My name is Clayton Brown, and for my 81st birthday, my daughter gave me a subscription to Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine. She knew I was already deep into restoring an old trailer and figured it would give me a little inspiration along the way.
On Labor Day weekend in 2016, I found my 1951 Nashua while out on a country drive. It was the classic canned-ham shape that caught my eye. I stopped, asked if it was for sale, and was quickly warned that I probably didn’t want it. The owner wasn’t wrong. The trailer was in rough shape—there had been two fires inside, the floor was nearly falling out, windows were broken, and the door sagged badly in the middle.
Still, I took a closer look. After some honest conversation, she agreed to sell it to me for $50.
I tore the trailer down to the bare frame and rebuilt it from the ground up. It was a true labor of love and patience, taking time, effort, and more than a few problem-solving sessions along the way. The photo shown here was taken about two years after I brought the Nashua home, a long way from where it started.
What began as a chance roadside find turned into one of the most rewarding projects I’ve taken on. It’s proof that even the roughest-looking vintage trailer can have a second life with enough determination and care.
— Clayton Brown, Central Point, Oregon
