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1965 Aristocrat Land Commander |
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On a late Saturday evening
in mid-January, Kathy was browsing craigslist before calling it a
day. Suddenly with great excitement, she exclaimed, "Randy, look at
this!" Kathy had found a 1965 Aristocrat Land Commander camper for
sale that appeared to be in very good condition for a 50-year-old
unit. The asking price was one-third of market for campers this old
in this condition. "I am going to text them now, and they just posted it 16 minutes ago." Kathy said. Realizing it was after 11 PM, Randy said, "Honey, it's rather late, why not wait until morning?" "No, I need to text
them right now." said Kathy |
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Kathy heard back from
the seller Julie within a few minutes of her text. Julie indicated
that she was already getting
multiple inquiries but Kathy was the first to respond. Kathy and Julie set up a time
to see the camper at 9 AM on Sunday morning...in Westminster. Why
aren't things we are interested in for sale in Sedalia? |
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Randy hit three different
ATMs on Sunday morning withdrawing as much as he could before the
bank suspected identity theft. We finally arrived to see the camper and
met Darrin and Julie, and we became instant friends. They purchased this
camper from the original owner and had kept it as theirs for the
last 22
years. A two-family ownership history is very rare in the vintage camper market. |
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It did not take us long to
make a purchase decision. This 1965 camper was in incredible condition. We
arranged for Randy pick it up on Monday after work. |
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Her name is Ginger and she
is Kathy's third RV restoration project. |
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Look at the inside! It
needs nothing but cosmetic touches. Kathy will remove the carpet,
install a new floor, and replace all the window coverings. |
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The cushions and
upholstery were recently replaced with new materials. Kathy thinks
she can work with this color scheme and pattern. |
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The dinette table lowers
to form the base of a bed. |
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The kitchen has a stove,
oven, sink, and old-school ice box! We will NOT replace the ice box
with a refrigerator. Too cool to have an ice-box. |
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A big block of ice sits on
the top shelf to keep the rest of the contents cool. As the ice
block melts, the water flows into a hose and drips outside of the
camper. |
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Very nice fully-functional
3-burner cooktop and oven. |
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Trying to find a scratch
on something...anything. |
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The sink drains directly
into a pipe on the side of the camper. There is no holding tank but
the previous owners gave us a portable grey tank. |
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A couch by day and a
pull-out bed by night. |
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The previous owners
swapped out the original furnace and installed a propane-powered
catalytic heater. This awesome unit pumps out some serious heat.
What a great feature on an otherwise purely vintage camper. |
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What would a vintage
camper be without an 8-track tape player? |
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Built-in speakers above
the dinette. |
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This is a self-contained
toilet. Randy will promptly remove it and replace it with a brand
new, non-self-contained toilet. However, that will also require a
new black tank. The previous owner removed the black take when it
rusted out. Randy will install (or more likely pay someone to
install) a new black tank. |
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In the pantry is the
original 1965 first aid kit! |
