V TRAILERS e g a t in
CAMPER
Vol. 6, No. 6, Issue: 34 November-December 2017
Incredible Interiors WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE? The magazine for all vintage camper trailer collectors, restorers, admirers and dreamers.
RESCUE
R E S TO R E
R A L LY
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Inside This Issue Index 1964 Shasta
1951 Spartan Mansion- Page 12
1958 Romer Camper- Page 24
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1946 Angelus
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1939 Alma
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1959 Pathfinder
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1962 Avion
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Serro Scotty Transformation
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1948
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Tam
Interior Inspirations
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Wood vs. Checkerboard flooring
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Home Built Teardrop
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USA Rally Calendar
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VINTAGE CAMPER TRAILERS THE BOOK - FREE SHIPPING
The vintage camper trailer hobby attracts people from all walks of life. This book features hundreds of photos of restored trailers and the trailerites that rescue, restore and rally across the USA. 200 pages and in hard cover. From the publishers of the VCT Magazine, Paul and Caroline Lacitinola. $24.99 Visit www.vintagecampertrailers.com, go to the “Camp Store� and use coupon code BOOKFREE. Good in the USA through December 15, 2017.
NG G SPRI COMIN
A Total Loss- Page 36 4
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2018
American Tr a i l e r i t e By Paul Lacitinola Publisher VCT Magazine Volume: 6 - Number: 6 - Issue: 34 PO Box 354, Elverta CA 95626 (916) 572-8554
www.vintagecampertrailers.com vintagecampertrailers@gmail.com Published by: Paul and Caroline Lacitinola American Trailerites The VCT Magazine is published bi-monthly January, March, May, July, September & November. There’s been a load of compromisin’ On the road to my horizon But I’m gonna be where the lights are shinin’ on me -Glen Campbell Vintage Camper Trailers is a non-denominational supporter of the vintage camper trailer hobby. We welcome all collectors, restorers, admirers and dreamers. Subscribe Today - See page 38 for details.
Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine reserves the exclusive right to reject or accept advertising or editorial material submitted for publication. The editorial content contained in this magazine does not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine (USPS Publication Number 15940) is published bimonthly (in January, March, May, July, September, November) by Vintage Camper Trailers, 8416 Elwyn Avenue, Elverta, CA 95626-9552. Periodical postage paid at Elverta, CA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Camper Trailers, PO Box 354, Elverta, CA 95626-0354.
WE BUY Vintage Camper Trailers, Bicycles, Cars, and Pick-Ups. (916) 992-1427
The last week of September was Trailerfest in Plymouth, California. A new location for us and for the event from our familiar Tower Park Camp Ground in Lodi, California. Last year, Yogi Bear Jellystone Parks purchased the campground at Tower Park from Kamprounds of America (KOA). Throughout 2017 the new owners have been busy with completing literally millions of dollars of improvements to the park that was due for an update. The work was well underway when we were at Tower Park for Boot Camp in March 2017. Trees were being trimmed and load after load of gravel was being loaded in. The park was full steam ahead to get ready for the upcoming summer camping season. This year Boot Camp will be held at the Casa De Fruta Campground in Hollister, California. (See pages 42 and 47 for more information.) Among many other amenities, this location affords us two large indoor classrooms for the seminars. Many of the sites at Tower Park have been upgraded with concrete, the pools have been resurfaced, their furniture updated and several large, beautiful cabins have been added along the back fence. They have relocated the recreation area and added basketball, volleyball and Ga-Ga* ball courts. One of the neatest things they have built is the new western town to play laser tag! This feature replaced an old storage yard that was just accumulating junk. The 49er campground in Plymouth, CA was the perfect host for this year’s Trailerfest while Tower Park was under construction. So perfect in fact, we wanted to come back in 2018. The dilemma being all our history at Tower Park. Trailerfest, or “the Lodi rally”, is where we started back in 2010. We solved the problem by doing the only thing we could think to do, TWO TRAILERFESTS! Spring in Lodi, and back to Plymouth in the FALL. (See the rally calendar begining on page 41 for details.) The 49er, Tower Park and Casa De Fruta are all ideally suited for the types of rallies we host. Developing the relationships with their management over the years makes it easier for them, and us ,to execute fun and trouble-free events. You can see photos of Trailerfest at www.trailerfestrally.com Send us some great photos of you and your trailer at rallies and let us know which rallies are your favorite and why. Our events all sell out so don’t wait until you are on the waiting list. Register today and we’ll see you in 2018! *(Hebrew: literally ‘touch-touch’) is a variant of dodge-ball that is played with one ball. The game combines dodging, striking, running, and jumping, with the object of being the last person standing. Players hit the ball at each other with their hands, and are eliminated if the ball strikes them on or below the knee. The game can be played by a group of individual players or with teams, as well as in one-on-one matches. Rules, ball types, pit surfaces, and pit sizes can vary.
