Any Campers in the Mix?

Forums: Camping, Boler, Motor Homes, Tents, Boler Camping
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I used to camp a lot. My parents had a home made tent trailer, the Blue Banshee. We didn't have a lot of money. They would hitch up our camper to the old fake wood sided station wagon and tour the countryside with 5 kids in tow. We'd spend several weeks every summer camped lakeside or at the bottom of mountains, driving for days to get nowhere in particular.
As we got older we could get that puppy up in mere minutes, but as we got older there was less room in the old girl, so tenting became the norm. We would set up camp next to monstrous RV's with satellite dishes, T.V's and internal running water - showers...
We lived outside, cooking, eating, canoeing, building rafts or forts in the forests and generally running wild. .
I couldn't afford real holidays when my kids were smaller, or for that matter when they were older either, so tenting it was. I've dealt with the rain - leaks, wet sleeping blankets, cold nights and suffocatingly hot mornings, bugs, hard ground, wet fire pits, bears, cougars... you get the idea. Bliss.
Since I got married, the husband refuses to camp, or more precisely tent. So I'm now at the point where I believe I may have to forfeit my citizenship. ;-)
BUT, I think I have him convinced to buy a boler.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/gallery/files/2/4/1/0/8/boler1frvupload.jpg

Yup, the one we are considering is this decrepit too. It's in serious need to TLC, elbow grease and a brand new interior design by moi and a new paint job. It's a grand total of 13 ft long and weighs about 1000 pounds. It doesn't have a washroom, or a working furnace, sink, or stove YET. I'll know if we've got this 'jewel' this coming weekend. Then the real work (fun) begins. I think the lions share of work will be done after our too short camping season, till then, I'll just enjoy sleeping off the ground for a few trips. I'm just wondering if anyone else camps. Or knows a thing or two about fiberglass reno's, solar power, or hell, to just tell a funny tale or two.

I'd love to hear of your camping adventures.
Thanks

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@Ceili,

Give me some time.

I've got camping stories.

the hamburgers wanted me to learn about Canada, they were immigrants with not much money so we tented. We alternated going to Northern Ontario and Eastern Canada each summer.

There are stories but I'm nearly asleep here.

I'll be bvck!

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@ehBeth,

I used to camp when I was a teen; I attended a summer camp in Maine where you had to pump your own water. Climbed Mt. Katahdin, uh, 3 times? 2? I forget.

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@Ceili,

tai chi and hubby own a boler (they've bought and sold a couple (found them for a good price, did some fix up))

they camped with my nephews all over, tents first, then tent trailer

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@Ceili,

Ahh, that looks wonderful.

I used to camp all the time, and I haven't once -- not ONCE -- since we had a kid. We've been talking about how that sucks and we have to do something about it. E.G. and sozlet have gone "camping" a couple of times at this place with cabins and showers and stuff, she thinks it's camping but it's not. Better than nothing, but....

We have no equipment left (most of it was pitiful to start with and then broke down all the way).

Not sure of my favorite camping experience, probably a two-week trip in the Boundary Waters with my mom's book club when I was about 15 (?). The company wasn't fabulous (I don't think my mom and I were speaking by the end, though I did like some other people in the group), but the actual experience was great. I'd sneak off on my own whenever I could, climb up bluffs and have the most amazing views. We canoed, portgaged, tented, etc.

1 Reply

@Ceili,

We have bought and sold a number of Bolers over the years. They are great little trailers -- light and really easy to tow. I have discovered there are no Boler photos on this computer. If I get a minute I'll try to scan some photos (but first I have to determine if the photo album has been packed up -- you've caught me at an insanely busy time).

First thing to check is the metal frame underneath to make sure it is in good shape. We needed to have one welded (that may actually have been a Trillium). No big deal but you don't want the tongue separating from the frame as you're driving down the road! We replaced the chipboard doors with light weight plywood. The cushions were in good shape so it was just a matter of slip-covering them. New curtains...what else...oh, it needed new brake lights. We wanted the big roundish ones that would look original so got school bus brake lights Very Happy

They are as easy to manoeuver as a tent trailer -- no pull through site needed -- you can even rough camp. The table/bed is undeniably cozy -- snuggling is mandatory.

I think Farmerman once had a Boler. Maybe he will check in too.

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@Tai Chi,

Check out the Bolerama site:
http://bolerama.org/Bolerama/Welcome.html

Great tips and inspiring photos.

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A few photos:

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o235/taichi_photos/bolerinside11.jpg?t=1304001929

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o235/taichi_photos/bolerinside10.jpg?t=1304001929

1 Reply

@Tai Chi,

As you can see we live, cook, eat outside. Inside is for sleeping and storage. We sold the ice box and used that space for a large cupboard. We keep a cooler in the car -- you need it when you go to town for supplies anyway. Food is kept in the car. Usually we set the stove on the end of a picnic table and cooking and dish washing is done outside. Anything you can do to NOT attract animals to the trailer itself is a good thing. (I would not want, for instance, to drain dish water out under the trailer.) We have camped where there are bears and raccoons are always a menace.
Note the nifty grid tiles on the floor -- sand and pine needles etc fall through so your feet are always dry and clean. Just pick up the floor and sweep occasionally.

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@Tai Chi,

We had a beat up TRILLIUM, It looked awfully like the Boler and Ours was equally beat up. I stripped the whole thing and redid the inside and graphiced the outside and airbrushed it with wimsy. Its amazing that, once you think of it like one bigass closet, you can make some nifty space accomodations (Like cabinets over the beds and I made a dubble bed that folded out from a couch. My wife made two futon like mats that clipped together very tightly and we covered with a quilt

The refrigerator I bought was a DOMETIC small one that opearted on gas or electric. WE had a sink and a tank for water . I also made an outside shower that I salvaged from an old MONITOR.

