Just a quick note — my Spartan Carousel trailer arrived in Austin yesterday morning and is now set up in its space in the trailer park!
It was there on an extendable flatbed at 8 am yesterday, and a local company unloaded it and put it in place (and charged too much for something that my handyman could have done for much less with his truck.)
Here it is, still on the flatbed, at 8 a.m. yesterday. It has a sign on the rear: OVERSIZE LOAD. Fred, the driver, said lots of people were curious about it during the journey here.
It was wonderful to finally see it in person. Getting it here has taken so long — I bought it in February, waited for 10 weeks for the state of Washington to issue a clear title, and then floodwaters made it impossible for a truck to get to it to begin the journey, until last week.
At times it felt like it would never happen, that I was stuck in a dream.
And then, after months, it arrived — on the same day as my first class at The Lauterstein-Conway School of Massage. (I was late and will have to make it up, but it was worth it to see the trailer in place at last.)
Was that a powerful coincidence or what? In redesigning my life in terms of home and livelihood, who would ever have guessed these two events would occur on the same day?
I’m choosing to interpret it as confirmation from The Universe.
If you’re interested, Swan Transportation (Dan Rogers) managed the transportation, and Fred of Speedway Express was the driver of the extendable flatbed. I bought it through Vintage Campers.
An aside: The trailer park manager’s father used to haul Spartans all over the country back before production ended. He said he thought this trailer would have made it just fine behind a truck with good tires, wheel bearings, and hitch.
He also shared a story about a Spartan the size of this one that was specially built for a Saudi oil tycoon. The trailer had “gold-plated everything” and carpet 2″ thick. He hauled it from Tulsa to Corpus Christi, Texas, for shipping to Saudi Arabia.
Drawers had slid out onto the floor during transit, and the rear end is dinged up, but it appears to be pretty intact. We’ll know more tomorrow.
It really needs a good scrubbing — the windows are filthy and there’s a lot of dust. It probably sat for a long time without a human.
Ian has leveled it. It is hooked into the septic system, but he found at least one leak in the water lines. We’re meeting tomorrow to check out the propane system/cooktop/wall oven, figure out a solution to the water leak, and get the electricity turned on and wiring checked out. And start taking the original floor coverings off.
I’m glad to have Ian since I’m in class 3 days a week, and I booked to work with a website client this weekend, before I knew it would be here. After I finish that job, when I’m not in class, I’ll be practicing massage or working on this trailer, getting it livable so I can finally move in later this summer.
It won’t be finished when I move in, but it will be functional.
Here’s the awesome roundish kitchen with skylight. The cool Sputnik light fixture was hanging by the wires, and you can see debris spilled onto the floor from a drawer that slid out — nuts and bolts and screws, etc. (There’s also a closet in the bedroom full of window screens and the frames to the original sliding glass doors.)
Below, Ian is holding up the curtains at the front window wall. That ceiling fan is going to have to go. He bumped his head on it. Not a problem for me, but not kind to tall people.
You can see the birch paneling on the ceiling and the walnut paneling on the walls. I’m not a fan of the walnut and may replace it with birch — this trailer calls for a pale wood on the walls, the better to reflect all that light.
Note the heat register in the floor. It may be possible to add central heat and air conditioning… It currently only has a fuel oil furnace, useless in Austin.
Here’s me in the bedroom looking into the large mirror of the vanity. You can see the electrical box on the left. It will probably be moved. At the right is the hall to the kitchen. The rear entry is just out of the frame to the left. You can see the original pink refrigerator, which has a wide freezer at the top and two lazy-susan shelves. I really hope it still works!
Still haven’t decided whether to create a separate blog just for the trailer. I’m feeling like I’ll just post here for a while since my days have become so full. Maybe once the remodeling is done, I’ll put up a separate site.
