Any ideas as to what this is ?

[PINKBIKE]

saw it sitting in the woods next to a mans house,it is sadly going to be a hunting camp soon enough....

[jimmini]

[quote=Rollerboy;661368]Any ideas as to what this is?

SNOW?
From In Quartzsite AZ where it is 72F and SUNNY today.

[kevinreabe]

My guess is that it is a 1949 or 1950 Vagabond.


Kevin Reabe
www.aeroflitetrailers.com

[PINKBIKE]

Thats not good news as the neighbors say he is going to use it as a hunting camp...whats he thinking....

[wahoonc]

Better than the two or three that have rotted away in the woods around here. I ran across one the other day when I was riding my bike, you can barely see it from the road and there isn't much left of it. My FIL (who has lived in the area his entire life) says one of the farm hands that worked on the large farm that used to be there brought it in back in the mid 50's and lived in it until he died.

There is also a Spartan of some sort sitting in a salvage yard near here...need to get down and take a look at that one too.

Aaron

[Sugarfoot]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Better than the two or three that have rotted away in the woods around here. I ran across one the other day when I was riding my bike, you can barely see it from the road and there isn't much left of it. My FIL (who has lived in the area his entire life) says one of the farm hands that worked on the large farm that used to be there brought it in back in the mid 50's and lived in it until he died.

There is also a Spartan of some sort sitting in a salvage yard near here...need to get down and take a look at that one too.

Aaron

Y'all find all kinds of cool things under the Kudzu over there.

[Ganaraska]

It does look like a Vagabond. There were a lot of trailers made in the same general shape from the mid 30s to the early 50s.

The online Atlas Mobile Home Museum has quite a collection of ads and pictures of early models. Maybe they have that one.

Atlas Mobile Home Museum

Here is the 49 Vagabond in color, what a great ad and what a trailer!

1949 Vagabond

The Vagabond Coach 19' model is a very close match to your picture.

http://www.allmanufacturedhomes.com/...ond_033004.htm

The Vagabond was a very expensive high grade trailer for the day.The bodies were made of aluminum panels over a steel body frame and mounted on a steel chassis frame.

That one would be well worth saving if it is in decent shape.

[Ganaraska]

Maybe you could buy a wobbly box from the 70s or 80s and trade him. Or, money usually works.

[PINKBIKE]

ok,say I may be considering trying to buy this,any ideas as to how hard parts would be for this beauty? Thanks ,Jeffrey

[kevinreabe]

There are some parts that are unique to Vagabonds, such as the front and rear top "caps" and the few panels with compound curves. Beyond that, the majority of the Vagabond parts are able to be made locally. The side panels are aluminum sheets, with a horizontal bead rolled in the panel at the bottom edge (easy to reproduce locally). The interior cabinetry is mainly birch plywood, and is easy to make locally. Most of the hardware, such as cabinet latches and door handles are common to other makes.

I restored a 1951 model a few years ago. If you are interested in seeing photos of one with the skin, floor, interior, etc. out of it, to get an idea how they were made, there are some photos on my website at this link:

Contact

Kevin Reabe
www.aeroflitetrailers.com

[Ganaraska]

You won't get any parts from the factory, it went out of business years ago. This does not matter much. Most of the "parts" you need will be more or less generic or standard. By generic I mean, for example plywood, paint, glass etc. and by standard parts I mean wheels, axles, brakes, appliances and so on. In most cases you will replace with new appliances or, if you want an authentic restoration, repair the 60 year old stuff which is not available new for any trailer.

By the way if ask this question I assume you are pretty green to restoring old trailers. If that is the case my best advice to you is, run like hell and do not get involved at all LOL.

[Ganaraska]

This is why it pays to start with a good trailer. One with no important parts missing, not dented up, not rotted to bits etc.

If it is too far gone it's better to pass. But if it is usable as it is then it may not be too hard to save. I say "may not" rather than "is" because there could be hidden problems like rotten floor, a bad mess behind the paneling due to roof leaks, and a rotten frame.