The Game Has Changed - 1972 Boler

[Oldragbaggers]

Just when I thought I had my plan all hammered down and now it's all changed and my head is spinning.

We're off tomorrow for Rosh Hoshana. My plan for the day, finish painting my teardrop frame and possibly go to Annapolis for the plywood for my floor and walls. My Fantastic Fan arrived yesterday and my stash of equipment for the tear is shaping up nicely. Now I don't know what to do next because I have a 1972 Boler sitting in my backyard, and it is in serious need of major attention.



This was one of those things that happens purely by chance. A couple of months ago when I was still looking for a trailer for my teardrop build we stopped by a tow yard to ask about a trailer for sale on their lot. Conversation ensued and the guy in the shop told us about a junkyard nearby that "just had one of them egg lookin trailers sitting in the grass in amongst a bunch of junk cars and stuff". He told us if we were to wander over and ask about it we could probably get it for not too much. So we went over a couple of times and poked around it but were never able to find anybody around to ask about it so we just forgot about it and shortly after I found my trailer frame. End of Boler story, or so I thought.

Today, for some reason that I can only speculate on (remember my canned ham story???), Lance decided to swing by there one more time on the way home from work and lo and behold, the owner was there this time. They did the dance, haggled a bit on the price and then I got THE phone call....Lance says "I told the guy if he could find the title I'd give him $400." Well, find the title he did and within about an hour the Boler was sitting on our back parking pad, along with 3 cars, 2 boats and 2 other trailers. Somethings gotta give and somethings gotta go.

I am excited about the Boler, no doubt. They're cute, they're roomy (compared to a teardrop anyway). It's a hot smelly mess inside, but it appears to be solid and everything appears to be there that needs to be there, everything else can be replaced. And having paid $400 seems like a real coup because we are looking on the internet and seeing prices in the $4000-$6000 range as common. And fiberglass is something we definitely know how to work with.

But, it doesn't appear now that there is any need to build a teardrop, because I can't imagine what reason we would have to own two trailers, so now I don't get to build the teardrop that I have spent the past 7 months planning, researching, dreaming about, obsessing over. What an emotional quandry.

It's going to take a little time to get my brain around this. Then, what to do with the "stuff". Some of it I will probably be able to use in the Boler, like the fan, the lights, the decorative items and probably the stove.

Anybody need a nice frame?

Becky

[Deryk the Pirate]

Congrads! Great find and I wish ya lots of Luck!


How big is the frame and how much ya askin for it?

[Oldragbaggers]

Thanks Derek.

Let me chew over the frame thing for a day.

[Greg M]

Excellent find Becky.
What's wrong with two trailers? It's just like the potato chip ad "I bet you can't stop at just one"

Happy New Year.

-Greg

[Oldragbaggers]

I know Greg. I'll have to mull it over for awhile. I'll know better after I see how my feelings evolve for the Boler. If I fall in love with it, then that'll be that. If not.....

[mary and bob]

Good deal!!! We thought we did good finding a '84 Uhaul for $1800. The story is that Uhaul bought and modified the Boler molds to make their own trailers, which they rented for several years before selling them all in the early 90's. I have heard that Bolers had frame problems, a weird axle setup, and sometimes floor problems. There is alot of info on the fiberglassRV website. Since we also have a vintage teardrop, and an old popup, we just use them all. Depends where we're going. Good luck with the Boler, looks like a project well worth doing.

[Oldragbaggers]

Good deal!!! We thought we did good finding a '84 Uhaul for $1800. The story is that Uhaul bought and modified the Boler molds to make their own trailers, which they rented for several years before selling them all in the early 90's. I have heard that Bolers had frame problems, a weird axle setup, and sometimes floor problems. There is alot of info on the fiberglassRV website. Since we also have a vintage teardrop, and an old popup, we just use them all. Depends where we're going. Good luck with the Boler, looks like a project well worth doing.

We've been researching the Bolers all evening and have already come to the conclusion that the restoration will have to be a complete one, all the way down to removing the body from the frame and starting from the bottom up. I don't think I could ever feel comfortable putting it on the highway and going 65 mph from MD to FL without knowing that everything about it was solid and safe. I'm a little anal that way. But there are so many advantages to doing it that way, a chance to inspect and replace tanks and wires and hoses and such, fresh plywood floors is a must, it's really stinky in there and wood absorbs and holds odors forever.

I'm sure I will probably end up building the teardrop too. I take trips alone sometimes to KY to visit my friends. If Lance isn't interested in the teardrop, maybe it'll just be mine and I can use it on my solo trips.

[bdosborn]

You'll probably want to poke around here a bit:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/

Bruce

[CliffinGA]

Becky great find and definately you should build the tear and redo the boler, I've got 3 now, pop up and two tears. Enjoy what ever you decide yo do,

Cliff

[Oldragbaggers]

I'm just afraid we're going to have to asphalt over more of our yard. We need more space to park stuff.

[john curtis]

Cant have enough trailers.Now you can join the Two Trailer Club with me,and for $400.00 you couldnt turn it down.
Enjoy.
John

[mary and bob]

There was a Boler for sale a couple hours from us a few months ago. We were going to go look at it, but the seller decided to keep it so we never did see it. I recall doing a google search and found some info by someone who had done a frame off restoration and fabricated a new frame. Maybe you can find that info. They seem to be quite a popular trailer. Fiberglass RV forum is like here, lot of nice people, lots of info. And what's with a Florida trip, retired and snowbirding it?? We're recently retired and thinking of doing just that, but probably only as far as the coast of Georgia. That's the reason we bought the Uhaul. Bob

[SonofT@B]

Jackie and I saw our first Boler a couple of years ago at a local state park here in Georgia. It was owned by a guy from Canada and he was traveling with his mother (who looked to be 80!) from Canada to Florida in it. He gave us a quick tour and it was interesting.

However, with no fan and no A/C I'm sure they were quite hot. It was the first fiberglass unit I had seen and I did some research on the Boler history.
I have seen a couple U-Hauls since and a few really nice Scamps and Cassitas.

Good luck with your restoration and congrats on your find.

[rebapuck]

TOO CUTE!! Don't let it get away.

My vote is on the Boler. Teardrop later.

[mezmo]

Hi Oldragbaggers,

Congrats on your find. Your plan for a full restoration is definitely the
way to go, especially for a TTT exposed to northern weather conditions.

I'd lobby for you to keep the two-tone paint scheme. It's a simple way to
make it even more distinctive and it emphasizes the 'cuteness' factor.

If you've been looking on the web, you've probably already found this site
dedicated to their restoration and history and all. They even have copies
of brochures from 1973-1980 [not total coverage tho.].

Here's the link in case you haven't come across it yet. As you'd guess,
Googling 'Boler Travel Trailer' brings up a lot of sites.

http://bolerama.org

Best of luck as you start your new great adventure in restoration.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo