Lanai Restaurant

Lanai Restaurant
From My Home Town of San Mateo

Sunday, October 2, 2011

The Beginnings



My hubby and I live in Northern CA and vintage trailering is one of our favorite hobbies.  We both do the gruntwork, but he does the woodworking and heavy duty stuff.   I decided to make this trailer my island getaway, because I've been going through some health problems and after I get through all my treatments, in 2012 I plan on taking my hubby to Hawaii.  I haven't been there since 1989 and he has never been to the Islands.  A vacation long overdue. 

I bought the Land Liner from a gal I met through my ladies vintage trailer camping group called "The Trailerettes"  that I started almost 2 years ago in Northern California.  The previous owner was not comfortable towing the trailer, and would perhaps enjoy something smaller or a "camper" type setup.   A Land Commander is between 16' to 17' in length and can weigh from 2200 to 2300 lbs, depending on what's on board plumbing wise.  This trailer has some features that were pretty "cool" to people back in 1968, but I am not sure whether I will keep and utilize them...a Monomatic (sewage chewing) toilet and a pressurized water system that you have to pump air into (I actually found that the water pressure system has been taken apart, so we'll have to rebuild a conventional water system with pump).  I like things pretty simple.  The Monomatic toilets are great until they stop working, then it's impossible to find parts.  There's no black water tank.  You pour water into the toilet and it's good for 80 flushes.  Runs on 12 volt I believe.  I am going to work on this trailer kind of "ass backwards", meaning, usually we tear into replacing framing and structural damage, then the interior is worked on last.  I am going to work on the interior this Fall/Winter, as my energy and the weather allows.  Then in the spring I plan on repairing wood rot then prepping and primering the exterior.  This will take a while, as some not too informed trailer repair shop used silicone goop to seal the trailer all over...even each screw...trust me, this will be very time consuming to remove.  Silicone is not good for aluminum.  Probably the worst thing they could have done.  Ugh.   

The layout of this trailer is really neat.  There is a pull out bed at the front of the trailer.  The bunk above the bed would be good for storage if left down, but I tend to bump my head alot when I'm not looking, so I folded it up.  The galley is located on the driver's side and so is the toilet closet.  On the passenger side, there is a small dinette that folds into a bed.  Oh yes, a little side bar area just to the left side of the door.  Dual propane tanks, 12 volt battery in side storage compartment.  This baby looks TALL, of course anything is taller than my "Shorty" 1964 Aristocrat Lo Liner.  I could see where towing this might be a little intimidating.  They say that it's easier to maneuver the larger trailers than the small ones when backing them into your campsite.  I will let you know after I actually put it to the test.  So, the previous owner called the trailer "The Beast" but I will rename her "Wicked Wahine", pronounced "WA_HEE_NEE." This was the name of a perfume that was started in 1968 and sold at the Islands.    "Wahine" is a Polynesian for Hawaiian woman.   I have collected little Tiki items over the years and frequent thrift stores to satisfy my "funque and junque" collecting habit.  So, I already have a good amount of items for the decor.  And so the journey begins....