Hi, I'm Yazmin

[Yazmin]

and along with my husband Ian have just purchased a 1980 Boler that needs significant love. We will pick it up this weekend and try to get as much work done as possible before we take it on it's first trip in one month.

The body and frame are in good condition as are the tires and bearings however it does need a back window. Luckily, we have located one via the great info on this forum!

It will also need for a start: a good cleaning, a reinstall of the propane, and new cushions which I may decide to sew myself. I will post pictures on our progress!

I have very much enjoyed all of the great information and discussion on this site and love seeing what others have accomplished with thier own campers! I will appreciate any comments and feedback that come my way!

[Raff]

Welcome. You'll find lots of great info here. This site has been a tremendous help to me.


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[Gilles]

Welcome.

I have no Boler but I know that this link is appreciated for their renovation.

Complete Guide to 13′ Boler Fiberglass Trailers

Have a good mounth,

[Yazmin]

Thank you for the input! We are excited to have such a great resource!

[getaway1]

Hi welcome
If you are working on any propane lines etc... use a dish soap/water solution and apply it to all the connections/fittings with the tank valve on to pressurize lines. Make sure no bubbles appear, indicating a leak. Tighten connections as required til leaks stop. repair any problems ASAP. Be safe and enjoy your new trailer.

[Evergreengirl]

How old are the tires, Yazmin? They may look OK, but if they're 5-7 years old or older they need to be replaced. Have fun with your project. Your trailer is a cutie!

[Borden]

Today we have ST trailer tires available and the come in Radial :-)

[Yazmin]

We are off to pick it up today. Luckily husband is super handy and mechanically inclined. He has previously redone a sailboat so he is experienced with fibreglass and propane.
Me? I'm learning something on every thread! It's all new to me.
We will soon have a better idea of the tires and axle and everything else! I do think the tires are 5 years old though.
Soo exciting!

[Evergreengirl]

Yay! Keep us informed on how things go.

[Yazmin]

Been a while since my last post and it's almost a new season!
To finish that...

Ian and I did a whirlwind 2.5 week reno with a triple cleaning, new cushions/covers, fibreglass patching and install of an original Boler window. We carted along a new stove and fantastic fan to install once we stopped at our friend's place in QC at the start of our 3 destination trip around Lake Ontario. Whirlwind indeed. By this time, we had discovered that the driver's side frame had a bend in it in the rear, and we suspected that it was where the weight of the tree had added pressure after crushing the shell and window frame. Ian rigged in a shim to level the 'egg' for the journey to get us through the short term.

We had a great stop in Val David, and Ian put his skills to work getting the fan, stove, and propane working using his knowledge from sailing.

We were quite happy with the preliminary results to make the trailer usable knowing that the frame and warped axel etc. still needed to be addressed but it was workable for the short term. We had a great time on our first Boler adventure, save for that first night we drove down an unfamiliar dirt road and our little egg made a sideways dash for the ditch on a steep incline. All worked out in the end thank goodness and we had a little help navigating the hill in the morning.

After the remainder of that successful first venture, and season, we pulled the shell off the frame in late October and found, as we thought, only the rear of one side was bent and the frame was otherwise in 'good' shape. We were able to get the frame straightened and reconditioned and we added a braked axel and new tires; just in time too as the inner edge of one tire was showing obvious wear after our season.

We are excited to fasten the shell down and do some next step interior repairs and renos!

[Borrego Dave]

Congrats on your trip, sure looks like you have things well in hand.

[Paul O.]

Progress reports are always interesting - thanks for posting it, good luck with the rest of the renovation.

Glad you pulled out of that steep hill OK and did not end up like the one in the link. How did you do it? We all learn from experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilKq7WsuzMU

[Yazmin]

Fortuitously, or not, it happened close to
Midnight on a rarely used road. We chocked the wheels and left it till morning. Our neighbors had a heavy duty pickup and helpfully offered assistance in the morn.

Turns out the hill which wasn't particularly big, actually gets sanded in the winters and the resulting surface is almost chalk-like. The C30 was unable to get the traction necessary for the climb with the challenge the off-kilter trailer added.

[Yazmin]

Here's the visual documentation:

[Paul O.]

I measured on the picture and calculated it as 16% grade. That is one steep hill. In our area where we have a lot of dirt roads, sometimes the steep sections are blacktop, in order to avoid the slip on the sand/gravel. Your additional disadvantage was the tongue weight on the back, reducing the traction on the front wheels. And with the curves at the bottom, there was probably no chance to get some momentum.

The blacktop on those sections also allows for salt to be used in winter instead of piling up the sand.

[Yazmin]

Wow. Thanks for your feedback, Paul! I didn't know that it would be possible to establish that from the picture!

I say it wasn't a big hill because after QC we headed down into NY and spent some days in the Adirondacks where we dealt with much bigger hills, and equally steep hills. We never encountered a surface which was that soft again though, thankfully!

I'm very appreciative of my husband who is quite capable with mechanics, vehicles and the like. If it had been just me, it would have been a bigger problem!

We are going to move to a more powerful tow vehicle this year.
The reason we got the Boler (project) last year was that another planned project couldn't move forward and I came across an article on-line highlighting 'Vehicles with surprising Tow Capacities' and our faithful C30 was listed. I took it as a sign.

[Roger H]

Yazmin, it's times like the one you found yourselves in that a true body-on-ladder frame 4WD with locking rear ends and a little more aggressive tread tires comes in really handy for towing, even with a lightweight trailer like your Boler. Having been stuck just on wet grass in 2WD trying to leave a campground, it's comfortable to have the 4WD with locking rear ends available. And as Paul said with a front wheel drive car on a hill in a soft surface you lose even more traction towing.

If you drive on back roads, good gas mileage doesn't count for much when you're stuck by yourself in the middle of nowhere in a rut, really soft gravel, or mud at midnight and you find your drive tires are spinning because your trailer tires are buried too.

Just a thought to put away for next time you think about a new tow vehicle.

[Yazmin]

Hi Roger, Thanks for the tip! I will mention that to my husband. Whatever vehicle we decide on will be doing all duties including being a work vehicle for him, so a variety of aspects will be factored in.