King of Bolertown

It’s our own personal slice of heaven just outside Calgary. Where we’re standing, a firm, Team Trillium, manufactures those little Trillium Trailers you might see out there on the highway or in some campground. In production since like forever, they’re officially called Outback Trilliums today. And besides producing them new, they also repair and redo all manner of small fibreglass trailers from any make or era, including the most iconic of all and our own personal fav, that little egg on wheels, the Boler.

At any one time there will be a dozen or so Trilliums in production. They make them in all kinds of new colours now – nice! And waiting in line will be older trailers in for work, repairs, upgrades or a full on rebuild. Expect to see lots of vintage Trilliums here – in production over many, many decades by a number of firms using the same moulds, they are in fact the most common little fibreglass trailer out here in Western Canada. There’s more than any other brand or make by a fair margin I’d say.

And seen on the property, a good number of Bolers in the mix, thirteen and seventeen foot ones, and a mix of lesser known makers or models. On this day the standout rarity is a Jubilee, a more “squarish” Trillium made for a short time in the late 1970s/early 1980s (reports differ a bit). It’s said less than a hundred were made, vs tens of thousands for the “regular” more rounded Trillium, making them a rare bird indeed even when new. And with attrition, it’d be easy to bet less than half of them are still on the road today. Team BIGDoer (we use the Team moniker too) has seen two others over the years. They’re worth a good bonus in the Boler Spotting Game.

A Boler oddity, one where someone ground down the beltline lip where the upper and lower halves joined (most small fibreglass trailers are two piece) giving the trailer a rather strange appearance. Now it really looks like an egg. One other Boler has aftermarket square tail lights. Oh the humanity! They’re supposed to be round, matching the similarly shaped moulded bezels. And it has a trailer hitch…on the back?

Wandering the little kingdom, a sceptre (tripod) in hand, nodding confidently, a beaming smile a mile wide. I’m King of Bolertown* and holding court at Trillium Trailers.

Over there, a rare beastie. Not a trailer but a motorhome. And not just any old this or that but the legendary Vixen, built for a time in the 1980s in small numbers. Low profile, with a pop-up roof, it’s in fact no taller than many regular cars and just short enough to fit in most garages (just), assuming you move all the bikes and golf equipment stored along the front wall out of the way.

This particular Vixen needs a full on makeover, inside and out. Google them and see what they look like. They’re dare we say sexy. I guess the makers though similarly or would have not given them that provocative name. They’re usually powered by BMW diesels, rear engine and drive, and so sometimes are mistakenly thought completely made by that firm. While there’s a lot of work ahead, this one we hope to see completed at some time. We bumped into it a few years back at Trilliums earlier facility right in Calgary.

One day, and we’ve been trying for a time, a dream gig, is to follow the making of a Trillium, from start to finished then on to delivery to the customer. Team Trillium is just so busy though, so making it happen is a logistics nightmare for them. Trilliums, by the way, are made to order and it’s a good wait to get one on account of demand. But no one seems to mind. They are beautiful little rigs, especially in those new bold two-tine colour schemes.

If you’ve got a nice Trillium, or a Boler (looking for the elusive square or fifteen foot Boler), or a Beachcomber, Surfside or other small fibreglass trailer, or a vintage RV that you think we should document, fire off a message to us. We’ll come down and take some cool pics and chat and later do a write up. Help us with out little obsession. It’ll be a ton of fun!

*Boler can be used as a catch-all term, even if incorrectly I guess, referring to any make or model of small fibreglass camping trailer like a Boler. Being King of Bolertown allows one domain over all.

Old RVs…
Argosy 28.
Shasta Astro.
GMC Motorhome.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: May, 2018.
Location: Just outside Calgary.
Article references and thanks: Team Trillium, Reese and Joe Thoen.
If you wish to visit Trillium Trailers, please make an appointment first.

An old and rare Trillium Jubilee.

At Outback Trillium just outside Calgary.

They come in all kinds of new and exciting colours.

This “seamless” Boler awaits some work.

A Vixen in need of a makeover.

The Trillium’s been in production since like forever.

Aftermarket taillights…

Vixens are rare.

Nodding confidently…I’m King of Bolertown.

A shell now, but soon someone’s pride and joy.