My Beautiful 1973 Aristocrat LandStar Is Leaving.

After thinking it over for a long time, I decided to let my Aristocrat move on to a home that would cherish and use it more than I did.  I had taken it to one trailer event since I brought it home 3 years ago and it really deserved better than that. 

A nice couple from Sacramento came up to look at it and really liked the feel of the roomy inside and the bright cheery colors and I knew that they would make a good fit.  They bought the trailer the same day and came back a few days later with their truck to pick it up. 

I was hoping to see them and what they had accomplished with curtains and other finishing touches at Trailerfest that was held in Plymouth CA but I had to cancel but I'm sure I will see them around sometime at other rallies with their gem of a trailer! 

My First Vintage Trailer!

My First Vintage Trailer!
A 19 and 75 Layton

 My first attempt at owning what I thought was a 'vintage trailer' (the 1975 Layton),  didn't work out so well, as I soon found out it sat too low to the ground!  That meant dragging it back and forth on dirt roads to get to hunting camp wasn't such a good idea, and it didn't take long to sell "Delilah". 


In the mean time before I put her up for sale I got back to scouring the internet for hours and days looking for something a little more 'vintage'.  I finally came across a 1971 Aristocrat that I thought later to be a Land Commander and it was near me so we loaded up the truck and took off for a peek. 

1971 Aristocrat

After meeting 'Bob' and hanging out for awhile at his place in the country we decided that he was a nice enough guy that just wanted to get rid of that old trailer he had sitting around.  I loved it the minute I saw it sitting pretty under a shade tree in the front yard.  It had been freshly painted on the inside (it looked antique white to me) and seemed to be in good shape and tow worthy so we made the deal, hooked her up and drug her home to sit beside the now officially for sale, "Delilah". 


It didn't take me long to realize that the new 'antique white' paint was far from that and it was actually a light peach color and I didn't like it one bit.  How hard could it be to paint over it?  Well after picking out a couple different colors for the walls and cupboards I found out just how hard it is!  Have you ever painted a bathroom?  Small, easy, no problem, well guess again!!  Painting a trailer is like painting 4 bathrooms!!

Painting the interior of a trailer is very time consuming and lots of detail work.

I painstakingly took all the cupboard doors and drawers off to repaint.  I removed all the window coverings as well.  That wasn't good enough as I noticed the original hardware including the curtain brackets looked pretty shabby so I gave them all new life with a fresh coat of 'brass' spray paint even down the screws!  What a difference that made and well worth the extra effort. 


Next was the decorating!  Time to hit the thrift stores again as this trailer had a whole different feel and look to it than my first one and of course I had to find the Melamine plates, bowls and cups to fit the period year of the trailer as well as the little things like the salt n pepper shakers down to the napkin holder.  The bedding had to be just right too so I had a great time hunting for deals.


After tearing out the old bedding and folding the back bed down I was horrified to find some rot in the corner.  It was nothing major, now that I look back, but at the time being such a 'newb' to the trailer scene I didn't know what to do so I got online and dove into renovating and repair work videos and lurked around trailer forums for information. 


Well, after more digging I found more problems, nothing insurmountable but disappointing still the same!  Stay tuned for my first adventure at repairs! 

Catching the Vintage Trailer bug.

The on-going odyssey of my hunt for vintage trailers has taken me to a lot of really cool places and I've had the opportunity to meet the most wonderful people on my journey.  Believe it or not it all started when I joined my husband and his cousin on a buck hunting trip in the Mendocino National Forest in Northern California.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mind camping in a tent, as a matter of fact I have done a lot of that during my day but I am noticing more and more, as I approach middle age, that the allure of camping out under the stars in a sleeping bag is becoming less appealing. 


The first trailer started out somewhat on a whim and almost a desperation as spring was in the air and there were lots of trailers to be had, so I thought.  The more phone calls I made the more I was told "sorry that sold today" or "I have somebody coming to pick it up in the morning", that's when the desperate feelings snuck up on me.   I finally found the 'first one', a well built and solid 1975 Layton.  We made the deal and drug her home. 


We found out soon enough just how well built she was when we had our tow rig, an older 3/4 ton pickup, straining to get her up the mountain to where we call home.  No big deal, we thought, we should go slow for safety anyway. 


After putting my personal touches in and around the trailer, including hours of thrift store shopping (which is another sickness of mine), "Delilah" was ready for her first buck hunt with the guys.  They were also very excited and felt like kings on the mountain for not having to pitch tents and secure EZ Ups and tarps for inclement weather, things were grand! 






Things were going great up until they noticed how low the back end was so low and how close the black water tank lines were to hitting the ground while making their way up the windy dirt roads to hunt camp.  Hmmmm, this was going to be a problem. 


Delilah went up for sale, stay tuned for more of how I caught the Vintage Trailer Bug!!