Hello, canned ham friends! 

Sometimes I get emails that ask, "Is this web site still open?" Well... um...

We have information.
It's available to you via your browser.
There's a place you can ask a question, get an answer, or read those of others. 

What more do you want?! LOL. These babies were made 60 years ago, get rarer by the day, and there is no official source for information on them -- the people, staff, papers, materials and manuals are long lost to the decay of time. 

If you have information you want to share, contact me, and I'll make sure it gets up!  

Yes, stickers are still available. Follow the instructions shown to the right.

Vintage Trailer Supply

I just got a marketing email from Vintage Trailer Supply showing tons of awesome books it had that might make great gifts for the holidays. So many awesome things. Check them out!

With springtime comes the camper sales...

I have an alert set up on eBay to show me when Mobile Scouts come up for sale. (I'm just curious -- one is enough for me.) This baby needs some TLC. Oooof. https://www.ebay.com/itm/202292891574?ul_noapp=true Yes, this blog still lives. Post some info about your summer plans, whether you're restoring a poor little mistreated camper, or taking your well-loved camper out and about. I'll be doing the same; we need to get out more this year! Amy

What's it worth?

Peeps always ask me what their camper is worth. Ones found abandoned in an old field. Ones that have continued to see gentle use, but are essentially all original. Ones that have been completely renovated, with every attention paid to authentic detail. And, most often... ones that have been renovated with very little commitment to authenticity.

My answer to all questions is more or less the same:

Hell if I know.

Ahem, er, I mean, "It all depends."

• First, it depends upon the condition of the camper -- and not just how it looks, but what condition the bones are in. I've seen a sparkly new "renovation" on a trailer frame that was about to break in half due to rust. 
• Next, since we are talking about a vintage product, IF work has been done, was it true to the original design? Especially in a Mobile Scout, if you remove the triangle window... value goes down. If you change the paint scheme... value goes down. These old items have the most general market value when work done to them was intended to maintain the original design details. 
• What will the market bear? Are you in an area where camping is hot? Where pulling around a cute little retro is hot? An area with high population? Or out in the middle of nowhere? All these things play a role. 
• And perhaps the biggest element -- which some people don't want to/cannot admit? How much do you want to buy it, or sell it? If you see something unique that you really, really want -- then it's worth whatever amount of money you'll take out of your pocket. And if you really, really want to sell it... then you'll set the price to match what someone out there is willing to pay. 

Here's a new retro that's listing for almost $10,000. I'll hold my opinion on that, because I'm not in the market to buy a camper, so who cares what I think? 

http://www.tincantourists.com/classified/showproduct.php?product=10081&title=1965-mobile-scout&cat=3

And another. 

http://www.tincantourists.com/classified/showproduct.php?product=10036&title=1962-mobile-scout&cat=3#at_pco=cod-1.0&at_si=56b392a80aec15f1&at_ab=per-3&at_pos=0&at_tot=8

In short, TinCanTourists and other sites that have available campers is the best way to get a ballpark. But if you think you're going to strike it rich with the old mold infested, rotted hulk you found in your cousin's friend's back field... think again. Most of the beautiful renovated campers you see are labors of love. 

And worth every penny. 

Stickers are heeeeerrrrrreeeeee!

More stickers IN THE HOUSE! Check out the instructions in the right sidebar to get your very own set of two awesome stickers that show your Mobile Scout lovin'!

MORE stickers on the way.

My apologies to those who have ordered in the past few weeks. I ran out of stickers, life got a little hectic, and I'm just now surfacing to deal with two Mobile Scout priorities:

1 - MORE stickers. Ordered and should be here in about ten days. I'll get all outstanding orders out within two days of getting the stickers.

2 - function of mobilescoutmadness.com domain. I have that domain registered for a good long time, yet at some point the domain redirect to this blog ceased to work. Which is, of course, just freakin' lovely given it's that domain name that's on the stickers. I spoke to my host today, who helped me fix the issue, and they said it should be propogated around the globe in 24-48 hours.

Keep on posting your finds, projects, and experiences in the discussion forum.

I love it when people send me emails with their lovely projects and canned hams on the road -- but would really prefer if you share with the world! I know I'm not the only one that enjoys seeing what others are doing.

Much love to you all, and your little campers, too!

-- Amy

Pieces and parts - yikes!

I've created an alert on eBay that emails me posts about Mobile Scout Vintage Campers. Today this little gem hit my mailbox:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181671665447?item=181671665447&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME:SS:SS:US:1120&vxp=mtr

It's a single hubcap... priced at $400.00! Yikes. Of course, a fair price for something is whatever the market will bear. Would you spend $400 for one hubcap? What's the most expensive piece you've bought to complete your Mobile Scout camper restoration?

Beautifully restored Mobile Scout going on eBay.

This is a uniquely beautiful restoration. As I type the bid is $7350, and the listing notes the reserve price has not yet been met.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321501813630?forcerRptr=true&item=321501813630&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME:SS:SS:US:1120

A number of details on the outside and inside make this a pricey restoration.

This summer, I think I've gotten more questions about what a trailer, restored or otherwise, is worth. With vintage items like this, the answer is never easy. It boils down to -- whatever the market will bear. As there are only a small number of people interested in vintage campers, relatively, you might post a camper in one state for a price and have no one interested, while in another state you'd have people fighting over the same camper posted at twice the price.

Restoring campers will be, for most of us, a labor of love. It's not about the money.

So what is this camper worth? Whatever you're willing to pay to get it.

Amazing Mobile Scout vintage camper paint job

Wow. Molly sent me a photo of her very unique 1960 Mobile Scout. A local artist did the exterior of a local street scene in Telluride, CO.  Local volunteers fixed the camper up. The original sticker is inside, stating it's a 1960.

She's named it 'Mags' as it's a guy magnet. :-)

Wow!

Pinterest is a treasure trove of Mobile Scout photos.

I've been keeping what people send me and putting them on Flickr. But Pinterest... now THERE is the place to go for some awesome photos of Mobile Scouts in their full glory.

Check it out. On Pinterest, just search for "Mobile scout". Or click the link below.

http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=mobile%20scout