Year: 1957
Length: 21 feet
Model: Caravanner
Purchase Date: 7-13-2001
Purchase Location: Kansas City, Kansas
View Restoration

It was late in the afternoon when I saw this trailer for sale on Ebay. The layout immediately caught my attention. I saw there was just a few bids and they were very low. I emailed the seller to find out more about its condition and the reserve he was hoping to break. Since the auction was closing that day I hoped to get a reply before I submitted a bid.

Stuart emailed me back within minutes. He gave me his reserve price and said the trailer was in great shape, "it's a really nice little trailer." It looked clean in the pictures he had posted. I hesitated.

Five hours and several emails later I watched the auction close below the reserve price, no sale. I waited until the little red timer went to zero before I dialed Stuart's number. When it did, I pounced on him like a wild cat.

Stuart was really easy to talk to. It turned out we have several things in common and I felt an immediate bond between us. After an hour or so on the phone, the deal was done--well almost. I had to call Terry, the actual owner of the trailer, to see if he would take my low offer. When I did I found him sipping a martini at a local Kansas City bar. We chatted for a minute or two and closed the deal. The next morning I wired the money and received the title by the end of the week. The only thing left to do was get the trailer to Tucson. That was easier said than done.

For months Stuart and I tried to arrange transportation. Nothing was working out. Finally, six months after the deal was done, Stuart hooked the trailer to a Ryder truck loaded with antique furniture. He was on his way to CA for a swap meet. Half-way through the journey he broke down and was forced to leave our trailer in a storage yard in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Another month went by and Stuart and I again tried to make arrangements to get her home. We grew tired and frustrated. Then, late one night Stuart convinced a touring rock band on their way from Albuquerque to Tucson to drive her out. I picked her up down town long after dark on a Tuesday night and pulled her home. She towed like a dream.