I've always been a camper. Like my parents and grandparents before me, I have that love of nature and being outdoors. I guess you could say its in my blood. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve the many camping adventures with my family, crammed into a 13' Shasta and loving every minute of it!
Jump forward to about 1999. I bought a 1964 Aristocrat Land Commander for $500. I cleaned it up a bit and camped in it a few times, but never did any restoration. I sold it a few years later as I had no place to park it and kind of lost interest.
In the years between then and now, I did quite a bit of tent and tent trailer camping. On occasion I would see a vintage trailer and think how cool it would be to have one again. Then this past summer I got the "bug" and began looking at the RV listings on Craigslist. The internet opened up worlds for me with information on vintage trailer groups and restoration ideas. I began to think that I could really do it this time. There was a specific criteria that it needed to meet - 1: it had to be cheap. 2: it had to be a 1962. 3: it had to be red. Silly, I know. Figured it was a shot in the dark.
In late August I saw the posting " 1962 Road Runner". I just about flipped when I saw the picture and it had a big red stripe! I knew it was "the one". A few phone calls later and I set a date to go to Sacramento to take a look.
On August 30, my best buddy Debbie and I headed to Sacramento to meet Paul and Caroline and see the trailer. I had no doubt I would be bringing it home. Seems I really lucked out in that Paul and Caroline do trailer restorations as a side-job / hobby. They have a web site at http://www.vintagecampertrailers.com/. Their property was like a toy store for vintage enthusiasts. They showed me the RR (Road Runner) and it was just what I was looking for. A typical "canned ham" (shaped like a Hormel ham can!) in need of some love and elbow grease. I paid them $800. plus 3 boxes of Gravenstein apples. I hooked up my new trailer and headed for home.
Jump forward to about 1999. I bought a 1964 Aristocrat Land Commander for $500. I cleaned it up a bit and camped in it a few times, but never did any restoration. I sold it a few years later as I had no place to park it and kind of lost interest.
In the years between then and now, I did quite a bit of tent and tent trailer camping. On occasion I would see a vintage trailer and think how cool it would be to have one again. Then this past summer I got the "bug" and began looking at the RV listings on Craigslist. The internet opened up worlds for me with information on vintage trailer groups and restoration ideas. I began to think that I could really do it this time. There was a specific criteria that it needed to meet - 1: it had to be cheap. 2: it had to be a 1962. 3: it had to be red. Silly, I know. Figured it was a shot in the dark.
In late August I saw the posting " 1962 Road Runner". I just about flipped when I saw the picture and it had a big red stripe! I knew it was "the one". A few phone calls later and I set a date to go to Sacramento to take a look.
On August 30, my best buddy Debbie and I headed to Sacramento to meet Paul and Caroline and see the trailer. I had no doubt I would be bringing it home. Seems I really lucked out in that Paul and Caroline do trailer restorations as a side-job / hobby. They have a web site at http://www.vintagecampertrailers.com/. Their property was like a toy store for vintage enthusiasts. They showed me the RR (Road Runner) and it was just what I was looking for. A typical "canned ham" (shaped like a Hormel ham can!) in need of some love and elbow grease. I paid them $800. plus 3 boxes of Gravenstein apples. I hooked up my new trailer and headed for home.
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