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Stepahnie hired all the carpentry work out. The carpenter is a cabinet maker who also restores historic homes. Another carpenter, who is a vintage camper owner as well, polished and resealed all the windows. A painter did all the exterior as well as the stove and refrigerator. Stephanie’s contribution was completely sanding the woodwork on the interior and re-staining. Custom curtains were made by a seamstress, and the upholstery done by a professional. The custom pink flooring was imported from Europe! Shore Hills Campground in Boothbay, Maine is her go to, as well as camping in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Stephanie said, “I have camped out 14 times this season and have been to three rallies. Continued on page 10
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The Wine-Down name came about simply because I like wine and it’s a play on words...like winding down.
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43 inch 4k OLED flat screen TV with DirectTV satellite service Onkyo 200 watt audio/video receiver with 7 Polk Audio in-ceiling speakers and Yamaha sub-woofer High speed LTE WiFi for streaming Netflix, Amazon etc.
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1 9 4 8 TA M We Plan to Travel America as the Tam was Intended, By Mike & Cheryl O’Connor Portland, Michigan
Glennis E Tam (1902-1974) was described by his nephew, R Stanley Tam, as a different type of fellow who did all of his work in his wood shop behind his home at 107 North Jackson Street, Wapakoneta, Ohio. Some of that work included house trailers and truck bodies. Glennis advertised his custom insulated house trailers in the Lima, Ohio newspapers (1938-1940): $265.00 could see you purchase a home on wheels to see America. And that’s just what Stanley did when he married in the 1940s. Ac-
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cording to Stanley, there were many stops during their honeymoon for tire changing – due to the overloading of clothing by his new bride! Another couple looking for travel adventure, Lauren and Grace Hoffman, purchased a second- hand Tam on September 28, 1963 from Burr Debar, an oil and gas retailer from Elsie, Michigan for $300.00. The last year it was licensed was 1964, they then parked it up on land in Hesperia, Michigan and
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A TOTAL LOSS Joe and Nancy Owens from Arizona sent us their story about what happened while they were restoring a trailer. This is Joe’s account, and a warning to fellow trailer restorers. The day after Thanksgiving Nancy finished staining the remaining wood on the front of our 64 Shasta 16SC. It was beautiful. The only thing left to do was the floor covering and counter tops. All new wiring, original stove, lamps, new tires and bearings, all resealed seams and windows, fresh turquoise/white acrylic enamel. It was almost completely done. We were planning on going into town to watch the Arizona Wildcats. It was an 8:30 p.m. game, so we decided to stay home. Around 7 pm, Nancy said, “I smell smoke.” She looked out the window and said “the trailer is on fire!” She called 911, took, Felix, our cat, over to the other house and moved the El Camino while I tried to douse the flames with a garden hose. The hose was useless. The Fire Department came quickly, and they foamed our little house, the shed and a 40 ft. eucalyptus tree while watering down our Shasta.
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In the end, the trailer was completely burned. It burned so hot that it warped the frame, melted some welds and vaporized the trailer’s brand new tires. The only trace of tires left were the steel belts. The Fire Department concluded it started by spontaneous combustion of the linseed oil based stain and the wet wood. Nancy followed all the instructions. There was no propane or electric hooked up. The weather was cool. Of course, after this total loss, many people came forward to tell us to never use linseed oil based stain inside. We had no direct insurance on the trailer, but AAA, our homeowner’s insurance came through and paid us over $4,400 for everything. The 40 foot tree had to come down. The trash had to be hauled away (which we did).
AFTER We feel very fortunate on two counts, (1) Had we been gone to a sports bar to see the University of Arizona game, we wouldn’t have been home. The tree would have burned and fallen on the house. Felix, our cat, was in the house. The tree would have burned the house down. (2) AAA was extremely responsive and handled the loss quickly and professionally. Note: AAA is not one of those horrendous insurance companies we hear about. They were great.
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PO Box 354, Elverta CA 95626
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