Farm Fresh 19' BIGGAR Fiberglass Camper - Fiberglass RV
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Old 11-12-2011, 09:06 PM   #1
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Trailer: 1974 Boler 1300
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Farm Fresh 19' BIGGAR Fiberglass Camper

I came across a guy that said he had a 1974, tandem axle, Boler that was bigger than the 13 footer for sale and was asking only $1500 for it. He’s an older gentleman that is about to retire and doesn’t have a computer.


Anyone else see the issue here? Boler never made a tandem axle trailer and the bigger 17 footer didn’t come out until 1977.


As an avid Boler fan, and after all the research I did when I restored my 1974 Boler, I said he must be mistaken. He swore it was a Boler. Since we live in Winnipeg, the birthplace of the Boler, maybe he had had a one off prototype. I’ve seen photos of a 15 foot Boler that was for sale in Ontario last year. After an extensive google and fiberglassrv search I figured maybe he had a Fiberstream.


He didn’t have any pictures of it and it was located 150km north of Winnipeg on a farm. I showed him the Fiberstream photo and he said it didn’t look like it. Again he swore it was a Boler. He described the interior to me and it matched the floor plan of the 17 foot Boler, but the tandem axle and 1974 year wasn’t right. I asked him if maybe someone took the Boler cabin off the original frame and dropped it on a tandem frame. He said he didn’t think so because when you look under the trailer, it’s all fiberglass. The frame goes inside the camper and them comes out the back. He also thought that it was possibly 19 feet and not 17 feet.


So back to searching on google and fiberglassrv. I searched for 19’ tandem axle fiberglass camper. What came up was the BIGGAR camper. It was created by John Biggar from Winnipeg. Turns out he worked for Boler Winnipeg in the 70’s. He left the company and made his own camper called the BIGGAR in the late 70’s and then died. All references to the BIGGAR camper come back with a 1978 and 1979 model, which collaborates with the story.


I printed off a photo and showed him. He said that was his camper. When I said it was a BIGGAR, he had a confused look on his face and said “You’re Right”. He forgot and for some reason thought it was a Boler. As for the 1974 year, a lot of people on here will know that for some reason these 1970`s campers loose their identity over the years and then people guess what years they are.


So today I went for a drive to look at it. He said he bought it in 2002 and has done nothing to it but camped in it but hasn’t used it for the past 2 years.


A previous owner painted it and did a horrible job! These campers were all dark brown on the bottom and light beige on the top. They painted it a peach colour on the bottom and a white on the top and over time it now looks awful! All 4 tires need to be replaced.



The inside is mostly original. Classic 70’s dark wood with orange/yellow plaid. It has a stove/oven, range hood w/fan, 3 way fridge, bathroom with toilet, sink and shower and a hot water tank that he said all work. It has a furnace that is unhooked and he hasn’t used and looks pretty rough. The door is fiberglass skin on the outside and plywood on the inside which looks to be separating. A few of the windows are also cracked.


He was asking $1500 for it, but told me today he`d take $1000. Is it worth $1000. Probably, but for someone with no knowledge or experience with 70`s fiberglass campers, it would scare a lot of people away. I can definitely see the potential for it. With this guy retiring to his remote farm in January, no computer and no truck to move it, I can`t see him selling it anytime soon. So in the spring I might offer him $500-$750 for it.


If I was to get it, I`d power wash the heck out of it!! Then remove all of the windows and lights and spray it with a grey truck box liner. Replace all of the exterior lights and replace the broken glass. On the inside I`d remove the furnace and put in a small microwave and a window ac unit. Update the upholstery and install a flat screen tv…etc.


Here are a few pictures and please comment.






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Old 11-12-2011, 09:08 PM   #2
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I think the Biggar's are neato!
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Old 11-12-2011, 09:14 PM   #3
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The interior sure looks decent. The exterior's issues look to be mainly cosmetic, no big deal. Replace/repair a few things and you have a very nice (and valuable) trailer. Why wait around and take a chance that someone else could see it and offer him the cash? Go get it.
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Old 11-12-2011, 09:40 PM   #4
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Jayson,

You better pay that price and snag it before someone else does. It looks like a great winter project for someone who now has seen what you posted and will look to buy it for themselves.

