THE SEARCH
We started searching for a vintage trailer by searching on
Ebay, craigslist, vintagetraveltrailers.com, birchwood
beauties, and several other sites. There were many old
trailers to be had for less than $1,000. We decided early on
that we did not want to 'be had' nor were we just looking for
the one, we were looking for the 'one for us'.
THE FIND
Then, in November of 2006, I was surfing Ebay late one night
and found it. I was so sure that I found it, that I had to wake
Elizabeth up and show her. It had birchwood interiors, a
shower, a toilet, fridge, kitchen, stove, heater, electric
hookups - the works! Add to that the fact that it was a
Yellowstone Travel Trailer in pristine condition from 1958!
After reading the description and seeing all of the pictures,
we decided that it was just what we were wanting.
We placed a bid and hoped for the best.
It wasn't long before we were outbid BUT the reserve price
had not been met. I decided to try a different strategy. I
contacted the owner and told them that if it didn't sell, then to
please contact me so that I might make an offer.
A few days later, he called me and told me that it had not
sold. As it turns out, he lived in Topeka, Kansas and had the
trailer there. Lucky for me, I had worked in Topeka for a
couple of years and had a friend (Scott) who could go take a
look at it in person and tell me what sort of offer I should
make. We arranged a meeting between the parties.
LOST
The seller cancelled the day of, and then sub sequentially
cancelled two more "showings". I told Scott to forget about it
and we decided that we should keep looking for a more
reliable seller. It was very hard to pass this one up.
THE TWIST OF FATE
Two months later, as we were having the lucky black eyed
peas for New Years Day, the phone rang. It was the seller
from Topeka.
It turns out that he had sold the trailer to someone and had
taken it to deliver it. The buyer decided they did not want it
after all. So the seller called me and said that he had driven
the trailer all the way to Texas to deliver it and did not want to
take it back to Kansas - "make me an offer". I put him on
hold and asked Elizabeth if she still wanted that trailer. She
was excited that it was so close by and that we could go see
it.
We pre-discussed a code phrase for her to say if she wanted
me to buy it. If she really liked it and wanted me to get it, she
was to say, "I think Johnathan would like this trailer."
No sooner than we stepped inside she said, "I think
Johnathan would like this trailer!"
I was so surprised by how quick it came that my immediate
(and unrehearsed) response was "Really?!". That was my
cue to make an offer. The seller and I negotiated for a little
bit and settled in on a fair offer for both of us.
He even delivered it to us! We had our trailer!
After kicking around a few names, we decided on the name
'Pixeldust'.
We started searching for a vintage trailer by searching on
Ebay, craigslist, vintagetraveltrailers.com, birchwood
beauties, and several other sites. There were many old
trailers to be had for less than $1,000. We decided early on
that we did not want to 'be had' nor were we just looking for
the one, we were looking for the 'one for us'.
THE FIND
Then, in November of 2006, I was surfing Ebay late one night
and found it. I was so sure that I found it, that I had to wake
Elizabeth up and show her. It had birchwood interiors, a
shower, a toilet, fridge, kitchen, stove, heater, electric
hookups - the works! Add to that the fact that it was a
Yellowstone Travel Trailer in pristine condition from 1958!
After reading the description and seeing all of the pictures,
we decided that it was just what we were wanting.
We placed a bid and hoped for the best.
It wasn't long before we were outbid BUT the reserve price
had not been met. I decided to try a different strategy. I
contacted the owner and told them that if it didn't sell, then to
please contact me so that I might make an offer.
A few days later, he called me and told me that it had not
sold. As it turns out, he lived in Topeka, Kansas and had the
trailer there. Lucky for me, I had worked in Topeka for a
couple of years and had a friend (Scott) who could go take a
look at it in person and tell me what sort of offer I should
make. We arranged a meeting between the parties.
LOST
The seller cancelled the day of, and then sub sequentially
cancelled two more "showings". I told Scott to forget about it
and we decided that we should keep looking for a more
reliable seller. It was very hard to pass this one up.
THE TWIST OF FATE
Two months later, as we were having the lucky black eyed
peas for New Years Day, the phone rang. It was the seller
from Topeka.
It turns out that he had sold the trailer to someone and had
taken it to deliver it. The buyer decided they did not want it
after all. So the seller called me and said that he had driven
the trailer all the way to Texas to deliver it and did not want to
take it back to Kansas - "make me an offer". I put him on
hold and asked Elizabeth if she still wanted that trailer. She
was excited that it was so close by and that we could go see
it.
We pre-discussed a code phrase for her to say if she wanted
me to buy it. If she really liked it and wanted me to get it, she
was to say, "I think Johnathan would like this trailer."
No sooner than we stepped inside she said, "I think
Johnathan would like this trailer!"
I was so surprised by how quick it came that my immediate
(and unrehearsed) response was "Really?!". That was my
cue to make an offer. The seller and I negotiated for a little
bit and settled in on a fair offer for both of us.
He even delivered it to us! We had our trailer!
After kicking around a few names, we decided on the name
'Pixeldust'.
| Click any picture for a closer look! |