I was wondering is anyone into vintage campers out there? I have a couple I have restored. I found a Aristocrat that I found out from a guy who worked closely with the founder of the company that it may be the only one of its model in existance. I also have a serro scotty I rebuilt from the frame up. If anyone has been considering getting one they really go great with a vintage truck. The cruise in last year I went to at McMinnville some of the people with it asked me to bring the scotty this year. It would be nice to have and be able to just sit back and relax at the cruise in.
You can see the aristocrat at
Aristocrat pictures from friends & fun photos on webshots


The scotty is at
Scotty pictures from outdoors photos on webshots

 

That is a pretty cool hobby. I love camping and will probably trade in my '99 camper this year for a new one. I know they are not vintage but I gotta make the wife happy. Mine is a 5th wheel.
I know those real old ones are pretty rare. Good thread. Lets see some more campers guys.

 

Yes, lets see some more vintage campers....I haven't been able to "sell" the wife on tent camping very much, so maybe a vintage camper is the way to go. I'd love to find an old airstream, but I'm sure they are way out of my price range.

Also, its been a dream of mine to drive across the Trans-Alaskan Hi-way across Canada, so maybe if I got a vintage camper that would make it that much cooler

 

News ones are not bad at all, I just didn't want the payments. Both of mine I paid cash for them and for the parts. The scotty was a freebee if I came and got it. They are not hard to rebuild at all, 6 months for them each compared to 6 years for my truck. I had the Scotty rebuilt from the frame and dried in about two months after I got it. If anyone is thinking about redoing one PM me and I will send you a list of links.

As far as mine I did go with a lot of new upgrades. The scotty is probably the only scotty of its size with a bathtub. I devised a way to put one in under the bed. Both have TV,cd,MP3,AM,FM setup. One guy I know rebuilt a late 40s one and sold it for over 20 grand.If you do the work yourself you can rebuild them really cheap. As far as the airstreams goes they are nice but as with any of them do your research. There was one model made for a few years that had issues with warping the frame. If the black tank had waste it would warp. Then another one had a odd size window that was curved that is hard to fix. Other than those two things they are a good investment. I could probably double my cost in each one if I sold them.

If anyone is interested in one take a drive out on the other side of Fall Creek Falls towards Etowah. I looked everywhere for a scotty and finally found this one over towards there. I went to get it and after I got out of Fall Creek Falls I saw all kinds of them. I even saw one on the side of the road by a building that looked ot be the 50s or before. They are still out there. If they are smaller the rot doesn't matter much. You can rebuild eveything fairly easy. If you do rebuild one I suggest to take lots of pictures. I took a picture every time I pulled a piece off. I was glad I did, I had to reference back to the pics. If you have a place to pile the old wood do it until you get it rebuilt. I had to go back and get angles.

 

Well, I want a camper but need one that's open, I need 30" minimum room to roll around, and a door to get in, something that has to be ordered, and dam, I'm not paying over $10,000 for something I don't use everyday. I had thought about an old one, modifying it, just can't do all of it myself and can't afford to pay to get it done. I could take an enclosed trailer and fix it to sleep in, rig a toilet and sink in the limited space, I'm not looking to stay in it, use it like a tent, called campin.

 

As far as customizing one they are easy to redo. The worst part to one is how they put screws in from the outside. Both of mine I had to rebuild the insides. I have seen gutted trailers go for 500 or less. Then you customize the way you want. I wouldn't mind rebuilding another one but I have no need of one. As far as one to roll into if you could find a back door scotty that would be a good one for that. They have a door in the back. As far as cost one could be redone for between 3 and 5k. If you have good foam in one it will save a lot. A guy I know built this one. It has to be the nicest one I have ever seen.
Modern Version of a Cabin Car Trailer! - w48rob

 

Show your wife this link.
Sisters on the fly,Cowgirl Caravan,fly fishing,trailers,vintage trailers,western bedding
Its a group of women that have a club out west of vintage trailers. They paint each one to the theme they want, you don't have to do that. Anyway with a little luck you can find them. If you are interested in one and want one join some of the clubs out there. Many times they pop up for sale. If you ever go up north I have seen the scottys dirt cheap up there in need of redoing. As far as Airstream they are really nice but pricey. A door lock for my scotty costs about 50 new, a airstream cost over 350. So I stick with the scotty types.

 

We've made the tent progression. We started with a small dome tent I had when we were married. We wore that tent out. Then after kids (actually my wife was 5 months pregnant with my youngest son) we bought a Coleman popup. Used it for years before getting a Trailmanor TT (trailmanor.com if you've never seen one). Now we have a Jayco 5th wheel. And it needs a lot of work this year. I've got a leak in the front and 2 rear corners of the roof I can get stopped. The stove needs some work on one of the burners.

Maybe I need to restore a Scotty and pull behind my 54!!!

 

Is your jayco 5th wheel a older one with aluminum trim on the corners? If it is chances are the leak is from that. If anyone has one with the aluminum trim I would suggest taking the trim off and putting some new putty thats in a roll between the trim and aluminum skin. Every one I have seen that has water damage can be traced to that. I removed all the trim and windows and put new putty on the aristocrat even if I didn't have to remove them. I also seal the sides around the trim and put a little sealant in the hole when I put the screw in. Every little bit helps. I much rather reputty the trim on a Saturday than take months rebuilding a complete trailer due to water damage. If you need parts for one do a search for RV surplus salvage. There is a RV surplus place by that name in Indiana that has great prices. But call them up to buy. They add a lot to the shipping cost if you do it online. I bought the radios in my campers for 12 bucks. They were new wall mounted ones leftover from a line.

 

When looking for a vintage trailer to pull behind my 53 F100, I ran across this site Teardrops & Tiny Travel Trailers :: Index and fell in love with teardrop trailers. I built a 5X11' and have enjoyed it. In fact, I camped in it last weekend and am camping in it again this weekend. While not exactly vintage, they are period correct for my truck.

 

Do you have pictures of the trailer there? I was going to build one when I first got into camping but my wife was leary of one with her knees. But I found out from someone there on that site that said they were easy on the knees. I like that site but its been ages since I have been there much.