Not Fast Progression ...

Tires are off.  Working my way back on the frame.

Used a high-pressure nozzle to clean out the two tanks.

From the rear - perhaps you can see the white screw-in caps that I purchased to plug the holes in the tanks so that I don't get anymore leaves and junk inside.

This is toilet paper ... it's been in the black-water tank for a good ten years.  You can still see the hearts, sun, flowers and other designs on it.  

It has yet to bio-degrade.

But now the tank and lines are clear of any impurities.

I can probably use this tank to empty a tub into.

Wheels Off !!

The axles and hubs without the wheels.

I had to remove them to sand the rails ...

fix the wiring ...

grease the hubs ...

and work on the brakes.

This is evidence of dog chewing ... or rodent.

This is the worst of the rusted rims.

I have to replace at least 2 rims due to rust.

This is the backside of the same rim.

Both paint and rust are flaking on both sides.

While I was at it, I pressure hosed out the two waste storage tanks

got out the leaves, manure, and glops of old toilet paper.

I'm debating on keeping the largest tank to drain the shower/tub.

The smaller tank will be for the sinks.

A Little More Black

Front end view

Ok ... So I have been lazy.

Just doing my regular job combined with the necessary paperwork.

Just not motivated.

Time to get back at it again.

Kind of a side view

Time to take the wheels off to work in that area.

Making some progress.

Still at the de-Rusting

Significant rust spots get scraped with a putty knife 

and then I use this wire wheel on them.

I use safety glasses that have a magnifying reading lens in them ...

so I can see up close what I am doing.

Fighting Rust

You can see by the black overtaking the brown ...

that I am fighting the rust.

Some spots were very bad and I went at them first with the putty knife to flake off the rust scale.  Then I used a wire wheel powered by a drill to generally remove any other rust.

I've been spray painting with flat black Rustoleum.

I'm going to need at least another 4 cans.

Repair Work - Axle & Wheel-well

Spent yesterday morning taking the upward bend out of the front axle on the driver-side.  And hammering out the folds and creases in the wheel-well.

 

I hammered down on the top of that front tube ...

which brought the top of the front wheel inward - 

more aligned with the rear wheel. 

Here's what it looked like when I removed it.

This is NOT the way it is supposed to look.

So a LOT of hammer-work is involved to flatten and straighten it.

 

Look at all the crinkles in the metal.

This thing was in two pieces and folded up somewhat severely. 

Using a plastic hammer, I managed to straighten most of the that out. 

 

Although you can see it isn't perfectly smooth ...

it is flat enough that it went back into shape

and I connected the two pieces of seam back together. 

 

Here's what it looks like from the tire side of the wheel-well.

Lots of work hammering it "flat" on a 2 x 8. 

Zoey said it was a good thing she kept her wheel-well covers.

So I had to fix this one up.  In order to re-use mine. 

While I'm sanding & Painting

 

I'm looking at things like this materials list from the Sonoma Shanty plans that I purchased a year ago.  I'm looking at the stick-built version ... instead of buying more expensive plans.  Particularly since I don't need to run this past the Planning Commission. 

The Sonoma Shanty plans are for an 8' x 15' and I'm building an 8' x 20'

but they are really helpful.

As are the 8x20-tiny-solar-house-plans.pdf

by TinyHouseDesign.com

They don't cover plumbing, electrical wiring, cabinets, etc. I can get books at Home Depot, Lowes, or Camping World for those.  But they do help in the basics of getting it framed up and dried-in.  And give me an idea of how much of what I'll need to buy to do exactly that.