|
|
 |
||
|
1940 Vagabond Trailer Model 16
Barn—Barn—is this another yarn?
I remember when I was growing up my mother would always yell at me, “DON’T LEAVE YOUR BARN DOOR OPEN, NO ONE WANTS TO LOOK INSIDE THERE!” My wife still tells me the same thing.
But I’m here to tell you… never be afraid to peek in the barn, if the door is open! Especially if you are looking for something special.
Here we go again, another of Steven’s “Barn Finds”:
Late in 2011, I was lecturing on a cruise ship on my way to New Zealand. I received an e-mail from my friend Henry in Kentucky. “Hey Steve, you may be interested in this.”
Let me tell you something. It’s bad enough when you find a prize, and have trouble contacting the owner, hoping someone else won’t get there first. How about being in the middle of the ocean, on the other side of the world, with a file of photos, and no way to contact the owner? Here I was, within grasp of one of only two known masonite sided Vagabonds in existence. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
When we returned to the U.S., we were exhausted after flying all the way back from New Zealand. When we picked up the car at the airport with the intentions of going home to get some sleep, I talked Jenay into making the call to see if this trailer was still available. GASP! It was. Exhausted, we turned the car in the opposite direction of home and drove another 5 hours to the gold country in northern California. Now, as Paul Harvey would say on his famous radio show---------“here’s the rest of the story”.
It seems that the original owner bought this trailer in early 1941. It must have been on the lot for a while because it is actually a 1940, per the ID plate. He needed a place to kick back while he spent the next three months building his house. How about this? He built the shed seen in the photos around the trailer to protect it. He basically never used the trailer except to sleep on the couch. When his house was finished, the trailer just sat there for 72 years, under cover, never to leak, never
The man passed away about 6 years ago. The new owners of the property wanted to get rid of the trailer and tear the shed down. Boy did I luck out. We came to an agreed price, shook hands, and I told him I’d come and get it soon. My trailer buddy Desmond, seen in the pics with me, accompanied me on another one of my trailer goose chases. We loaded it up, brought it home, and into my museum it went.
After thinking about it for about 30 seconds, I decided not to do anything to it except clean up the interior. Another near perfect interior----------------no kidding, nearly perfect.
The outside, as bad as it looks, is incredible. Masonite trailers from the 30’s and early 40’s are usually swollen like a pumpkin and need to be completely re-skinned. This one has only one small bow in it, and always will. You see, I’ve decided to not even wash the trailer. I want to show it “as found” so everyone can see that they are really still out there---- “BARN FINDS” that you can basically enjoy from day one.
I plan to unveil this one at the Pismo Beach Trailer Rally in May, 2012 Enjoy. Let me know what you think.
Click on the thumbnail below for Larger images |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
