About RRR
Hey RoadRunners... for those of you who appreciate obsessing over minutia... ;-) I've transferred all the history and research I've done that I've previously kept on our 1965 RR's blog (which will now be just for about our trailers resto). I've moved it all here at RoadRunner Revival (RRR) which I'm making as the clearinghouse for all known (so far) info on RR's. No longer can it be said (yay!) that there's nothing online about RoadRunner's.
Even though Steve and I will sell the occasional RR here when we have time to work on one here and there, it's really not a commercial site. It's primary purpose is free info for everyone and "revive" interest in these wonderful and lesser known campers!
Goodies so far include:
We do other trailers, too, sometimes but we specialize in the vintage trailer home grown right here in our very own small town Utah: The RoadRunner was made in Ephraim, UT by L&M Manufacturing Co. from 19--- to 19--- (these are not associated with the later RoadRunner trailers made by ----- from 19--- to -----).
Our customers want a cute and functional vintage trailer that also won't cost them an arm and a leg. Air streams and Shastas are gorgeous, however at $8,000 to $20,000 they aren't in their range of the average person or family. Tell story of wife and I who wanted one for years but hard to find and too much.
Steve and I are project guys and pickers. We know how to fix things. We realize not everyone has the know-how to fix things nor the time or interest to do so. We also know that not everyone has the interest and time to spend hours and many miles exploring the rural West finding these worn-looking beauties. We have the skill, time and interest to find them for you and preparing them to make them safe for you for you to then take over the next step: customizing them yourself your own unique way.
We dejunk them, clean them, remove black stains in the wood from leaks, refresh the wood finish, etc, to prepare a canvas ready for you to work from where you can put as much or as little time and money as you want into making it truly yours.
We don't want to just sell these trailers. We want these vintage beauties, which are a tangible part of our nostalgic past of escaping the cities and suburbs of yesteryear to explore the freedom and wide-open spaces of America. We want them to find a new life with new people, couples, families, parents and kids who pack th full of food and gear and who will love them and create new memories in them. We want them to have a second chance roaming the back roads again, visiting the national parks again, camping again under the stairs. We want them to have a revival.
MUCH more affordable option to getting into a vintage trailer. Airstreams are gorgeous. Shastas are iconic and classic. Fantastic trailers. The only problem is because they are iconic and rare, they are sought after and expensive: ridiculously expensive beyond the reach of most families... most families who just want a fun, old camper to enjoy the outdoors together and make memories in.
Enter the RoadRunner camper trailer. They were manufactured in little rural town right here in Utah. They were a smaller company in comparison to the larger, well-known gleaming, polished aluminum, high-end Airstream trailers and the cute little "canned ham" style Shasta campers. However, they were still a very successful local company especially in the western states region. They were quality made and built to do well in the hot deserts, cool mountains, national parks, and cold winters of the Rocky Mountain West. And because they were and are less famous, they are also more affordable for us to obtain and repair and for you to purchase.
We really like the idea of bringing these old, neglected campers back to life—reviving them—and giving these lesser known and kind of forgotten vintage RoadRunner's, that years ago were made in a small Western town, their own new place online, on the road again, in a new family's life to create new memories.
Buyer assumes all responsibility and/or liability.
Even though Steve and I will sell the occasional RR here when we have time to work on one here and there, it's really not a commercial site. It's primary purpose is free info for everyone and "revive" interest in these wonderful and lesser known campers!
Goodies so far include:
- RoadRunner Travel Trailer History
- Archived Newspaper Articles
- Identifying a Vintage RoadRunner Travel Trailer
- All Known RoadRunners Online by Year
- Helpful Sites & Resources
- Database
- Original Manuals
- Reproduction RR Decals
- Anything else you'd like to see there?
About RRR Vintage Camper Trailers
We (Steve and Jon) are hobbyist vintage car mechanics (mostly VW's), handymen, and vintage pickers. We spend a lot of time and miles traveling the small roads out past the smallest towns hunting for your vintage camper. This is our office:
While we do sell a limited number of trailers we revive from time to time, considering the time we spend hunting them down and fixing them up it's not a real viable money-maker. RoadRunner Revival (RRR) is more of a means to fund our hobby and an excuse for two buddy's to hang out working on fun projects. RRR is mostly a site to share what we've learned about this smaller and lesser known trailer, it's history, resources we've found, share knowledge, and connect other RR owners with each other. RoadRunners are perfect for:
- Camping
- Glamping
- "She Sheds"
- Craft Room
- Backyard Retreat
- Home Office
- Play Fort
- Food Trucks (actually food trailers, of course)
What RoadRunner Revival Is About:
----ROUGH DRAFT--- please excuse typos, poor grammar, and repetitions.