CindyL
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Old 11-12-2011, 10:15 PM   #5
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I agree with the others. If it's worth having just get it. It certainly has a fascinating history and might bring a pretty penny if properly restored.
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Old 11-13-2011, 03:15 PM   #6
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snap it up,,,,now! there are lots of people on this forum who will, if you don't. it's a rare one and that, alone, makes it special. good luck!
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Old 11-14-2011, 05:15 PM   #7
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Please send me the contact info on this one, I would gladly pay over a thousand for one of these, And I am in position to go get it immediately. The exterior will be easily refinished and the unit will be worth in excess of $4000.00 when finished.
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Old 11-15-2011, 01:25 AM   #8
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I went back for a second look. Snapped it up for $850.
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Old 11-15-2011, 06:15 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayson Wall View Post
I went back for a second look. Snapped it up for $850.
looking forward to all the terrific things you will be doing to this great trailer
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Old 11-15-2011, 07:08 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayson Wall View Post
I came across a guy that said he had a 1974, tandem axle, Boler that was bigger than the 13 footer for sale and was asking only $1500 for it. He’s an older gentleman that is about to retire and doesn’t have a computer.
The Biggar reminds me of our Leocraft made at the same time near Winnipeg. The original color , the lines running along the bottom of the coach plus the fact that the frame does enter and exit the coach all are the same as our 17ft Leocraft. I wonder how much of the designs of these two makes were borrowed from each other. We made a lot of changes to our unit as you can see in the pics of our Stubby in the trailer registry page 22 I believe. But it was so worth it. Age really means nothing if the trailer is sound and works for you. Good luck with your renos & looking forward to seeing pics as you progress. Dennis
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Old 03-06-2012, 09:44 PM   #11
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Nice find!

A couple of people one here, myself included, have Biggars, so if you have any questions, feel welcome to ask.

Maybe call him back and see whether he has an add a room for it. Looks like one may have been on it at one time. Maybe he forgot that he has it somewhere.
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Old 03-06-2012, 10:04 PM   #12
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Very neat looking trailer.
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Old 03-06-2012, 10:09 PM   #13
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Definitely a diamond in the rough but I'm sure you will do a great job. Looking forward to watching the progress. At $850.00 you can't go wrong. Make sure to take lots of pictures along the way.
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Old 03-06-2012, 10:36 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cory Lewis View Post
Nice find!

A couple of people one here, myself included, have Biggars, so if you have any questions, feel welcome to ask.

Maybe call him back and see whether he has an add a room for it. Looks like one may have been on it at one time. Maybe he forgot that he has it somewhere.
Hi there Cory and thanks for the message.

In fact when I bought it, I left it out at his place for the winter, free storage is always good!

It looks as if it originally had an add a room to it. There is the awning strip along the top (which is pretty beat up) and the snap button down the side (which are pretty rusty). He said when he bought it about 10 years ago, it didn't have the add a room with it.

I do have a few questions though. When I restored my Boler it was very easy because it only has a single fiberglass shell, so changing the lights, adding an awning strip was easy because you could access the bolts from the inside. With the Biggar, I want to change all the lighting, but how do you access the inside to apply the nut to the bolt when you change the lights because it is two fiberglass shells one inside the other?

I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions as I tear into the project, but this one was the most obvious when I looked at it.

Thanks
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Old 03-08-2012, 12:03 PM   #15
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Name: john
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very cool snag. you now are a collector of vintage rare trailers.
you are gonna have so much fun fixin up and using that baby.


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Old 03-18-2012, 01:30 AM   #16
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Hi Jason

That is something I haven't tried to do.

Something that took me awhile to figure out is that the shower drain runs only about a foot to where all the waste is drained from the trailer. It doesn't drain into a holding tank. So, you have to open that main drain and add an external tank to receive the shower water or the shower water will back up around your ankles. Unless someone added a pump to take the shower water to an internal tank.
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