Boles Aero questions

[1oldtimer]

Hello,
First off I've never owned a trailer of any sort before and I've been all over the internet trying to find out any info. I looked at a '56 Zenith today and have a few questions.

1. Were there any models or years screwed together and not riveted?
2. Did all years and models have aluminum framing?
3. How were the roofs made

The reason I'm asking about the framing is there is some water staining around the top vent and some windows and I would feel better if it just hurt the paneling and not the frame....if it's aluminum. The outside is ribbed with the sheets screwed together. The pictures online I can find detail of have rivets, but they're of 40's and early 50's models. Also the roof has some sealer over 2 seams (across where the sheets come together)and I wanted to know if they needed to come apart (this could be the deal breaker).

I want to find one that isn't going to rot out (aluminum frame), that needs minor work to make it useable (no full resto), is 18' or less and of course fits in my budget. I would love to find an 50's or older Silver streak or Airstream but it's not in the cards.

Thanks in advance for any help,
The Newbie

Here's some shots of what I looked at.

[PLVMB]

pretty sure the framing is wood on that trailer but not sure it would have rows and rows of rivets if it was all riveted construction

[Ganaraska]

I believe they have an aluminum frame rivetted together like Airstream and similar trailers.

Yours seems to have typical leakage problems. This can be fixed with seam sealer, new calking around vents, around windows etc.

Unless the body is damaged, or rivets worked loose. This will be noticable on close inspection.

Water damaged areas of the interior will need to be removed, cleaned, refinished and/or replaced. Don't forget, fibreglass insulation may be waterlogged and need to be replaced.

This can be a lot of work but not terribly expensive in terms of materials.

If the body is screwed together it is possible to take apart. It is actually easier to remove panels and fix damage from the outside, than from the inside.

Look on Youtube for videos by Mobiltec about repairing similar trailers. 1958 Deville would be most similar.

[Lumatic]

Ditto on the leaks. Looks like a maintenance issue. Caulk around all openings in the shell with a non silicone caulk like Tempro Vulkem and Silkaflex. Check your gaskets on vents, windows and doors.

[1oldtimer]

I went to a vintage trailer show today to look and gather more info. I guess Boles Aero did have 2 different trailers types, a regular one and a lower budget one. The Zenith is the lower budget one and has a wood frame, the others have a aluminum frames. I also learned that a lot of the wood framed models you need to pull the outer skin to properly replace the interior wood. It was a good day with many really nice people (before that I went to a small vintage tool swapmeet).
So rule of thumb, if the outside aluminum is screwed on it has a wood frame, riveted on is aluminum frame. I found out I like the 30's-40's trailers but a 50's/some early 60's good aluminum framed (airstream, silver streak, boles aero, avion....) trailer will work too.

[OTRA15]

Wondering if any of you might have feedback to help stanyon ID his trailer:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f417...to-174018.html

Thanks,

Peter

Originally Posted by PLVMB

pretty sure the framing is wood on that trailer but not sure it would have rows and rows of rivets if it was all riveted construction

Originally Posted by Ganaraska

I believe they have an aluminum frame rivetted together like Airstream and similar trailers.

Yours seems to have typical leakage problems. This can be fixed with seam sealer, new calking around vents, around windows etc.

Unless the body is damaged, or rivets worked loose. This will be noticable on close inspection.

Water damaged areas of the interior will need to be removed, cleaned, refinished and/or replaced. Don't forget, fibreglass insulation may be waterlogged and need to be replaced.

This can be a lot of work but not terribly expensive in terms of materials.

If the body is screwed together it is possible to take apart. It is actually easier to remove panels and fix damage from the outside, than from the inside.

Look on Youtube for videos by Mobiltec about repairing similar trailers. 1958 Deville would be most similar.

Originally Posted by Lumatic

Ditto on the leaks. Looks like a maintenance issue. Caulk around all openings in the shell with a non silicone caulk like Tempro Vulkem and Silkaflex. Check your gaskets on vents, windows and doors.

Originally Posted by 1oldtimer

I went to a vintage trailer show today to look and gather more info. I guess Boles Aero did have 2 different trailers types, a regular one and a lower budget one. The Zenith is the lower budget one and has a wood frame, the others have a aluminum frames. I also learned that a lot of the wood framed models you need to pull the outer skin to properly replace the interior wood. It was a good day with many really nice people (before that I went to a small vintage tool swapmeet).
So rule of thumb, if the outside aluminum is screwed on it has a wood frame, riveted on is aluminum frame. I found out I like the 30's-40's trailers but a 50's/some early 60's good aluminum framed (airstream, silver streak, boles aero, avion....) trailer will work too.