My Fiberglass Camper Restoration

[Jack Olsen]

Well, I'll start at the ending. Here's a spoiler photo -- where the project ends up. We've camped in it twice already, but now it's officially 'ready for camping.' Over the years, I want this thing to facilitate my kids discovering the National (and State) Park System as they grow older. And I hope I can give it to one of them one day.



Here was my starting point. I wanted two somewhat-contradictory things. I wanted a camper that was ready to use, and also a rough/inexpensive enough example that I could take it as a blank slate and make it just the way I wanted it. I found exactly that in Edmonton. The only catch was that it was in Edmonton -- 1,700 miles (2,735 km) from my door. And I only had a four-day window to drive up, get it, and bring it back. I managed, and the camper was exactly as described and it made the trip without a single surprise. (How often does THAT happen in life?)




One of the first little projects was to replace the plexiglass front and rear windows, which were 48 years old. It was honestly one of the more difficult jobs I've done on the camper so far. But if you're patient, you'll get through it.



The tangerine and white paint scheme was fine. But I knew I wanted something else. So the first big project was to choose two 'vintage' shades of blue, and sand, and sand, and sand, and mask, and sand, and prime, and sand, and paint it. Somewhere in my head was a 1950s take on modern design, which maybe doesn't make a lot of sense for a 1970's camper. But I think I got what I wanted. I love the look of it.



I also love the look of baby moon hubcaps, so I got a set in chrome. It wasn't initially my idea, but someone suggested vintage whitewall tires and I'm very glad I listened to them. (They're from Diamond Back Classics.)



A 1960s-style California black license plate was the last piece of the exterior visual scheme for me. I know, that's not a 1950's modern thing either. But it's what was in my head.



Up front, I wanted a tongue box to hold the stuff you need to grab when you're first getting the trailer in position and set up at a campsite. I didn't like the off-the-shelf options, so I made one out of diamond pattern aluminum plate. I also added a crank-type tongue jack with wheels, to make the thing more maneuverable in the driveway.



Now, the first little project on the INSIDE was to improve the floors. Or cover them. The Birch plywood the previous owners had put in was nice to look at, but not really camping-ready. You had to take your shoes off before you went in. So I covered it with a sheet vinyl that looks like wood flooring, but cleans up easily when the kids walk mud everywhere.



The kitchen had been painted white. The sink didn't work, the water tank was 48-years old, and the ice box was a not-very-efficient early-70's insulated box.

Oh, and the heater didn't light at all. So my main focus was going to be on the kitchenette, even though I was going to keep their idea of the fake plant.



After a lot of work, this is where I got. I dumped the heater, installed an electric-propane refrigerator, put in a new sink and stove top, put in a new counter-top, re-faced the lower part of the cabinet box, and added a backsplash that looks like subway tiles. There's also a soap dispenser by the sink, instead of a hand pump. And now the cabinet faces have a sort of consistency to them.

[Jack Olsen]

I put in a foot pump for getting water from a (new) tank I put in down under the camper. The arm had to be modified to work with a Boler, but it works great.



Here's the whole kitchen. Since I was also adding 12v electric to the camper, there's under-cabinet lighting and a bluetooth speaker and also a variable-speed fan in the ceiling vent.



The stove and sink are real, but the plant is fake and the tiles for the backsplash are actually made of vinyl.



Still, it's a calm, relaxing place now. You can see one of the sconce lights I added at the end of the row of upper cabinets. It's a small camper. This picture makes it look like you could throw a football across it. In reality, you could probably shake hands with someone sitting at the other end.



The cool thing about an absorption refrigerator is that it makes no sound at all. But the thing it needs is venting and air circulation, both of which are tricky with a Boler's layout. It was pretty easy to get the refrigerator in there, but I had to add vents to the outside shell of the camper and also some under-counter ducting to help extract heat and combustion fumes away. Using the camper's new 12v power system, I rigged a thermo-switch to automatically switch on an extracting 5" computer-cooling fan when the refrigerator is in operation. It works really well, but if you put your ear to the counter you can hear it.



The previous owners made the upholstery, and I like it a lot. But the stuffing was thin memory foam that was not good for sleeping on. So I got new foam and batting for the old covers. This picture might do a better job of showing how compact this little camper is. But in real-world use, it works very well. It's got everything you need, none of what you don't.



