Egg History- Boler descendants

[Tom Gray]

Should be Scamp, not Burro.

Thanks, guys. The feedback is appreciated.

[Raya]

A couple of notes on the "Boler Timeline" article:

1)
From 1968 to 1988, the Canadian Boler ultralight fiberglass trailer sold thousands of units on both sides of the US border. Many of these "eggs" are still on the road.

Perhaps you meant to say "on both sides of the border" or "on both sides of the Canadian border."? It doesn't quite make sense to talk about Canadian trailer being sold on both sides of the US border.

2)
The Fiberglass RV Forum has worked to collect a detailed time-line of the Boler ultralight fiberglass travel trailer from its humble beginnings, along with its many look-alike cousins such as the Scamp, Burro, Eco, Casita and El Macho.

Burro should not be on this list. It is a Cloud descendant with an entirely different body shape, and not a Boler clone.

3)
1971–Present, Scamp trailer derived from Boler design produced in Backus, MN

Wasn't there a year in there where the Scamp was not produced, and instead they made the "Acorn"?

4)
1972 to 1975 - "Boler Manufacturing" was building "Honey" brand trailers in Winnipeg, Manitoba, under the Neonex name

1975 – Winnipeg plant builds Boler-branded (not Honey) trailers as Neonex Industries.

This is more just a "Huh, this doesn't sound quite right but I don't know for sure" comment. I didn't know that the Honeys were Neonex Honeys; I thought they were just... Honeys. Does anyone know more about this? Also, my 1974 Boler was built by Neonex ("with pride") in Winnipeg, but is not a Honey, which seems to counter the second part.

5)
There is a photo entitled "Yellow Boler with Hot Rod" I was just wondering if you're sure this is a Boler? I can't tell for sure either, but I think I see the water filler on the right rear corner, and that was a Scamp thing, not a typical Boler placement. But it's hard to see.

On the History of teh Boler article:

1)
Boler afficionados would be aghast at any suggested connection between the rounded shape of the fiberglass septic tank and the egg-shaped trailer produced the following year. But a look at the patent drawings suggests a strong parentage! Perhaps a rounded cylinder represents a good blend of strength and volume.

I'm a Boler afficionado and owner, and I wouldn't be the least bit bothered (much less aghast) at a connection between a nifty, efficient fiberglass septic tank and a Boler. If the design is cool, it's cool!

Oh, and that brings to mind a question. I think I remember reading in your article that there wasn't a patent taken out on the Boler If so, which are the patent drawings you refer to - are they the ones for the septic tank? Either way, those would be interesting to see, and would add some new material to the article. Can you add them or a link to them?

On the last sentence, I would say definitely (not perhaps).

2)
Jim Pattison Inc., the owner of Neonex, still holds the Boler trademark and the registration is still "live". Teardrop trailers are making a comeback, and there's a strong market for light-weight RVs. Who knows, perhaps one year the "Egg" will roll back into production.


I'd say the egg still is in production. That is, the Scamp and Casita are still made now. Maybe you were meaning that the Boler might go back into production, but I'd say that "egg" refers to more than just the Boler specifically.

Raya

Edited to add: Oh, I just thought of something I was curious to know more about when I read the article. I noticed, for example, that it says the following:

The copyright of the article A Boler Trailer Timeline in RV Culture is owned by Thomas Alan Gray. Permission to republish A Boler Trailer Timeline in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

I'm just curious how that works, since the timeline itself came mostly from this site, and was developed by contributions from the members here. Is it possible that now our timeline is copyrighted by you? How does this work? Can you republish an article that is actually information from elsewhere on the web (in this case Bolerama and our site, mostly) and then copyright it? How does that differ from if you had just linked to our timeline instead of reprinting it?

[Greg A]

Great job on this compilation.

Here's an interesting link on copy rights for those that are interested in that aside.

[Kirby and Adele]

The Scamp 13' was being made up until the 2006 Scamp factory fire in Backus using an original Boler mold. Ours is an '07. I guess that would make it a 'gasp' knockoff.

[Roy in TO]

Can you republish an article that is actually information from elsewhere on the web (in this case Bolerama and our site, mostly) and then copyright it?

In academia, of which Tom indicates he is a member of, citing information without providing proper references is called plagarism. Then having the audacity proclaim a copyright on error filled work is the primary reason I chose not to support his efforts by doing any research for him and correcting his errors.

Raya, I hope you understand I am trying to be nice with the above. Maybe if we meet at bolerama next month ... I'll tell you in a much less subtle manner what I think of Tom's work.

[Raya]

Roy,

I understand what you're saying. I guess I was kind of thinking the same thing, really.

R.

[Rick G]

A couple of notes on the "Boler Timeline" article:

4)
1972 to 1975 - "Boler Manufacturing" was building "Honey" brand trailers in Winnipeg, Manitoba, under the Neonex name

1975 – Winnipeg plant builds Boler-branded (not Honey) trailers as Neonex Industries.

This is more just a "Huh, this doesn't sound quite right but I don't know for sure" comment. I didn't know that the Honeys were Neonex Honeys; I thought they were just... Honeys. Does anyone know more about this? Also, my 1974 Boler was built by Neonex ("with pride") in Winnipeg, but is not a Honey, which seems to counter the second part.

My 1974 Boler was also built in Winnipeg by Neonex and has the Boler metal nameplates front and rear as well as the Neonex label above the door handle on the outside. A couple of other information stickers have been painted over on the outside (I may try to remove the paint some day), but the original cupboard interior door specification posters in English and French are still in place.

Rick G

[Roy in TO]

Adding a few things I've noticed posted recently to help ressurect this thread.

Phillip posted he is selling a "Rare..1st yr Casita, made in Kerens Tx"
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/in...howtopic=39506
I know I've seen other references to Casita in Kerens. This provides a start date.

