noise."Expert Wanted! · 12:39am May 26th, 2017
The Admiral needs an expert!
I've got this travel trailer that I'm trying to register. I bought it without a title, just a bill of sale.
Of course, this was five or more years ago, so I can't find the bill of sale anymore, and if the seller specifically said what it was, I don't remember anymore. And naturally, I can't find the bill of sale any more, either.
I've been to an 'expert' already, who turned out to be a complete jerk. His opinion was that if it was more than ten years old, it was worth nothing, and he had no interest in helping me determine any specifics about a trailer. Which is kind of a shame, since he's in the business of selling RV trailers, and if I ever happened to be interested in buying a newer one, I know who I wouldn't ask.
Anyways, getting back on topic: in Michigan, there's a kind of complicated process for registering things with lost titles, and in the case of a travel trailer, it's even more complicated. Like, if it was a boat trailer, it would be simple.
One of the things that's important is you need to know exactly what it is. You're not supposed to guess.
Since it's been partially stripped inside, if ever there was documentation (apparently sometimes it's in the kitchen cabinets), it's gone now.
I found a serial number on the hitch--I had to chip through forty years of paint to get to it, but it's there.
And when they ran it at the Secretary of State's office, they came up dry. Which means it was never registered in Michigan since they started keeping digital records, or else that isn't the serial number that they used when they did.
So here's what I do know. It's a Holiday Rambler (that's who made it); it's a tandem-axle trailer, and it's about 20 feet long. I don't know exactly where they measure travel trailers--it could be the length of the living quarters, or it could be hitch to rear bumper--so I haven't gotten an exact length off the thing yet.
The serial number is S75110772130874.
I've googled a bunch, and come up fairly dry. Best guess from googling is that it's about a 1974 model. One suggestion I found online was to find build dates for the appliances (which is pretty smart, to be honest); unfortunately, all the ones I could access didn't have an obvious date. I didn't see a date stamp in the wheels, either. And the propane tanks are long gone, so I can't get a date off of them.
Anyone who wants a challenge, or is familiar with older trailer models, or has access to some CSI-grade MacGuffin that can give 100% positive answers in 30 minutes or less, have at it!
Pictures*:
This is the left side. The opening should be a kitchen window (it's missing).
LINK TO PICTURE
Back left corner and rear of trailer. It may have had a spare tire carrier on the rear bumper, but it doesn't now. The window on the back is for the bathroom.
LINK TO PICTURE
Most of the right side. The entry door is at the very back, where you can't see it in the picture. Almost all of the Holiday Ramblers I've found pictures of have the door in front of the axles, which either means mine's rarer, it's a custom build, or nobody took pictures of these and put them on the internet.
LINK TO PICTURE
Closeup of the logo. The fact it says "Ramblette" instead of "Rambler" may be significant, or it might not be.
LINK TO PICTURE
The inside layout is basically a couch that coverts to a bed in the nose, with a bunk above, then in the middle it's got a kitchen on one side and a little dining area on the other. Then in the back left corner there's a bathroom with a shower, and right by that a storage closet.
__________________________________________________
*These are all submitted using Dropbox because DeviantArt is being dumb (or else I am; either's possible). Hopefully, they'll show up--they do for me but I can't promise they will for you.
EDIT: I threw in links under each picture, 'cause the pics didn't load for me using Explorer and my super-secret alt account.
SECOND EDIT:
Here's a list of photobucket links that might work. Not sure if they're in the right order, 'cause my internet's being extra dumb today. Maybe it's the rain; maybe it flooded the internet tubes.
i.gyazo.com/002df40a788571455f8fdb24e1999587.png
Looks like an old school "Broken Image" from JPEG. They don't make'em like they used to...
~Skeeter The Lurker
4547021
Yeah, I added links under all the descriptions, 'cause I don't think they're gonna display. Seems like every image host that I've been using is being dumb right now.
first is it worthy of trying to save?
second I am sure you know this but you need to do a title search = lots of time.
or and you may need to check on this strip every thing keep the frame and make a flat bead to hall stuff witch should give you a new title.
if it is really a 1974 chances are the frame is to the point it is not road worthy.
I hade a 1997 hear I made a flat bead out of to hall a things with and that is how I got a new title for it.
I would recommend getting in contact with a classic travel trailer club. Many of them know resources to find the information you would need and usually are more than happy to help people.
4547028
Still no dice.
The picture files are on your computer, right? Just use Photobucket or Gyazo.
~Skeeter The Lurker
A secret alt account, eh?
Tell me it so I may smash the follow button with extreme prejudice!
Just to be sure there aren't any easy answers... Most travel/camping trailers have a small metal tab riveted to some part of the sheet-metal exterior. You already know most of the info a tab like that would provide, but it's always good to confirm. If it still has a license plate, maybe that could be traced as well.
You've probably done all of this stuff already, of course.
One other thing though: At least in Washington state, the length of the trailer includes the hitch, and the serial number you found might possibly be the number for just the frame alone.
