We had the idea to create a mobile photo booth in early December 2017. By mid-January we were heading down a 7-mile gravel road, in rural Oklahoma, to collect our very first horse trailer. Winston – as we decided to call him, was in pretty good shape. He had minor surface rust and a few panels to cut out and replace. Oh, and about two-and-a-half wheelbarrows of horse poop to remove.
Sanding, scraping and grinding metal was a daily process. Then we moved onto welding, sanding, scraping and grinding. We removed the tack wall to create one big open space inside the horse trailer. We removed the floor boards, sanded and sealed the chassis and rewired the lights. It seems like a DeWalt grinder was permanently attached to my arm for a couple of weeks.
The only real issue we had, was Joseph P. getting metal in his eye and needing a trip to the hospital. He looked like a pirate for a day or two but was a trooper.
NOW LET’S MAKE HIM LOOK PRETTY HANDSOME
Now onto the fun part. Although we had a general idea of how we wanted Winston to look, he just kind of evolved as we went along. We refurbished his original trim and installed new windows. We replaced all the rubber trim, added new brakes and LED lights and blinged him out with shiny diamond plate.
We bolted solid cedar, rag-stained exterior boards to create a unique look and bronze tinted plexiglass windows, all decked out with more shiny hardware. The original interior we installed was torn out (“Will we ever finish this?”) and replaced with solid wood shiplap boards and a durable rustic wood-look flooring. And most of this seemed to be completed during the Texas spring thunderstorms… can you say lightening rod.
All in all, the project that started off with “only a couple of weeks, honey”, took close to four months. But he is one handsome little devil…
Special thanks to Joseph P. (Chief Metallurgist and part-time pirate), Suzanne B. for the constant supply of water, food and beer and Brendan B. for his lifting and holding expertise.
FIND US ON THE KNOT
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