Tag / Class C

by JM

Aren’t Fridays Supposed to Be Happy?

Oct 3rd, 2014 –  Well this past Friday was a sad/happy day for us.   Yep, we sold our Shasta 27ft “Class C” to a young family in that lives in New York.  It was a tough decision but we just didn’t use it this year. It did need to have a slight oil leak fixed, which I think was replacing the head gaskets.  The tires where on the border of 7 years old; which is a huge debate on the Internet, haha. And we kept paying to have it parked in storage.  Other than that, it was very solid motorhome for a 1987 with only 47k miles on it. SOLDJim put so much work into the interior of the cab.  When the couple and their kids came and got it last Friday, they couldn’t believe the work done to it or how the colors all match throughout the rig.  THEY LOVED IT!

Looking forward, we’ll be saving our money for another one.   I think we want to get a “Class A” bus this time.  Not sure if we want gas or diesel power plant, but something that can tow a car or our motorcycles.  Till then, we’ll just keep hunting for the right rig!  🙂  We’ll MISS you Mr. SHASTA!!!

by JM

OLD vs. NEW

 

Microwave in RV

Above you can see the progress of change from the old confection oven that lived in this space (that was behind a large door) with a new updated insert SS microwave.  I created a cross bar for the microwave so it had a clean tight fit.  In doing so, I created a space to bring in color or what I have there now, dry flower arrangement.  It adds that “homey” feel to the coach I was looking for and a piece of the outdoors to the kitchen.

The last photo (on the right) you see the ceiling/walls have been painted.  The cabinets have been re-finished and the tile backsplash is added.  What you can’t see is the refinished countertops (black), but I’ll post this in the future.

by JM

Motorhome’s New Floor

The large picture shows the finished product. The upper right photo shows the carpet around the bed. The middle and botom right photo shows the great look of hardwood

The large picture shows the finished product. The upper right photo shows the carpet around the bed. The middle and bottom right photo shows the great look of hardwood in the kitchen and stairs.  The hardwood goes into the living area too. (pic missing)

 

May 2013 – Last year I ripped up 2/3rd of the motor-home’s 1980’s rose colored carpet.   Even thou the coach doesn’t have allot of mileage on it, this carpeting was matted down and just collected a ton of dirt throughout the years. With the assistance from my dad we replaced this with laminate hardwood flooring and new carpet/padding for the back half of the coach.  WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

As you can imagine, the interior needed an updating from the 80’s, so what better time to do a complete re-color design from the ugly camper style that are still in campers today.  Wallpaper borders are so out of style,  I can’t tell you LOUD enough and the the ugly interior colors are putride.  I’ll go out on a limb and say that if you failed interior design in college you’ll probably end up working for a camper manufacture.  I have no idea on the low to medium priced RV’s where they come up with color/design patterns, but to me, its horrible!

Anyways, the hardwood flooring looks outstanding and it almost maintenance free.  In addition to the flooring, Tami and I ended up repainting all the walls/ceilings and I re-finished all the cabinets in the whole rig.

The only rose colored carpet left is in the drivers cabin and that won’t be there for long.  🙂

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by JM

50 Shades of Gray; Robert Gray that is….

Shasta Logo

History of the Company:

The Shasta Trailer Company started out in 1941 by building mobile home trailers for the US Armed Forces in a Los Angeles, California plant. After WWII, they sold mobile homes under the Cozy Cruiser brand. 1952 was the first year for the Shasta brand to roll off the assembly line in Van Nuys. Models from 14′ to 35′ were offered. The boom in mobile homes and travel trailers was in full swing and the public couldn’t get enough of the Shasta brand. In April of 1958, Shasta opened the Goshen, Indiana plant to keep up with demand.

The distinctive wings were added to the Shasta line in the late 50’s and continued on the trailers and even some motorhomes until the early 80’s. During this time, the Shasta brand was the best selling trailer brand in the US. That is why, after all this time, “Vintage” Shastas are still so popular and available everywhere.

By early 1963, Shasta had added another production plant in Leola, Pennsylvania and was up to 5 different models of trailer. Later in that same year, the all-new model 1500 was offered to 5-star reviews. Again proving to the public, that the value that was built into the Shasta brand was well worth the low price!

In 1964 came the first of the “square-ish” Shastas with the introduction of the redesigned Compat model. It’s leaner, cleaner lines were a sign of things to come and was very well received by the general public. By late 1966, all of the Shasta trailers would be designed with the more modern look. Production plants were also added in Grapevine, Texas and Battle Ground, Washington.

During 1969, the brand new Loflyte was being offered and was a big hit with the RVing public. A sixth plant was added in Columbia, South Carolina as the Shastas were in great demand. And by 1973 there were nearly 500 Shasta dealers throughout the U.S. offering all new models with stylish interiors and all-new exterior styling with bold striping along the sides. The wings were smaller than before, but they were still there!

At some point in time, Shasta trailers were produced by Shasta Industries, a division of the W.R. Grace Company (this information obtained from a 1975 model year owners manual).

Coachman Industries bought the Shasta brand in 1976. They continued making Shasta trailers and motorhomes until as recently as 2004. At one time during the early 1980’s, the Shasta name was on nearly every conceivable type of RV…Motorhomes, 5th-wheels, travel trailers, and even some pop-up campers.

The Shasta brand seems to have disappeared with no goodbye and no fanfare. Not really a fitting end to such an amazing part of American history. Until it’s disappearance, Shasta had been the longest continuous producer of trailers in the United States.

In the summer of 2000, Shasta cut their model lines down significantly. When I asked why, the staff at the plant in Middlebury, IN said Coachman was looking to reduce the number of models/lines offered. Coachman was bought out by River Forest. In 2009 Forest River made the Shasta Airflyte 12′ with a great retro look for one year but discontnued it because it would compete with their small lightweight trailer called the R Pod.

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