Maintenance & Restoration

Donna D. · 08-04-2006, 10:02 AM

Glad I don't have to deal with it!

Victor Benz · 08-04-2006, 10:24 AM

Boy!

Does this ever bring back memories! This is exactly what I had to do to my 1978 Aljo in 1994. Fortunately, I was able to do most of the work from inside, but it still took 4 weeks.

Victor

jack maloney · 08-04-2006, 01:06 PM

Worst of all, after doing all that work...he still has a sticky!

pjanits · 08-04-2006, 02:24 PM

My 82' 28ft Terry was the same. Left side blew out over the winter, found big time rot.
Cut it all back and rebuilt it, took several weekends to do it.
I promptly sold it after the repair and started looking for something else.

Lizbeth · 08-04-2006, 02:51 PM

I dunno....I still have a craving for a late 40's to early 50's canned ham. I'll probably have to rebuild one from the frame up, hey it will keep me out of trouble for a couple years!

Something like this 1947 Boles Aero

David & Leslie · 08-04-2006, 05:41 PM

I'm with you, Lisbeth! I am certifiably crazy about 'glass, but those 'canned ham' outfits still hold some appeal. As an example, on the way to the market today I spied an adorable aluminum stickie which appeared to be in pretty good condition for the vingtage. Can't believe my first thought was "wonder what they'd take for that" and, second was "Wow, what we could do with that". Yessir, it's an affliction!

LdB

Loren G. Hedahl · 08-05-2006, 12:37 PM

Our first RV was a early 50's Spartan, I believe about 40ft, that was home during our college years. Pulled it with a '62 International Travellall.

The interior woodworking was much like the photo of the Boles Arrow, except of a lighter wood, likely maple or birch.

However, thinking back about all the pro's and con's of that type of interior -- I think I prefer the modern materials and construction, especially the FGRV we presently have. It is just more appropriate and functional for us.

BOBSMITH · 08-05-2006, 03:56 PM

The guy I bought my Casita from told me that he'd gone through two pop-ups and two fifth-wheel trailers, all of which leaked and creaked and began to fall apart soon after buying them. So he found out about Casitas and Scamps and such and started looking. He'd still have the one he sold me if his health hadn't suddenly taken a very bad turn. I've seen some stickies that hold up well. But I've rarely seen or heard of a molded fiberglass trailer that had any leakage or structural problems that weren't due to an accident or extreme negligence.

pjanits · 08-05-2006, 04:48 PM

We camped at a no name, initally grubby looking campground near Catawba, Ohio.
It was down the street from a regular campground,everyone who was looking for a campground drove in and drove right out ,just as we did at first, but there was nowhere to go.
We figured we'd stay just overnight as everything around there was crowded.

We ended up staying all week. It was great really and empty.

Anyhow it was full of 50' and 60' permanent trailers, some restored some in process, it was a virtual museum. I saw the insides of some of them, Birch! and beautiful.
If you're ever in that area look for it.

Bill Abbay · 08-05-2006, 04:54 PM

I feel sorry for this guy. He's just launched off into a never ending voyage of upkeep, maintenance, and repair.

When our 19' Sandpiper went into the classifieds for sale, a dealer called. His only interest in the condition of the trailer was whether you could see any evidence of water leakage inside. Not whether there had been any, just if you could see any. As it happened, there never had been any visible, but a few months before, I knew there was a problem when I almost stepped through the bathroom floor...

We sold the Sandpiper after a massive rebuild of the entire back end. It was in far better condition than when we had bought it but I had developed my trailer rebuilding skills just about as far as I intended to take them. That was it. We'll never go back. Though we paid 1 - 1/2 times new sticky price for our used Bigfoot, I figure I've saved the difference in headaches and repairs.

**Frederick L. Simson** · 08-05-2006, 06:44 PM

Quote:

I still have a craving for a late 40's to early 50's canned ham.

My first trailer was a 1952 Richardson when I was 18 and living in upstate New York. It had been a construction office for a time, and I "restored" it to non-office use. I think it was 25 feet long. Then I joined the Navy and gave it to my brother.

It was still a mess after I got done with it. I was only 18 and not into a full quality restoration.

Palmer M · 08-15-2006, 09:39 PM

Wow
All that work to save a PROWLER?!

The '47 Boles, on the other hand....

P

Lizbeth · 08-16-2006, 03:15 PM

Bill, we have a '97 22ft Sandpiper we are trying to get the gumption up to sell. We bought it brand new, the only new thing we had ever (or will again) buy. We really like it but we don't use it. It's in storage in a campgound and we only go a couple times a year. Plus we need a full sized truck to tow it and we sold that a few years ago.

I'm longing for a Bigfoot 5th wheel!