A question for the vintage camper guys

I am going to look at a 1965 camper tomorrow and was told the ***le says it's a Zipper camper,,I have only seen it sitting beside a rental house from the front so I don't know the size but I believe it is small and the owner says she need's to sell it.

Finding old campers in this area is difficult and I just ran across this one and it turned out my daughter knows the owner so she called and got what little information I have.

It is the old canned ham type.What should I look for besides staining,leaks and soft floors?

I know there is a Vintage Trailer group but it is not very active and I need a little info now before I approach the owner tomorrow. HRP

 

I've got a vintage travel trailer. IT's a 1970 Scotty trailer, canned Ham. Painted to match my 56 chevy and gets a ton of attention wever we go and we actually camp in it. Cheap digs at car show weekends. you'll enjoy it. Doug.

 

i work at a r v company these days we got a bunch of 50's and 60's trailers
a couple air streams and a couple others ..there all in fair shape the owner want like 10 to 15000 per trailer i was likke whatta you nuts ..they hold there value i guess good luck with your score

 

Only thing I have found out so far is that the camper was made in Clinton,South Carolina.

The lady doesn't have any idea of how to price it and not finding any information on this brand I'm in the dark..but I am going to look at it this morning armed with a flashlight.

any other hints? HRP

 

Im an R.V. tech and have worked on all types from tent trailers up to 1/2 million dollar motor homes. I also have 4 vintage trailer at home. P.M. me if you have questions. Look to make sure all the tin is as straight as possible and windows are intact look for the small stuff. Also check frame for cracking (not common) but happens. If you are going to use the propane system have it checked properly (professionally) as its about the only part of an R.V. that can kill you.Ask when the last time it was moved check tires and wheel brgs a.s.a.p.

 

Not much help from Google, but I'm sure you already tried that.

Just what you need, Danny, is another project. Didn't know you were a camper kinda guy.
But I guess you can spend time with your grandaughter, in the woods, with the squirrels and all!

 

Let us know how you and a pic if you get it.I've been bitten by that bug this summer also.Hard to find good ones around here.So I dont have one yet.Maybe at the end of the season some will show up.Good luck!!

 

I want to see a picture of it hitched to the wagon!

 

Not really Ken,,I'm not looking for a project but Brenda and I camped a lot as kids with our grandparents and we have talked about it for several years and thought it would be fun to do with our grandchildren,,a night or two at a time,,or as a inexpensive get away,,

We don't want anything big but something vintage,,,I already have the hitch that will go on the wagon,,see where we are going with this. HRP

That's a part of the plan,,,HRP

 

I'm kinda partial the the Air Streams. Those are just beautiful. Always wanted one of those. Not an RV per say but one of those tow-behinds.

 

Well, you certainly have easy access to several beautiful campgrounds within minutes on the lake. The first summer got our boat we camped at Twin Lakes nearly every weekend. Had a great time!

 

I have an older camper so I follow a couple of vintage camper forums. Watch for water damage. If there is damage showing on the interior, there may be much more damage to the framework in the wall. Other than that, there is not much to them. Electrical and propane are pretty simple unless the fridge doesn't work, not cheap to replace.

Good luck, Neal

 

I rebuilt a 77 Coachmen travel trailer last year.

Dittos on the water damage. It's a huge problem with older campers even if you can't see any evidence.

They can be rebuilt. The framework is basically wood with an aluminum envelope, but it's a lot of work to get them apart.

There's a product called Eternabond that many recommend. Exteremly sticky and difficult to undo, but it seals great. Of course, you have to fix the damage first.

We spent a week in WV near Pipestem. Seams there were old trailers next to just about every other house down there. Don't know if any were for sale, but there were a lot to choose from.

If you want a working refrigerator, that will likely be the biggest single expense. We got lucky and I got ours to work, but I was looking for replacements and I couldn't even find a used one for under $650 in working condition.

I enjoyed working on ours. I've done a lot of work on our house and the trailer is kind of a combination of house and car as far as skills required.

www.rv.net has a forum with bunch of info and lots of helpful people, but you can spend days in the archives.

With an older trailer, you often have to improvise as many parts just aren't available anymore. A lot of newer stuff will retrofit. Don't overlook the mobile home market as those use a lot of the same parts and are often cheaper. The boat market also has a lot of the same parts, but those usually come at a higher premium.

 

A Zipper. Never heard of one but then there was a ton of trailer manufactures in the 50s/60s, some very small.
As other said water is the big damager. Unfortunatly sometime severe damage isn't seen till the skin comes off. If water leaked down the inside of the skin it might not get to the inside paneling but still rotted the framework. Look close at the walls where they attach to the floor, any sign they have come loose or moved is an indication the framework has rot.
My brother rebuilds these can hams professionally and even if it has rot it isn't too hard to fix, just a little time consuming. When he buys a trailer to build all he cares is the appliances, window frames and hardware (stuff thats hard to find) is there.