Others have been talking about different features in there various bolers that will provide some clues as to model year and plant differences.
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/in...howtopic=39674

[Kent I]

I commented about the Boler in my neighbours driveway and learned that his father and brother made Bolers at Midhurst fiberglass. They also made Trilliums. Without much success Trillium molds ended up sold to the people making the Outback, and another set of molds ended up in the landfill in Barrie , Ontario. He told me another Boler mold was the start of Bigfoots lil'foot. He dad bought the molds from a person name Bolanger. Small world.

[Roger C H]

According to articles in the Winnipeg Free Press, Ray Olecko had the idea in 1967 while working for a fibreglass company. At first Olecko only wanted to build a trailer for his family. He enlisted the help of Sandor Dusa, a fiberglass mold maker. When they saw the result, they realized they could market it. So they raised $5000 by mortgaging their homes and started Boler in June of 1968 on Higgins Ave. They had eight employees, produced three trailers a week, and 40 trailers total in 1968.

Then they moved to a larger building at 770 Dufferin Ave, had 25 employees and produced 300 per year, to meet the demand. They brought in a third partner, Irwin Krieg and the marketing was taken over by Newline Industries owned by John Sarens.

By April 1971 they were making $500,000 and 1000 trailers per year, were shipping to the US, and were planning on building a larger trailer to sleep 6, and even a toy hauler. By December of that year they had negotiated with Elenor International of Wichita, KS which planned to produce 5000 units in 1972 in the US. They already had a franchised manufacturer in Alberta and a newly franchised manufacturer in Earlton, ONT scheduled to start production in January 1972.

About 1974 Trillium appeared on the scene. (I am still researching Trillium)

In 1975 Olecko was selling real estate mostly their company property and maybe his house. The Boler plant was foreclosed by Investors Group Trust on Feb 06, 1981.

[Raya]

Originally Posted by Roger C H

About 1974 Trillium appeared on the scene. (I am still researching Trillium)

I know of several Trilliums older than this. I think Paul here on the FGRV has the oldest one I'm familiar with - and if I'm not mistaken it is a 1971.

Raya

[Roy in TO]

I stumbled across a thread on bolerama from June of 2001 that gives a few more dates:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/boler...sages/?msg=849

Charron10 posted:
I have just purchased the last 17' boler made off the line from Earlton, so the original owner claims. #681 on the side marks number 6 in the year 1981. It does have the rounded corners and I have all the original documentation. I have had some discussion with a friend who had a boler he bought from Midland, Ontario, who claims they were being made there as late as 1984 but with a slightly different shape.

and 1017vfx posted:
I checked the plate on the side of my Boler today and it states that it was built on April 22 1986 by Midhurst Fiberglass

[Roy in TO]

I've been slowly combing through old posts on bolerama. Here is some info reported to be provided by Philip Tipler of Can-Am RV:

"Bigfoot bought Boler's molds
and started building a more upscale version of the trailer with oak
cabinets and more premium appointments. To the best of my knowledge,
Bigfoot manufactured 13' models from 1987 until 1993."

http://forums.delphiforums.com/boler...ssages?msg=972

[Kent I]

My neighbour whose father and brother owned and operated Midhurst Fiberglass told me that when Bigfoot started making the Lil' foot , 13 ft. they modified the product so that the door was a flat door instead of the curved door of the Boler.

[Roy in TO]

More from bolerama, International RV of Calgary buys Trillium Molds in 2001. The start of the Outback.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/boler...sages?msg=1159
and
http://forums.delphiforums.com/boler...sages?msg=1168

[Matante Roulotte]

very impressive history of the Boler

[JCusick]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

• • 1971 to 1973 - Bolers (original 13' model only) are in production by Glass-Fab Industries Ltd. in Peace River, Alberta. See the 1973 brochure, and a discussion in Bolerama.

Just a quick note regarding Glass-Fab... Today I removed paint off the sticker on the left side of a Boler I recently acquired and it is very clearly a Glass-Fab Indistries Ltd. sticker, Peace River, Alberta.

The Model is stamped 1300, the SN is stamped GF 2097-T and the Date is very clearly stamped 5/16/75

I'm not sure if I have a camera good enough to show the faded lettering, but the above numbers are raised and clear as a bell.

The print on the bottom states it meets Fed Requierements and there is a round Canada Transport stamp on the right side with the number 791 inside a Maple Leaf in the center of the stamp.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the Glass-Fab information listed in the history thread is 100% accurate or is this a guess at this time?

JC

[Roger C H]

I have uncovered some early history:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ory-46978.html

Gives the origin of Aurora, Tripoli and Backus.

Gives the source of the frames for Boler American.

It almost seems that the different 'branch manufacturers' made independently named trailers and didn't use Boler, using instead names like Perris Pacer, Scamp, etc.

Documents my earlier post #110 on this thread.

The "Gas Crisis" of 1973 probably hit the RV industry hard. Remember lining up to buy gas?

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Roger C H

The "Gas Crisis" of 1973 probably hit the RV industry hard. Remember lining up to buy gas?

Yes I do, and even and odd days too.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by Roger C H

I have uncovered some early history:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ory-46978.html

Gives the origin of Aurora, Tripoli and Backus.

Gives the source of the frames for Boler American.

It almost seems that the different 'branch manufacturers' made independently named trailers and didn't use Boler, using instead names like Perris Pacer, Scamp, etc.

That is a good find Roger, thank you for adding the references in your link.
FYI many of the other manufactures can be traced back to the boler American origins, once it shut down. Century Manufacturing in Aurora went on the produce the ECO. Tri Fab in Tripoli went on to produce the Love Bug, and we all know Evelands in Backus went on to produce the Scamp.

Is there any chance you can get a copy of some of those articles?

Roy