Dusting this off for a build journal about my latest project: restoring a 1975 Starcraft Galaxy 8.
Background
For a while now, I’ve been planning to build a teardrop camper. I’ve got two boys, 4 & 1.5, and we plan to eventually go around to national parks, etc. It’ll take some time, but it’s also a while before we’re really willing to be on the road that long and try to really camp out with the kids.
To that end, I’ve been keeping tabs on Craigslist, watching in case anything useful popped up. In particular, I’d been watching for a trailer base to build off; I could do the whole thing from the ground up, but avoiding the cost and effort of welding all that together would be handy.
A posting cropped up for a 1975 Starcraft Galaxy 8 for just $100. I didn’t save a copy of the posting, but it sounded like a mixed bag: mostly intact, but some water damage to the roof, etc. I figured at that price, though, there’d be at least some bits to salvage; the dimensions were roughly what I wanted for my teardrop, so even throwing everything else away would give me that.
I sent email asking a few questions about it, but the post was gone without a reply the next day. I assumed someone else had just jumped on it, and went back to the search. But another day later, I got a reply, and next thing I know, I’m 8 miles from home getting a tour of the trailer.
The Trailer
This was the second owner, and he’d bought it 2002. He did the national parks with his kids, but realized it had sat unused for two years now that they were grown. He’d tried to just donate it, but couldn’t given the rough shape, so he listed it super cheap to let it go.
All in all, it’s in great shape: the canvas is fantastic, the pieces are all there, and it all works. The ceiling leaked around the roof vent and needs replacing, the frame has some rust (including the ball coupler being a bit tough to use), and there was some closed-up funk that aired out quickly.
The most pressing issue is the water damage and little bit of mold on the ceiling, but aside from that, it’s perfectly usable. Give everything a good scrubbing, and I could hit a campground with it today.
Given that, and it’s fantastic 70’s styling, the plan’s changed; instead of scrapping it to build a teardrop from scratch, I’m going to restore it in full 70’s glory. I have various photos I need to collate and publish with this, but in the mean time, you can go to that sales brochure linked at the top of this post and look at the pictures they used to sell it back in the day. Color coordinated green linoleum, upholstery, and countertops. It’s amazing.
TODO
I need to figure out a better way to manage this list, but some of the things I plan to do so far:
- Scrub, scrub, scrub.
- Replace the ceiling. It’s essentially just 1” styrofoam attached to the exterior skin, so that should all get scrapped and cleaned up.
- Rewire to a 7-pin harness. My truck as both 4 pin & 7 pin connectors, but 7 gives some options; it adds reverse lights, electric brakes, and always-on 12 volt power.
- Add electric brakes. It has surge brakes, but electric brakes are cheap and better.
- LEDs for the exterior lights. I need to add reverse lights since I’m adding support, but converting everything over will be nice.
- Replace the cushions. I ordered one mattress from Foam Factory since they’re remarkably inexpensive and get either hot or cold reviews on RV forums. Assuming it seems reasonable, I’ll need to figure out what exactly to order and cut down to replace the various pieces.
- Replace the upholstery. This is where things get hairy; I love the current stuff, but it’s showing its age and I’m not sure how well we can clean it. I need to figure out what’s reasonable material that maintains the 1975 style.
- Make new curtains. There’s track for it, but the original curtains are long gone. Previous owner put some hooks in the wall & used random fabric bits for curtains. I want to either salvage or replace the tracks, and do something to match the original design. The brochure shows plain green, so that’s simple.
There’s more, but that’s a decent starting place for this post. I’ve started building a shopping list with all the random bits and bobs that come to mind: jack stands, exotic screwdriver bits, water pumps, etc.
I’ve got a giant pile of unorganized photos that I should sort out and post here, and I need to start nailing down a more concrete task list. Depending, we may try to camp in it at a nearby spot this summer, or I might go ahead and remove the roof and then take long enough to replace it that we lose a year. Hard to say today.
Link Dump
And now a bunch of random links of interest so I have them in one place:
