1979 Scamp / Acorn Trailer Restore Page 1

 

June 2018:

Not mine

I know I’ve said this before.. at some point.. but this one fell into my lap..   not literally that would hurt..  but I was looking but not very hard for another Boler style trailer to restore.  I so enjoyed the 73 Boler project that I said (loudly) that I would love to do another..  Well the little trailer god was listening.   The ad for this one popped up on my phone while I was in Vancouver..  Someone had gotten in over their head trying to fix the leaks in their Acorn trailer.. and just wanted it gone  BUT  to someone who would love it and fix it …and that understood these little trailers.   Hey THAT’S ME.  and he agreed..   So I had to plan a long drive .. to get it .. the next week.  7 hrs to Vancouver then a ferry ride.. then another hour up the coast .  But most fortunately the Acorn was just down the road from my Bother’s place..  So he went and had a look for me.  Big job to fix this one he said..   Don’t care I said.   So here it is home with me ..  intact.. and with BC registration too !

Yes I did remember to take a photo just after loading it on the trailer.  The fella behind the trailer is / was the owner.  It’s making the trip home on a trailer because ….  the body is barely attached to the frame..  and there is no lights ..  AND it’s a long trip.  Funny the other project Boler had to be ferried home too..  but it was the frame that was toast..  this frame looks good.

Interior ! not so much.  This is where the work will happen..   So… the story as I understand it ..   This trailer came from Arizona.. dry climate.  When brought back to the BC coast .. wet climate.  All the rivets leaked and damaged the Thinsulate wall covering.. and the plywood floor.  A good argument for using bolts not rivets to attach the cabinets to the walls.   Too bad about the wall finish.. now I will have to glue carpet.  And build a new floor.

The first thing I did was to pull all the parts out from inside .. so I could see what I had.  It’s all there ! and in good condition.. And as a bonus the cupboard doors are oak !  Perfect !  So i put things back.. sorta in the places where they go.

Because the body is loose from the floor.. there is nothing holding the door up.  so it’s sagging ..  and it cracked the fiberglass over the door..

The boler had a similar crack over the rear window  because the frame had sagged.   So aside from that the body is great.

I’ve tarped the trailer now to keep the rain out..  and this will be a great project to start in the fall.

IT’S TIME !

Now it’s November..   And I need to get started on the Acorn.  I’ve been thinking and planning how to fix the floor.   How do I support the trailer and make everything true and level.   IT’s ROUND !  Then it came to me..  The one thing that’s level is the joint between the top and bottom…  and the aluminum trim the covers it.  So I build a cradle that supports the whole trailer on that rim.  As a bonus we can lift the body off of the frame,

Here you can see we are doing just that..  and have the frame half way out the front.  This was also made easy by the fact that there is NO floor..  no wheel wells..   The body was attached to the left front corner by a few feet of floor..  That was all..   Sooo  looks like I’m building a whole new floor.  I sorta knew that from the start.

Meet the frame !   A lot like the 73’s frame.. but without the repairs.  And there’s a bump out up front for a potty..  Interesting..   There is still a very slight sag in the left rear frame tube.  We are going to see if we can tweak it with chains and a porta power ram.  I’m going to clean the frame good and check for rust holes and cracks..  but it looks ok.   So maybe just a few extra pieces of steel and new axles.

It’s time to divide the post up into the different stages of work.  This trailer will have 6 more pages..

Page 2 The Frame
Page 3 The Floor
Page 4 Glassing the Floor
Page 5 The Exterior
Page 6 The Re-Assembly