4547045
Well, I tried Photobucket just now, and I basically got "something went wrong."
So I'll try it again here in a little bit.
Right now my interent's being wonky. Maybe that travel trailer really doesn't want to be identified.
4547050
sorry to say the old travel trailers do not have the metal tab it is just a id # stamped right in to the tong some ware if it has not rusted to much to not be scene.
but so do have the id info in side under a drawer some times.
but if the water damage is to bade or if the inside is gutted that is gone.
4547039
I don't know. It makes a good storage unit, and I've thought of making it into a writing studio or something. It's not worth fixing in order to actually use as a self-contained trailer, though. It'd be too expensive, since everything inside needs to be fixed or replaced.
Local Secretary of State can't find anything with the serial number, and that's all I've got. They spent about a half hour on it, and came up dry.
I could, but I don't really need that. So if it came down to that, I'd strip the chassis, and just scrap it.
4547042
That's a possibility, although I don't know of any off the top of my head. I was really hoping that someone who follows me and/or reads my blogs might be an expert, to save me the time.
4547048
But if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, would it?
4547050
As far as I know, I've already covered the easy parts. There's no external ID of any sort on it, short of the serial number on the tongue. The appliances inside don't have date codes or useful serial numbers, and half the kitchen cabinets are missing (which is where a lot of trailers have their build info). It's got no plate, and I don't remember who the previous owner was, nor even where he lives (I mean, I have a rough idea; it's within ten miles of my house).
4547144
ok you can stop looking this happens when a title # has not been used for years. at this point you have a dead title or serial number in this case.
at this point it does not exist any ware on paper or records.
if you want this as a place to work have fun gut it stud and insulate the inside throw a good roof over it power heat AC good to go.
4547144 I went on google and came up with several, too many to simply list in a post.
Or you could just declare it as something you welded together and get it tagged that way, as a 'new' trailer. My brother did that when he made a big round bale carrier out of some mobile home axles and a few steel beams.
I'd check the underside of the fork for an id plate; that's where the VIN number and other identifying numbers on my trailer is located.
My knowledge only extends to the 73-78 GMC MotorHome/TransMode- a seriously cool vehicle in a similar category, but probably not similar enough to be useful...
I hope you don't wake up as a giant cockroach. Bureaucracy can do that to a man.
In my experience working at the RV campground for the better part of a decade, there is usually a makers plaque on the side somewhere with further information and occasionally a serial number for some group or the like that might be researchable.
Check near the door on the side you didn't photograph
At this point, you just have to find the bill of sale.
I can, however, say that there is a 99% chance of it being a 1974 model... based on the great many pictures I went through.
This is what I've found
https://goo.gl/images/PpRQ71
If you're not going to have it on the road, does that make the title less important? A storage shed doesn't need a title where I live.
Another thought: People sometimes build trailers and have them inspected. If they pass, they're counted as legal as any other. (One popular style is a yoke and hitch welded to the back half of a pickup truck) If yours is ever stripped down and rebuilt, maybe it could be listed that way. It's not a Holiday Rambler any more... It's Admiral Biscuit's Mighty Flagship!
But can you find the bill of sale?
(Sorry. Best of luck.)
4547234 I love this comment.
But honestly turning it into a writig clubhouse sounds pretty sick
do not take this the wrong way but after looking at the photos this morning and lots of coffee.
I am thinking 2 things.
if you really want to make this in to a place to wright yes it can be dune. it is not going to be cheep.
defiantly needs a roof over it as when you gut it you are removing the roof support built in to it.
pull the running gear sell it.
put in wiring and net work / cat cable and some one to spray to kill all the bugs hiding in it.
lots of work to make it safe, mold mildew is going to be a huge problem after all none of us want to see Admiral Biscuit in the hospital from that crap.
or #2 just out right sell it for a few bucks and use the money to get a mini barn most places tax free to a certain size throw power and internet in that good to go.
PS if you really want to build something your self,? hear is the place I use to get plans witch I have used in the past for a few building I have helped put up for friends and family.
they have shed / garage and barn plans in any size.
http://www.applevalleybarns.com/
the front shutters are identical to the ones on my Dad's(probably with matching hornet nests). I don't think I could help with this though, even if it's just the same line I doubt ours is registered. It hasn't moved in 16 years and even then it was still sitting in a field my dad's uncle owned for years. got some good memories out of it(thanks for bringing those up). No fridge?
it looks really similar to a rare vintage 1974 trailer:s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/30/e2/28/30e22825ae66f22dfc6c346daaafaab3.jpg
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/00/8c/1d/008c1d3585219b66f2fa892e375b8a09.jpg
if i would guess witch one its is i would say its that one since they looks strikingly similar but the again it might be a different one(also I'm not really an expert)
4547176
I signed up to one and we'll see what they come up with.
4547177
I'd have to do a lot of work for that to fly. I might be able to get it by the Secretary of State (after all, they don't look at the vehicle in question), but if Officer Friendly ever runs the plate he's gonna wonder how I was able to build an exact duplicate of a commercially-available trailer, and did it using all vintage body parts.
