OurBoler.com 74 Boler rebuild

[Nelmes]

Thanks. I was very happy when I got out of the car to see, and found it mostly unhurt. Now to see if w can have it ready for camping this summer.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Nelmes

So I had the frame reinforced, and on the first trip it broke under the trailer. A new frame was on the list, but with the frame reinforced I thought it could wait until next spring.

The damage to the trailer was minimal, as the tongue lifts up, it lifted the front of the trailer, so it did little damage, and the propane tank made a small mark in the front.

It was the same price to have the trailer reinforced again so I can tow it home, or have it towed all the way. So I am having the frame fixed. With that i still need to find a way to build a new frame.

This is NOT the kind of picture I like to see posted! My stars. So very glad there wasn't any severe damage to trailer or people.

[Nelmes]

I agree Donna.

The frame has been fixed, we pick it up tomorrow. When the tongue was reinforced it stopped before making it all the way back to the large cross member under the trailer. Although this metal was inspected and looked fine, if the reinforcement would have carried through this would have been prevented as it broke right where the reinforcements stopped.

I believe close calls like this are a great reminder to be safe, and grateful that no real damage was done, and no one was hurt. Hopefully sharing will help others prevent the same issues.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Nelmes

....... it broke right where the reinforcements stopped.............

It is important to transition a patch so there is not a abrupt change in the strength of the material.

[andrew78]

What type of carpet did you use on the inside?

thanks

[Nelmes]

I used an indoor / outdoor carpet that is uv stabilized i found at Rona.

[Nelmes]

First weekend out in the Boler (take 2) was a success!! Had a storm the first night, lots of rain, lightning and wind. Jasper campsite we had our eye on was full, so we ended up at Mt. Robson. Boys did not want to come home, had a great time!

[Nelmes]

Edmonton to Mt Robson was 10.5 litres/100 km while towing. Adding a little to the cost of the drive, but amazing with a trailer.

[Evergreengirl]

So sorry to hear about the frame breaking, but glad that no one was hurt, nor the trailer itself. The picture from your campsite looks awesome. I think this all comes under the heading of "trial by fire"!

[FRED SMAILES]

our 74 boler frame is in great shape, untouched original
Ours was built in WPG was yours?

[Darrell in Al]

Great work !
Sorry to see the frame failure. . Glad all Ok and trailer Ok.
I happen on to your restoration thread.. Really fine job and memories for you and family.

[Nelmes]

thanks Kathy, the best way to learn is through experience, as long as it's safe, and this project has definitely been a learning process.

Fred. I think the trailer is from Ontario, although I bout it off a small island on the west coast.

Thanks darrel, it's all about learning and the memories, I still remember trips when I was young

[kootenaigirl]

So nice to see you out on a successful trip!
That picture of your Boler at the side of the road with the broken frame was so sad after all your hard work but glad to see it didn't take you long to bounce back.

[Nelmes]

Thanks kootenai girl, to many fun rips planned for the rest of the summer to have the trailer down for any length of time.

[Nelmes]

For our trip I needed an awning and with not time left to build the vintage awning I want. so I went with a free tarp awning. then discovered I didn't have the right size rope and the tarps I had were too big, so free became cheap temporary tarp awning.

First I used a nail head and straightened out the awning rail that came with the trailer. With the opening consistent I used a file to smooth the edge then cleaned it up with steel wool and metal polish. With some Butyl tape I installed it on the trailer.



I bought a tarp, I found one for $7, but for $20 I got a heavy duty one that was brown, and brown was worth the extra.

Using some rope I folded the tarp over the rope, used some clips from the office to hold it in place and slid it into the rail. I can do it myself, but some help would make it much easier.

Next I cleaned up some old poles we used when I was a kid to hold tarps up when tenting. I then put some reflective tape on them so we can find our trailer in the dark.

