Let us show you step by step how we renovated and updated the exterior of our tiny vintage trailer. We will share tips on our DIY processes and learning from our trial and error on this rv reno and restoration of our little camper.
Coming in at a total of 66 square feet and enough sleeping room for 4, our tiny molded fiberglass trailer was made in Winnipeg, Canada in 1978. With only 10,000 units sold, we are proud to show off our tiny piece of Canadian history!
We picked up our Boler in July 2021 from a lovely family in Simcoe, Ontario in a season of high demand. We were very lucky to receive the trailer from people who loved it, and cared for it well. As we drove away with our brand new trailer, the sticker "no reservations" could be seen from just above the old spare tire.
So What Changes Did We Make To The Exterior Of Our Boler? Although we loved the retro feel of the Boler when we received it, we wanted to make some updates and give it our own stamp. When renovating the exterior our goal was always to keep many original aspects intact. The cushions and their covers were in great shape. Fridge, stove, and sink all functional, doors and closures all working. A few slow window leaks to seal up and some cosmetic upgrades were on our list.
We got a lot of supplies from our local hardware stores, but had to source a few unique pieces because of our trailer's vintage nature. There's a few things we learned from our experience and we would love to pass them along to you. If you are fixing up or thinking of purchasing a vintage trailer, we hope our experiences can help you navigate this seemingly daunting project. One of the first things we learned is that everything seems to take longer to complete than you might think. Having to work through previous customizations and the fact that this thing is from the 70's, every job seems to be a custom project on its own. Over the years the fibreglass can shift and change, altering the shape of everything. The naked eye won't see it, but nothing is square or level. That said, there is a reason these Bolers have lasted through the decades, they stand the test of time and are worth the hours you will put in to them. If you enjoy problem solving and taking time to figure out how to fit a round peg in a hexagon hole, then I hope your project is as rewarding and therapeutic for you, as it was for us!
Paint & Technique
We knew we wanted to paint the outside, but, where do you start? Lucky for us a family member is a marine mechanic and worked on boat repairs for most of his life. He pointed us to a marine supply store that had everything we needed to get this project started. We used a product called Interlux Brightside Polyurethrane. It has an amazing glossy finish that gives it that paint shop look. One thing we learned with this particular paint is that we needed to add a paint thinner to the can before application. It's a very thick paint and is used for different applications so thinning it makes it easier to use and helps it spread out with more even coats. There is a specific technique to painting with this stuff, but here's the basics. Use a roller and paint as you would anything else, but once you have rolled you will see tiny bubbles appear. There are a couple of ways to tackle this, but what we found after adding the paint thinner, we were able to just wait for the small bubbles to appear and then using the same roller, lightly roll over the bubbles and smooth it all out. We repeated this process until all the bubbles disappeared, working in small sections at a time.
There is another way you can tackle this with a brush technique called feathering. We failed with that method, so we stuck with the roller as it worked best. There are many Brightside colours you can choose from. For the blue we used medium blue 4353Q, and slowly added white until we had a light blue we liked. We love our custom colour, and have kept the extra paint stored away for touch ups. The bumper and A frame were painted with the Rust-oleum gloss black. Just a few coats and it was done!
Windows
We didn't plan on all the windows having small leaks, but they did, and so we had to figure out how to fix them. We sealed the window frames with silicone and then gave our Boler a test run in a thunderstorm - fail! Little trickles of water found a way through. So we thought it was time for the windows to be removed and installed from scratch. One of the very first things we had to learn is how to install pop rivets. In 1978 pop rivets were apparently all the rage, so there's no shortage of rivets to drill out and pop back in. We found the best way to remove them was use a drill with a 1/8" bit and drill right through, sometimes it will just fall out and sometimes you have to use a pair of pliers. It will test your patience, but you'll survive! Once the window is out, we scraped away all the old sealant under the frame of the window. Then we sourced the end-all for sealing old trailer windows - Butyl tape.
We found a vintage trailer shop in Hamilton Ontario that was selling Butyl tape by the roll. This stuff is so great. It's kind of like a putty that will seal the space between the window and the frame or anything else you want to install and seal. We used it to seal our roof vent as well. We slowly got the tape on the window first, we used 2 layers of this stuff, because we had lots, and we wanted to make sure it was sealed well (and there wasn't a need for a second try). Once the window was in place, we started with the rivets and worked our way around the window until it was all done. We let it settle overnight and then the next day sealed the exterior seams with 3M Marine Adhesive Fast Cure 4800. Apparently you can apply this stuff under water and it will still seal and cure.
Boler Door Handle The original door handle had been replaced at some point with a residential one. It was functional but wasn't very trailer-y. After looking at other Bolers and a little research, (and by research I mean... google) we came across this site www.campingtreasures.co It's an online shop in western Canada that has a few Boler goodies, like key tags and Christmas tree ornaments. Most importantly, it also has door handle replacements made specifically for Bolers - score! I ordered one that the website said would fit and just waited to see if it would actually arrive. Score again, it came in the mail and it fit perfectly! That said, if you remember my disclaimer from earlier, it took a few tries and some wiggling to make it work. It operates perfectly and also looks super duper trailer-y (that's my new word).
Bike Rack
You would think this one would be the easiest - wrong! Three different bike rack attempts and here is where we landed. We went with the Stomberg Carleson Bike Bunk. We bolted it to the A frame of the trailer. It was the most sturdy and had even weight distribution, and also gave us better access to the trunk of the car. Once the Bike Bunk is installed you can attach any hitch mounted bike rack that you want. One thing to note, if you go this route, just be sure to not exceed the tongue weight for your vehicle. The Bolers were built very light weight on purpose, so the more stuff you add to the front of the frame will increase the weight on your hitch.
Storage Box
We really wanted a light weight box to carry all the trailer-y stuff, like the wheel chocks, stacker jacks, and extension cords, all those goodies. We also wanted to fit the propane tank inside a box for a neat and tidy look. We purchased a small 11 lb propane tank to replace the 20lb tank, and then bought the Buyers Products black poly tool chest. We went with this box because the bike rack took up some space and we needed something that would fit between the base of the bike rack and the trailer jack. This one did the trick, as long as we replaced the original jack (see below). We fastened it with 4 Ubolts from the inside of the box to the frame of the trailer and volia - we have a box.
Jack We had to remove the original jack to make room for the new bike rack and storage box. The orriginal jack was welded on the frame so we used a grinder to cut away the welds, it wasn't hard, just make sure to wear safety glasses! We purchased a Reese Swivel Mount trailer jack from Canadian Tire, which came with all the hardware for installation.
So there you have it! Easy peasy, ha. Maybe not, but there is something that feels so good about giving new life to something old. Each small project to repair and restore can be meaningful memories in their own right. They were for us. Feel free to reach out if you have any question, we are always happy to share what we have learned. Cheers to fixing your tiny trailers!
