Special to The Oregonian By Elisabeth Dunham
It's become a popular daydream for fans of '50s-era design: You see an old travel trailer sitting forgotten in a field somewhere and wonder what it would be like to fix it up and have your own mobile vacation home.
That's the dream, anyway.
In reality, that vintage coach could turn into a money-sucking nightmare once you realize it needs to be gutted, stripped, rewired, rebuilt, re-skinned and repainted before it's ready to hit the road. Throw in new tires, propane, cabinetry, any number of hardware fixes and you might be thinking a motel sounds pretty good.
It's become a popular daydream for fans of '50s-era design: You see an old travel trailer sitting forgotten in a field somewhere and wonder what it would be like to fix it up and have your own mobile vacation home.
That's the dream, anyway.
In reality, that vintage coach could turn into a money-sucking nightmare once you realize it needs to be gutted, stripped, rewired, rebuilt, re-skinned and repainted before it's ready to hit the road. Throw in new tires, propane, cabinetry, any number of hardware fixes and you might be thinking a motel sounds pretty good.