Posting entries to my blog since 2012 I have included many pictures of places I have been and things I have done. One neglected important thing stands out, though. I have never posted a proper tour of my trailer.

I have posted very few shots of the interior and some exterior photos in campgrounds or forests, but I’ve never really given you a detailed look at where I have spent a lot of time the last few years. I think it’s time to give you a look.

My trailer is a 2008 Serro Scotty Hilander. It is a retro-style trailer based on the Scotty trailers from the past. These trailers were well-known because of the Scotty dog on the logo. My understanding was the plans for the trailers were in the original factory when it burned down and production stopped. The rights to the name were purchased and old models were found, bought, and reverse-engineered to build the newer ones starting in 2007. Production only lasted a few years and the last few models ended up looking pretty horrid with no retro styling at all.

Shasta was another popular brand and it had little wings on the upper rear sides. There were numerous other popular brands back in the early days of travel trailers and some were known as “canned hams” because that’s what they looked like.

You can do a search for these old trailers and they are very popular – so popular, in fact, that many are being rebuilt and command high prices. Some trailer manufacturers have sprung up to make new retro trailers, such as mine for example.

It’s fun to look at some of the original designs and trailers and if I see one parked when I stop I will peek in the windows (which are sometimes made of several slats of glass instead of a solid pane). Some are really cool up into the 1960s, but after that it became less about design and features and more about cutting corners to make money.

The new “retro” models have nice upgraded features and things like solar-ready and LED lighting instead of propane but still packaged in an old-style container. Some are really not well built, relying on the retro trend for sales. Many brands come and go.

Nerdy Details

My trailer is 15 feet long, weighs 2500 lbs. empty and 3500 fully loaded. It has an onboard water tank that holds 39 gallons of fresh water. It has a 6-gallon water heater that runs on propane and has been modified with an electric element so it works on either.

It has a propane furnace, a wet bath (the toilet and shower are in one “phone booth”; it’s pretty tight so I won’t be showering with a friend! Theres a black water tank for the toilet and a grey water tank for the sink and shower. It has a two-burner propane stove, propane /electric refrigerator and a window air conditioner. (Please note: I am still in the process of cleaning the inside.)

Since I’m single, I have a double bed (the rear dinette) as well as the shower to myself. There’s also an overhead bunk above that and the front dinette converts to a single bed.

As you can see it is, shall we say, “cozy”. I have lived in many tiny house-type structures the last 11 years and the big takeaway is that you have a warm, dry place to sleep & cook; the outdoors is your living room. It’s an adjustment but I took to it pretty quickly since I have always camped.

So there’s a look at my trailer. If you have questions feel free to send me a message.

Thanks for joining me on this tour!

Shawn