wildernest

[mtn-high]

One of the local Wildernest units I've spotted over time had a "For Sale" sign on it this AM....

for a bit, anyway! Looks like we own a Wildernest and an FWC now My 19 year old will be stoked! (we get em out Wanderin' young out here)

As with most of these units, there's obvious wear and a few small holes ...but I think with a Patch kit....a brush, some elbow grease and some Simple Green a lot of the dirt present will come off and it will clean up quite a bit. Ditto for the shell itself (a lt. grey unit). A bit of oxidation but I think it will clean up quite a bit from what we're seeing now.

Either way...I think we may have his Snugtop shell sold and in the end we'll only have a few hundred in this...so he should get some good use out of it for that outlay of $$$$ without a doubt.

"It's a family affair...."

 

[kcowyo]

If you need any tech info or want to see a pdf of the original manual or anything related to Wildernest, talk to my good buddy Dave Armbruster.

Wildernest.org

There is no better source for Wildernest info out there and he's right in your backyard. Tell him KC sent you.

.

 

[ScottBailey]

Very cool... ...except... ...where is the picture?

 

[brett13]

Very cool... ...except... ...where is the picture?

My thoughts exactly

 

[mtn-high]

I grabbed the deposit but forgot the camera, scott. Was gonna take a pic on my cell phone buy got wrapped up in the purchase and he had it popped down before I remembered I had space it altogether....

I don't think the guy ever cleaned it in the 5 years he owned it...so pics wouldn't do it justice right now. Let me get a rag in his hand and have him clean it up a bit and then I'll snap a few shots of it next week when we make the transfer.

Right now I'm packing to head South to New Mexico for 4 days... we'll be in the Socorro area/camping at San Lorenzo Canyon (BLM) Sat/Sun and grabbing a night on the way down/back....

WAVE if ya see a Red DC Tundra with a Hawk on it!

mtn

 

[ScottBailey]

I don't think the guy ever cleaned it in the 5 years he owned it...so pics wouldn't do it justice right now. Let me get a rag in his hand and have him clean it up a bit and then I'll snap a few shots of it next week when we make the transfer.

mtn,

Just thinking: after pictures aren't as impressive without before pictures.

This is worth a look just to see receiver style camper jacks!

 

[mtn-high]

True....and I'll get some shots before the cleaning to compare.the difference...

But right now....10..9...8...7....6....5....4....3....2....1....BLASTOFF!!

have a good weekend, folks

mtn

 

[mtn-high]

We picked up the Wildebeast Thursday afternoon...

My son is on Cloud 9.

We spent the better part of the remainder of Thursday with scrub brushes in our hands....tackling the grime inside/out that was present from years of use with virtually no care. The guy we got it from said he cleaned it when he got it 5 years ago.... but as a young/single guy (who obviously isn't getting any) he just used/abused it and cleaning was the last thing on his mind (other than "Where's the wimmen?")

A black grime ran down the walls as we went off on it with a combo of Simple Green and a small dash of bleach. We ended up inside with the garden hose and the high pressure nozzle...and after a serious stint the inside of this thing looks 1000% better than it did when we pulled in the driveway.

Ditto on the exterior. yesterday we attacked that mess...serious oxidation...clear coat GONE....etc. I knew we'd get tons of grime//etc off of it but I wasn't prepared for exactly how much and how long it took...

but we got there....and IMO...it's "as good as it gets" for a 20+ year old unit that no one really cared for as they should have...

you can see the difference in the roof pic. We got a bit of a shine out of it using a light app of rubbing compound mixed with a scratch cover paste and a liberal shot of Simple Green to keep it all fluid.from drying out on the surface... then iit got a coat of wax and a shot of 303.

The unit came with a Yak rack//towers....unfortunately...one tower is mounted off center and will slam into the shell window if you space out and open the unit without sliding the glass forward....but this should be a relatively easy fix by slotting out the roof bracket and reinstalling the rack in te proper place.

The guy we got it from was a yakker...so he had crossbars and a couple of bike attachments on top. I have 2 wire baskets in the garage taking up space...so we finagled the clamps a bit via longer bolts and came up with a way to mount the "basket case" under the second set of bars we added...

came out pretty nice...and the BONUS of this entire thing was that the guy we got it from told another guy we have a Snug topp shell to sell and i sold it last night for $400...meaning i have $200 in this Widerbeaster...

and now that it's clean...I'd guess this unit would bring $1K with no problem. (It has 2 cargo nets and the zip out rear door that covers the tailgate as accessories)

not that he's looking to sell it!

 

[chnlisle]

Great looking unit. How is the tent on it?

 

[mtn-high]

The tent is in fair to good condition....as good as can be expected for something this old/this used, (why can I relate to that? LOL) and it cleaned up better than I thought it would from first inspection.

We found 2 holes...both about 1/4" round....and 2 small tears/rips..about an inch long each. All are caused from friction or pinching in the pole assembly @ some point along the way.

There was a bit of rust staining here there near these same points but a lot of that came off with the fabled "elbow grease' application.

Does anyone have experience patching a tent or know where to buy a decent patch kit? Other ideas?

I'll probably contact the Wildernest guru kc spoke of to see if there's a source for any misc. items we may need along the way.

some kinda fun!

mtn

 

[chnlisle]

Or maybe iron patch?

 

[Outerspace]

I've heard folks using Seamgrip. Back the tear/hole with something like duct tape and apply. There are instructions included with the Seamgrip IIRC.

And use outside. Nasty braincell killer.


Kenyon also makes adhesive backed rip stop nylon for patching tents. Never tried it. Most people I know use it for repairing their puffys.

Either should be easy to find. I think REI has both.

S

 

[The Saints]

Try contacting fwc or atc. bet they might have an answer for your tent patch.
That camper looks fun. would love to see pics of it set up and on the inside.

 

[chnlisle]

Mountain Dude,
Cabelas got this for 8 bucks.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=VUQHCLF0UEH5BLAQBBKCCOVMCAEFKIWE?id=0028443516557a&type=product&cmCat=froogle&cm_ven=data_feed&cm_cat=froogle&cm_pla=1500250&cm_ite=0028443516557a&_requestid=35623

 

[mtn-high]

Thanks for the ideas guys...

OK..here are a few shots apres clean-up. The foam mattress was tossed and will be replaced, thus the fold out "bed" is currently empty.

If you look closely on the side view pics you can see a few of the tears/small holes in the fabric...but as I said earlier..it is in good condition overall and this clean up definitely has given it new life.

I'll add a few more pics later of the new/improved "couch"/step/carpeted wood riser my son is currently constructing. This unit came with a riser(maybe from wildernest?) system covered in SHAG carpet....but..um...as you can imagine after 20 years it was stained matted and no-doubt beer soaked (along with God knows what else) offering and he ended up tossing it all and starting over.

 

[mtn-high]

a few more shots....

 

[chnlisle]

Mtn Hombre.
That was a real find and it looks great.

 

[erod]

Brings back some great memories...you guys are stoked, nice work!

 

[mtn-high]

scott will rag on me for not taking a "before' shot of the lucious SHAG interior we inheirited.......but believe me...you'd need a barf bag or a handi-wipe for the mpnitor if I had posted one...

here's what he built...and a pic of the little monster himself...in Hog heaven!

Yes...they grow so fast and no...you can't make them keep their pants up (or on) LOL. (he can't wait to break it in w/the GF)

ah...youth....

 

[chnlisle]

Tell him to pull his pants up and get a haircut!!!

Hey y'damn kids get off my lawn!!!