A Our New Adventure: 1971 Aristocrat 17 STL Lo Liner

     This year, I began working for Brad and drawing a salary, for several reasons.  One of the reasons was so that I could fund my hunting trips, which would be a huge incentive for me to work lots for Brad so that I could hunt more!  (Sometimes it is difficult to be around a person 24/7 and work for them...)
     Well, I am proud to say that I have been working and saving all my money, and have been able to horse trade and sell some things and get a new used rifle for hunting this year, as well as to purchase an old 1971 Aristocrat Lo Liner!  This little travel trailer will keep me warm and snug in relative comfort on my hunting and fishing trips, and I won't have to stay in hotels any longer!  I am actually relieved, because during hunting season, being in a hotel is not a quiet and peaceful place to be...  Guys stay up late hooping and hollering, and then clunk around in their boots at 4 o'clock in the morning.  There is so much strutting and gabbing and posturing going on in those hotels, it's hard for anyone to get any sleep. So I will be relieved to sleep on my foam mattress in my little trailer parked out in the boonies on BLM land with only the jackrabbits, sage grouse, and antelopes as my neighbors!  My girls are so excited about the trailer, they can hardly stand it!  Gone are the days of answering the call of nature in mosquito infested forests during a cold rain!  And now we will have a warm place to play games and wait out the weather, and pop popcorn and drink hot chocolate, whiling away our time!  We have board games loaded in one cabinet!  One of the games is a vintage Monopoly (thrift store find), with the little metal pieces, and yellowed dice!  Sarah commented on how different the old Monopoly was from the newer one we have in the house.
     The girls and I are leaning towards naming the trailer "Momma's Gone Huntin."  Here are pictures of the trailer the day after we towed it home.

1971 Aristocrat Lo Liner

 The table folds down into a twin size bed.

Little fan goes really fast now!

 I am loving the avocado green!

               Long cushions fold down and pull out to make queen size bed, and above that is a fold down bunk bed, which will be Sarah's perch!

    Magic Chef Stove Top and Oven

Dometic Propane Fridge

Cushions fold down and pull out to make queen size bed.  Battery and convertor are underneath those long cushions!

Welcome to the gourmet galley!

Now, here is what I know:
The plumbing and wiring is a mess, the toilet does not work, the water doesn't work, the stove top does work but the oven does not, the fridge I haven't figured out yet, the central heat - not working yet, hot water heater not installed and so old as to be questionable!

What does work:
The inside lights, 110v lights and outlets, the trailer running lights, wheels roll.

What I am working on:

I pulled out the Monomatic toilet as it was absolutely gruesome (40 something years old).  I initially tried to service it, but the job was so gruesome, and the plastic parts so brittle, that I gave up.  We currently don't have the water system working, so I have a new Porta Potty arriving in a few days.  Cleaned around the toilet flange and was going to put a new flange in with a knockout cover to close up the old hole, but that didn't work.  So now, I am going to have to build a little platform to cover the flange and provide a flat surface for the new Porta Potty, which is self contained and not hooked into the plumbing system.

I cut out a huge bird's nest of wires that were melted and fused together.  In the process, the porch light and oscillating fan stopped working!  Brad pulled out his Ohm meter and helped me get things back to working.  I did not realize that little fan ran so fast once I got it hooked up right!  I installed a 12v radio/cd/ipod player and speakers in that same area, but am having to wait a few more days until Brad gets back to hook up the electrical.  Cleaned connections on 12v battery and cleaned battery compartment.  Not thrilled to be sleeping on top of a voltage converter and a RV battery!

Today, I discovered there are no holding tanks.  The gray water drains onto the ground...  If the potty were hooked up, I would have to have it connected to a septic line to dump it.  The water pump is making noise but not pumping.  I removed it and cleaned it and will reinstall tomorrow...  Found PEX plumbing disconnected and some other vinyl tubing running from the pump to the kitchen faucet.  Looks like all the PEX is disconnected, which means that the lines to the bathroom and to the water heater may be suspect as they are cut and open.  Also, tried to get a propane tank refilled, but no one wants to touch it as it has the old style valve on it that was outlawed about six years ago.

Planning on reinforcing framing around battery, putting a 1x6 on bunk bed edge to stiffen it and to prevent anyone from rolling out of the bed by accident, replacing screen on the door, finishing reupholstering the cushions, and a million other things.

Six days until maiden voyage, stay tuned!