Vintage RV

Welcome to memory lane!

RVwest is pleased to introduce this new feature that will take a regular look in the rear view mirror at the RVs of yesteryear! This column will be all about vintage travel trailers, campers and RVs.

We invite your stories and photos of camping units in the “good old days.” Here’s a couple of items to start off Memory Lane:

The little trailer that could!

What Canadian-made trailer was named after a hat? If you said Boler, you’re right. The Boler trailer was invented and manufactured by Ray Olecko of Winnipeg. He was fascinated with the potential of fibreglass and the possibility of building a light-weight trailer. And believe it or not his first invention was a fibreglass septic tank.

While camping with his family, Ray Olecko started to envision a lightweight trailer and his design was based on his own family’s needs- two adults and two children. He carried the design around in his head and simply told his fibreglass mould-maker, Sandor Dussa to, “Make it like this,” pointing at the basic lines of the trailer he had drawn on a large piece of cardboard.

He was looking for an unusual name for the little fibreglass trailer and thinking that it looked a little like a bowler hat, so he decided to call it Boler. Olecko first met a fair bit of dealer resistance to the Boler’s price of $1400 when compared to the $895 you could buy an aluminum trailer for at the time. However, dealers were often quickly convinced when Olecko demonstrated how easy it was to push the little trailer across the lot.

The first production began in 1968 when one hundred units were built. Production increased quickly and a new facility opened at 770 Dufferin Street in Winnipeg. About 150 units were produced the second year (1969) and another 400-500 in 1970. In 1971, franchises to build the Boler were sold to companies in Earlton, Ontario, and in Peace River, Alberta. By 1972, four trailers a day were being built, 220 days a year, with a staff of twenty-three, at the Winnipeg factory. Over 880 were built in the Winnipeg shop that year and similar numbers were produced at the other manufacturing locations.

Ray Olecko sold the Boler Trailer company to Jimmy Pattison’s Neonex in 1973 and his personal involvement came to an end. Production of the Boler continued until at least 1978 and it has been estimated total Canadian production of the Boler trailer might be in the 7,000 to 10,000 unit range.

The Boler trailers live on as one of Canada’s most popular and most sought out camping trailers. Prices for the little trailers now far surpass the original price tag. There is even a Web site devoted to the history of Boler trailers and a number of rallies have been held by Boler enthusiasts. Do you have Boler memories? Do you have Boler photos? Do you still own a Boler? Are you a Boler enthusiast? Share your love of Bolers with us!

Source: Bolerama, the official Web site for Boler trailer enthusiasts. The Boler Story was contributed to the Web site by Jamie McColl based on a personal interview with founder Ray Olecko.

Comments

Hello. I would like to know what is the best suggestion for the following. I own a 68 boler and it has been damp and molded extremely while it was meant to be in dry storage. I would like to know if it is possible to locate the interior material, to replace the existing mouldy one? —Neil Menzies, Nelson, BC

If any of our readers has a suggestion for Neil send it to RVwest.com and we will post it here.

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