Hello World!

So I’ve taken on a renovation project, and Junebug is her name.  She is a 1961 Shasta Compact camper and I love her already, even with all of her imperfections!  I should have started chronicling this adventure back in early December when I first got Junebug, but I wasn’t sure if I had the energy to write everything down.  Today I decided it would be worth it, so I’m giving it a go.

I bought Junebug in Lordsburg, New Mexico on December 7th.  I drove 14 hours to get her and managed to get exposed to bed bugs in a shady motel along the way.  Perhaps that’s why I decided to name her JuneBUG, however I would rather forget that whole incident so as not to sour the experience completely.  The son of my mother’s good friend from college volunteered to accompany me on my journey.  I took him up on the offer, thinking it would be safer, especially since I was carrying a lot of cash and driving a long way by myself (Baxter was there too, but he doesn’t count since I’m pretty sure he would only be able to love someone to death).

After arriving back home with my new camper, I noticed she was leaning quite a bit to one side.  Upon closer inspection (and advice from my friendly neighbors), I realized she had two different springs installed.  I took her to the nearest trailer shop to be inspected and repaired.  Luckily leaf springs were only about $30 each, so she got two new leaf springs as well as rewired tail lights.  Apparently the previous owner had installed the wrong sized leaf spring on one side and wired the tail lights backwards.   I’m not sure what he/she was thinking, but I’m glad someone here was able to set her straight.  Next I set about trying to find the leak in the roof.  I knew that vintage canned ham trailers such as Junebug were prone to leaks, and she was no exception.  I could see the water damage to the interior wood and needed to find the source(s).  In the meantime, I ordered a waterproof cover for her so that I could protect her from the frequent Houston downpours.

I only had two weeks until Christmas, and I planned to take Junebug to my grandma’s house near Austin, so I had to get moving to get her ready!  The house was going to be full, and I wanted this to be Junebug’s first official excursion as well as my first experience not having to fight over the right to have my own bedroom at my grandma’s over the holidays.  It’s funny how if you are married, you automatically get rights to your own bedroom just because there are two of you, even if there are others who are older and single who (in my humble opinion) should get first dibs.  Oh the injustice!

It’s getting late, so I will continue catching everyone up to date on Junebug’s adventures tomorrow night when I have more time.   A demain!

Junebug dressed up for the Christmas card photo!

My little Jetta pulled Junebug all 14 hours back to Texas. She really struggled on the hills, so I’ve now purchased an SUV to tow Junebug in the future. It was worth a try, but I can see why you don’t see more cars towing little campers on the highway. 🙂

This is the hotel we stayed in on our way back from Lordsburg. This is NOT the hotel with the bed bugs. I’m sure the bed bugs were in the Days Inn in Van Horn. The El Capitan was very nice and we actually secured the last room in the whole town thanks to the ice storm passing over the area.

This is a picture of Baxter and me right after we purchased Junebug. I am super excited that my dream of owning a vintage camper has finally come true!

The morning after the ice storm, the roads were clear and we set out to return to Texas with Junebug.