John & Jaci's Great Adventure (Vintage Boler rebuild)

[John and Jaci]

The frame has been sanded checked and the first layer of paint applied. The frame is in very good shape for being 37 years old. (you can see it is being inspected by the two job supervisors ) It is ready to go over for a new axle. We have to figure out exactly which axle we want to use and get it ordered. When we have the axle replaced we will add some reinforcement to the frame to make sure that everything is strong and safe for a long time to come. There are a few areas, such as the sheet metal that creates the drop floor in front of the kitchen, that is quite rusted. So that sheet metal is being replaced when the axle is replaced.

[mike scans]

The frame has been sanded checked and the first layer of paint applied. The frame is in very good shape for being 37 years old. (you can see it is being inspected by the two job supervisors ) It is ready to go over for a new axle. We have to figure out exactly which axle we want to use and get it ordered. When we have the axle replaced we will add some reinforcement to the frame to make sure that everything is strong and safe for a long time to come. There are a few areas, such as the sheet metal that creates the drop floor in front of the kitchen, that is quite rusted. So that sheet metal is being replaced when the axle is replaced.

John,

I assume a Dexter axle or are you going the spring route?

[John and Jaci]

We are leaning toward a trailing arm torsion axle that is sold by Northern Tool. (Its currently configured with a leading arm torsion axle) We plan to reposition it to make room for slightly larger tires and wheels. We are also going to block shim the axle to give about 4 to 5 inches in better ground clearance and a slightly wider stance. Northern Tool has good equipment at a reasonable price. The other advantage is that they are located here in Memphis so we can get all of the related hardware that we need for the conversion and it will make things easier that way and eliminates shipping costs. The Northern Tool axle has the added bonus of a preset camber which makes our job easier.

[JEAN-L]

We are leaning toward a trailing arm torsion axle that is sold by Northern Tool. (Its currently configured with a leading arm torsion axle) We plan to reposition it to make room for slightly larger tires and wheels. We are also going to block shim the axle to give about 4 to 5 inches in better ground clearance and a slightly wider stance. Northern Tool has good equipment at a reasonable price. The other advantage is that they are located here in Memphis so we can get all of the related hardware that we need for the conversion and it will make things easier that way and eliminates shipping costs. The Northern Tool axle has the added bonus of a preset camber which makes our job easier.

Hi John
Let me know how you gonna make out with your new axle.
I just finished repairing our frame and thinking of changing axle on our Boler American.
I was also looking at Northern Tool's axle.
Would you have the Original Hub caps? your 'e doing a good job on yours.
Thank you Jean-L

[mike scans]

We are leaning toward a trailing arm torsion axle that is sold by Northern Tool. (Its currently configured with a leading arm torsion axle) We plan to reposition it to make room for slightly larger tires and wheels. We are also going to block shim the axle to give about 4 to 5 inches in better ground clearance and a slightly wider stance. Northern Tool has good equipment at a reasonable price. The other advantage is that they are located here in Memphis so we can get all of the related hardware that we need for the conversion and it will make things easier that way and eliminates shipping costs. The Northern Tool axle has the added bonus of a preset camber which makes our job easier.

I have purchased from Northern Tool and Harbour Freight in the past. It is good if you get hands on the actual part. Their prices are good but if the manufacturer is not known the quality is questionable.
I thought that a torque axle was the way to go. Just have to know the finished weight as their weight ranges can be narrow.
Look great so far. Listen to your inspectors!!

[John and Jaci]

We are back at the work on our camper after a short vacation. We have been sanding the shell. Removing all the faded oxidized blue paint and getting the surface prepped for fiberglass repair. I have added a couple of pictures to show how far we have gotten with the sanding. We have purchased replacement windows and will need to do some fiberglass work to set them in. We are planning on purchasing the northern tool axle and are looking for a welder to complete the work for us. So far the redo is going well and we feel that we are slightly ahead of schedule to be camping next spring.

[mike scans]

We are back at the work on our camper after a short vacation. We have been sanding the shell. Removing all the faded oxidized blue paint and getting the surface prepped for fiberglass repair. I have added a couple of pictures to show how far we have gotten with the sanding. We have purchased replacement windows and will need to do some fiberglass work to set them in. We are planning on purchasing the northern tool axle and are looking for a welder to complete the work for us. So far the redo is going well and we feel that we are slightly ahead of schedule to be camping next spring.

Lookin' good! Have you looked for someone to spray the insulating foam? Might be cheaper than getting the kit yourself.
Keep the pictures coming and keep up the good work.

