I sold my 1953 Holly today to make garage space for the Vagabond – so I was inspired to do some repairs/changes.

First off there was a cabinet that was sticking. I removed the latch and determined that it was bent. I used a metal clamp to bend it back so it was back to the original 90 d and it’s working now. Still a little sticky but I can get into the underbed storage. I can put a giant down comforter in that cabinet on the left.

The bed was a bit wide for my needs so I trimmed the foam back about 3″. Also trimmed the wood slats that stick out under the platform and made the radius of the wood platform and mattress where you walk into the room a little bigger. I like it much better this way. BTW, trimming foam is a huge pita. I’m sure there must be a heated tool that makes it easy. The power slicer was ok, til I grabbed it by the blade. Genius. ouch. I also screwed the bed platform down so it won’t slip around when towing. It would be cool to add struts to lift the bed. There is a lot of space under there!

EDIT JULY 2022 – THE SLIDING DOOR WAS INSTALLED WRONG I EVENTUALLY POSTED SHOWING HOW IT SHOULD WORK SO DISREGARD ALL OF THESE LATCH PHOTOS. SLIDING DOOR FIX

Someone installed new subfloor years ago but never did new flooring. I would have removed the original flooring first I think but it’s what I have to work with. I discovered there is a latch for the sliding door but the luan installer failed to drill the hole for the latch. A few minutes with my drill and the slot for the latch was finally deep enough for it to seat properly. No more stuffing the doorway with my down comforter to keep the door open! Hopefully, this will also lessen visitor urges to slide the door back and forth when giving tours. Tip – don’t feel obligated to test every drawer and cabinet when you visit a vintage trailer.

The door won’t close all the way. I’m not sure what it going on. I think one of the rollers is installed wrong. The door slides on the track at the top. There are 2 rollers. I will investigate further tomorrow. I do see in the photo on the left (seller photo) that the door opens all the way. I think maybe something got shaken loose on the ride home.

fyi – the sliding latch mechanism is the same as the one used to hold up the folding table in the living area.