​A decent phone will take great photos. I am currently using an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Still, my last several phones and many other models also take great pictures. This blog covers universal basic but you should also learn how to operate your specific device.

​There are several reasons you may want great photos of your vintage trailer. Three that come to mind are selling the trailer, creating a memory book, or submitting photographs for publication or documentation for insurance purposes. In all cases, clear, well-lit, and well-composed pictures can make all of the difference, especially if you are going to sell a trailer. (Sell your trailer on the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine online classified ads.)

Here are some best practices that will help you take better photos. 

We took these photos to sell this trailer. Note the lighting and clean decor. The image of the booth is utilizing the .5 zoom out setting on my iphone.

• Clean your lens.
• Take exterior photos at dawn or dusk. Fewer shadows and softer lighting lend to better photos. If it is sunny, be aware of shadows and keep light sources behind you.
• Stage photos in a camp setting or with a neutral background. Driveways and storage yards usually don’t give warm fuzzies.
• Don’t over-decorate. Some accent pieces are OK, but focus on a clean, cozy look unless the “collection” goes with the trailer.

Photographing a trailer is much the same as taking photos of a car.

• When photographing interiors, turn on ALL of the lights. You may need to turn some off if they create glare, but a well-lit interior will be much more inviting.
• My phone camera has a .5 zoom that acts like a wide-angle lens and helps to “open up” the interior.
• Try NOT to use the zoom feature; move closer, zoom will reduce photo quality.
• Use a tripod or monopod or steady the camera on a solid surface to reduce camera shake blur.

A verticlal orientation shows a floor to ceiling view. The "portrait" setting features the custom cutting board by blurring the background.

• Take a lot of photos (vertical and horizontal), so you can select from the best. If you are taking a magazine cover shot, you must orient the image vertically.
• Vary your perspective. Naturally, we take photos from the same position we see the world. This doesn’t make for the most compelling images. Try taking pictures with higher or lower perspectives. Shoot your subject from different angles.
• Use your camera grid to follow the rule of thirds. Placing your subject on the grid lines helps you to compose a better photo.
• Leave a little space around the main subject (trailer). This can be cropped out later if needed but may help frame the picture so it looks the best.

An image taken from a ladder creates a view that show how clean the roof is. The before picture gives a baseline for this incredible restoration.

• Focus and exposure are probably best adjusted automatically by the camera unless you are versed in making these manual adjustments. Every phone is different. Google your make and model to discover the settings you have available to you.
• If you are shooting images to be printed in a magazine. Take your photos in the highest resolution and largest size available. Full-color printing requires 300 dpi high-resolution images. Pictures used online do not need to be as high of a resolution. They can be as low as 72 dpi and still look good. Images cut and pasted from the internet will not print well.

Do you have some great photos of your vintage trailer? Send us your high resultion images and a bit about your vintage journey for consideration for the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine.

​Sending us  larges files? (high resolution photos) use https://wetransfer.com/
If you don't want to take your own photos, check out ​https://www.snappr.com/

​The complete histor of The Aerocar can be found in issue #66 of the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine along with images of original brochures from the 1930s.

Tim Heintz of Heintz Designs shared some of his images with us.

by Caroline Lacitinola​

Curtains for the Spartan 
Every time my husband lets me know that we have curtains to make for a trailer, I cringe and start to worry.  I am not an accomplished seamstress.  I am going to share with you my three-day journey in sewing four simple panel curtains. (There are several ways to make curtains.  Camp Nation's Camping and Learning Experience will offer the opportunity to experience more curtain-making and upholstery techniques.) 
This last week Paul let me know that we needed to make new curtains for our 1955 Spartan Manor.  The goal for the curtains was to supply privacy and add a stylish element to the trailer.  Picking out the fabric is the biggest decision in making curtains.  We like to keep our trailers as original as possible, so we chose Barkcloth fabric. This material is spendy and can cost up to $40 a yard so I am always anxious when making that first cut.

​To line or not to line is the second question of curtain making.  Because our goal was privacy, we decided to line our curtains with sun-resistant blackout material.  Not only does it give us the desired privacy it provides some longevity to our curtains. The blackout material tends to be heavy so make sure your rod is adequate to hold the weight.
Figuring out how much material I needed and cutting the material took me an entire day.  I measured, measured, and measured again. Then, because I don’t trust myself, I got out some old material and made a practice curtain.  It was a good idea as I made a mistake when mitering a corner and was able to rewatch the how-to video and see what I had done wrong. I used 6 pages in my notebook to figure out the measurements.       

​Are you contemplating turning your vintage trailer hobby into a business?
Do you have a vintage trailer restoration business you'd like to grow?
Learn the ins and outs from a business owner with a thriving west coast vintage trailer restoration business.

