JCW R55 stance: Koni FSD/NM springs, Re12 18" wheels, Michelin A3's, NM rear sway, AEM strut bar

Widlfire or Waiting for Wheels

The wheels, tires, hubcaps, tail light lenses should all arrive this Friday. [I found Auto Lamp 576 lenses on eBay and purchased extra - as they break from time to time.]
The plan was to move Tabitha to her new home as soon as all of the above items were installed. I have to decided to wait a couple of days as the fellow I am contracting to move her is attending a wedding Saturday. I think Monday or Tuesday - time for full - ahem - recovery is a good idea. Meanwhile, I have been researching solar and wind power, rain collection and water filtration. But at the forefront of my mind is safety.
I am designing a safety program. Basic disaster preparedness is always a good idea. Also, I am my Father's daughter and I am compelled by those genes to have every kind of disaster kit assembled known to man. Fire is our greatest danger in a travel trailer and in Julian - nestled between two large forested parks. I researched online and found a local Propane service near Julian that not only will deliver propane regularly but will also perform a system check to make certain that Tabitha is propane safe and re-certify her. Re-certification is something that should be done annually - who knew? As part of my safety program I purchased a battery operated Carbon Monoxide/Smoke Sensor unit that we will install immediately. I have a good sized fire extinguisher that I will mount beneath the sink. I also plan to keep one in the bedroom of the trailer.
Several years ago I had an incident with fire that caused me to use a fire extinguisher. It wasn't the smallest size extinguisher that is commonly sold for household use and so I was surprised that it emptied itself in 2 seconds if that. It spit at the fire before I even had a chance to properly aim it. It seemed to simply anger the fire which then spit back out at me as if I had doused it with gasoline. Tap water in pitchers and a partner to switch with were the key to putting out that wee blaze. As a result I have learned that the fire extinguishers that most people rely upon are worthless in the face of anything that could be termed "a fire". This is absolutely a case where bigger is better. In a trailer that has LPG, electric and masses of tinder dry wood - make certain that you get combo extinguishers - ABC rated - D [which is for chemicals] is hopefully unnecessary. Escape routes both in the trailer and out of the area are printed and laminated. One is next to the bed, one is posted in the bathroom for your reading pleasure and one is in the glove box of the car.
Some other tips I picked up (many are courtesy RV Alliance of America):

• A smoke detector is the most important device you can have in your rig. Make sure it is a UL 217 integral battery-operated detector. Carbon Monoxide and LPG gas detectors are also essential. The LPG detector should be on the wall as close to the floor as possible in the kitchen area. The carbon monoxide detector should be 4 feet above the floor, since this type of gas is lighter than oxygen and "floats". It should be in the bedroom area, close to the roof. Since carbon monoxide could enter your coach from a neighbors generator, install another detector in the living room area at mid-height. Recognizing the signals from each type of detector is important because different reactions are required for each type of alarm. With smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, stay low when they sound. LPG gas gathers low, so the best action is standing upright when you hear the LPG detector. An easy way to remember what to do is to observe the placement of the detectors. If they’re placed high, then you should stay low and vice versa.
• Typically our communities create small fire breaks in landscaping... but not at the trailer park where people come to be in the thick of nature. Regularly watering thirsty landscape on your site is a good idea.
• Before operating your stove or oven, open a window and the overhead venting on an exhaust fan. If you smell gas, extinguish all open flames (pilot lights, lamps, smoking materials, etc.), shut off the gas supply, open doors and leave the unit until the odor is gone. Have the system checked before you use it again. 
• If you smell ammonia in your refrigerator, replace the unit. It is cooled by ammonia and hydrogen.
• Be sure to check the flue on the outside of your trailer before starting your refrigerator on propane. Birds and inspects can build nests and clog the flue, causing a fire or excess carbon monoxide. That is especially true in our trailer park where the woodpeckers stash nuts in the most impossible places. 
• Check your battery monthly. Replace swollen batteries immediately. Use extreme care when handling batteries -- they can explode.
• Turn off the propane when you are having your tanks filled. Often the propane dealer will vent his hose under your rig before he starts the filling process. Should your refrigerator choose that particular moment to turn on, there could easily be a fire.    
• Buy fire retardant tarps when using tarps to cover your trailer.
• In a compact galley, all combustibles -- from paper towels to curtains -- are apt to be closer to the stove, so use even more caution in your trailer than you do at home. A box of baking soda -- can be used in lieu of a fire extinguisher for minor galley flare-ups. 
• Show travelers how to unhook electricity (screw-on cords can be tricky) and how to close propane valves, in case either of these measures is called for. 
• If you have a quick-disconnect fitting on your water hookup, these hoses can be unhooked instantly to fight a fire. If a nearby trailer is burning and you cannot move your trailer but can safely stay close enough to keep it hosed down, you may be able to save it. 
• Spontaneous combustion can occur in damp charcoal. Buy charcoal fresh, keep it dry, and store it in a covered metal container. Rags soiled with auto wax or cleaners that contain petroleum products or other oil-based cleaning materials can also spontaneously com bust if disposed of in a combustible container. Put dirty cleaning rags in a metal container with a lid. 
• Always remember that people are the most important item to be saved in an emergency.  Do not compromise your nor your family's safety to save material goods. Please include pet's in your safety plan.

