gary350
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We should have gone camping today it is going to snow 6" tonight.
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Post by gary350 on Jun 30, 2016 11:10:57 GMT -8
For years I notice 20' to 30' campers are dirt cheap. Today I found 9 camper trailers nice enough to live in $800 to $1200 price range, 25' to 28' range.
I could rent them out $500 a month. 2 months rent will pay for the trailer.
I see several trailer frames for sale where someone sold the skin for scrap metal then burned the trailer now the rusty frame with tires R for sale $600 each. I don't see any money to be made selling scrap metal and frames. |
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Jun 30, 2016 12:13:37 GMT -8
I'll start the ball rolling...
"WHY are 20' to 30' camper trailers so unpopular?"
1. They're ugly.
2. It's like towing a giant brick.
3. They're ugly.
4....
--
Trailertrasher says he buys them because they are cheap and loaded with parts. I bet they're cheap because most (not all) are ugly.
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gary350
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We should have gone camping today it is going to snow 6" tonight.
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Post by gary350 on Jun 30, 2016 15:13:57 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2016 16:50:13 GMT -8
Excellent thought Gary, always baffled me too. I don't know exactly, other than the need for a more strong tow vehicle. Obviously the bigger the unit the more the upkeep. But houses don't work that way so why do campers. It's weird. I think the only way people are willing to restore and salvage the smaller vintage ones is that they are sought after collectibles that have real value and are unique with loads of personality. The newer ones are so large, boxy, disposable and there is nothing special enough to be worth bringing back to life. Even when you do, you can't expect a big payout. Unless, like you mentioned, you manage to pull off renting it out. But easier said than done. Now I tell you what though, that 1966 Concord I had posted was larger but awesome! Then again, still in the era when they had personality.
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Jun 30, 2016 19:35:17 GMT -8
...The newer ones are so large, boxy, disposable and there is nothing special enough to be worth bringing back to life... Too true. 40 years from now people may look at this and think it's hip and stylish. (Correction: I don't think these were made well enough to survive sitting in a field 40 years.) |
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Post by vintagebruce on Jun 30, 2016 20:45:36 GMT -8
You are comparing apples to bricks with some of your examples. Anything from 1980 onward is usually not considered vintage, so many of us have no interest in them large or small. They say the dead zone in our oceans is growing. Well campers like the ones shown are mostly part of what I would refer to, as the dead zone of camper design...most designers must have been mailing them in...I would be ashamed to come to work and face my coworkers if I was designing like that. Canned hams and the pre-hams were the Golden Era of camper design. Can you imagine what a 24 to 30' canned ham would look like...no offense meant to the Shasta Deluxe, but the 30 footer would look like a foot long hot dog, not a canned ham.
The vintage Vagabonds, Spartanettes and other trailers that ran upwards to 30' are from an era where trailers were towed at 50-55mph and gas was 17 cents a gallon.
Finally, and I can't remember if this has been mentioned yet, but the big ones are so, um , ah, well, they are Butt UGLY!!
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Post by danrhodes on Jun 30, 2016 20:48:53 GMT -8
I'll weigh in a bit just to say...I enjoy comfort, which is why I have a home with a king sized bed. When I go camping, I want to experience the outdoors, not hang out in some slide out living room with a 42" LCD and 57 channels of nothing on. I'll admit, the thought of sharing 45 inches of bed with 3 pugs and a wife who can bench press 135 doesn't sound super comfortable (geometrically speaking), but I imagine the stories will be pretty funny later...
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Post by vikx on Jun 30, 2016 21:58:33 GMT -8
All above are simply OLD UGLY trailers. They are not vintage, nor do they have desirable parts. The systems are often antiquated or non operational. And finally, A LOT OF MONEY TO DISPOSE OF..
I can go on.
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cottontailfarm
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Post by cottontailfarm on Jul 1, 2016 7:20:42 GMT -8
I like the idea of tiny campers because I'm camping to relax. Above a certain size to me basically = mobile home. I have no interest in spending my vacation time cleaning a house.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Jul 1, 2016 7:57:19 GMT -8
Who says that 20 to 30 foot and longer trailers are unpopular? To the people who want a park model to live in or a place for their vacation property, or even to tow around the country they are very popular. Just because there seem to be a larger number of smaller ones at the rallies says nothing about the popularity of larger trailers. I've rescued some very large trailers and had no problem turning them over to people who completely restored them to their original beauty. Some are being lived in full time now. If I didn't own the park model that I currently live in I would probably have a vintage Spartan or something like it.
