By Cheri Sicard
Unless you are a true RV nerd, you may not be aware that U-Haul ever made travel trailers, but for a while they did. These cute, tiny fiberglass trailers are hard to come by these days, but Ashley Kooijman, aka The Tennessee Wanderer, is going to give us a tour of her 1985 U-Haul travel trailer. The tiny U-Haul CT-13 makes a cozy home on the road for Ashley, her dog, Charlee Rae, and cat, Rupert.
Primarily manufactured in 1984 and 1985, according to our hostess, some claim U-Haul travel trailers were being made as late as 1988, although she has not been able to confirm that. In either case, the entire fleet of U-Haul travel trailers was completely gone from U-Haul’s rental fleet by 1992. Reportedly, only 1,725 were ever made.
When U-Haul discontinued the trailers they were sold to private buyers, minus the distinctive U-Haul logo. Ashley found hers on Facebook Marketplace and she was able to uncover the logo to bring its original vintage look back.
As to size and shape, the U-Haul travel trailers closely resemble a Scamp, Casita, Burro, or Bolero. Their double-walled fiberglass construction makes them both strong and insulated.
The wide strip of carpet that still runs along the trailer’s ceiling used to be on the floor. Ashley changed to a more practical vinyl faux wood flooring. The piece of flooring only cost her $20 and was easy to install as she had the old carpet for a pattern.
The rest is original, including the stove and cabinetry, still embossed with U-Haul labels.
The space inside is super tiny and, being made of fiberglass, Ashley says she sometimes feels like she is living in a Jacuzzi tub. But as tiny as her RV is, it still meets Ashley’s needs.
Upon walking in, she changed the front sofa to two bunk beds in order to have a place to store things and space for her cat to travel along and be comfortable.
While her bed can convert to a table, Ashley usually doesn’t bother, preferring instead to dine al fresco.
She did add a small air conditioner, a Maxxfan, and a small porta potty, although she notes that U-Haul originally included porta potties in these campers, too. Otherwise, she tried to keep as much original as possible. She even carries the vintage theme to the vintage Tupperware she used to outfit her kitchen.
The bumper on this trailer is huge. That’s because it was designed to take the abuse of being on the rental market. The trailer is built on an unusual tubular metal frame that I had never seen before. It is connected and held in place with elevator bolts.
I love the cuteness and simplicity of this trailer, but I would miss having more of a kitchen and bathroom.
How about you? Could you live in a tiny trailer like this? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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Unfortunately, this wouldn’t even be big enough for a mobile ham shack!
We had some friends who bought a Scamp. Once they decided that were really liking RVing, they bailed and got a new bigger trailer. Six foot three was not working in the Scamp.
Not everyone needs 40ft. Kuddos to this woman-it’s just right for her.
Now all she needs to do is find one of the 58 VT-16 trailers made by Uhaul.
That extra 3 feet is a game changer and also a wallet changer as the Uhaul VT-16 trailers are highly prized and collectible!
Towed a Burro (Very much the same as the U-Haul featured) from California to Massachusetts and back with 9 year old son in summer of 1988. Towed easily with V6 Nissan truck. Also, towed it up Pikes Peak for the race and towed by friend’s ’54 Plymouth from San Diego to Washington. The friend and son slept in the bunk beds- of course, I claimed the table bed.. Great little trailer.
Thank you, Cheri! Nice little rig. I must have been distracted when she talked about the shower. Is there a shower? Seems there isn’t unless it is outside. Happy new year!