For lines I used bright orange string. to tighten the string I found some scrap metal and made pieces to tension the lines. I then painted them white, then covered them in glow in the dark paint in hopes the boys see them after dark (camping I realized we live up north now, and we're all in bed with a little light still lingering). I used the stakes to stir the glow paint for each coat, hoping they would glow as well.



Left is metal I found, right are the pieces I made to tension the lines (needed 4)

[Nelmes]

After some great suggestions on this site, I went to Walmart and bought a Solar panel and battery. Walmarts price on the solar panel was half of Canadian Tires and they have a much better return policy. I got the smallest battery they had. After a week long trip it worked great. I plugged the solar panel in ever other day to bring the battery back up to a full charge and even ran the vacuum, which was the only time I got near 75%.



Picked up this light from Ikea (the color even matches), and it worked great. The boys used it to read before bed, and we left it on all night as a night light for them. In the morning it would still be on, we would take the solar panel out and leave it on the dash or picnic table to charge for the next night.

[Nelmes]

Things I might do differently if I started again.

Ok, so the Boler is not done yet, but with a couple trips done their are a few things I would do differently next time.

1. The sink. So far we haven’t used the sink, it just takes up counter space and storage space. I would leave this out if I built it again. With that said I do plan to build a cover for it, and use it for storage, so if we want it it will be there and nothing will be lost for having it.

2. Battery. I was going to leave a battery out of the build, however it is nice to have one. I added a small battery and solar panel and converted some of the lights to run off it. I found the lights slide off too easy to leave them on while driving, and making them more permanent would not allow the batteries to be easily changed. Wiring them in worked out better.

3. Propane cooler. I bought a propane cooler from Canadian Tire, knowing that their return policy sucks, however I noticed later on the receipt it says for this cooler they do not do refunds or exchanges. It works fine on 120 volts, and good enough on 12 volt, but it is hard to light on propane. If that was it I would have been happy, but even with it lite it often doesn’t cool. After a few days playing with it my best guess is it needs to be perfectly level. With no real flat spot to measure level, on both trips we had a warm cooler. With that I will be getting a proper RV fridge and with this not my first unhappy Canadian Tire experience will have hopefully learned my lesson and stop shopping there.

4. Veneer trim on counter. For the most part this is working great, however with one of the bunks accessed by climbing over the counter the veneer did not work in this high traffic area.

5. Needs a new frame. I had the frame reinforced and inspected by a few different welders, however it is old, and on the first trip it broke. For the most part I replaced anything that had the potential to cause a problem long term, and could have saved money by building a new frame instead of repairing the old one.

6. Use forums more. Post a simple question and some of the suggestion may amaze. I read the fiberglassrv and teardrop forums, but was reluctant to post at first.

7. Storage. I left out the top cabinets, and the more roomy feel was well worth the lost storage. I find their is lots of storage, but with most of it under the beds want to look at ways to organize it better to make access and finding all the little things easier. I plan to add storage in the sink, and am confident this will go a long way to solving this organization issue.

[Nelmes]

I had been using 2 stabilizing jacks that came with the trailer, but have since gone to 4 and am finding the trailer way more stable.



My wife sewed up some curtains, made a big difference in privacy as well as adding more color to the inside of the trailer.

[Nelmes]

After posting a question on this forum about converting my LED's that run off 3 aaa batteries to run off the 12 volt battery I have added, I got maore help than I expected, and the part to convert the voltage!

To make them work all I needed was car cell charger.



With that I took apart the LED lights, stripping them of the metal to conect the batteries and lots of plastic parts so the batteries could be changed. Then I added a couple of bolts and a hole to pull the wires through.



I then wired them in and they work great!

With this new found knowledge I picked up 2 car usb outlets, drilled a couple holes in the counter and installed and wired them in.



The usb outlets are the 2 circles on the left side.

All this will run off the smallest car jump pack I could find and a small solar panel.

[Dudley]

Glad to help! Enjoyed have you and your son over.