Re-imagining a 1948 Boles Aero Trailer

  "Weldon" - A 1948 Boles Aero Model 14 In the vintage trailer community it's common to give your trailer a name. I like the approach of some people who name their trailer after the city where they found it. I actually found this trailer in a backyard in Ridgecrest, CA but it spent much of it's life in Weldon, CA (where it was last registered in 1990) so I'm going to call it "Weldon". Weldon is a 1948 Boles Aero model 14. The overall length is 16' and it's 6.5' wide so it's very small. I purchased Weldon in August 2020 after its prior owner passed away. The story is the prior owner, a staunch 2nd Amendment supporter, traded a nice gun for Weldon who was axle deep in pine needles in Weldon, CA. Boles Aero Brochure Despite Weldon's condition when I first saw him, I was hooked. The single tail light and the art deco style Bargman H20 handle on the door set the hook. My wife giving me the green light without hesitation only confirmed it w

  Mirror Finish '48 Boles Aero in Tow Well I'd planned to do the polishing of my Boles myself. After all I'd done nearly everything else except the welding (I'll do that on my next project). But reality set in quickly when I gave it a go. I was finishing up a weekend of small projects on the Boles and decided to give polishing a try. A few hours later my arms were fatigued and I'd made little progress. Not to mention I'd done only a half ass job. I did some rough math and realized it was going to take 30-40 hours to complete the job. And if you factor in that I'd probably only be able to accomplish 4 hours per day before pooping out, that meant 7-10 days or 4-5 weekends. My Attempt at Polishing Polishing isn't cheap. 30-40 hours of labor in any industry is a pricy prospect. And the polishing of vintage and current model airstreams is a hot business. But the prospect of finishing the Boles this Spring and doing it without visiting the Dr for tendonitis wo

It's Alive! My goal for this outing was to check out the lights, brakes and the brake controller I'd installed in our Toyota Highlander. The Highlander has a 5000lb tow capacity and 500lb hitch capacity so it should easily handle the Boles. I'd installed a OEM tow hitch and Redarc Tow Pro Elite brakes controller. I like both of these vs the many other options because they have that integrated factory look. The Redarc unit is hidden up under the dash and the controller knob looks like just another factory knob with all the other switches. I put the wheels on, checked the tire pressure and took the Boles off the jackstands that have been supporting it during the renovation process. Then I backed up the Highlander and connected the 7-blade connector and proceeded to check out the lights. The Hookup Exterior lights are simple enough but I'd kept the central brake light and wanted to see if they way I'd wired it worked out. Most camp trailers didn't have turn signals