My Gutted 1975 Boler 1300

[Randy D.]

Greetings. Back in December I purchased a 75 Boler 13 foot that was completely gutted to prepare for paint. I loaded up all of the parts and brought it home. It was 30 below that day and I don't have an indoor space for it so I just moved all of the parts into a spare bedroom while I waited for warmer weather. Since then I have been doing inventory, cleaning parts, and generally assessing the situation. I have also read hundreds of posts here and learned a great deal. Many thanks for that.
The frame and shell seem to be sound but the axle has to be shot simply due to age. The ensolite would be perfectly fine except that a 3rd degree previous owner glued some sort of fabric over the entire interior. That was removed more than two years ago and the adhesive is still quite tacky to the touch. I tried Varsol, alcohol, WD40, Goo Gone, various household cleaners and gasoline with no luck. The only thing that works is a product I bought many years ago called Kleanall. However, I worked for more than an hour to clean a few square inches even with that. I have decided to apply a second layer of foam backed vinyl liner once I have made sure the original is all secure.
This unit has an ice box which cannot be salvaged and I would like to replace it. Vintage Trailer Supply does not ship them internationally so I am looking for one in Canada that is in good shape. I am also looking for a local source for the stock wheels with the required half inch offset.
I am located in Calgary so if any active members have found local or Canadian suppliers for the many items required for a restoration I would very much appreciate any information you would be willing to share. My goal is to get as close to the original as possible in this project. The only reason for the focus on local sources is my budget. I can see that even a do-it-yourself restoration can get very expensive in no time at all. For example, I was lucky enough to snag a brand new, in the box, Bargman L-400 lock for $150.00 on ebay. I can't do that every week unless the Boler becomes my primary residence.

[Frederick L. Simson]

I can see that even a do-it-yourself restoration can get very expensive in no time at all.

I can verify that! I stopped counting when I had over $4,000.⁰⁰ sunk into my Compact Jr. rebuild.

[Bonnie]

What Fred said. I am still working on my Play Pac but, I think you can do a great job with whatever budget you can afford. Nice thing is you can use the Boler as a hardside tent, while you work to make it yours.

[Donna D.]

I agree with Bonnie. As long as it's clean, leak-free and safe to go down the road, you can enjoy it while saving the money to make it uniquely your own. I'm of the thought, I'd rather save my money to buy exactly what I want, rather than buy something that just "makes do" for a while. For instance, I really want an Fantastic Fan... with all the bells and whistles. I'm not going to purchase a $50 Endless Breeze in the meantime. I'd rather be hot and save that $50 towards the FF.

YMMV

[Rick G]

Greetings. Back in December I purchased a 75 Boler 13 foot that was completely gutted to prepare for paint. I loaded up all of the parts and brought it home. It was 30 below that day and I don't have an indoor space for it so I just moved all of the parts into a spare bedroom while I waited for warmer weather. Since then I have been doing inventory, cleaning parts, and generally assessing the situation. I have also read hundreds of posts here and learned a great deal. Many thanks for that.
The frame and shell seem to be sound but the axle has to be shot simply due to age. The ensolite would be perfectly fine except that a 3rd degree previous owner glued some sort of fabric over the entire interior. That was removed more than two years ago and the adhesive is still quite tacky to the touch. I tried Varsol, alcohol, WD40, Goo Gone, various household cleaners and gasoline with no luck. The only thing that works is a product I bought many years ago called Kleanall. However, I worked for more than an hour to clean a few square inches even with that. I have decided to apply a second layer of foam backed vinyl liner once I have made sure the original is all secure.
This unit has an ice box which cannot be salvaged and I would like to replace it. Vintage Trailer Supply does not ship them internationally so I am looking for one in Canada that is in good shape. I am also looking for a local source for the stock wheels with the required half inch offset.
I am located in Calgary so if any active members have found local or Canadian suppliers for the many items required for a restoration I would very much appreciate any information you would be willing to share. My goal is to get as close to the original as possible in this project. The only reason for the focus on local sources is my budget. I can see that even a do-it-yourself restoration can get very expensive in no time at all. For example, I was lucky enough to snag a brand new, in the box, Bargman L-400 lock for $150.00 on ebay. I can't do that every week unless the Boler becomes my primary residence.

Try Paul Neumeister in Ontario for the axle and maybe other things here: http://www.fibreglass-rv.ca/. He is importing axles made to Boler specs specifically for this purpose.

Rick G in Edmonton

[Pat Reeves]

Hey
Try Outback Trailer http://www.trilliumtrailers.com they are here in Calgary and helped me out quite a bit in my resto project. Bob (I think thats his name) gave me some good advice and even took me out to the yard to check out some of the stuff he had kicking around.

Any small stuff you might need you may want keep an eye on Kijiji and at Princess auto. PA was a great place for led lights, jacks, wire, reflective tape and other parts and pieces.
Also if you are familiar with Pick N Pull auto salvage in the SW try looking there every once and a while. They sometimes get camper vns in there that have good used stuff in them.

One thing I would recommend is getting the fan mentioned above. We installed one and it was by far the best thing we could have got. Helped alot last summer.

Besides that, to keep the budget low just keep an eye out for sales flyers, garage sales and online for good cheap parts.

Good luck

[Mike Bromley]

Hey
Try Outback Trailer http://www.trilliumtrailers.com they are here in Calgary and helped me out quite a bit in my resto project. Bob (I think thats his name) gave me some good advice and even took me out to the yard to check out some of the stuff he had kicking around.

Any small stuff you might need you may want keep an eye on Kijiji and at Princess auto. PA was a great place for led lights, jacks, wire, reflective tape and other parts and pieces.
Also if you are familiar with Pick N Pull auto salvage in the SW try looking there every once and a while. They sometimes get camper vns in there that have good used stuff in them.

One thing I would recommend is getting the fan mentioned above. We installed one and it was by far the best thing we could have got. Helped alot last summer.

Besides that, to keep the budget low just keep an eye out for sales flyers, garage sales and online for good cheap parts.

Good luck

Yes, Team Trillium has been very helpful. And Princess Auto. And it can get expensive, no doubt. But, with a custom Outback at around 16,000$....a reconditioned Boler for around 6 grand starts to look awfully good!