1. Revive these vintage, nostalgic pieces of history. We're not just selling these campers. We want them to find homes with people who will love, enjoy, and value them as we do.
2. Revive awareness and interest specifically in this one particular brand of vintage campers: The RoadRunner. We're offering the most comprehensive resource for information about RoadRunner trailers.
RR’s are lesser known and that's where part of their value and charm lie--and their affordability. Prior to this site (which started as JS search for anything on RRs, as there wasn't much, which he put on his blog) there wasn't much info out there. They were pretty much lost and forgotten. Even those who had RRs and restored them didn't know much about them as there wasn't anything online about them, no Wikipedia entry, no dedicated user forums, no product brochures, magazine advertisements, etc., even the single most comprehensive vintage camper site, The Tin Can Tourist, only had this sparse entry in their wiki on RoadRunners (as of May 2017),
This lack of available info was frustrating but also exciting to track down any and every scrap of info JS could discover. It also opened up a niche opportunity and niche community within the larger vintage Camper community.
There are SO many amazing vintage Camper models. We love them all. We've chosen to specialize in the niche of only the RoadRunner Travel Trailers made by the L&M Manufacturing Co. from 1961-1973 (?) in Ephraim, UT.
Why? Local to us--home connection--we love Utah, small rural towns, and their story of being stated from nothing to one trailer to a multi-million company in a small town. Also, these aren't the more sought out airs team's and shastas that have become so coveted and so expensive that they aren't even realistic for most regular people like us to buy and enjoy.
Also, there was almost NO information online when Jon and his wife purchased their first RR in 2016/2015? he was surprised at the dearth of info online: not even a Wikipedia entry. So he dug in and researched every newspaper archive of the small town papers he could find (and compiled them into this book) and located and listed (by year, with links) every RR he could find online.
Why? Local to us--home connection--we love Utah, small rural towns, and their story of being stated from nothing to one trailer to a multi-million company in a small town. Also, these aren't the more sought out airs team's and shastas that have become so coveted and so expensive that they aren't even realistic for most regular people like us to buy and enjoy.
Also, there was almost NO information online when Jon and his wife purchased their first RR in 2016/2015? he was surprised at the dearth of info online: not even a Wikipedia entry. So he dug in and researched every newspaper archive of the small town papers he could find (and compiled them into this book) and located and listed (by year, with links) every RR he could find online.
RoadRunner Revival Benefits for Our Customers:
The customers we attract want a vintage project camper they can fix up and cute up the way they want, but they don’t want to mess with electrical, plumbing, propane, safety issues, packing bearings, fixing structural problems (sagging roofs, welding the frame, replacing rotted sills--where the camper part attached to the trailer part, etc), repair broken glass and windows, and seal all leaks. Our customers may not have the time or interest in tearing a trailer down and fixing every single thing: they want to focus on decorating, painting, outfitting, customizing it their way, and just enjoying it. They want a fun, cute, little functional trailer they can start decorating, furnishing, and customizing the way they want. And they also want something affordable, not overpriced and unobtainable. That’s what we specialize in: Creating a Revival for these old RoadRunners: made locally here in Utah, quality, real oak paneling, solid.
We do other trailers, too, sometimes but we specialize in the vintage trailer home grown right here in our very own small town Utah: The RoadRunner was made in Ephraim, UT by L&M Manufacturing Co. from 19--- to 19--- (these are not associated with the later RoadRunner trailers made by ----- from 19--- to -----).
Our customers want a cute and functional vintage trailer that also won't cost them an arm and a leg. Air streams and Shastas are gorgeous, however at $8,000 to $20,000 they aren't in their range of the average person or family. Tell story of wife and I who wanted one for years but hard to find and too much.
Steve and I are project guys and pickers. We know how to fix things. We realize not everyone has the know-how to fix things nor the time or interest to do so. We also know that not everyone has the interest and time to spend hours and many miles exploring the rural West finding these worn-looking beauties. We have the skill, time and interest to find them for you and preparing them to make them safe for you for you to then take over the next step: customizing them yourself your own unique way.
