We Got Our Camper Painted

2011 Chevy Roadtrek

 

This is  our Chevy Roadtrek. We bought it 16 months ago. We decided to have it painted and have all the graphics removed. 

It has 61,000 miles on it - not a bit of rust - and everything works inside. 

It is 19 feet long - but inside it is loaded. It has a king size bed - full bathroom - full kitchen - furnace and air conditioning. 

It is a basic Chevrolet 3500 van. It has the 4.9 liter engine producing 275 horsepower. It has an automatic 4 speed transmission. It has power windows - power locks - power mirrors - power brakes. It has a big screen radio with rear view camera. 

We plan to drive it north Monday - VA - DC - PA - Canada. I replaced the radio - furnace - headlights - seat upholstery. 

I Bought a 1988 Ford F150 Truck

1988 Ford F-150 Farmer Truck

Back when we were building our chalet home in Tamaqua in 1973 - I bought a truck very similar to this for errands. That one was a 1965 Ford with a 292 V8 - and 3 speed on the column. It was a good dependable truck. It was red and they didn't even hear of bedliners yet back then. 

This truck is much newer. It is a 1988 - just 38 years old. The main reason I bought it is because it has a 300 cubic inch straight 6 engine with 7 main bearings. the engines are bulletproof - they last forever. It is hooked up to a 5 speed granny floor shifter transmission. Other nice features are EFI - Electronic Fuel Injection - power disk brakes - power steering. About 5 years ago - someone put new oversized Good year Wrangler tires on it and aluminum "mag" wheels. They look like new. the wheels are 17 inches - where stock 15 incher wheels used to be. 

The shifter is super smooth - it starts up smoothly with the fuel injection. 

I really don't need a truck - but it is neat to have. I have a small trailer I put on our camper - that carries just as much stuff. Since it is over 30 years old - I was able to register it with an antique license plate. Because of that - State Farm give me full insurance coverage for $20 a month. Sales tax was low because I paid $1200 for the truck. 

There is some adhesive on the side left from trim pieces that are long gone. I will try to rub the glue off. I ordered a new carpet and seat cover for it - also new matching lug nuts and one wheel stud was missing. 

I am guessing Lulu allows me these little projects to keep me entertained. I can spend hours in the driveway - doing nothing - but at least I am moving around. She lounges by her pool and sees me struggling. 

My next step is to pressure wash and gunk the engine off. I want you to see that old straight 6 in all its glory. Everything else on it works. It just needs a really good cleaning. It has very little rust. In good to excellent condition - NADA says it is worth $5k to $12k. 

Yes - Lulu is great at driving a stick. You forget she was once a bus driver. She has plans on taking it to yard sales. It even has a bedliner.