Further reading.

Wheels n Tires

Tabitha has 15x6JJ stock wheels with a 5 on 4.5 pattern.
You can buy new replacements at Vintage Trailer Supply. [This just in: Found the wheels for a steal at the Nuera Transport eBay store.]
The trailer had 215/R75 15 passenger tires on it. [Passenger tires are as you know unsafe for use on trailers as the sidewalls aren't meant to carry the load.] The 215's were also too wide to remove the tire without dropping the axle off of the jack. That's one Big Fat Drag. I went to a ST205/R75 15 8 ply, D load GT Radial tire which I found at www.tires-easy.com out of Oregon for close to $60 each. With shipping, mounting and disposal [by a local shop recommended through Tires-Easy] the total was $350 for four tires. A good idea is to repack the bearings while the tires are off especially if you are uncertain about their condition. I learned that lesson the hard way in an old '63 Rambler American.  Did you know that bearings are basically the only thing keeping the wheel on the axle?  I didn't learn that until the whole wheel came off. 
Long story short - I met a friend at a theater for a movie - parked next to her standing on the sidewalk.  As soon as the car stopped the whole wheel fell off.  I popped out of the car unaware... thought she had a funny look on her face.
Tire width for rims are variable. The tire width range for 15x6JJ wheel is safely between 185 and 215.  I opted for the widest tire that fit the trailer properly... in my case 205. Considering the trailer is 4,280lbs and I am driving mountainous roads - I feel safer with the wider tire.

Keep Them Doggies Rollin'

