I’m Brian McCool, 53 years old, from Kalamazoo, MI.  My wife Kim and I have been involved in street rodding, and camping, since we were married 34 years ago.  Like many campers, we went through several stages, borrowing a tent, then buying our own, borrowing a tent camper, then buying an old truck camper ( a Diamond Reo, of all things, which we still have), and finally on to a new Palomino “pop up” pickup camper.  With that, we were able to tow our Chris Craft woodie to boat shows and camping in Michigans UP.  Like many RV’rs, we were looking at a travel trailer or 5th wheel trailer, when something odd happened.
 
     Seven years ago, those hobbies collided. We bought a 1948 Spartan Manor, mainly as a novelty and a prop for our ‘48 Pontiac convertible.  Little did we know that the trailer would become such a big part of our lives.  Since refurbishing it, we’ve been all over the country with it, towing it behind the ‘48 to Maine, to the Grand Canyon, and again with the ‘48 Pontiac with the Tin Can Tourists on the “Rt. 40 Bicentennial Tour” in 2006.   We’ve now added two more cars to our collection just to pull a trailer with, a ‘51 Pontiac “Tin Woody” station wagon, and the latest, a ‘47 Diamond T one ton pickup. 
 
     Like our cars, the trailer was built primarily to use, it’s not a restoration.  We were shocked to discover the reaction we got with it, whether pulling it behind the car or our new pickup.  Everywhere we went, people approached with stories of their childhood, traveling or camping in a Spartan or other trailer.  Everywhere we stopped, for gas, a rest stop, we invariably ended up giving tours.  It was amazing.  Really, we had no idea it would affect people the way it did. 
 
     During the 6 years of traveling with it, and showing it off at car shows, cruise nights, and with the TCT, we became even bigger fans of the Spartan trailers, and recently bought another Manor, a ‘46, to refurbish.  Some things are the same, things we changed to suit our needs a little better.  I swore I’d never polish another one, but I’m in the middle of doing that right now.  Never say never.
 
     Like all of our cars, I’ve done everything on the trailer, farming nothing out.  With a dangerous (read, small) amount of knowledge about wiring, plumbing, RV design, camping necessities, very little money, but lots of determination, I’ve muddled through two total rebuilds of these vintage coaches.  I’ve learned a lot along the way, both by trial and error, and from others via the internet and some great vintage trailer discussion groups.  Judging by our fellow vintage trailerites, and the reactions we get at campgrounds and traveling, I guess I, or rather, my wife and I, must have done something right.
 
     I don’t know everything there is to know about them.  I’m not an expert, and I’m not doing it for the money.  I do things in a practical manner (Manor?) and I like to use my local building supplier and hardware store for as much of the material as I can.  My personal philosophy, with our cars, boat, and the trailer, is that the vehicle should function for us, meet our needs, and fit the budget.  It should be ready to travel anywhere, at any time, without undue worry, and has to be able to get us home.  I’m not a stickler for originality, if something new works better, but still keeps the overall “feel”, it’s OK with me.
 
     I’m flattered to be asked to participate in Lisa’s venture, and am looking forward to sharing some of our experiences, and the stories of how we resurrected these old trailers.  It’s a labor of love for us, if we can help someone else realize their goal of restoring/refurbishing one of these great pieces of Americana, I’m happy to offer up any help I can.