The Well: bodymindheartspirit 
Congratulations, MaryAnn! I am beyond thrilled and amazed at how this turned out for you. The universe is good, very good! Lemme know when you have a “Show Some Love to the Spartan” party and I’ll come help you clean her up. Much Love, Sunny
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So happy you bought this beauty. Looking forward to hearing about/seeing her restoration. Cheers!
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Thanks, Rose!
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its a great trailer, i was looking at it on line and then i saw you bought it. I hope you love it, I am looking for one too. scared you found the last one. 🙂 if any one knows of another trailer like this let me know.
jon berge
partnersms@aol.com
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its a great trailer, i was looking at it on line and then i saw you bought it. I hope you love it, I am looking for one too. scared you found the last one. 🙂 if any one knows of another trailer like this let me know.
jon berge
partnersms@aol.com
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Thanks, Jon. I do love it and am very excited about getting air conditioning, floor coverings, and complete bathroom so I can move in! I wish you luck. They do come up from time to time. You just have to be diligent in your search. I don’t know how many were made and how many are currently being used, but I imagine there are still some out there. You never know when they’ll pop up.
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how many have you seen? I have see 2 on the internet. yours being one
jon
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Well, Jon, I haven’t counted. I was contacted by someone who bought a Spartan Carousel about the same time I did, in northern CA. That’s the only other one I know specifically about. I’m sure Spartan made more than two, but I don’t know where they are. Maybe being happily (and quietly) lived in by people who know what they’ve got and aren’t interested in selling (yet). I’ll bet there are still some that are unrecognized, in some very rural areas. Plus I’ve been told one was custom-made for an oil-rich Saudi sheik and shipped there. If you find any others, please let me know. Your question has gotten me curious about how many there are.
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I agree–confirmation from The Universe! It sounds like the Spartan found a perfect home. Hope the A/C works out for you and glad the ceiling fan will go–it just doesn’t go with all those beautiful vintage fixtures (but I know Austin can be pretty unbearably hot!).
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Bonjour,
Vraiment très belle maison mobile que vouz avez, après rénovation intérieur cette maison va revivre a nouveau. Vous êtes chanceux il ne s’en fais plus des comme ca , c’est du solide et exceptionnel… Es-ce possible d’avoir des photos via mon emai ? Merci et Félicitation prenez-ens soin
Danny
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Merci, Danny. I don’t read French well but I think I got your meaning. You can view photos of the trailer by searching my blog for “Spartan”. Some of the posts have photos. You can also view photos of its original (to me) condition by joining the Yahoo group “spartantrailercoaches2” and viewing the album “1959 Spartan Carousel”. Those photos were taken right after the trailer arrived in Austin, Texas, on June 27. Many changes have occurred since then. I don’t have any new photos to share, but I’ll post some soon, I promise!
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Danny, click this link to view photos taken today, September 28, 2011: http://flic.kr/ps/Se5ts
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Merci MaryAnn très belles photos !!
Visite ma galerie :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43110769@N04/sets/
Dan
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Hi MaryAnn, I live in Austin too and I’m considering a Spartan.
I’m interested in restoring it as a “granny flat” for my mom to stay in. I’d love to hear about your experiences with the restoration, living in the trailer and especially any local resources you’ve used in your restoration. I’d love to do the work myself, but time and skill are not on my side 🙂
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Michael, I hired a jack-of-all-trades who could repair leaky pipes, install fixtures, do some wiring, replace floors, do some carpentry, etc. He had worked as a general contractor before and could figure out the order in which to do things, like first get the electric system hooked up and working well, and then deal with the leaky pipes. Floors came next, as I recall, and then fixtures, carpentry, painting. He was bilingual and could hire day laborers for some of the grunt work, which saved me money.
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Hi, just found this post online, apparently nearly 7 years after it was started. What’s going on with the Spartan now, Awesome trailer, I’m assuming she’s finished and would love to see pictures. I can’t find anything else regarding it.
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Hi, William. I am living in the trailer with a long list of improvements to do. Will take photos when I am caught up.
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Is this the trailer that’s for sale in Austin?
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It’s not for sale.
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