Meet "Weldon"

 

"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 would be a match. It was the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and I really needed a project to soak up my free time since vacations and most everything fun had been put on hold.

Single S&M Model 303 Tail Light w/ Doray Cataphote Reflectors

Door with Bargman H20 Handle

Weldon was in rough shape. There was 70 years of wear and tear plus water damage throughout. It also appeared that at some point a prior owner had sawed a hole in the side to mount an evaporative cooler to blow in the side. The floor furnace had been bent open and there was ample evidence that mice had been enjoying the comfort of the Boles for many years (hantavirus was a real concern during the teardown). 

I knew nothing about Boles Aero trailers but my quick online investigation revealed that they were not a typical canned ham, rather they were constructed like an Airstream with all aluminum framing. This meant that despite the apparent water damage, the underlying structure would likely be sound.

Sink, Coleman stove and lots of mice poop

Dinette, floor furnace, Coleman stove

Looking towards rear

Looking toward rear

"Sanitary" Ice Box (no fridge)

From the start I knew this was a total "gut job". One of my hobbies is woodworking and I acted as the general contractor on our current house so I was confident that I could tackle most anything I'd find. That ended up being a good thing because renovating a trailer is basically like building a small house. There are very similar complexities and then you add in a dash of "it's got to safely roll down the road".

I never really thought about "restoring" Weldon, I really only ever intended to "renovate". I wanted a modern trailer with some classic style. There were a lot of choices along the way, many that were skewed towards my own taste and planned uses versus something that was easy or appealing to the masses. I realized at some point that I was building a rolling "man cave". That's okay with me.

In the end I renovated Weldon like he might be around another 70 years. It took much longer than I intended (about 17 months) but I'm finished now. I'm happy with the result.

A little water/dust spots in an otherwise nice finish

Some images from the finished product

We're taking Weldon to the Modernism Week vintage trailer show in Palm Springs this weekend. I hope others appreciate this 74 years old survivor like I do.

If you'd like to know more about how I renovated Weldon you can check out the earlier blog pages. They aren't a "how-to" guide but they'll give you the general idea of the major steps along the way.