1950's Trailer Question

[Inkstaind]

I'm looking at an older travel trailer, 1952, that someone has had sitting on their property for some time. It's in pretty good shape considering it's age. The interior walls are wood, rounded wood ceiling, etc.. The only damage to any of the wood I see is right where the adjustable air vent is on the ceiling; a little water damage there, sagging a little.

Is this fixable? I'll try and post a pic.

Otherwise, what else should I be concerned with regarding it's condition to help prevent me from bringing home a complete money pit?

Otherwise, it's looks in pretty good shape; no dents, just a couple broken pieces of glass.

Thanks guys for your help,

[westend]

Inkstaind wrote:
I was going to post a couple pics, but I'm not seeing how to do that here.

You need an outsource hosting site to post pictures here. This app is probably the best bet for getting images on this Forum: picposting app

[Inkstaind]

I was going to post a couple pics, but I'm not seeing how to do that here.

[toedtoes]

There are a lot of these old trailers being renovated. They appear to be popular.

If you like the trailer's bones, then I say go for it. Sometimes it's not about the money or work involved, it's about the joy of the finished piece. I've put more money into my clipper than I'll get back, but I am much happier with it than I would be with something else.

[Harold_Fairbank]

Boles Aero was top of the line in its day.

[Tvov]

If you have the time and patience, go for it!

[stevemorris]

one item on my bucket list is to redo an old trailer, preferably an old airstream
but im a skilled carpenter/plumber/electrical guy and you're going to be by the time you're done!!

[westend]

Start looking outside from the roof--> down. A misshapen or unsealed roof will denote water damage. That can be a chore to fix. Look for loose or missing screws along the siding. Again, an indicator of water damage and rotting frame. Look underneath for rusted frame, bent axles, at the underfloor of the trailer.

Now, go inside and press against all the paneling in the ceiling and walls. Inspect carefully!

Boles Aero is a well regarded brand. I think they even have a Boles Club for owners. No one on the internet is going to be able to tell you how much work and expense is going to happen with your restoration. FWIW, I spent about 6 months with a complete gut and restoration on a 22' trailer.

If you do decide to keep the Boles and do some work on it, you'll be rewarded with a cute camping rig that will hold it's value for some years. Good luck on your Boles adventure!

[Ron3rd]

donn0128 wrote:
Anything is fixable. How handy in woodworking are you? How much do you want to put into this project? Those are the questions you need to ask.

Agreed. "a little water damage" can mean anything. You could have a little water leak at the left rear corner and that water could drain down and travel to the front and rot the entire floor out in that area. Hidden water damage can be found in a lot of areas where it is not apparent or is far from the original leak.

Water is the biggest killer of trailers; not time.

[rexlion]

Sounds like a trailer worth saving.

[Inkstaind]

Thanks everyone for the info.

It's not a Spartan, it's Boles Aero. I was going to help someone sell it, but now I'm thinking of just hauling it off to my place and fixing it up a bit to resell, or just clean up and keep. It's pretty dirty from sitting and they don't want to spend any time cleaning; they are pretty old.

I just didn't want to haul it home, which will be a task, just to find out it's worthless. There's obviously a few things to fix, but it's really not that bad too my surprise. The stove is missing, the bed frame and table look broken but aside from that it's just dirty. The wood, and it's wood everywhere, looks nice. Plus fix that area around the ceiling vent that has loosened up and dropped a little. The rest of the wood ceiling is in pretty good shape. That was my main concern when I first entered it. I thought "if I go in here and the all the ceiling is hanging down, forget it".

I'm fairly handy, by no means an expert woodworker, or plumber, but I'm a fast learner.

[Tyler0215]

Of course it's a money pit. But, when finished you will have a one-of- a -kind RV.
If you have the skill to renovate it, GO FOR IT.

[MitchF150]

Also, what appliances do you wish to keep back in the 50's or do you want modern appliances in it?

When I was a kid camping with my folks back in the day the little Shasta trailer we had only had an ice box, hand pump sink and a 2 burner propane stove and a single propane lantern type of light in it.. It did have some 120v power stuff if you plugged it in.. A single light and a single outlet..

It would be a venture that only you can do for yourself and there is no way to tell how much it would cost in the end...

Good luck and if you decide to take it on, post some pics of it, as we love that kind of stuff! 🙂

Mitch

[qtla9111]

Is it a Spartan? Do you have any pictures?

[donn0128]

Anything is fixable. How handy in woodworking are you? How much do you want to put into this project? Those are the questions you need to ask.