We dejunk them, clean them, remove black stains in the wood from leaks, refresh the wood finish, etc, to prepare a canvas ready for you to work from where you can put as much or as little time and money as you want into making it truly yours.
We don't want to just sell these trailers. We want these vintage beauties, which are a tangible part of our nostalgic past of escaping the cities and suburbs of yesteryear to explore the freedom and wide-open spaces of America. We want them to find a new life with new people, couples, families, parents and kids who pack th full of food and gear and who will love them and create new memories in them. We want them to have a second chance roaming the back roads again, visiting the national parks again, camping again under the stairs. We want them to have a revival.
MUCH more affordable option to getting into a vintage trailer. Airstreams are gorgeous. Shastas are iconic and classic. Fantastic trailers. The only problem is because they are iconic and rare, they are sought after and expensive: ridiculously expensive beyond the reach of most families... most families who just want a fun, old camper to enjoy the outdoors together and make memories in.
Enter the RoadRunner camper trailer. They were manufactured in little rural town right here in Utah. They were a smaller company in comparison to the larger, well-known gleaming, polished aluminum, high-end Airstream trailers and the cute little "canned ham" style Shasta campers. However, they were still a very successful local company especially in the western states region. They were quality made and built to do well in the hot deserts, cool mountains, national parks, and cold winters of the Rocky Mountain West. And because they were and are less famous, they are also more affordable for us to obtain and repair and for you to purchase.
We really like the idea of bringing these old, neglected campers back to life—reviving them—and giving these lesser known and kind of forgotten vintage RoadRunner's, that years ago were made in a small Western town, their own new place online, on the road again, in a new family's life to create new memories.
Renovation vs. Restoration:
We don't restore, we renovate and revive. The difference? Renovated and revived = Fixed enough to make it structurally solid, water tight, functional, and attractive. Complete restorations sure are nice, but can be so overdone in time and money that the price gets jacked too high for the average family to afford ($5-20K!). Also with a complete restoration there's little room left for your own customization and personalization to make it what you really want for your needs, because the restorer decided the exterior and interior color schemes, fixtures, and decor the way they wanted it. With our renovated revivals you can trust you have a sturdy, functional, ready-to-go camper that you can use as-is or that you can "cute up" and customize further just the way YOU like.Renovations Focus On:
External:
- Structure and safety inspection and repairs
- Frame welds visually inspected and re-welded if needed.
- Camper frame sills securely attached to trailer frame. Inspected for rot (otherwise whole camper top can shake and fall off while towing from shaking and high winds).
- Lights and wiring
- 12v hookup from car battery to run brake, signal, and running lights.
- Doors and locks
- Windows: broken glass replaced, ripped screens re-screened.
- Leak proofing and sealing.
- Wheels:
- Rims sanded and painted.
- Wheel bearings packed (cleaned, inspected, re-packed with grease).
Interior:
- Thorough cleaning and de-mildewing/etc
- Wood paneling and cabinetry: Repairing, removing water stains, and re-staining to it's original golden oak color. We rarely paint RR interiors, as they were originally done with real oak paneling. We only paint them when the wood is too far gone, but still structurally sound.
- Upholstery
- Flooring
- Electrical:, Interior: 110v lights and outlets. LED interior lights (inverter so can run from car battery, or solar if you choose to set up later on own)
Sold "As Is"
Bear in mind these trailers are 40-50 years old. They are cute, cleverly engineered, well-crafted, and solid. Yet they are still old and will have quirks, problems, and issues. We encourage people to buy vintage vehicles with that understanding and not expect modern conveniences and comforts from old vehicles. You are buying vintage character, nostalgia, history. You are not buying modern comforts and modern features. Make sure this is what you want. Of course, you are welcome to come inspect it on-site yourself before you buy.Buyer assumes all responsibility and/or liability.
I'm looking to purchase 1971 15' unit. Looks like it's been loved & respected. My only issue is lack of toilet. Even the closet is sweet on to of a furnace in the left &a stack of drawers in the right. Thinking I can remove either the drawers or the furnace which by today's standards can't be very efficient, & make room for a porta potty. Any thoughts on this or anything else I should know about either before I buy this Friday or after, would be much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Danny
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ReplyDeleteI have a 1988 RoadRunner. Do you know where I could get an manual for it? Also looking for outlet to get some replacement supplies....like foam for redoing couch. Only foam(high density or regular) I can find is not the same width for the couch/pull out bed. Look forward to your input!
ReplyDelete