Trailers

[Joe in Canada]

Auto related but how many of the club members are into camper trailers. Is there a strong following.  By the way the frame looks rotten even though he says the floor is solid.                             Not mine. https://www.ebay.com/itm/332558898078?rmvSB=true

Edited February 23, 2018 by Joe in Canada (see edit history)

[Grimy]

2 hours ago, Joe in Canada said:

Auto related but how many of the club members are into camper trailers. Is there a strong following.

edinmass, trimacar, and I all have Pierce-Arrow Travelodges.

 

Additionally, in Calif there is a LOT of vintage trailer collecting--not so much touring as static displays in campgrounds both public and private.  The ironstone Concours (late Sept in Murphys, CA) always has a class for vintage trailers and their owners are allowed to camp on the concours grounds the night before and the night after the show.

[Grimy]

The primary restoration problem with P-A Travelodges is that they were built with steel frames and aluminum skins, separated by (essentially) tarpaper.  That insulating material disintegrates over time, and contact of dissimilar metals fosters corrosion, especially of the aluminum.

[trimacar]

Yes, I have one as Grimy says, the Travelodge is a great trailer.  Mine is under restoration, I towed it 500 miles from Michigan and it tows beautifully.   New tires and newly serviced wheel bearings, of course. Picture is me arriving home with it....

 

The one on Ebay is interesting, I'd talked to the seller a few months ago as the trailer was on Houston Craigslist.  Obviously missing all the original Pierce interior.  The other problem with the trailer, it's been heavily modified underneath, too. 

 

The Travelodge had independent suspension, with springs and shocks on each side and no solid axle.  If you look at Ebay trailer, you can see it's been modified to a straight axle.  Hard to tell from pictures, but also looks like frame may have been modified.

 

Still appears to be a good shell, in the current price range still a very interesting trailer.  I think he wants in the 5K to 6K range for it, when I first talked to him he gave me a price on the trailer and a Model A combined in the mid teens.

[Paul Dobbin]

1932 Oldsmobile towing a 1937 Travelo Trailer in the Redwood Forest in 1937.  See story at http://www.tincantourists.com/BetseyStory.pdf

[Grimy]

The Travelodges' independent suspension (changed to a solid axle on the eBay offering) is wonderful, especially when you cross railroad tracks at a diagonal to the roadway, or encounter roadway imperfections.  Travelodges had a tubular leading arm and a 1/4-elliptical trailing arm.  Houdaille shocks were optional on the smallest Model C (13.5-ft "can") but standard on Models A (19 ft can) and B (16.5 ft can).

 

The Nethercutt Collection's Model A was modified with a Pierce-arrow auto dropped solid front axle, apparently so they could use Pierce-Arrow auto wheels and hubcaps, and thus stands about 6 inches taller than a factory Model A.  It also has interior period mods including a Servel refrigerator and high-gloss lacquered dark-finished woods.  The wood finish is spectacular for photography and for 2 or 3 minutes, after which the glare gets too you.

[trimacar]

My Model B has the shock absorbers, as you mention, and original wheels.  It had a lot of the original interior, mostly just good for patterns, and most knobs and fixtures, including sink, faucet, icebox, etc.  Shell is good, frame needs minor work.  It's a major project but glad to have one!