More fake plants? Yep. But they add a homey touch to the top of the dining table, and they won't die when the camper is spending months in its dark, covered storage spot.



I added shelves to the main cabinet, and put the two deep cycle batteries down below. The little screen shows me my state of charge and also how much power is being used by the LED lights, fans, and charging ports. I learned that chargers and dimmer switches consume electricity even when they're turned off, so I added inline switches upstream of each to be able to shut everything down to 0.00 consumption.



But I have to say, there's something about having onboard power that takes this little camper from being a hard-shelled tent and turns it into something just a little bit more accommodating. More civilized. I'm not an RV guy, at all. But this camper strikes the right balance for me between comfort and go-anywhere possibility. My hope is to never camp where I can plug it into shore power in a row with a bunch of land yachts. But still, to be able to get up and make coffee on a stove with milk from a refrigerator -- for me, that's hard to beat.

[Scott Douglas]

That looks really cool Jack.
Having grown up with a 24ft Zenith by Boles Aero trailer as our camper (family of 6) I can say you're going to enjoy each others company a lot in that small Boler. I'm sure your kids will appreciate it a lot.

Getting out to the parks will be something they will remember all their lives. I wish we'd done that with our kids but life just didn't work out that way.
I remember going as far as Banff, Yellow Stone and the Grand Tetons back in the mid-60's so it was a lot less crowded from what I understand.
Look forward to seeing some pictures from out in the wild from you.

[Tobra]

Neat, but the tow vehicle does not match worth a damn.

I have travel versions of a few games, Clue and Battleship I think, that I can send you if you are interested. Your game cupboard is looking a bit thin.

[911boost]

Look up Go-Power (I think it is), I have on of their portable solar kits for when we camp (even though I have a generator, so I don't have to use it much) and for when I camp in the Westy. IT folds up nicely and is well built.

It almost 20 years of camping we can have camped less than 5 times in a full hookup spot.

[porsche930dude]

Nice ! I have a 60s Scotty my parents bought in the 70s. Mostly just use it for storage these days but maybe some she'll get back out on the road

[tevake]

That's has come together very nicely Jack. The colors are perfect and tha satin finish looks so period. It's cool that you found matching trim and could paint the door to match.

The interior does look amazing in those pics. Nice choice of materials in there. That floor looks like real wood but will be much more practical in use.

I'm with 911 boost in thinking that some solar panels will serve you well.
Are the fridge and heater able to run on propane? If so panels will easily cover lights and tunes etc. probably the fridge too .

Do you have a roof over it on the hoist? That would be great to keep it out of the sun in storage.

very cool little camper you put together!

Cheers Richad

[Sooner or later]

Nicely done. Your interior photography skills make it appear to be a 20 footer.

[tevake]

A good friend has refreshed his Boles and recently completed his tow vehicle.
He is already planing some travels to include car shows down the west coast from his place in the San Juan Islands in Puget sound.

[unclebilly]

Awesome!

[white85carrera]

well done. thanks for sharing

[asphaltgambler]

WOW! how beautiful is that?

[Helix8]

Not sure if this is an issue for you if your appliances are "clean"... but Carbon Monoxide (CO) is responsible for almost 25% of all propane related fatalities - maybe a CO detector?

Camper does look nice

[944 S2]

Man that’s cool! Now I want one!

[herr_oberst]

I LIKE it!

[flskala]

Great job - you have me searching CL

[gatotom]

Well done.

After re-doing two sail boats, it gives one great satisfaction.

I will second the thought of adding solar panels, they are awesome in the fact that you always have power for your system. Adding solar will be my next project on our boat.

[Jack Olsen]

Thank you, guys. It was a fun 'spring break' project. We've actually camped in it a couple of times already, but back then the only thing that worked was the stovetop. We're planning on a trip next month to Sequoia Natl Park and Joshua Tree -- that'll be the shakedown voyage for all the new stuff.

I have a solar panel for it -- although it's a little 40W one. I might add it before the next trip -- although I'm interested to see how two 35-hour deep cycle batteries will do. The lights and fans are all pretty miserly when it comes to consumption. I also have an isolator to let me recharge off of the car while we're driving. But solar is part of the plan.

[porsche4life]

Nice!!! How well does the foot pump do for water? Why that over an electric pump?

[javadog]

That’s nicely done, good work. One question though, that looks like a traveling kitchen, where the heck do you sleep?