In The Beginning......

Funny, whenever I tell my husband that we have enough vintage trailers and I don't want anymore, another just seems to appear out of no where. I've caught the "vintage trailer bug" and so far there is no vaccination for it. When we were kids, my sister and I had a clubhouse outside in the back yard, and we loved to hang out there after school and on the weekends and make up stories or read. Later on, our parents bought me a Wenzel canvas pup tent with S & H Green Stamps and I loved camping out in the backyard. Our parents were not into camping, but did take us on many road trips and long vacations in the family Chryslers. We grew up in the late 50's and 60's, so long road trips were at their hey day. Our family stayed in many roadside motels, with kidney shaped swimming pools, fringed poolside umbrellas and those "Magic Fingers" massaging bed contraptions that were supposed to take you off to slumberland in minutes. So when I grew up and went out on my own, money was tight and it was second nature for me to take road trips and start camping out in the great outdoors. As I have gotten older, I graduated from tent camping to vintage trailers with cushy soft beds and kitschy decor. Each of our trailers has a specific theme, such as Route 66, vintage western, Smokey the Bear and now the 50's plaid kitsch. I enjoy playing "interior decorator" with each one of the trailers and going camping as often as we can. I love the outdoors but also love the comforts of home and our vintage trailers do the trick.

So...we were buying parts for our 1957 Cardinal at a used RV parts store named "RV George" in Sacramento, CA. We met a gentleman there who was restoring a 1962 Shasta. He mentioned that he had just bought a 1954 Ranger and it just happened to be from a guy who lived a couple of blocks from our home. I was stunned. Usually I can smell a vintage trailer a mile away...I had actually walked our dogs past their house and spoken to the owners several times, without knowing what golden jewel awaited me in their backyard! Anyway, after some preliminary emails back and forth, "Joe" agreed to sell the Ranger to us. Nice guy. We picked it up the next day and here is where the story begins....