Maintenance & Restoration

john madill · 10-06-2013, 09:40 AM

just bought the 1972 Compact Junior that had been listed in the classifieds located in northern Michigan.

the previous owner was a nice lady, probably in her 70's, who turned down offers from others who wanted to do things to it like cut holes in the floor for an ice fishing shanty or put it in the woods for a hunting blind!

while it's 41 years old it is newer than my last camper, a 1962 Trade Winds pop up.

the Junior will stay in Michigan and get a lot of use.

Gilda · 10-06-2013, 09:48 AM

Many thanks to the nice lady who sold you her trailer and to you for promising to keep it on the road as is was "born" to do. May you enjoy your rig well into your 70's (and beyond)!

papa-t · 10-06-2013, 10:08 AM

Looks like it was taken care of. Nice find John and welcome to the forum.

Donna D. · 10-06-2013, 10:24 AM

Hi John,

to FiberglassRV, we're glad you're here

The lady made the right choice to sell this lovely Compact to you! May you make many, many happy memories.

Thanks for posting the picture BTW

Nancy · 10-06-2013, 10:36 AM

Hi John,

We look forward to more posts from you in the future.

It would sure be fun to meet you and your new trailer at the June Door County, WI gathering in June. Hope you can consider attending and meet some of us.

Nancy

**Pam Garlow** · 10-06-2013, 08:49 PM

Whoopee, for you John!!

I had some girlfriends salivating over that little beauty. Keep us informed as you make her you 'own' and please post photos!

john madill · 10-07-2013, 09:00 AM

Here's a composite photo that shows the inside and outside. Am going back up north 300 miles tomorrow to retrieve the trailer.

It didn't have a spare tire so I left it at my sister's house who lived near the seller.

May spend a night in it on the way home.

Nice little trailer! Owner was asking $1800, I offered $1600 and she said she would take $1650 and cry when it left.

What's ironic is that I had never seen or heard of a Compact Junior until this summer when I saw one outside an RV repair shop nearby in southwest Michigan.

I peeked in the windows after hours and jotted down the brand name.

Called the shop a few days later to ask if it was for sale. Shop owner said it wasn't for sale, just in for repairs.

So I started looking for one online and finally found the one I bought.

I stopped in at his shop last week to ask about where to find a spare and there in the middle of his big garage was the little Compact Junior with a coat of primer on the outside and the inside gutted for a complete makeover!

turns out the trailer owner decided to sell it to the shop owner and he's restoring it to tow behind a vintage pick up truck he takes to car shows and rallies.

He didn't know anything about the history of Compact Juniors but he knows everything about repairing them.

First tip he gave me was how to lock the hitch to the ball. Most trailer latches have a hole to run a clip pin through. Not so on this one.

but he showed me a little hole on the left side of the bottom of the coupler that is supposed to accept a pin for lockdown.