East Kootenay Bolers

The entire Kootenays of British Columbia are home to disproportionately high number of Bolers. You can’t swing a dead cat, to quote that overused adage, without hitting one of these trailers. Just driving about and you’re sure to spot an example or two…or sometimes even more (six in about an hour in the city of Nelson, our record). It seems they’re often found in packs or at least frequent the same areas. Case in point, seven spotted over a single weekend in July 2018, while out exploring in and around the towns of Cranbrook and Kimberley.

1) Seen at a filling station in Cranbrook, one in transit we’ve bumped into before (see: Your next stop…the Boler Zone!. There’s no forgetting that spiral-design wheel cover. This was the only seventeen foot Boler seen this outing.

2) In an apartment complex in Cranbrook this random “drive-by” find. Many Bolers are discovered while looking out the corner of our eyes. We have a shining type thing going on and even if mostly obscured it seems we can lock on to them. It’s said we have eyes in the back of our heads. At least when it comes to these little trailers.

3) And just down the road, these urban deer. It’s not odd to find wildlife wandering about town. Recall more than one bear encounter when your author lived in Cranbrook.

4) In a new and almost empty subdivision in Kimberley, this modern take on architecture that makes us think of shipping containers, and a nice little trailer.

5) No Bolers here and no luck either. We didn’t win. It’s a custom with us (one of many) to stop at independent corner stores and buy a couple lotto tickets. Has it resulted in better luck and big wins? That’s a big no. But it’s fun. This store was once manged by a family member and was part of the Macs chain. Nice to see it revert back to a mom and pop grocery. When the mighty Sullivan Mine was in business, the store was right on the (once) busy road in. Now the neighbourhood, called Townsite, is a sleepy one.

6) “Is that a Boler down that alley?”, comes a shout from Connie. Yes! Good job spotting! This one has non factory tail lights which make it appears a tad odd. Alleys are great places to find stored Bolers, incidentally.

7-8) A pair found in the community of Marysville (actually part of Kimberley) a mere block or so apart. Awesome! They’re also small enough to store on the lawn or on a driveway as you can see here.

9) Just down the road, this odd looking duck of a motorhome. Some kind of home brew modification we think.

10) Campgrounds are great place to find Bolers. Here’s one at Moyie Lake Provincial Park just west of Cranbrook. When on the road, we often stop by places like this to see what we can find. That’s us, the ones seen driving around a snail’s pace as though casing the joint.

Slowly but surely we’re chipping away at the Boler backlog. With this one published, we’re now less than a year behind. But just. If you’ve got a nice Boler, or any small vintage fibreglass trailer similar in size and form, give us a call. We’d love to photograph it. And if your trailer appears on this website, be sure and comment so we know it’s yours. You can do so below the pictures, quick and easy.

That same weekend…
Fisherville BC Cemetery.

Boler: A small cute-as-a-bug fibreglass travel trailer made in Canada in the 1970s and 80s. We make a fun game spotting them on road trips and adventures. We also include other similar trailers here, those from other manufacturers who are close in appearance or configuration to Bolers.

We’d love to hear from you: contact us!

1) We know this one!

2) Lots of random finds this weekend.

3) Urban Deer.

4) New subdivision find.

5) No winners, and a store with a family connection.

6) Down some alley in Cranbrook.

7) In Marysville now.

8) And just around the corner.

9) Funky…

10) At Moyie Provincial Park Campground.