Newbie about to take the plunge! Help?!

[Belegedhel]

The importance of "all original" is really a matter of taste. You will see ads bragging about the originality, but you also see plenty of buyers who "want to make the trailer their own" as soon as they take possession of it. My guess is that Originality is important to a niche crowd--don't pay extra for it if it isn't important to you. Also, originality has greater value in the really old trailers, but only the most hard-core historian would question your upgrading a 70's interior.

I would take a quality redone interior over a tired old 70's interior with mouldy carpet hiding floor rot any day.

My general view of vintage trailers is that they all need some major refurbishment done. If the previous owner hasn't already done it, then it will be up to you. One of your first questions when shopping for a vintage trailer should be "what work have you done on it while you owned it?" Again, for the $13k asking price, I would expect serviceable axles, rot free floors, and all working appliances. Even a very honest seller can tell you the trailer is in great shape and ready to go, but not realize they have floor rot and rear-end separation, because they have never thoroughly inspected the trailer.

I'm not trying to warn you away from the vintage trailer--just trying to set expectations. If your current choice is between a vintage trailer with tons of refurbishment to do or a modern trailer that has a wrecked exterior, I think I would keep shopping--there are plenty of trailers out there in your price range. Just realize any RV is an expensive hobby. What you initially pay for it is just the down payment. New and old trailers alike will require repairs, and if you let them get away from you, they can get quite expensive/labor intensive (for example, subfloor replacement).

good luck!

[tonydead]

Axle and tires are way easier and less expensive to deal with than exterior damage.

Sounds like you wouldn't have to do a complete renovation all at once if you didn't want to. You could camp in it and decide what to replace a little at a time if the electrical and plumbing all works. Even though though we are doing a complete renovation all at once I still have to look at it as a lot of little jobs instead of one big job so I don't get overwhelmed.

My vote is for the old school.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

One of the most basic advantages of "original" is that you don't have to deal with the mods some guy named Bob put in who knows how long ago. Since you have no idea how well they were done (or even what they are), there can be surprises buried down under this or that. With a reasonably original setup, you have a pretty good idea of what is under / behind this or that.

Bob (The guy who never documents any mods)