​Denny Stone – Bio
Denny is the owner and chief designer at So Cal Vintage Trailer. With a style that merges mid-mod with tech and a bit of old school, Denny and the So Cal team has have been designing and building some of the country’s most sophisticated vintage trailers for nearly 15 years. So Cal Vintage has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Business Daily Insider, Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine and on numerous industry podcasts.

​Denny grew up in a family of builders and designers, studied art and business, and spent a long career in business development and marketing. With a life-long love of modern furniture and architecture, Denny and the So Cal team of experienced craftsmen have built a business and brand that helps clients find, design and build their vintage trailer dream. One of Denny's goals for client projects is to create a look and feel that could have come out of a New York or Milan design studio in the ’50s or ’60s embedded with stealthy tech, materials, safety, and efficiency upgrades to support modern lifestyles and sensibilities.

Denny will be presenting these Boot Camp Workshops at the CampNation Expo August 11 and 12, 2023.

​In 2015 the interest in vintage trailers was growing. There was a demand for an event to teach people how to restore their trailers correctly. We developed the Boot Camp Learning Experience. Boot Camp was a weekend of workshops presented by professionals willing to share their craft. Each year, Boot Camp sold out, but the workshops were only available to 150 participants a year due to the format. Boot Camp had to expand to be accessible to more people. We reimagined Boot Camp as the CampNation Expo.

CampNation Expo is for all campers regardless of their camping style. RVs, vintage and newer trailers, teardrops, fun runners, motorcycles, pop-ups, tents, fifth wheels, boondockers, expedition, earth roamers, stealth campers, adventure vans, buses, overlanders, and anything else you camp with are welcome to join the CampNation.

CampNation Expo is an experience for camping and road trip travel enthusiasts to camp and connect with hundreds of fellow outdoor enthusiasts. The weekend includes guest speakers, workshops, Q & A panels, demonstrations, and an expo featuring vendors of camping gear, parts, and services for your recreation and tow vehicles. Have camping items or vintage trailer parts to recycle? Sell them swap meet style at your site.

By Paul Lacitinola
When you go camping, you want to make it an experience that’s as memorable as possible. Getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and having some time in nature is a great way to achieve that. The best way to do this is to pick a campsite with everything you need for a relaxing trip. This includes amenities such as clean drinking water, bathrooms with hot showers, a fully stocked general store, and other services. If you’re new to the world of camping, you might not be aware of something called “long-term resident campers” who take over some campsites for months at a time. While this might seem like a good thing, there are downsides to having long-term residents take over your favorite spots. Keep reading to learn more about why long-term residents taking over campgrounds is not always good news for campers.

WHAT ARE LONG-TERM RESIDENT CAMPERS? 
​Long-term resident campers are people who occupy campsites for months, a season, or even years. Most people who stay at a campground for a long time are likely relocated or retired, not on vacation. They may stay in one place because they don’t want to move all the time, or they’re traveling or working remotely in an RV and don’t want to set up and take down their home over and over.

​WHY ARE LONG-TERM RESIDENTS TAKING OVER CAMPGROUNDS?
Housing costs and availability or people displaced from their homes by fire or other tragedies may be reasons for an extended stay at a campground. Living in a campground may be less expensive than renting or owning a traditional home in the area. A temporary job that spans weeks or months is another situation that may necessitate temporary housing. A campground offers amenities like a pool and maybe even a convenience store, making it very appealing to someone working long hours each day. They might have found a place they enjoy staying at or have made friends with other people who stay at the same park, so they don’t want to leave. Other people might stay in one place for an extended period of time because of their health. If an older person or someone who is disabled is traveling in an RV, they might not be able to keep setting up and taking down their home. Full-time RVing also allows you to travel with the season.

PROBLEMS WITH LONG-TERM RESIDENT CAMPERS
While it may seem like there are a few problems with long-term resident campers, there are some issues. Long-term residents can become very territorial of “their home.” Often they are not tolerant of weekend warriors who are on vacation. They can be rude and aggressive about your campsite, kids, and parking abilities. Full-time residents often accumulate more outside possessions, including furniture, flags, plants, and even fences that junk up the property. If you are lucky, you may get a primered vehicle on blocks for your neighbor. The lower cost of living and the nomadic lifestyle can sometimes attract a less desireable element to the trailer park long-term life style. If you end up at this type of park be sure and take care to secure your possessions.

​CONCLUSION
Long-term resident campers can be a nuisance at RV parks, especially if they consume the majority of the campground sites and are intermixed with short-term visitors. If you’re going on a camping trip, you want to make sure that the site you’re going to has short-term residents who will leave after a few days or a week. If you’re looking for a place to go camping, you can check out reviews of different sites to see if there are long-term resident campers. You can also ask the site manager about the camper situation to know what to expect when you arrive. While park management may see long-term residents as an easy solution to cash flow, it will be at the expense of their reputation as a vacation destination. The atmosphere created by messy long-term residents and the shortage of campsites that it produces will be a problem for all campers looking for a clean and peaceful weekend getaway.

