First Look - 1976 Rambler Peanut

A little history:

I've always loved vintage travel trailers.  They have a look all their own and have more character than anything available new.

We've had several trailers over the years and have sold them all for some reason or other.  Some needed more work than we were able to manage, some were too big or not what we needed.

Late last year my husband, John, found a Road Trek Class B motor home for a good price.  He was quite excited to bring it home and get the work needed to get it on the road done.  While I agree that it is a good thing for road trips, I was finding myself not as excited as he was about his acquisition.

I started thinking about all of the trailers that we'd had over the years and came to the conclusion that my favorite of all of them was the U-Haul camper that we had bought in the US and brought up here. It was small, it was easy to tow and it was cuter than it had any right to be.  Unfortunately, it also needed more work than we were able to do at the time and we sold it to a friend who was able to do a fantastic job renovating and repairing it.  Part of me still regrets selling that little marshmallow on wheels.

Mike recently contacted us and said that he was interested in selling the U-Haul now and gave us first option to buy.  The price that he is asking, while fair, was beyond what were were able to invest.

John recalled seeing a small travel trailer in Belwood last summer and mentioned that we could look at it again to see if it was something that might work for me.  He went up and spoke to the owner and before I knew it, we were buying a camper for me!

A first look:

I was, understandably, quite excited to hear that I was going to have a little trailer for myself.  I had visions of road trips with only me and my dog dancing through my head:

Sierra - sweetest dog ever!

This is Sierra.  We rescued her from the pound 6 years ago and she's been my pal ever since.

John and I went up and had a look at the camper last week.  It is a 1976 Rambler Peanut, made in Burlington, Ontario by the Burlington Trailer Company.  The trailer is 13 feet long from tongue to rear bumper.  The box is 9 feet long by 7 feet wide.  For such a small trailer it is very well laid out and has quite a lot of storage space.

First look...still snow on the ground around the tongue.  

The outside looks pretty good, only one light cover will need to be replaced.

Front view

Only broken light that I can see so far.  

Back view - I don't think the box is original to the trailer but it seems solid and will provide additional storage.

It's been parked against a cedar hedge so the left side was a bit hard to see, but aside from needing a thorough power wash it looks solid.  

The right rear seam of the outside has come apart.  It has been temporarily covered with duct tape and caulked, but will definitely need more substantial and permanent repairs.  Daylight was visible from the inside out, as well...never a good thing.  The trim on the bottom of the same side has also come loose a bit, and will need replaced.

Right rear corner seam showing the open area.

View of same corner from the inside, the quarter round trim has been removed.

As I mentioned, the interior is very well laid out for such a small trailer.  I must admit that I have never been a fan of wood paneling.  I find it to be dreary and drab no matter what's done to it.  My plan will include painting the walls to brighten them up.  I know that some people don't think that restored campers should be painted, but this is going to be for me and so I will do what works.

I don't know what I am going to do with the cabinets yet.  They are laminated and some of the laminate is lifting from one of the doors.  There are also a fair number of hooks and eyes and cup hooks on the cabinet doors which will leave holes when I take them out.  I will have to figure out if they will take paint or not.  If they won't I will have to decide what I am going to do with them.

Interior Tour:

These next few pictures are taken standing in the door way. I love the black and white checkerboard floor but I'm afraid it will have to be torn up.  There is a large soft spot in the floor in front of the door that will have to be repaired fairly quickly.  If I am tearing up one section of tile, I might as well tear up them all and inspect the whole thing so that I can replace and repair it as it needs.  I plan to lay a new floor once that is all done, I haven't decided if I will be using a sheet of linoleum or tiles when the time comes.

Kitchen area 

Fridge, closet and cupboards

Dinette area which folds down to a bed.  The bunk above will be used as a shelf to store bedding when I have the dinette set up.  

 Under the table you can see some water staining on the paneling.  There is also staining on the wall near the upper bunk on the left side.  I am planning to take all of the paneling off of the back wall and as needed and repair whatever needs it while I am doing the the right rear corner.  This will also allow me to reinsulate if needed.  I am also seriously considering replacing the old paneling with 1/4" birch so that I don't have to contend with water stains seeping through the new paint.   The fellow that we bought the camper from replaced the ceiling so it looks pretty good and I'll be able to use it when I put everything back together again.

There is storage under each of the benches.  It will be perfect for storing larger items like lawn chairs or the like.  I don't see a fresh water tank anywhere, so unless  I missed it I may use one of these spaces for a tank.

Kitchen area:

Upper Cabinet above the sink/stove area

Front window and sink.

The original specification sheet lists a Colman cook top so I am fairly sure that this is original. 

Lower cabinet and drawer under the sink and stove.  I'll need to look more closely to see what's going on under the cabinet. 

Fridge/Closet:

The fridge is right ahead as you step in the door.  It's quite small, even for a camp fridge.  I am told it works but I will see once I have everything plugged in.  There is another cabinet above the fridge and a drawer below.  Under all of that is another cabinet that I think used to house a heater or perhaps even a small furnace.  There is a vent that is taped up on the back wall of this cabinet so it definitely had SOMEthing in there at one time.   I am thinking that I will patch the hole to keep the heat in. There is a vent cover on the outside of the trailer over the hole that I likely will keep in place to hide the patch.

Cabinet above the fridge.  It's small but will be useful.  I inherited the coffee maker from the former owner.

The outer skin on this door is peeling off.  I have to figure out if I can reattach it or come up with other options. 

My teeny tiny fridge.  

Cabinet under the fridge that I think used to house a heater.  I'll be patching up the hole to keep the heat in.

To the right of the fridge is a small closet.  I will either be converting this tiny closet to house a port-a-potty or will be adding shelves for additional storage.  I am leaning towards the former option, mainly because the trailer has so much storage already and it would be useful to have a bathroom to avoid those late night runs to the public restroom.  I also tend to believe that the closet originally was a bathroom because there is a door handle on the inside of the door; which I don't think would be necessary if it was just a closet.

I think this little closet would fit a portable toilet, and I like that it has a little window.  

Dinette/Sleeping Area:

The table is attached to the back wall and folds down to create a bed when the cushions are removed from the dinette benches.  There is also a bunk above the dinette that could theoretically allow another bed.  It does fold up and forms a shallow storage area.  I will keep linens and pillows up there, either with the shelf folded up or open, when the dinette area is set up.  As I mentioned, there is storage under each of the benches.   

One thing that I love about this trailer is that all of the windows slide, none of them are the crank style.   I have never liked crank windows and was pleased to see that I don't have to contend with them here.  

Dinette area with table set up.  

Conclusion:

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and check out the pictures of my new-to-me camper.  I didn't really expect this post to be quite so long; so if you've stuck with me 'till the end, I appreciate it!  

I'll be posting pictures and commentary of my progress with the camper as I go along.  I do have ideas on the new color scheme for the trailer.   I am leaning towards the colors of the Caribbean. 

Azure water, warm sand and white clouds.  There is something about the waters of the Caribbean that is mesmerizing and I love the idea of having an oasis in those colors all of my own. 

I would love to read your comments or suggestions on how to do the repairs.  If you have any experiences that you feel like sharing I would appreciate it.  

Until next time....

Mel.