We had it for several years early in our marriage and then traded it for a bigger unit (used also) Then after about 7 yewars we could afford our first new one , another CAnadian Rig called an AWARD.
Weve always gone for towability and lightness (until we got into motor rigs for a couple years).

The Trillium was snug and warm. All you hadda do was light the stove and the whole place got very warm.
ALSO, dont avoid using the cweiling corners for storage for stuff like linens and towels.

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

Same here, the immigrant family getting to know the new homeland. I've been in so many blink and you miss it places, all over the western provinces. I'm hoping that with the new rig we'll be able to visit the further reaches of Canada and the US. But.. I have to get it first, fingers crossed.

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@Ceili,

Quote:

I couldn't afford real holidays when my kids were smaller, or for that matter when they were older either, so tenting it was.

You've got this backassward, Ceili.

I couldn't afford and didn't want those sucky holiday resort holidays when my kids were smaller, or for that matter when they were older either, so tenting it was.

Now that's a capital m Mom!!

Quote:

It doesn't have a ... or a working furnace

Who needs a furnace? Inside that cute little tub a group of four or more could sleep in 0F/-20C with a four season bag. Get a 0 F/-18C bag, take a roast to bed with you and you could have hot roast beef sandwiches for breakfast.

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@jespah,

I really wish I had gone to a summer camp as a kid. No cash for that, sadly. I'll bet you have some great memories of those days, roughing it in the wild. My husband used to go to one near here every year and he still has great friends from those glory days. We actually rented the camp when we got married. We were married on the May long weekend and the weather sucked but the place was magical.

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@Ceili,

What's the exterior, fiberglass or plastic?

One eighth inch veneered plywood for the interior, [you can cut it with a sharp drywall knife and shape as needed with a rasp/file, or more paint, if that's your preference.

1 Reply

@sozobe,

Oh Soz, I really hope you get a chance again. I love the whole being one with nature thang. For a couple hundred dollars you can get a really good set up or try renting a rig for a week or so.
Where is Boundary waters? It sounds divine...
If I were closer I'd lend you my stuff, you'd just have to mind the one broken tent pole. I've been too lazy to get it fixed. Smile

Sadly, our government got rid of all the provincial roadside camp grounds and now so many privately owned campgrounds frown on tents or outright ban them!! The true camping experience... so that is another reason why I'm hoping to buy the boler. I don't want the big rv's, too expensive, slow and they are gas hogs.

1 Reply

@Tai Chi,

Chai, I've been pouring over the Bolerama site as well as the Fiberglass RV site. http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f55/ You're right, tons of great info and pictures, very inspiring.
I'm in the process of designing the floor plan on Google sketch-up, when I'm done I'll post my ideas. I'm thinking of stripping the entire egg and redoing it with copper pipes as support and then fibreglassing it all. There's only the two of us, so we don't need the extra bunks, so I'm thinking of moving the kitchen to the front window. Decisions, decisions...
I'll know more once we actually get it and camp in it a few times.
Love the school bus idea, never would have thought of that, and I've seen plenty of old ones around here that could be stripped.
I also like how you stained your doors instead of paint. Another great idea. I doubt the foam is worth saving, 36 year of hard living has made the cushion rather chalky and the lovely plaid is, well, disgusting. I've recently learned that walmart sells an 8 inch foam mattress for about $300 CAD, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than any of the foam I've checked out in upholstery places. I just wish it didn't go against my beliefs to shop at Walmart...
Decisions, decisions...

1 Reply

@farmerman,

I'd love to see some pics, if you've got any. I've come to the conclusion you're a pretty good artist and from all the woodworking descriptions of your farm, I'm sure what ever you created would be gorgeous.
This particular rig has very few upper cabinets and most of the others are in pretty rough shape. However, the frame looks good. I'll probably remove it, sand it and repaint, maybe stretch it a foot or two. I'm not sure if it's doable though, based on the wheel wells. More things to think about.
I think I can squeeze a shower inside. I'll know more once the sketch-up is done. The door doesn't appear to sag and the shell is in fair condition, I haven't seen to much wood rot, so I'm guessing that means there aren't too many leaks.
I've never heard of the Award. I'll take a peak and see if I can find them.
Thanks.

1 Reply

@Ceili,

Aw thanks Ceili! We really want to try to do something about it soon, maybe this summer.

Boundary Waters:

Quote:

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA), is a 1.09 million acre (0.44 million ha) wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota (USA) under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service. The BWCAW is renowned as a destination for both canoeing and fishing on its many lakes and is the most visited wilderness in the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_Waters_Canoe_Area_Wilderness

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2003/10/21_kelleherb_bwca/images/brandenburg_large.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2377/2534565565_eb0c39d022.jpg

http://bsatroop751.org/images/moose%5B1%5D.jpg

http://www.minnesotaslakes.com/LakePages_BWCA/bwca5.jpg

Most of the photos I found were of the wider-open spaces, there were a lot of narrow places and marshes and such too. Stupendously gorgeous though. Not sure how far we went in two weeks, but it was far.

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@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

oh, you're going to visit Finn Razz

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@JTT,

No worries JT. I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Too many good memories. I'm still not into resorts. I've stayed at one and there is absolutely no allure for me. I'd rather eat and stay with the locals... no matter where I go.
The first thing I'm tossing will be the furnace. I won't need it and if I ever decided to do cold weather camping a small catalytic heater will suffice.
I will still do most of the cooking, washing et al in the great outdoors, so the kitchen will be fairly simple. I don't plan on spending that much time in the Egg, mostly just sleeping.
I've got a ton'o'tarps and not all of them have holes... ;-) so, as per the norm, we'll still be outside at the fire pit.

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