Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The 12-Gauge Garage

[Bob Heine]

Looks like a Serro Scotty Sportsman. We camped out at the beach with one of those in the '70s.

I'm debating getting one of those now, vs. a newer camper.

Lookin4, our travel trailer was built before 1954 (two years before the first Serro Scotty). It was a Crescent trailer and it's the only one I've ever seen or heard of. It had a few flaws, like the caulking -- only the roof and windows were caulked (dust entered the trailer through huge gaps in the plywood wheel wells). It was also assembled with screw-nails that started coming out on the way to Alaska (while mom cooked dinner, my father, brother and I replaced the nails with blued slotted screws that rusted in their boxes). That's when I learned first and second layer blisters leak clear fluid but third layer blisters leak blood.

Other brands of travel trailers from back then may be worth fixing up but I would stick to the big names (for parts availability). I think Jack has found a keeper.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Speaking of securing... Is there any possibility of high winds that the combination of wind, the walls, gate and the shape of the trailer might make it lift off the cradle?

TG

That's a good question. It's sheltered from the wind on three sides, so I suspect I'm safe. But while it's just sitting up there, it wouldn't hurt to wrap some kind of belt around the point where the trailer frame rests on the cradle pieces. The reality is that I don't need to make it super easy to raise and lower, since it's not like the car lift where I'll want to use it frequently. Even if we camp several times a year, it will sit in one place for the vast majority of its lifespan.

 

[Bunk]

Jack you've always been very humble about your engineering skills and not being an engineer, but I have to say, you have more skills than many Engineers I know and probably deserve an honorary ME degree for skills displayed in practice.

 

[BlueBomber]

I just watched the above video, and then, when YouTube suggested Jack's garage tour video next, I watched that too.

Like thousands of people before me, I am newly inspired to clean up and organize my two garages. Heck, I've got four times the space Jack does, but I'm constantly tripping over stuff or walking around looking for tools and cursing under my breath. My garages are not always a place of peace where I can get things done quickly and clean up quickly. But they can be.

Thanks for sharing your space and your projects with the world, Jack. You are an inspiration.

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[wssix99]

The more time-consuming part was figuring out how I was going to do it. Being a non-engineer, it was a challenge for me just to work out how pulleys (sheaves, I learned to call them) can be put together to half the load by doubling the amount of rope used to move a load.

Ha! If you had an engineering degree, it would have taken you four times as long and you would have charged yourself a HUGE consulting fee.

 

[stonesg]

That's a good question. It's sheltered from the wind on three sides, so I suspect I'm safe. But while it's just sitting up there, it wouldn't hurt to wrap some kind of belt around the point where the trailer frame rests on the cradle pieces. The reality is that I don't need to make it super easy to raise and lower, since it's not like the car lift where I'll want to use it frequently. Even if we camp several times a year, it will sit in one place for the vast majority of its lifespan.

Exactly Jack.

It's a matter of momentum... I intuit that just keeping it from starting to move upwards would probably be enough.

TG

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Lookin4, our travel trailer was built before 1954 (two years before the first Serro Scotty). It was a Crescent trailer and it's the only one I've ever seen or heard of. It had a few flaws, like the caulking -- only the roof and windows were caulked (dust entered the trailer through huge gaps in the plywood wheel wells). It was also assembled with screw-nails that started coming out on the way to Alaska (while mom cooked dinner, my father, brother and I replaced the nails with blued slotted screws that rusted in their boxes). That's when I learned first and second layer blisters leak clear fluid but third layer blisters leak blood.

Other brands of travel trailers from back then may be worth fixing up but I would stick to the big names (for parts availability). I think Jack has found a keeper.

My parent's first trip in their Scotty was to Alaska in 1960. My dad had just been laid off so he figured he had some time, bought the Scotty and took my mom and the oldest (who was a baby then) and went to Alaska for a couple of months. I didn't come on the scene until ten years later.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Now that the camper has a place to sit, I'm checking off the first few things on the list of how to make it better. The previous owner had put in a nice Baltic Birch plywood floor, but the varnish he used was kind of a matte finish, and it showed footprints from the slightest amount of dust on your shoes. So the first step was to put a floor in that can get muddy and then clean back up. This is a camper, after all.