Have you stayed at a park with an uncomfortable amount of long termers? Let us know in the comments.

​On April 1st, 2022, Nicole Young, a member of Bitches with Hitches of northern California, pulled her 1977 Cardinal, Love Bird, “Oopsy Daisey” into Ann Lockett’s 3-acre field for the annual Poppy Fest campout. Little did Nicole know that her trip to Poppy Fest was about to change the life of Oopsy Daisy forever.   

The Bitches are a hands-on group of women who camp together all summer long throughout northern California. Several of us noticed that Oopsy’s rear end was being held together with packing tape, foam, and yes, even hot glue. The rear cargo doors were pretty much non-functional. The rear, door side, and passenger side of the trailer bowed out like someone was kicking them out from the inside. Looking at her, it became obvious that Oopsy needed some serious repairs. Several suggestions for fixing her were tossed out there. I was asked to take a look at her and give my suggestion for repairing Oopsie. Kathy Lawson sent us this story for the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine and appears in issue #63. Click on the "Read More" link below to read the rest of the post.​

Issue #63 of the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine features a 1947 Aero Flite on the cover. We tracked down Michael Rieth of RIETH CREATIONS who fabricated a 1947 Aero Flite in 1/48 scale.

Michael Rieth watched the gas station scene from the 1979 movie “1941” what seemed like hundreds of times to gather information for the diorama. He did additional research online, gathering information on everything from the trailer, the buildings, the 1939 Ford pick-up truck, and even the vintage gas pumps (1939 Tokheim). He spent quite some time on the Gilmore Gasoline and Lion Head Motor oil signs and recreated the artwork that matched the signs in the movie. 

Everything is scratch-built except for the Hasegawa P-40E and the cab of the Wespe Models Ford 917, converted to a 1939 Ford pick-up truck. The scene was made from several screen grabs from the movie using known measurements like door height. Michael was able to create scale CAD drawings, which were used to laser cut the buildings, gas pumps, signs, pick-up truck bed, reptile farm fence and cages, and the 1947 Aero Flite Falcon Travel Trailer. He made signage artwork using Photoshop Elements. Click here for more details on the build.

Michael wasn’t going to include the Aero Flite in the diorama, but he had some dead space to fill. Michael said, “I thought, well, maybe if I can find some info on the internet, I’d build the travel trailer.” Micheal found dimensions, patent sketches, and photos of restored campers online, enough to do some CAD drawings and laser cut the parts from .0625” acrylic and .020” sheet styrene.  Click here for more details on this project.​​

Home Retrovation Expo at Denver Modernism Week 
For the first time, Denver Modernism Week will also feature the Home Retrovation Expo, which offers current and aspiring homeowners the chance to learn how to smartly renovate and decorate mid-century modern. On August 20th, from 11am-4pm, attendees will hear from industry-leading experts, designers, brands, and services about how to plan and design mid-mod home renovations. The event will be hosted at the architecturally significant I.M.Pei tower at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel and includes lunch, expert speakers, and a vendor showcase. ​

The book,  Scratch-Building a Vintage Camper Trailer brings a wealth of problem solving tricks of the trade, and offers new ways of thinking about old practices and techniques. Author Joe Mirenna brings a fresh look at doing things better, smarter, and less expensive by questioning everything from basic construction methods to choices of materials. Let these clear descriptions and hundreds of photographs become an inspiration for anyone contemplating joining this expanding world of interest. (Available in print and digital formats.)

• Use affordable prefinished cabinet plywood by back-kerfing, enabling interior curves to follow the traditional “canned ham” profile
• Build stronger roof framing modules with added aluminum extrusion reinforcement to replace traditional “rafter & curbing”
• Raise the level of craftsmanship with lightweight aluminum edged cabinet doors and drawer fronts inset into face frame cabinets
• Easily install affordable, durable, full-extension and self-closing modular metal drawer systems from the modern kitchen cabinetry industry
• Build in efficient LED lighting from widely available parts and fixtures
• Design a battery-based electrical system to enable off-grid camping
• Save on the cost of skins by sourcing locally heavier 40 mil aluminum from the trucking industry. Overcome the challenges to fabricating, installing, cleaning, and buffing to a mill finish or custom painting with hand tools
• Choose materials and fabrics for a custom bed tailored to your comfort
• Create an awning with a pole hoop system to avoid rain puddling
• Design and build a custom storage shed for home enjoyment

The digital version of the book offers an extra 100+ pages of content. There is a bit more about the authors experience with vintage campers, a considerable addition to the historical significance of camper trailers in the USA and many cool photos. There is an addendum on the workshop that may help any home DIYer. 

On Amazon you are able to “look inside” and read the first 20 pages. It includes the extensive table of contents, the preface, and details on the authors commitment to follow the safety protocols. Click here for more information.