 

I have received a little more information on the old Zipper camper,,they were manufactured in Clinton,South Carolina in a old baseball bat manufacturing facility for only 3 years.

The photo is not the one I am going to look at but was sent to me from someone in Florida,,,it really looks like a early Shasta and this one is 13 foot. HRP

 

Found this;

http://hickory.craigslist.org/rvs/1909962775.html

 

I looked three years for an old camper. Then last month scored a repop of the Scotty Highlander. Looks like the old one from the outside but all modern on the inside. The big plus was I was able to finance it.

The one I bought is 3 years old, hardly used and I payed less than 1/2 of what the new ones cost.

Going to take to the Jalopy Drags in October for it's maiden Hotrod voyage.

While searching, I used this website a ton!

http://www.tincantourists.com/campoffice.php

They have a section on restoration.

If you don't want a project. Buy one restored vs original. Some restorers take the trailer down to the deck and replace all the wood.

Good luck with the search

Jay

 

Well,,I went to check it out and it's worse than I had hoped,,





The top has held water and the inside wood toward the house IS rotten.





No fridge,,overall it's pretty rough,,,I haven't heard a price but it looks lIke I'm gonna p*** unless it's dirt cheap.



Thanks for your advice guys,,HRP

 

Shasta campers were made in Columbia SC ... up on Hwy 21 North of Columbia. ( I had one years ago ).

As I understand it ... some folks at Shasta were upset with how things were going @ Shasta in Columbia and branched out ... creating the ZIPPER ... just up the road in Clinton SC.

Same floor plans and most of the parts back then interchanged.

I robbed a few pieces out of a ZIPPER ... when I was fixing up my 1969 Shasta 1500 series camper. Sold mine and started using a Winnebago 24 footer motorhome. Then decided I would rather stay in a Motel ...

Less expensive in the LONG haul. Winnebagos **** gas

 

This is 64 Scotty, pulled by my 47 fordor, with pretty much a stock flattie and 3 speed. We have a blast in it, two day limit!

 

The three F Words when it comes to vintage trailers ....

F ind
F luff
F lip

Wood framed trailers were built with ' stick lumber ' and stapled or screwed together,
they were meant to last 15 years maximum & usually did not last more than
a few years before being ' shaken apart ' while being towed down the road .....

Ground moisture rots out most trailers from underneath.

If you live in the south - the east - the midwest - or anywhere there is ground moisture then the chances of finding an intact vintage wood framed trailer are just about zero ....

What you will find is a whole bunch of junk peddled on craigslist
and ebay

I have transported over 85 vintage trailers on our flatbed custom built
trailer and ironically the nicest ' canned ham ' I have ever seen
or hauled ....

Was this 1959 Shasta I just dropped off today in Lambertville, Michigan
that came from Monson, Maine

Absolutely no water damage

Go figure



Jim

 

well hell if its cheap enough.. they make good utility trailers... thats how i got mine.. i've salvaged out a bunch of "arizona" rv's and trailers and i haven't found one without rot yet....

 

I have heard of people just using small dorm fridges. Seems like that would be a cheap way to go.

Me and some friends are working together on a 76 Itasca MH we just got.

 

I have a good hunch that Santa is bringing me some Teardrop plans for Christmas, entering uncharted territory for me !

 

Taste like spam to me,, HRP

 

HOTRODPRIMER did u end u buying it ,my home town is Clinton, it would be cool to own one !

 

Hey HRP-----A couple of years ago I picked up a Scamp fiber gl*** 12ft trailer. Just for grins------I've been grinning ever since. There's a BIG bunch of 'em out there in 12ft and 16ft sizes, various manufacturers, from 1980 to current. BILL RINALDI

 

No,the owner got it from her parents or grandparents and thinks it worth a bunch of money because it's rare,,it's falling apart and would need a total rebuild,,the girl turned down my offer. HRP

 

If anyone is interested in one of these, I just got one. I put two tires on it and towed it from Virginia to Atlanta with no issue. It's pretty rough, seems to have sat for quite some time. Has some outer shell damage, and it appears to have a little water damage inside. The stove and fridge are there but I haven't plugged anything in or tested anything. Email me if interested Stang99x@yahoo.com

Brett

 

I just towed one back from Montana, 1000 miles one way. Believe it is a 52 Bellwood canned ham. Still has some interior, ice box & small closets. It is sorta solid with some bad signs of water damage, but looks like a fun challange. Not much net info on Bellwoods, so any help is welcome. If nothing else this will haul extra stuff to events behind the F1.