[Kevin A]

We are back at the work on our camper after a short vacation. We have been sanding the shell. Removing all the faded oxidized blue paint and getting the surface prepped for fiberglass repair. I have added a couple of pictures to show how far we have gotten with the sanding. We have purchased replacement windows and will need to do some fiberglass work to set them in. We are planning on purchasing the northern tool axle and are looking for a welder to complete the work for us. So far the redo is going well and we feel that we are slightly ahead of schedule to be camping next spring.

John and Jaci:
It was nice talking to you on the phone the other day about our "non-working" Dometic fridge. Good luck with the USS Neversail and keep the pictures coming! Looks like we're done camping for the year since the weekends have been so cold and wet around Chicago. Our next trip will be our trip to Pine Ridge, South Dakota in March for our annual volunteer week. Then, we'll once again be at the VW Show at Mid-America Motorworks in Effingham, IL in early June. Nice campground at Camp Lakewood and lots of old VWs to observe on Sat. and Sunday.

Take care!

Kevin and Cindy Anderson

[John and Jaci]

The work has slowed to a crawl since we have had rain 25 of the 30 days of September and over half of the days in October. We are doing all the repair work in the back yard as we don't have a garage so its a little hard to work on in the rain. Hopefully the rain will stop soon and we can get some nice days to get back to work on it. Kevin and Cindy, hopefully we can meet next year in Effingham. Every year for the last 20 yrs Jaci's family has gotten together at Lake Shelbyville Ill (about 20 miles from Effingham) in early June. With any luck our vacation will be at the same time as the VW Show. Till then we will keep posting pictures as we can. Hope the rain stops soon or the USS NeverSail may actually set sail.

[CindyL]

That would be fun. Last year, there were a couple of trailers there too, a Boler and a Eriba Puck, along with the VWs. Plan early though; lots of folks go. Places fill up.

CindyL

[Kevin A]

I just checked the calendar for the Effingham VW show. It is June 5-6, 2010. We usually go down on Friday morning, golf at a small local course in the afternoon, and do the show on Saturday and Sunday morning. We head back to Chicago early afternoon Sunday. Here is the link to the campground we use: www.camplakewoodcampground.com. They have wireless internet, cable hook-ups, and nice restrooms/showers. We usually try to make reservations in April and have no trouble getting a spot. You can also get information about the VW show at the Mid-America Motorworks website, under VW Funfest.

Hope your work on the trailer starts to move along again!

[John and Jaci]

Those dates will hopefully match up with our family reunion. If not perhaps we could still come up for the weekend. Looks like a very nice campground where you stay. Hopefully the weather cooperates soon so that we can get our camper completed. Will keep you posted on the progress.

[mike scans]

Those dates will hopefully match up with our family reunion. If not perhaps we could still come up for the weekend. Looks like a very nice campground where you stay. Hopefully the weather cooperates soon so that we can get our camper completed. Will keep you posted on the progress.

Sure hope the rain stops for you. Send some this way, we are out of the drought situation but we can tolerate a LOT of rain before having problems.

Good luck on the trailer and your vacation in june. Hopefully you can "get ur done" before then.

[John and Jaci]

Well after long last I thought I would post some update pictures of our progress on the rebuild of the USS NeverSail. The process got slowed because of no covered place to work and it was either >100 degrees or <40 degrees or raining so after long last here is where we are at. We have almost completed the outside and the new floor is in. It still needs fiberglassing between the floor and walls but going well. We have stuck with our nautical theme. The only thing left on the outside is to install the new door lock/handle and add a porthole in the kitchen area and repeat the graphics on that side. The hardest part was replacing the back plexiglass window with a glass emergency exit window. The porthole was a challenge as well but on the second try it is watertight and we are very happy with its appearance. We changed the axle to a leaf spring and beefed up the frame. By doing this we were able to drop the drop down floor 6 extra inches so we now have an interior height of 6 ft 5 in. Once we put the insulation and final ceiling in John who is 6ft 3 will still be able to stand up straight inside. We know that this is a radical change and purists may find that we overmodified it but we wanted something unique and are very happy with our final result. Hopefully in the next week or so we will have the floor finished and the interior design begins.

[Mary F]

John & Jaci - Your Boler is beautiful!

I'm moving this thread to the Modifications forum, where people will come across it when they're looking for trailer renovations.

Impressive project!

[CindyL]

Very cool!

CindyL