Right away, Melissa and her husband, Khalid, knew they needed something light and timeless to go camping in. “My husband spent a bunch of time on Instagram which was our main source of inspiration and information and we came across the Boler. We're Canadian and absolutely loved the heritage here so it was really a no-brainer we'd try and find one of our own.”
Once they discovered the Boler, they didn’t waver. “We’re pretty focused and spontaneous people, so once we knew we wanted a Boler, we started searching right away – it was only a few weeks before we found North.”
The next day, they put in an offer and bought her on the spot. They knew they’d have to put a lot of work into whatever they ended up with, so when they saw North, a 1975 13 ft Boler, they weren’t daunted by the long to do act. “If you’re interested in one, you have to act quickly!” They admitted they were extremely lucky to find one so quickly and so close to where they lived.
Melissa says that she and her husband are constantly inspired by #bolerlife on Instagram and love that every Boler is so unique, especially as more and more people are currently into the renovation trend. “We really wanted something that would be fun to spot on the road, a joy to be in and reflects the Boler heritage and spirit.
“We chose a very Canadian red for her exterior - we actually even had our Instagram followers (pretty much just our friends and family) vote on their color choice. It was a close race between red and yellow. For the interior, we wanted clean, modern and simple - lots of white so we could have fun with accessories. We also wanted to use as many natural finishings as we could and work with local partners to help renovate her. We're planning to incorporate some live edge wood into side tables and decor that we pick up along our travels.”
I love the idea of live edge wood and can’t wait to see North finished! When I asked Melissa how long she’d been working on North, she said, “We're the kind of people that go 110% in on something once we start so we carved off all of our weekends last Fall/Winter to work on her as we knew we probably wouldn't be able to wait to have her finished. My husband did most of the work as I was travelling a lot for work and we engaged Nomad Custom Trailers in Hamilton to help us with all of the exterior work - new paint and frame. We're 90% done now and super happy with how she looks. What's next for us is finishes and final touches throughout before our first trip!”
Once North is finished, they plan to take her to Bon Echo Provincial Park but what they’re really looking forward to is doing a road trip to the US to explore Nevada, Arizona and Utah, traveling through Zion Park and the Grand Canyon. They plan to take a month off of work to do that in the Fall next year. They’re also hoping for a cross-Canada trip to the east coast.
They’re excited about North and camping in her, but they’re first camping experiences weren’t all that great. “My husband and I each had our own camping experiences when we were younger. He loved camping pretty much instantly. I hated it. I've grown to love it over the years and we go many weekends in the summers - whenever we can really. We love going with big groups, cooking tons of delicious food and lounging. Our least favorite parts are sleeping and the rain so we're definitely looking forward to the upgrade that North provides in that area. We're also excited about having a place to play board games reliably - we often lose our pieces when we play outdoors.”
Where some families aren’t so supportive of crazy adventures, Melissa’s extended family loves the idea. “We have lots of requests in on who can use the Boler when we're not. They've been following our renovation journey and for those who saw her when we first got her, I think are really surprised and impressed (as I am) that my husband did such a good job on the interior. Just kidding, he's pretty handy. It did come together really well though and had some family help along the way.
What are Melissa’s tips for those who want to renovate their own tiny trailer?
“Do it! It's so much fun and a really rewarding project.”
Follow North on Instagram HERE
All photos courtesy of North the Boler
All writing copyrighted to Fern the Camper
Follow Fern on YouTube!