Obviously, this isn't an issue when it comes to my pickup truck trailer, since that's clearly a bunch of different parts welded together and not what you could ever buy from a manufacturer.
4547194
If there was one, it's gone now--I did look there. The serial number is on the hitch, and it was under four coats of paint, but once I got that all cleaned off, I could read it. It just didn't come back to anything, as far as the Secretary of State is concerned.
4547216
No, unfortunately. That would be easier, to be honest, 'cause I know where the VIN plate is on one of those.
4547234
How do you know I haven't always been a giant cockroach?
4547292
There isn't one there. I've been through the whole trailer, twice, and the only number I've found is the one on the hitch.
4547304
Not much chance of that, I'm afraid. I'd have to go through every single paper I have in the house (which is a lot), since I didn't put it somewhere smart, like with the titles of all my other cars.
I'm leaning towards that, too, because a couple of photos that people found are an exact match, including the trim style and color.
4547340
That's an exact match of the right side of my trailer. And it is a '74. I think I can call it, from that.
4547384
It's supposed to have a licence plate, in order to comply with local ordinances, and I'd like to get that taken care of, 'cause I've already had problems with Officer Friendly stopping by and saying that I have too many unlicensed vehicles on my property.
Once it's got a plate, they can't require that I actually tow it anywhere.
If it was anything other than a travel trailer, I could do that. Apparently, the procedure is pretty simple for all other kinds of trailers. But not these. I guess it's because they have a much higher value, even when they're old.
4547502
No, I can't.
4547560
I know, right? I think it'd be awesome.
4547591
If I do turn it into a writing clubhouse, I'd just fix the roof, paint over the whole interior with Kilz, strip out all the appliances, and just use it in the summertime, with the windows open. I'd leave the running gear on, so it's still legally a trailer, and so I could move it if I ever needed to (new tires and bearings, and it's towable again).
4547790
A lot of them had a very similar front shutter frame, so that's not very good at narrowing it down. It was a good idea--protected the front glass from road debris, and also made a nice sunshade for when it was parked.
It's got one (dual electric/LP), but no ID label that I can decipher. No date on it, anyways. The same is true of the stove, furnace, and valve assembly on the side of the trailer.
4548135
That one's shorter than mine, but the trim is the same, the kitchen window/vent assembly is the same, and it's got the same tail lights as mine does. So I'd say that's further confirmation, 'cause I bet that the longer ones just had more windows (like mine does) and a door that was further back.
Well, I'm no expert, but this whole ordeal could be fixed with a gallon of gasoline.
I think I loosely recall noting that a motorhome I was once in had an info sticker on the door jamb of the house door part. Crack open the stove, or perhaps inside the bowels of the fridge - usually in the back where you access the burner and connections. Somewhere, there must be a label or stamping on SOMETHING. Usually, date codes are - who would've guessed? - encoded. If you find a multi-digit number somewhere on the appliances, and you're shooting for the 1970s, you'll likely see something like this: abc7101234. 1971!
The trailer's serial, S75110772130874, sadly, has THREE 70s numbers. Bah! But my best guess: S75110772130874. 11/07/72. Best guess, anyway.
as the last few numbers should be the actual serial number, presumably this was the 874th trailer made.
Shoot these assholes an email and hope their company hasn't gone under and been bought out within the past 40 years.
You could always just resell it with no title. Make it someone else's problem lol.
4549704
If I wanted to get rid of it, I wouldn't be having a problem. I've got saws and torches, and I could get the thing down to the frame in an afternoon. Since it's only ten feet from my house, the gasoline probably isn't the best solution.
I haven't found anything yet, although I haven't gone for pulling appliances out of their mounts. None of the labels I've found so far provide any clue whatsoever as to a date.
From what I hear, they don't have records anymore from stuff built before the 80s (the brand's been sold and re-sold several times. Although I suppose it won't hurt to look.
That's a possibility, although I'd at least have to put tires on it if I wanted to. Not necessarily good ones, but nobody's gonna buy a trailer with no title and two flat tires (so they can't tow it away).
4549887 pssh. I know you could find two pos tires. 14's?
I still say it's a 1972. You know the mfr and you have a serial, that should be enough to register, yeah?
4550604
15s, actually. And they're getting harder to find used, especially since everybody's farm wagon takes them.
It could be a 72, although I haven't found any pictures of a 72 that are an exact match, and I have found pictures of both sides of a 74 that are, or very nearly are (one of them has a little bump up over the front upper bunk, but that feels like an option on a nicer model).
Yes, with a model year, serial number, weight, and a cop to sign off on one piece of paperwork, that's enough to get a plate, and I plan to do that next Wednesday. And maybe get a historical plate for my '78 truck, as well, just for the fun of it. Although I'm kind of inclined to get a same-year plate, but I'd have to look up what the proper procedure is. I've got a 78 Michigan plate for it.