The “Casita”

An Egg

Since I had no desire to sleep in hotels, except when absolutely necessary, I started looking for a travel trailer.  It had to be a small trailer, since my tow vehicle would be a 1992 Toyota 4-cyl pickup.  Growing up, I remember seeing a variety of egg-shaped, small travel trailers.  These were the 1950’s and 1960’s “canned hams”.  I eventually focused on the teardrop trailer design, which was smaller than the canned hams, thereby lighter and more mobile.  I wanted something that was vintage.  I wanted that 60’s egg.

King Dick

After a month of searching on Craigslist, I found a suitable candidate.  It was listed in the Barstow, CA Craigslist as a 1959 “King Edward” teardrop.  Googling turned up no such brand name trailer, vintage or otherwise.  The listing displayed several photos, interior and exterior.  It looked clean enough and the price was definitely cheaper (by several thousand) than the other trailers on the short list, and well within my budget.  The seller said it was “camp ready” and still available, even after being listed for a month.  Before I made the eight hour drive to Apple Valley, CA, I did some more googling and discovered the trailer was really a King Richard Scamper teardrop trailer.

As purchased

King Richards were the follow on models to the highly regarded Benroy teardrop trailers of the mid-1950’s.  It’s estimated that less than 300 King Richard Scampers were ever made, all of them in Compton, CA.  Since most teardrop trailers from the 1940’s and 50’s were really not designed for surviving several decades (just like the cars of that era), it was also estimated that there were perhaps thirty or fewer surviving King Richard teardrop trailers.  So, I was getting something that was relatively rare, for a very decent price, that I could modify to suit my travel needs, yet still appear vintage.

Well, I wish I could say that this purchase was easy, but there were rough spots on the road to acquiring and making this travel trailer ready for the road.

  • The trailer was in Southern CA.  This was good.  Trailers live longer in dry climates. But this also meant a long drive with an uncertain outcome.  There’s only so much you can see in photos and so much information you can glean from the seller over the phone.  All the information on the internet gave high marks on the trailer design and towing characteristics.  But what if there were structural flaws or deterioration?  What if it was not towable?  All my fears were allayed when I was able to see it first hand.  No rust, no wood deterioration (other than the doors) and most repairs would be well within my handyman skillset.  The seller was very gracious and even let me stay in his place overnight so that I could get the taillights working and get the DMV transportation permit.
  • The seller had no bill of sale and the Nevada title for the trailer was not correctly filled out.  It took several trips to the DMV over a period of almost two months to get the titling squared away and new plates.  Again, the seller was very cooperative in getting the title transferred.
  • The doors (both side doors and the galley hatch) would need to be rebuilt, as the underlying wood was rotted from weather exposure.  Fortunately, all exterior walls and floor had been recently replaced with new 3/4″ plywood, so the frame and box structure was quite sound.  It took me several weeks to rebuild the side doors.
  • The galley area was pretty trashed, with evidence of water intrusion through the galley hatch “piano” hinge.  The stove needed cleaning and refinishing.  The icebox cabinet was thin plastic, cracked in several places and was without any form of insulation.  I stripped the galley down to bare wood and applied marine-grade urethane to all the base elements.  A new hurricane hinge, galley hatch, icebox and stainless backsplash did wonders to the galley area.
  • New tires, repacked wheel bearings, window frame rebuild, paint and general cleaning made the trailer (now christened the “Casita” by my sister) road worthy.

In Retrospect…

Was it worth it?  After two long road trips, I can definitely say “Hell yes!”.  The casita tows easily with the Toyota pickup.  It provides a secure, dry place to sleep, read, and relax out of the elements.  It was definitely a conversation starter at campgrounds!  In retrospect, what I admired most about camping in the casita was the ease of setup once I arrived at my campground; after a long day of driving, it took me about ten minutes at most to be set up for the night.  Back in, unhitch, block and lock wheels, plug into shore power, then relax.

Of course cooking on rainy and windy days was not practical, but I always planned for this and either picked up take-out meals on the way to the camp, or had a cold dinner/breakfast.  Hot showers were for the most part very accessible and satisfactory in state parks and commercial campgrounds, as were toilets.  So I had most of the comforts of home without having to rough it in a tent.  For a person traveling solo, I found the casita to be just what I needed.

Restoration and Improvements

Most of the structural fixes were made prior to the first cross-country trip in Spring 2014.  A new axle and additional creature comforts via the electrical system were added prior to the 2015 trip.  Some repairs and cosmetic upkeep will be performed prior to the 2016 travel season.  Click on the following links to view a photo journal of the changes made to the original trailer.

2014 Restoration

2015 Improvements

2016 Upkeep