New 17' Boler Owner!

[LiseKen]

It's been a whirlwind 4 days.

Ever since my husband but the kibosh on buying a Trillium 4500 from the deep inner reaches of Canada (hello David Tilston! ) I've been very occasionally indulging my late night dream of buying a Fiberglass Trailer.

Monday found me on Craigslist where I saw a just listed 17' Boler. I was in a mood, as I sometimes am, and immediately texted the seller. Fast forward to Friday and I am driving from Seattle to Vancouver with: a friend, my 13 year old, reservations for dim sum, a new 1 7/8" hitch ball, a huge mirror, the amazing Boler Buyer Guide by Ian Giles, a bag of tools, and a paypal account full of loot.

It took 5 hours, a few trips to Canadian Tire and a lot of fudgesicles, then we were on the road.

Will post separately about crossing the border (thanks NAFTA!) and some advice for new buyers I collected from this site. Also question about what to do when the border guard breaks your locking cylinder. (hint: I don't know!)

Here she is--needs a name, new tires and a lot of love!

[John in Michigan]

Lise, congratulations on your Boler 17!!! I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

We have some experience with the Bargman L400 locksets. On our Trillium 4500 I replaced the lock cylinder with one new old stock one that I purchased on Kijiji Ontario. The new old stock cylinder did not work initially, until I ground the old lock set housing a bit with a Dremel.

The same seller is still offering new old stock L400 lock cylinders on Kijiji Ontario (Orangeville).

-John

[LiseKen]

Thanks John--

When I look at the door latch, I'm not sure it is the original--it appears to have some caulking type stuff around it that makes me suspect it might be a replacement.

I am considering adding a combination lock above the latch and not using the latch lock.

Still weighing my options, will not make a decision until I take a closer look at the entire lock mechanism as Darwin suggested.

First order of business is new tires, then some practice backing it up. Next after that is stabilizing jacks/leveling supplies--it does not appear to have come with either of these. I am doing tons of research and taking it one day at a time.

Thanks for the congrats-- I am both excited and overwhelmed. So far in a good way.

[John in Michigan]

Lise, we'd love to see more pics

[LiseKen]

You asked for it John! These are mostly photos from the advertisement. I believe she is in good shape structurally, but time will tell.

I do want to take some photos of the frame. It looks like it is a replacement, and seems sturdy. She appears to me to ride higher than other Bolers I've seen. The tires are 14" and have a lot of clearance.

The frame looks really good from crawling underneath. The previous owner said it did not have brakes, but it does have both a 7 pin electrical hookup and a breakaway cable. When I get new tires I imagine they will be able to tell me.

I have been watching videos about how to repack bearings. And also read a lot of the posts on here. Haven't decided yet if I will do it every year, but right now I definitely will. I still don't even know exactly what size I am looking for in replacements, but imagine when I find out I will order 3 replacement sets--1 for each current hub and 1 extra.

I feel like writing "Antique Fiberglass Trailers for Dummies". I have learned so much in the last few days, and forgotten likely more of what I've learned!

[LiseKen]

Here is the inside

[LiseKen]

My husband crawled underneath with me, and he says it appears to have brakes. We also saw leaf springs, and it looks like the axle is bent upwards.

[stude]

Originally Posted by LiseKen

It's been a whirlwind 4 days.

Ever since my husband but the kibosh on buying a Trillium 4500 from the deep inner reaches of Canada (hello David Tilston! ) I've been very occasionally indulging my late night dream of buying a Fiberglass Trailer.

Monday found me on Craigslist where I saw a just listed 17' Boler. I was in a mood, as I sometimes am, and immediately texted the seller. Fast forward to Friday and I am driving from Seattle to Vancouver with: a friend, my 13 year old, reservations for dim sum, a new 1 7/8" hitch ball, a huge mirror, the amazing Boler Buyer Guide by Ian Giles, a bag of tools, and a paypal account full of loot.

It took 5 hours, a few trips to Canadian Tire and a lot of fudgesicles, then we were on the road.

Will post separately about crossing the border (thanks NAFTA!) and some advice for new buyers I collected from this site. Also question about what to do when the border guard breaks your locking cylinder. (hint: I don't know!)

Here she is--needs a name, new tires and a lot of love!

: I saw it to right after it was up a few minutes so I put it on the site but would of liked to own it to but were traveling again this time for the wife in the heat.
I think you folks got a good buy, exterior looks good and so does interior.
Stude

[LiseKen]

Thanks Stude, I likely have you to thank for sharing the link. Will definitely buy you a drink or cook u a meal should we ever meet!




Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[LiseKen]

I just put a long post in the "Money Matters" section about my experience importing a trailer into the U.S. from Canada.

[stude]

Originally Posted by LiseKen

I just put a long post in the "Money Matters" section about my experience importing a trailer into the U.S. from Canada.

: I cannot see where there can be that many problems as I have imported lots of cars & trucks into Canada from the USA and I just found out I can take a US dog into Canada and it is only going to cost me $30 tax and were home free.
Taking a vehicle from USA, paper work has to be in order always make sure you have to avoid saying your bringing it into Canada or USA as a Parts car that you are going to restore it to it's original condition, if you say parts vehicle you will never be able to register it. SO now I have all the right paper work I take this and the bill of sale including title to the 176 Truck Crossing US Border people where they go over it all for the next 72 hours once the 72 hours go there and see them and pick up and head for the Canadian Border people so you can pay your taxes of GST, you pay the PST when you get your license plate, usually they just stamp it all and your on your way home, We have never been held up at either location. Once it needs to be certified by Canuck Tire as they are only ones who ICBC let do this (what a rip off).
Stude