My first thought (since I'm planning on taking it camping next week) was just to get something cheap in there in order to minimize damage. But I secured this sheet vinyl with some two-sided flooring tape -- and now I'd say there's a reasonable chance that this is how it's going to stay. The match to the existing wood is pretty good.

'Before' on the left, 'after' on the right.

 

[Craptain]

Looks good. And you are not adding a lot of weight. Hope it's up to the job.

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[Jack Olsen]

Thanks. I weighed it yesterday, and now have a sort of a baseline. It had some bedding in it and the propane tank on it, and came in at 1,100 pounds -- which seems about right based on what I've read.

I'm planning on weighing it again once it's packed up for the trip. I want to get an idea of what I'm actually towing.

 

[aka Larry]

Jack you've always been very humble about your engineering skills and not being an engineer, but I have to say, you have more skills than many Engineers I know and probably deserve an honorary ME degree for skills displayed in practice.

Wonder if Jack would build a rain barrel stand using 2x2s?

 

[jabin]

Only if it was tubed steel 2x2s

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Don't risk your family finding out if that contraption is safe, put it up on Air BnB.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Pictures from out first trip with the new camper. We started out in Los Angeles.

A 100-minute drive up into the mountains. For the last 2-1/2 miles, the AWD came in handy.

No guard rails:

Found a good spot:

We had the place to ourselves:

Nice views:

We boated and swam in a high-altitude lake.

All in all, a great time.

I got 22 mpg going up the mountain, and 32 mpg coming down.
​​​​​​​

 

[rlitman]

Wow! Wish I was there.

 

[ranger101ran]

I can't believe how big your kids are getting. Looks like a beautiful spot where you are camping.

 

[slik560]

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing the trip with us.

 

[Grizz1963]

Just perfect.

And who needs guard rails anyway??

Lovely pic of the kids enjoying the view.

 

[cortina64]

Your kids are making memories that will last a lifetime, from camping and building things with you.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I can't believe how big your kids are getting.

You're not kidding. Max and the garage both started, as it happened, on exactly the same day -- the first day of the 2007 Writer's Strike here in Los Angeles.

He arrived seven months later (two months early). When he was this small (4 lbs), the garage was already 7 months underway.

Now that he's 10, it means my 'garage project' has passed its first decade. Which of course also means that all of the guys participating in this thread from early on have gotten another decade older.

 

[Grizz1963]

You're not kidding. Max and the garage both started, as it happened, on exactly the same day -- the first day of the 2007 Writer's Strike here in Los Angeles.

He arrived seven months later (two months early). When he was this small (4 lbs), the garage was already 7 months underway.

Now that he's 10, it means my 'garage project' has passed its first decade. Which of course also means that all of the guys participating in this thread from early on have gotten another decade older.

Now that is a painful thing to realise.

I look at pics of myself 10, 15 and 20 years ago, and I was dark haired and smiling...

Now just a grumpy old grey haired man.

Time sure flies, and Farcebook reminds me regularly with their pics from the past.

 

[N4S]

Jack, your 12-Gauge Garage is awesome! Great write up. You are very talented! I can't believe you did all of these with $2,500.

 

[southalabama]

Good to see a pic of fire in California roasting marshmallows instead of destroying houses.

The vintage camper is cool. There are a couple food truck type businesses operating out of vintage campers in a neighboring town.

 

[Pbindesign]

Jack, you are the number one reason I started working on my garage. I'm actually modeling a lot of the setup after yours. Please keep up the great work. I'm only at the early stages of creating my "workshop", but I have read through this entire thread because of how great your project has come out over the years. Thank you!

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398462

 

[Jack Olsen]

Wouldn't you know it. I was working in the garage today, so for the first time ever I moved the 911 back to the space under the camper.

I left it there while we went to a thing at the kids' school -- and Southern California had its biggest earthquake in three years.

In reality, it was just a little tremblor -- a 4.4. But I still had to go take a look when I got home.