Tabitha had been sitting for at least five years in the high desert of California. Not only had Mother Nature done an excellent sand blasting job on the paint. But the tires had baked to a crunchy consistency.
There were and are some things to attend to to make Tabitha ready to roll 160 miles. The tail lights had the backing plate but no light and no lens. Nor were there any wires to hook up lights. I am here in Los Angeles, Tabitha in Twenty nine Palms. I can't just run outside to check out details. I wanted to get Tabitha on the road as quickly as possible. I knew that I would have tons of time once she was settled in Julian to tweak and bring every detail back to stock. I ordered a 25' four wire harness [the absolute basic wire set up for a trailer, braking and turning lights] and watched a few YouTube videos on rewiring a Utility trailer. I then found my best wire stripper and bought HD zip ties and heat shrink butt connectors. I ordered teardrop lights to replace the old fogged and faded lenses on the sides and two 7" round red tail lights to use in the back. When I left for Twentynine Palms - a three hour one way road trip I accidentally left the tail lights. Boo Hoo at my blunder turned out to be a good thing [aside from the $50 I spent] - as I have since changed my mind about slapping any old thing on for the "haul". There were two existing wiring harness' on Tabitha. The original round 7 wire connector and another four wire flat connector from whomever made the same slap it together decision I had in order to move her here.
I left the seven wire harness attached - as I'd like to eventually rewire Tabitha properly. I pulled the old four wire harness and climbed underneath Tabitha's belly. Surprise - everything looked good underneath - 'cept for one wee problem which I refuse to make eye contact with at the moment. Ssssssh. There are a lot of granite rocks in the desert. Crawling on one's back atop them with 4,300 pounds balanced on 4 tiny jack stands 4" above your nose is a trial. Something I imagined I'd only need to endure if I were escaping prison. I rifled through the car - and if you know me - you know that I have a nuclear disaster response kit, amongst other things in the trunk. Let's just say that when I decide to rifle I don't come up empty handed. I brought back a sheepskin that I keep for the pups to snuggle on. It looked a little extravagant but it worked wonderfully.
I pushed the wiring harness into a plastic coil of accordion tubing [like a tiny vacuum hose] to protect it from the elements and ran that coil along the bottom out of road hazard snag range. I secured the coil with HD zip ties and ran the end through a tiny hole someone had drilled near the rear for the old four wire harness. I poked a steel wire into the hole, wrapped it around the harness and pulled the wires through two at a time [hole was too small to do it all together]. I just made it through the hole with about three inches to spare. Turns out I didn't need the tail lights this trip anyway as I didn't have enough wire to hook them up. But I did have enough to splice on my next trip!
I did all of this while awaiting a "Mobile Mechanic" I found on Craigslist. He was 4 1/2 hours late. I heard him coming from over a mile away. Old Chevy flat bed pick up with the hood sprung open and half of another truck used as a trailer pulled behind. A disabled parking placard on the rear view mirror. I saw a Craftsman toolbox with drawers hanging open and imagined what tools must be spread between here and Morongo Valley. He called to say he was on his way an hour and a quarter before. Being a Mathematician's Daughter, I quickly calculated that his average MPH were 40% less than mine... and I was speeding shall we say - conservatively. It was now 4:45pm and about 15 minutes from darkness in the desert.
At any rate, I pulled two 300 lumen lanterns from my trunk to light the operation and he helped me out by repacking my bearings for $240 which paid for his time, the gas to haul his rig out there and a can of grease. He was very nice and not completely crazy. He threw in the reattachment of a spring that had come loose from the brakes. He pulled the wheels. I was waiting for that. I wanted to take them to civilization and have new tires put on. I had put (4) 7500# rated leveling scissor jacks under Tabitha to augment the tiny jack stands so that she could sit without wheels for a bit. Meanwhile I had to get home - I had a three hour drive, it was freezing and the Mechanic started to remind me of a character in 'The Hills Have Eyes'.
UPDATE: found the tail light lenses - Auto Lamp 576 - after making animal sacrifice, on eBay. Another good source isTailight King.

Space Race

Like ships trailer's should be christened. They could all bear a name. As of today, our 1966 22' Kenskill shall be Tabitha. What better name for a space age baby?
We decided to go full on space age for decorating Tabitha. Not kitschy rocket boy decor mind you. Understated Florida coast Cape Kennedy open toed sandals Oliver Goldsmith sunglasses style. One of our favorite Designers Justin VanGenderen seemed evocative. Yet Menna immediately found Erik Nitsche's work (pictured above) for General Dynamics - drop dead gorgeous - perfect inspiration. High standards but we'll try to keep up!
His work has even more meaning as Tabitha will be settled in the Pinecrest Retreat in Julian California - a former official General Dynamics Co. retreat - now privately owned and filled with vintage trailers. We fell in love with the spot at a recent weekend hosted by SOTF* local hostess Jayne Kennedy. Jayne has her own spot at Pinecrest in an original Spartan Mansion. She very graciously invited us all to share her mountain Eden. I immediately pictured our family spending weekends there beside the pool or hiking the thirty odd trails nearby.

In researching the Kenskill Trailers I have been struck by the lack of real information on them. As someone who has had classic automobiles all her life I see a need for the owners to share info. I've created a form that we can use to gather general info on what exists as a starting point. I'll start be posting it KENSKILL OWNER'S TRAILER DATABASE on the Kenskill Trailer Yahoo group... maybe we'll get a few bites there.