This mostly original, 1959 Cardinal features colors, materials, and patterns popular in the late 50s The internet is obviously a wealth of information, but we challenge camper renovators to look beyond the typical Pinterest boards or Instagram photos featuring RV renovation and glampers. While these may be good sources on renovation techniques, we encourage vintage trailer owners to find period-specific design inspiration in more organic and creative ways. The big question then is, where does one begin? Getting Started One of the first considerations for us is whether the trailer will be a tr ..read more

    Over the course of restoring a number of vintage travel trailers, we’ve discovered that campers occupy a special place in the lives of the families who own them. Campers represent the time we take away - away from work, away from the responsibilities of home, and away from all the stress that can accompany both. When we find an old camper, it’s always nice to learn about its past life - like the story of how our first Shasta lost its wings. But since these older trailers have often had multiple owners, we don’t always get to hear about the lives they’ve lived. Even then though ..read more

Recently the Aitkin Independent Age featured the McGillis family and Blueberry Hill Classics in their annual Progress edition of the local newspaper. We were pleased to be interviewed by exceptional writer Brielle Bredsten. Check out our story here ..read more

    There’s a lot to think about as you get ready to buy your next vintage camper. Being vintage trailer lovers for 16 years, we have owned and camped in a wide variety of camper layouts. Over that time, we’ve learned about what features were important to us, and what was just nice to have. In this fourth part of our series, we’ll discuss what we think are the most important features influencing a decision on which vintage trailer to buy. While some of these considerations are important for purchase of any camper, new or old, we’ve tried to focus on the factors that are more unique ..read more

    In this article we look at items that apply to all campers: maintenance and towing considerations. As you may have already noticed, we assume that you are going to be actively using your vintage travel trailer for camping trips. Many people wonder whether it’s actually feasible to do that with an older camper. But we know from the thousands of vintage trailer owners across the US that it is possible, you just need to be prepared. Am I willing to maintain it on an ongoing basis? All campers need regular maintenance, no matter their age Every camper, no matter the age, needs regu ..read more

    In this second part of our series, we’ll discuss the decision of doing a restoration yourself or hiring out the job, who you might hire, whether you really need a vintage restoration specialist, and whether it’s possible to DIY. If it’s not already restored – should I restore it myself? This is probably the most important consideration of all. Before you do anything else, it’s time to take an honest assessment of your own mechanical and handy-man/woman skills. Assuming your trailer prospect has not been restored, you’ll need a wide variety of skills to do a proper restoration. Y ..read more

    If you’re the type of person who appreciates good style or history, a vintage travel trailer might be right up your alley. There are, of course, a few things to think about before you embark on this endeavor. In this article series we’ll talk about some of the benefits and considerations you might want to weigh as you start shopping for a camper. This first article discusses what’s great about vintage campers, evaluating your goals or purpose for your camper, and whether there are certain things that are critical for all vintage travel trailer restorations. The Good The vintage ..read more

It’s not a common pastime, collecting and restoring vintage travel trailers. But each vintage trailer lover has a story about what brought them to the hobby. In the Beginning We had been regularly attending an annual music festival and one year there was a massive storm; we were miserable camping in our tent. We had to figure out how to keep our clothes and food dry, not to mention sleeping directly on the wet ground. We had never pictured ourselves as camper owners - wasn't that something retired people do? But as our friends all slept comfortably around us in their cozy, dry RVs, we kn ..read more