us in shape for our VA,NY and VT trip. For now we will be staying in the little thing for a few days at a time….wonder how it will be for a month or more?…..with a dog and a bird, but of course, they go everywhere we go, whenever we go.

Prairie Creek Lodge 1.18.14

We were camped at the Prairie Creek Lodge in Micanopy, FL. Very nice conservation area.

An interesting note about the area……

Excerpt from the Visitors Guide…

”Welcome to Florida’s first conservation burial ground, opened in 2010. Prairie Creek Cemetery only accepts remains that are not embalmed and are in biodegradable containers. Graves are hand-dug by volunteers, and the land is managed as a public nature preserve. Cremated remains and pets are also accepted.”

“The cemetery includes a multi-purpose public trail that connects to the paved Gainesville-Hawthorne Rail Trail and the unpaved trails of Prairie Creek Preserve. Adjacent to the southwest is Prairie Creek Lodge, a rural conference center.” (that is where we are)

I like the idea of going back to the land…naturally.

Their website   www.conservationburialinc.org

It is amazing how much stuff gets buried with a conventional burial.

They had an open house for all the vintage campers. Over 500 cars arrived with about 1600 people.

Even though our camper is not really old enough to be considered vintage…we had a lot of people looking at it and amazed at how much room was inside….even a bathroom.

We are looking forward to a few more Tin Can Tourist events. There is one in Michigan this summer that sounds very good. Maybe we’ll get to see some of their famous lighthouses.

Tin Can Tourists get-to-gather…..1.17.14

We pulled in here yesterday….moved about 6 times…trying to get sunshine in the camper since there were no electric hookups. They were stringing electric to as many campers as possible so we moved again. This time only partly in the sun…somehow we always manage to be by the tallest tree in the area…whether on land or sea.

1999 Scamp with a 1949 Hudson for a tow vehicle (ours)

This club is for vintage motorhomes and trailers…ours isn’t old enough to be considered “vintage” but the ‘49 Hudson is. The Scamp hasn’t changed much over the years so most wouldn’t even notice.

How about this one? 1989 16’ Casita …The brothers that made the Scamp parted company and one started making this one….they look alike on the outside…but this one sure makes ours look like a plain Jane and it’s amazing what that 3 extra feet can make. This one has a shower.

1967 Yellowstone Cavalier….restored inside to original. It is a beauty.

1956 Airstream Bubble…tow vehicle is a’53 Chevy Suburban Carryall

1955 Trotwood Cub

1962  Shasta

1986 SunLine

1964 Serro Scotty Sportsman

1962 Airstream Globe Trotter

1955 Wally Byam Holiday

White Water Retro

1970 Williams Craft

1965 Arrow Little Chief

1953 Little Caesar     Lawrence Perry reskined this plus a lot of other work on it.

1978 GMC Motor Home

Airstream Bambi II

1963 Shasta

1973 Argosy

1948 Spartan Manor

1957 Airfloat…This1956 4 door Packard was made into a pickup to be used as a tow vehicle. The rear half of the doors still work….giving access to storage.

1962 Airstream Globe Trotter.  Tow vehicle is a 1936 Chevy Pickup

Mini Teardrop camper.    Tow vehicle is a 1957 Isetta

1977 GMC Motorhome

1975 FMC

I think I was able to get a picture of each camper or motorhome at the gathering. If I missed one..I apologize.

Saturday they have “open house”. The public is welcome to come and see all the vintage campers and motorhomes…inside and out.

Maybe a visit here will inspire someone to “save” an old camper they’ve seen sitting in a field somewhere going to waste. It is amazing what room some of these small campers have, and each has been done to suit those who will be using it.