Teeny Tiny Trailer Luv!: Floor Demo-ing

Taking Lil' Chick for the first time tomorrow to see Denny at Southern California Vintage Trailer Design, so he can get me some trailer lights working and give me some idea of what we're up against!

Before that, however, I wanted to get as much demo-ed as possible, especially the floor under the galley cabinets, seats, and in the closet. I had already done the area under the galley, so today it was on to the remainder. Everything, that is, except for the flooring in the "Great Room" - i.e., the teeny tiny actual living space. Because I had already found rot and holes under the galley cabinets and was anticipating lots more in other areas of the trailer, I wanted to leave the main flooring area intact - because that might be the only thing holding the Chick together after I'm done demo-ing!

I started underneath the curb-side bench seat. Because of all the great hinged panels to access the areas under the seats, this was pretty easy.

Curb-side bench seat.

The first thing that had to go was the ancient bag of sand that someone stowed in the back. Not sure if it was put there for ballast, or for use for traction in snow or ice, but it was broken and leaking and had to be emptied cup by cup until I could lift the bag out.

Built-in sand bag. I wonder if this was an option on this model.....

Cup by cup until it was all gone.

After the mod 60s linoleum was peeled away, the patched carpet was next to go.

It's pretty easy to sweep away the sand when there's a 2-inch gap
between the floor and what's left of the wall!

Next up was the center rear bench.

Rear center bench seat before.....

.....and after.

No sand bags in this one, but I did uncover something interesting. Previously, I had thought that the groovy orange, brown, and avocado linuleum was original to the trailer, but peeling it up under this seat revealed the true original floor covering, a sweet, clean white with a marble-y pattern and small patches of gold fleck.

I can just imagine Lil' Chick fresh out of the factory, proudly sporting her gleaming white floor!

On to the street-side bench seat, with its wheel well sheathed in bright green carpet.

Street-side bench seat before.....

.....and after. And now sporting a nice view to the driveway below.

Of course I had to go outside and crawl underneath so I could
get a mouse-eye view into the Chick from below!

OK, back to work. I moved on to the closet, where I spent the majority of today's demo session.

Again with the bright green carpet?

"Closet" in the Chick is actually the space encompassing the closet area, along with the spaces under the icebox and the water tank on the upper front wall.

Looking forward towards the front wall;
that's the copper drain pipe going from the sink
to the outlet through the street-side outer wall
(from right to left).

Green carpet and mod linoleum peeled away;
layers of cardboard and foam are next to go.....

.....revealing lots of rot and another view through to the driveway.

The first time I looked in the Chick's closet, I noticed a toilet paper holder hanging on the wall. I assumed the former owners perhaps had a porta-potty that they kept in the closet - and the space actually looked like a perfect spot for mine. But when I swept away some of the debris on the floor and began removing the linoleum, I found this:

Looks kinda like it could be a sewer drain covered with a linoleum patch, right? I wasn't brave enough to open it up, and the closet space doesn't look big enough for an actual RV-type toilet, so I'm not sure what this is. Hopefully Denny will be able to provide some insight.

I removed one last piece of paper that had been attached to the closet wall along with the wiring diagram and warranty that I removed a couple days ago; it was installation instructions for a "6 Pole Trunk-Trailer Kit." I have absolutely NO idea what that is, but I do know that they bought it at Pep-Boys for $5.98

Into a protective sleeve in the Lil' Chick binder it goes.

Next I removed the Allied Moving Company cardboard box that was taped around the back of the icebox. I assume they did this for extra insulation? Regardless, it was a mother to remove.

Back of icebox before.....

.....and after, showing old foam insulation.

I'm not sure yet if I'm going to keep the icebox or swap it out for a real fridge. The Trav'ler icebox is a way-cool bit of retro camping history, but I've been spoiled with the little fridge in my A-frame: my wine stays nicely chilled!