This trailer was purchased in April 2015 after a long search. As luck would have it, I found it just one city over. After making the deal with a fellow canned ham and vintage trailer enthusiast, he shared what he knew of the trailer’s history.
While driving through the back roads of Denver, Colorado, he spotted the weathered little trailer sitting in a vacant field. The owner told him it had been parked under a tree for the past 25 years, untouched. Despite its sun-beaten exterior, he wired up some taillights, aired up two mismatched tires, and towed it home to California. It was a 1959 Lincraft canned ham.
One month later, I purchased it and brought it home. At first glance, I thought I had scored a great deal—and a relatively simple project. But as I began peeling away the damaged pieces, they kept getting larger. Before I knew it, the entire front end was off, and I was staring at more rot and water damage than I’d expected.
That’s when I realized: this wasn’t going to be a “simple fix”—this was a full frame-off restoration.
Working part-time on the trailer, it took me seven months to get it to the condition you see today. There were moments I sat inside the gutted shell and honestly wondered if I’d ever finish. But I kept going, and I’m incredibly proud of what I accomplished.
Throughout the process, I documented the journey with 35 videos, capturing every step of the restoration of this once-forgotten little trailer.
