So for the last year or so I have been lusting after vintage travel trailers. I've been out to see a few but they were always out of my budget, or needed so much work that I panicked and couldn't take the plunge.
Yesterday I found an ad on Craigslist with pictures of a derelict trailer. It didn't even say what kind it was, just that it was old. And it was priced to sell! I ran out to our pool house / Ryan's office and asked where La Puente was. The office assistant announced that it was near West Covina, to which Ryan replied, "oh cool. But where is West Covina?". Yeah, my sentiments exactly. Turns out, it's about 40 minutes away and they had someone else coming to look at the trailer at 3:30 so I had better get on the road if I wanted to beat out the competition.
You ever get outside of LA and feel like you have traveled much, much further? Life seemed very different out there. First I had to go and pick up the mom of the person selling the trailer so that she could show me how to get to the house where the trailer was located. Her perfume and mascara were both liberally applied but she was kind. We drove over to the lawn where the trailer is parked, where her son had been living for two years. IN the trailer. She said he was finally going to rent a room since it had been a little small in the trailer. Moving up in the world!
After a short drive, we arrived and I got a glimpse of the trailer from the outside and fell in love with the front bank of windows and aluminum siding. Inside was a different story, with very little charm remaining. The formerly pink stove had been painted black, cabinet drawers were missing, as was the dinette. The bathroom seems to sag a little in the back and the birch veneer has been painted and is curling up in many spots. One cabinet front had a hole in it and "mom" told me her son must have punched it in recently and that he had anger issues. Right on cue, "son" or "guero" as mom called him arrived "home". I could see where he got the nickname as he was about five shades lighter than mom! We did some negotiating and settled on a price.
I gave them 2/3 of the payment and agreed that they would get the rest when I took possession.
I instantly worried that I would never see them or that money again.
Panic settled it. WHAT HAD I JUST DONE? Was I out of my mind? I just bought a rolling pile of dog poop! And speaking of rolling? How was I supposed to roll it back to my house? I called the hubby for reassurance and was met with more worry. Where was it going to go? He was not pleased as I had hoped he would be.
We decided that they would try to find someone to tow it over for an additional charge and that I would see about outfitting my car with a tow hitch in case we couldn't find anyone.
So here I am. Slightly less panicked as I scoured tons of blogs of people that had done this before me. Slightly more panicked as I realize that this is the 24 foot model and it is way bigger than I had realized. Still unsure of how I am going to get it home. Not certain that it will even be there when I go back to get it. What have I done?
