After months of searching, I stumbled upon an exhilarating new journey – the Mercedes 613D, a true delight behind the wheel! Right from the outset, it was clear that this beauty craved a bit of tender loving care, especially the battle-worn back wall. But, let me tell you, I was all in for the adventure, eagerly envisioning an epic rear entrance with a sleek tailgate. They say ‘be careful what you wish for,’ but I wholeheartedly embraced the challenge.
You see, 613D’s are becoming increasingly rare, but I was determined to make it mine, no matter the effort. So, when we began working on transforming this camper, there was an unexpected twist – it was raining both outside and inside! Whoops, water intrusion! Not the best start, but I’m not one to back down.
I rolled up my sleeves and started with the shower, bed bunks, and rear bed – only to discover the back wall wasn’t the only troublemaker. The following day brought more surprises, with water making its way to the upper part of the camper above the cabin. Panic mode, right? As it turns out, the entire camper unit was in dire need of attention.
Since this was going to be my new home, there was no choice but to gut it all. No big deal, I thought. I’ll salvage the frame and give it a fresh look with new aluminum sheets on the exterior. But hold on a second – the frame, too, had its share of rust and decay in places. Yikes! It felt like a daunting task, but you know what they say, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ so let the visual journey begin.”
After searching for months, I finally found my new home to be. A Mercedes 613D and drives fantastic.
Right from the start, it was pretty clear that it needed some renovation. The back wall was in very bad condition and probably needed to be taken out. But that did not bother me, since I really wanted an entrance at the rear. Actually, I wanted a tailgate and, as always in life, be careful where you wish for. Anyway, this was a 613d and they are becoming rare and quite difficult to find. So a bit of work did not matter , I thought.
When we started to work on the camper it was raining outside and all of a sudden also inside. OOPS! Water was coming in. Not a good sign
I took out the shower, bed bunks and the bed, all located at the rear of the camper. To learn that not only the back wall was rotten.
The next day, there was water in the upper part of the camper above the cabin, in the alcove.
Help, eventually it turned out that the whole camper unit was rotten.
Since it would become my new home, I had no choice but to take out everything. Never mind, I thought. I will keep the frame and will put new aluminum sheets on the outside. However, it turned out that the frame was pretty rusty and even rotten in some places.
O my gosh, how am I going to manage this? Are you ready? Pictures tell more than a thousand words.