It looks like we have finally sold the 40 foot, 1957 ABC Super Coach that I've had up for sale for a couple months now. Sure it took a bit longer but it's a hell of an asking price and this original baby needed to find just the right owner so that it could live on in all it's glory.
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Jul 1, 2016 9:05:12 GMT -8
Your point is well taken.
There are exceptions to every rule. But the exceptions aren't selling for $500. I think Gary is wondering why 1970-1995 behemoths are selling for $10-$30 a foot.
A different beast than a magnificent 1957 Park Model with original Amber woodwork and only one dent up front.
Just the original stove in the video is worth more than the camper I posted above.
By the way, the music in the video is groovy.
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rit
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Post by rit on Jul 1, 2016 14:08:03 GMT -8
You are comparing apples to bricks with some of your examples. Anything from 1980 onward is usually not considered vintage, so many of us have no interest in them large or small. They say the dead zone in our oceans is growing. Well campers like the ones shown are mostly part of what I would refer to, as the dead zone of camper design...most designers must have been mailing them in...I would be ashamed to come to work and face my coworkers if I was designing like that. Canned hams and the pre-hams were the Golden Era of camper design. Can you imagine what a 24 to 30' canned ham would look like...no offense meant to the Shasta Deluxe, but the 30 footer would look like a foot long hot dog, not a canned ham. The vintage Vagabonds, Spartanettes and other trailers that ran upwards to 30' are from an era where trailers were towed at 50-55mph and gas was 17 cents a gallon. Finally, and I can't remember if this has been mentioned yet, but the big ones are so, um , ah, well, they are Butt UGLY!! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2016 15:25:36 GMT -8
I have a question. At what point does an old camper transition from being a canned ham to just a big beast? The time frame of early 70s is established, but what about size? Hmmmm...
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Jul 1, 2016 16:01:35 GMT -8
I have a question. At what point does an old camper transition from being a canned ham to just a big beast? The time frame of early 70s is established, but what about size? Hmmmm... A 20 or 30 foot canned ham is just like a limo. It's the same thing but stretched in the middle. Cut a 15 foot canned ham in half and add 15 or twenty feet of wall and ceiling.. |
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Post by vintagebruce on Jul 2, 2016 7:46:25 GMT -8
I have a question. At what point does an old camper transition from being a canned ham to just a big beast? The time frame of early 70s is established, but what about size? Hmmmm... A 20 or 30 foot canned ham is just like a limo. It's the same thing but stretched in the middle. Cut a 15 foot canned ham in half and add 15 or twenty feet of wall and ceiling.. I agree with mobiltec about being like a limo. There were some really attractive "stretch" canned ham shaped trailers. I believe the difference in a nicely built long canned ham and a shorter canned ham is length, "full" bathroom and more than one bedroom. When they are stretched to accommodate those "luxuries" they became PARK MODELS. Ones in the 30' to even 40' range appear to have been owned in some cases by people who enjoyed both worlds...they could live comfortably in a "trailer park" and still disconnect and take the occasional trip. Once they morphed beyond the canned ham shape, less empahsis appears to have been given to "look" (and thus the beasts were born) and more towards cramming in all the latest amenities which added weight as well as way too much stuff to bounce around inside to consider taking it "on the road". One side note, I also believe that the makers of the smaller canned hams never in a million years thought they would "last" more than 20 to 25 years, built as light and nimble as they were. When you got to the 20' to 25' models, that actually had a bedroom, it seems like they were geared more for the stationary location dweller. And they were built much stouter and heavier to handle severe weather, unlike the small canned hams that an owner could hook up and skirt around the weather and then return home. Those heavier single axel canned hams and earlier models do not tow well above 55mph. My 1950 Travelo is 23' had a frame twice as strong as my '59 Airflyte and actually has some 2X4s in the framing (it's a full 8' wide too) and it does the shimmy shimmy shake shake once you hit 56mph. |
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