On-line dating and love affairs - with vintage campers

We would (all!) love to see your before and after photos of your own vintage camper restorations and/or refurbished trailer!
Please post your photos below (before and after shots, if you would like)
We would love to hear from you, friends.

This photo was taken on the Ohio/Kentucky border.... it is a 1981 Serro Scotty Hilander.

Oh, No! Another Adventure? (Andy)

The story?
Well, it was my first love.. And like most first loves, especially when one is online dating, is not all it is cracked up to be. Funny, Scotty really did not look like his online photos. Sound familiar?

It was a long drive from here in Albany. I had sent a $1000 deposit, sight unseen. Was told the Scotty had no leaks. She looked great, so I took my new-to-me 1998 Ford 150 truck, brought Andy, my faithful Springer, and headed south. Did I mention the truck had no air conditioning?

Raggedy Ann, our tri-color springer, chose to stay home. It was a long ride. The owners had to be at work by 8, so using the GPS I found them, at the end of a country "holler". Now, if you know hollers, you know that they often are narrow dirt roads along the edge of a mountain stream. Often full of trash.
You have the picture.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the door of the camper was the smell. Yeah, smell. As in mold. And the partially collapsed ceiling. Sigh.

Sure, doesn't look bad. But I quickly smelled a rat. However, I took the leap, as lovers often do.

See that window?
We reframed her... and the rot around the vent in the roof. And the front windows frame. And part of the floor.

I still love her.

A shot of the same corner. Reframed.

So, I asked Andy's advice. He gave me that look. You know the look.
I still love Andy, too. He passed away several years ago, and is buried under a cherry tree at our Adirondack camp. And the Serro Scotty? He is swell, and safely stored in the chicken building at the local fairgrounds. $4000 grand later and she doesn't leak. But boy, did I holler the whole way home. Andy and I spent our first night together in the tarp-covered Scotty in a rest area on the way home. We had to stop along the way to fix the lights which did not work, having gotten lost, in 95 degree weather, in downtown Columbus.

My first love, like Andy.
I now have 4 springers, and 4 campers...
so far.

So, my advice?
Before buying a vintage camper, do your homework.
Whenever possible, look before you leap.
Or not.

Right now, it is a seller's market. Buyer beware,
Its a love affair - and we all know how that can go!

Happy trails!

Chatty Cathy Light
Your Vintage Campographer
www.VintageCamperShare.com

Here is that Andy look...  

From Our Caroga Lake cabin