Everything was fine.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Wouldn't you know it. I was working in the garage today, so for the first time ever I moved the 911 back to the space under the camper.

I left it there while we went to a thing at the kids' school -- and Southern California had its biggest earthquake in three years.

In reality, it was just a little tremblor -- a 4.4. But I still had to go take a look when I got home.

Everything was fine.

 

[Grizz1963]

I guess that sort of thing can go out of control very fast.

Good to see all is good.

Pic gives better perspective of the setup too.

Thanks as alawaysmfor feeding our habit on here.

 

[stonesg]

Is it just me or does this whole family/garage/racing/life story look like it should be a good book some day???

Someone who knows how to pull together words could probably have a field day with this.

 

[Craptain]

Well the proof of the engineering is right there.

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[bad_idea]

Is it just me or does this whole family/garage/racing/life story look like it should be a good book some day???

Someone who knows how to pull together words could probably have a field day with this.

Someone.... aren't you a writer Jack?

 

[starckie]

Wouldn't you know it. I was working in the garage today, so for the first time ever I moved the 911 back to the space under the camper.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7190033&postcount=5361

Jack, I can’t help thinking that this photo has planted a seed in your mind which eventually culminates in mounting the Boler to the roof of the Porsche for track day lodging.




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[Jack Olsen]

I've added a cover to the camper lift, including a little mini skirt (the skirt is so my overall pass-thru height isn't restricted in the driveway).

I also spent some time this morning replacing the old candles on the deck with brighter (and slightly taller) versions.

The deck is now 5-1/2 years old.

It's still flat. I'm glad I moved on from the Penofin stain to TWP 100. I'll do a freshening coat at some point in the future, but the TWP stuff has already lasted a year and a half and it hasn't blackened, which the Penofin did after about five months.

Here's a day shot with the kids and an evening shot with the new candles. They still flicker like the real thing, in spite of being hardwired LEDs.

 

[Grizz1963]

Fortunately no lazy option of a “Like” button here Jack.

I love your work, as always.

Just back from another USA Road trip, and continue to love 5e people and the country, this was my fourth time.

The camper cover is great.

And I find myself wanting to cover my deck in a similar design to yours...... when I replace the 20-ish year old deck that is now at the end of its functional life.

That really is lovely.

 

[slik560]

Excellent. I always marvel at the efficient use of space.

 

[tuner4life]

It has admittedly been a year or so since I've caught up on this thread. I'm glad to see that you are still just as crazy as you have been! Your solutions to the space issues are definitely inspiring.

Was the cover over the camper more to protect the camper, or keep it from being visible?

 

[rmalkow2]

Excellent work and design on that camper lift cover and skirt. Gives the perfect finished off look to hidden storage.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I'm going to be at the race track tomorrow, and then driving up to Monterey, California this weekend for a big Porsche show called Rennsport Reunion.

Am I excited? Enough to make a quick slideshow video about it.

And then -- in a moment single guys probably won't understand -- I got home today to find the UPS guy had left me some hard-to-find Zimmerman rotors (only made for two model years of the Porsche turbo) and some very fat Nitto tires.

But this part was key: I got to them 10 minutes before my wife got home. It's not that she would object -- but I don't want her to have to sign for the stuff and then drag it all inside.

 

[964haus]

^^ timing is everything!!

I do the same - started having things shipped to work, to save my wife from having to sign for motorcyle parts....
M.

 

[bdbecker]

...But this part was key: I got to them 10 minutes before my wife got home. It's not that she would object -- but I don't want her to have to sign for the stuff and then drag it all inside.

What a gentleman. I wouldn't want my wife to feel obligated to wrestle those heavy, smelly tires into the house either.

Have fun at the show!

 

[kbuhagiar]

And then -- in a moment single guys probably won't understand -- I got home today to find the UPS guy had left me some hard-to-find Zimmerman rotors (only made for two model years of the Porsche turbo) and some very fat Nitto tires.

But this part was key: I got to them 10 minutes before my wife got home. It's not that she would object -- but I don't want her to have to sign for the stuff and then drag it all inside.

Great minds think alike.