New 1975 Boler owner

[littlerope]

Hi my name is Tim and I live on Vancouver island, British Columbia, Canada. I just bought a well used '75 boler. The good: new axle and frame repairs, new cushions and covers and intact insulation. The bad: appliances missing, multiple stress cracks inside and out, and 3 bad coats of paint on the bottom. Every nut, bolt and rivet is corroded. The original wiring harness has been chopped and new trailer wiring installed very shoddily. No interior lights or outside light, and the door latch and window are damaged. A lot of this only became evident as I started working on the thing. I've spent the last 3 days fiberglassing cracks around the doorframe and replacing the old door latch with a " canned ham" latch. It seems that the more I fix, there are many more problems to address. But hey, it actually tows great behind my Nissan Frontier. Silver lining? Wish me luck, and I'll be perusing these forums for help along the journey. Thanks.

[artichoke]

I got a 1972 this summer, love it 13 FOOTER, had some good luck on a site called Ali Express,,,,,,,,,,,inexpensive LED LIGHTS for the interior, and some for the ex,,,,,,,,,paint from HOME DEPOT, tremclad oil based, rolled on looks great,hope you enjoy your renos as much as I did mine,,,,,,,,and may see you next summer on the island

[Dvs]

Grats on the new Boler sir!

I just pulled back my family 1975 Boler from Ottawa to Calgary myself. Similar challenges and don't get me started on the lessons learned about over weight Bolers and car tires instead of trailer.....

Lots of evaluation for me to do but all in all it is in good shape and my first mission is to replace all the rusting screws and frame bolts. Right after I stick some pins in the voodoo doll of my ex brother in law for the horrid caulking he put on all the rivets on the outside.

My father did some kind of custom wiring/panel for battery connection but I want to get this setup with a standard config like with most modern trailers (charge the battery while you drive etc).

But, excited to have the Boler, even if my wife hates it :P I am sure I will start hammering the boards with questions eventually.

[littlerope]

Well the ongoing boler rebuild continues. I moved the trailer into the back yard, and began dissassembling the kitchen unit and front seat. It was a bi&*ch removing all the rusted out screws and bolts, but once taken out more cracks and damaged fiberglass were revealed. From the damage at each end of the trailer, I came up with a theory as to how it was created. I believe that an owner ( or perhaps two or three ) ignored the fact that the axle was worn out and still towed the trailer over many kilometers anyway. All the while the floor at each end was absorbing the punishment the axle should have been absorbing. Thus the resultant damage. Regardless of cause, the damage will have to be repaired. I see much fiberglassing in my future and will need to stock up on resin, hardener and filler etc. I will be buying a rotary sander today to compliment my belt sander. Anyway I jacked up the body over the frame and wedged in 2x4's. I'm going to plug any holes in the frame, repair the floors at each end, then remove the 2x4's and bolt the trailer to the frame with u-bolts. I'm also picking up my new plexiglass windows today and I've ordered the window trim from Scamp trailers. So after the windows are installed and the trailer securely bolted down, I'll do what I can over the fall and winter. By next spring, I hope to have the inside completed and will focus on painting the outside and the door. Will post updates now and then. Cheers

[littlerope]

Well I've slowly become aware that fiberglassing looks a lot easier on you tube than in real life. A lot of this trailer damage is more than little holes in the floor. The previous owners must have dragged this trailer around for thousands of kilometers on a completely worn out axle and subjected the body to a hell of a lot of pounding. There are major cracks front and back and all along the kitchen side. I'm doing my best to patch things up before the cold temperatures arrive and I shut her down for the winter. My wife keeps asking me " did we make a mistake buying this trailer?" I really don't have an answer .I'm too far from the end of this project to think about that yet. It doesn't require a lot of money, but tons of manpower hours. Thankfully I can do almost all the work myself. I guess when buying a 44 yr old trailer all these things must be considered. I do believe that someday down the road this trailer will provide us with a lot of fun times. Meanwhile, I am enjoying this forum and getting lots of ideas. Cheers.