Jennifer New Writes & Reads

From V1.0, we explained how the name Hoshi Chao is taken from Chinese traditional language, meaning “Stars Nest.” This is the continuation of the story of how she came into our lives and what it has meant for our adventures! 

If you have not read V1.0 please take the time so you can get up to speed. Now that she is home, we are getting very excited and can’t wait to start working on her.  As promised earlier, these photos are going to really impress the look and feel of the original vision.

Hoshi Chao arriving home. She was purchased loaded full of totes and camping supplies from the previous owners, so it will be interesting to see what we purchased cleaned up.  

She was a solid trailer, but so many things needed to be better understood.  Not certain how you are, but when purchasing equipment like this once I make up my mind I fail to completely check everything out.  Eventually I realize that I should and will have to get into every facet of the trailer, and that I could have been more thorough. Maybe in the future I will have a checklist to keep me focused and not just get emotional…  

If you have not read the previous Versions of the story of Hoshi Chao, click below:

Searching for the Right One? Hoshi Chao V1.0 – Purchasing

Setting up the trailer involved the joy of the hand crank!!  They make a connector for this to a drill, I strongly recommend you purchase if you are in this position.

Stabilized and level, we are starting to open up all the windows and doors to air her out.  Time to start going through all the cabinets to empty and clean.  First order though was to get some much better pictures.  These are much better than V1.0!

Really appreciated the side windows and not at the front as with some trailers.  It provided us with more cabinetry inside and from my experience should be a quieter trailer when sleeping.

A quick look down the service side of the trailer.  A little surface rust, but nothing terrible.  We had difficulty checking this side of her out when purchasing as the place we bought her had a bad wasp situation and this side was up against a bunch of bushes and shrubs loaded with them.  I am allergic, so for the most part reviewed from a little distance. Thankfully we found hives,but no living wasps that made the trip home with us!

Ahhhh, the bedroom area with the emergency escape window.  Have you ever had to knock one of these out to escape?  I wonder how hard they are to get back inside?  Would they break when they hit the ground?  Hmmmmm…

All the panels for services were in decent condition, and all windows operated as desired.

This is my favorite view of Hoshi Chao!  She looks ready to go, but she isn’ quite yet.  

The back (rear) windows are from the kitchen area.  This was a big selling point for us as we do not like kitchens with minimal natural light.  Beware, many designs do not take this into account, if it means something to you.

After getting her all opened up and aired out, she got a good scrubbing. Starting at the top, we washed her down. Vacuuming and cleaning the carpet was long overdue. The nice part of cleaning up and out is that you start to get the feel of what “you” want and how to make it function better for “your” needs.  True we could have just started the demolition and remodeling, but we wanted to see a clean version of what the manufacturer had in mind.  It gave us a better appreciation and started to make Hoshi Chao ours.

Make certain to check thoroughly your tires and brakes when purchasing a used trailer or fifth-wheel. Out tires were in decent, but poor shape.  Will need to be replaced before any further adventures.

The inside was starting to really take shape, and we were getting very excited about the possibilities.  At one point we sat down in the clean family area and started to write down any and all ideas.  No negative thoughts allowed, just brainstormed on what “may be”, and then we slept on those ideas!

Charming old girl…..all cleaned up for her before and after pictures. Here are a few that you can see much clearer since we have better lighting. 

Feels very 1980’s comfortable doesn’t it?  It was showing to us that it had been cared for well enough, that was pleasant to realize as you get into corners and behind areas.

Dry rot was apparent in some of draperies, which neither of us minded.  They can be a beautfiul decoration, but we both felt not needed with the trailer in the manner the manufacturer installed.  I guess we are both more into minimal decor and putting up more of our “own” pictures and items. 

Notice the overhead storage above the couch area, and the slide out pantry on the left!!  Kudos to the designers!

The bathroom area had some wall mounted racks which had a personal country touch from the previous owners. It matches their theme for the quilt in the bedroom.

Cute little tub and shower.  Made us remember the movie “The Long, Long Trailer” with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. You do not want a shower head like they had (lol)!! The shower scene is funny. But ours works much better!

The trailer was setup with overhead exhaust fans in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom areas.  Plus there are extensive overhead lights as you see below.  Very convenient for use, but of course few of the bulbs were working (darn!). 

This is the wall of shelves and closets in the bathroom. There are actually two sets. There is a nice sliding door to the right which provides a little privacy as needed in the bathroom or bedroom. 

Starting to get into the bedroom area.   The wallpaper was showing slight water damage above the window.  This was noticed during the initial purchase, and the roof had been recovered so outside of repairing it was not a concern. Beware when looking at your trailers of persistent water damage though as that is a killer!!  If the cause of the intrusion is not repaired properly it will be very costly and should make you reconsider before purchasing.

The left side of the bedroom area, notice the Exist sign as mentioned earlier.  Hope I don’t ever have to figure out what that really means!

Here are the bedroom closets. Very spacious for hanging clothes.

A view from the top of the bed.  This bed was an item of discussion as it was the original, and a full bed.  Too small width-wise for both of us to feel like home, and too small length-wise as I am 6′-0″ tall and do not like my feet dangling.  You must pick your battles, but we both agreed that the bed for us was a priority that we MUST have one to match the size of ours at home or we would NOT feel like a home away from home (did I say that?). 

Hidden overhead storage compartments as you move from the bathroom into the family area.  A nice idea, but since you are standing on a step to reach them you have NO leverage to pop them open.  The latches need to be changed out to a simpler and easier application or they are more “long term” storage for items you rarely need. 

Another photo of the overhead compartments, onto the right side.

The view from the bathroom into the family room and kitchen areas.

Built-in television cabinetry and storage, a thing much needed in the 1980’s, but not when you can wall mount as we do today!

The awning had not been cared for, but she is staying with us. She is red and white striped and we proudly display her on our trips. She does leak a bit, but with some care, cleaning, and repairing she will make it a little longer with us 🙂

She’s getting there, just setup and cleaned up, but now we know what we bought!  Yes, we could have kept shopping for one that was cleaned up like this, but the fact that it was NOT, allowed us to reduce the price a little and we still saw the potential.  Not everyone will agree with that concept, but that is what makes the world go around.

Version 3.0 will be forthcoming in the very near future.  Hope you enjoyed the second version to this story.  It was a really cute little starter fifth-wheel.  Next though is the steps to making her the way “WE” want and need her. Turning her into Hoshi Chao begins…  

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