When I found her.

When I got her she was sitting for 10 years and would need to be towed. When I went to see her she was sitting in the back of a lot. There was an old pool on the top to keep the weather out, all of the vents were damaged so getting it ready for winter was a top priority. There were leafs up to the top of the tires, and there were squirrls living inside! I decided to come back another day to clear out the mess and start moving her. When I returned the junk was cleared out and the squirrls were gone too. When I opened the dog house(engine cover) to see how the engine looked the first thing I noticed was the new carbrator. There is a 396 Big Block Chevy sitting in her. I put 5 gallons of gas in the tank and pulled my truck up to jump start it, this is the first time she has tried to start in over 10 years. With a few turns of the engine she started with a rattle, huff, then puff. She ran rough so I adjusted the timing and she smothed out, but there was somthing not right.

The way home.

I let her warm up for about a half hour and topped off all the fluids. I got into the drivers seat and put her in park, when I gave her some gas she rocked a little and stalled. I started her back up and tried to move her again this time she started to roll. I noticed she started to smoke once I started moving her. As I pulled out of the lot it seemed as though there was no power. I got her to the gas station fine and looked over her to make sure nothing was going to fall off going down the road. I pulled out of the gas station and started to go down the mountain the first obstacle was a large reservoir dam, it is a big and narrow curve. I crossed the dam fine except the dark cloud of smoke that was following me. The next obstacle was a up hill part of the trip, I decided to take the old road that runs along side of the main road. I got all the down hill momentum I could before the hill and started to go. About half way up I realized I wasnt going to make it, the engine gave no power as I pulled into the side of the road and she died. I tried to start her again and again with gas and starter fluid with no luck. I called a friend who came and gave me a push the rest of the way up the hill to a parking area where I left her for the night.

Loading Trouble

I returned the next day with plenty of tools and hours of thinking of the problems. After a few hours with no luck I headed home to figure out a way to get her home. I had recently started talking to a neighbor who had a small tractor so I decided to ask him if I could pay him for a tow. We measured his trailer and decided it was too small. He told me he had a big rig with a flat bed trailer so we headed to get the truck. Once we arrived at the motorhome we backed the truck up to the front of the trailer and got to work. The motorhome was incapable of loading its self so we tried the winch. When the winch wouldnt work we went for the tractor. We used the tractor to load it. First the front under lights got bent, then the motorhome botomed out and broke the fresh water tank, and last the tractor pushed the motorhome too far and it ran into the front of the trailer. All of the damage was minor, at least she got home in one piece.

Cleaning

When we got home I went and got all of the cleaning chemicals I could find. There was animal shit, feathers, dirt, and other unknowns. The water damage was extensive, from the front cap to the rear cap was dry rot and mold. The bunk beds above the rear bed were covered mold and were about the worse of the mold problem. I started by bleaching and scraping the mold from the wood and trim. Once the thick layer of mold was gone I used rags and scrubbers to get the slime off. The last thing I used was a razor scraper to shave the wood a little to remove anything that could of been left.

After the dirt and mold was gone I noticed no matter how much I vacumed there was dust in the air from walking. I went to a local carpet shop to see the price of some cheap carpet, the owner told me they just removed some good carpet and padding from a house and if I wanted it I could have it. I took a look at the carpet, it looked good enough to use for the winter with all the show and mud. I ripped up all the old carpet and there was a thick layer of fine dust that seeped through the carpet and padding. The old carpet was flat and wouldnt fluff up, after all it was over 35 years old. The carpet came up easy, the hard part was taking out the several hundred staples that held the carpet and padding to the wood floor. After the staples were gone I swept all the mess out and started to remove the carpet from the stairs. The wood was rotten and there were nuts that squirrels stored for the winter.

First Rain and Snow

When I first got her I knew she needed major work on the roof. The caps needed to be resealed as well as the air and escape vents. I cleaned the roof with soap and a scrubber to remove any dirt that is on it. I removed the old seals that came up and put several layers of Snow Coat on it. The first winter storm came with 8 inches of snow. The roof didnt leak a drop for two days until the weather warmed up and melted the snow! I got out my can of Henry's Roof Sealer(the kind you can apply under water) and patched two small holes that I found. After that the roof stopped leaking.