Vintage therapy
LOREN BENOIT/Press Pete Shinn and his partner Linda met at a car cruise about five years ago and will show off their passion for vintage trailers at this year’s Phuddy Duddy Cruisers rally at River of Life Church in Post Falls this weekend. Their labradoodle Shelko accompanies the couple at rallies.
The finished Aristocrat features a country and antique theme with decorations that include old cameras, a rotary telephone, chickens and games from the 60s. Linda calls the setup “simple pleasures.” (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
The 1963 finished Aristocrat “Simple Pleasures” features Linda’s decorations from her childhood home and upholstery and curtains she makes. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
The 1959 Garwood that Pete Shinn is restoring will likely feature a “Bohemian boho” (gypsy) theme.
Pete Shinn and his partner Linda pull their vintage trailers with either their 1949 Studebaker truck or their 1974 Ford Ranchero (shown here). On the left is their “car-b-cue,” an antique kids’ car and trailer hitched by a grill. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
GARWOOD — Pete Shinn emerged from his 1963 Aristocrat trailer and reflected on the fuel for his soul.
"It's great therapy," he said of his restored 13 feet of paradise on wheels. "I'm addicted."
The Garwood man and his partner, Linda, pull their vintage trailers behind their 1949 Studebaker truck or 1974 Ford Ranchero. With their labradoodle, Shelko, they travel to shows across the Northwest, including this weekend's Phuddy Duddy Cruisers rally they're helping organize at River of Life Church in Post Falls.
They break out their "car-b-que" — an antique kids' car pulling a trailer that's hitched by a grill — and share stories with similar minds of the good life and tricks of the trade with their imaginative restoration efforts.
"Pete and I have done the classic car shows, but after awhile you get tired of them, so we've taken it to this friendlier level," Linda said. "We may see some people only once a year, but they're like family because you're with these folks the whole weekend."
Pete and Linda met at a car cruise about five years ago. They have four vintage trailers — a 1956 Jewell, 1959 Garwood and another 1963 Aristocrat. The Jewell and one of the Aristocrats are in show mode, the Garwood a work in progress, and the other Aristocrat a thought for the future.
The most they've paid for a trailer was $400 for the restored Aristocrat "because it was all there," Pete said.
When asked if they're looking to expand their fleet of four, Pete originally said they're content with the projects at hand. Then he corrected himself.
"If another one popped up for $100, we'd have five," he said with a smile.
Vintage trailers can be hard to find in North Idaho, Pete said.
"Many don't survive our winters," he said, adding that heavy snowloads can crunch some.
Pete and Linda love cleaning up, restoring and decorating the trailers to their liking.
"A lot of DNA needs to be removed in these," Pete said.
The finished Aristocrat, restored to its original condition, features a country and antique theme with decorations that include old cameras, a rotary telephone and games from the 1960s. Even the slippers on the floor are trailers. Linda calls the setup "simple pleasures."
"That's because it's fun to sit down, have a cup of coffee and visit," she said. "A lot of young people will ask me where I get my decorations from and I tell them that I got them out of my house. They're things I grew up with."
The Garwood being restored will likely feature a "Bohemian boho" (gypsy) theme.
Pete's mind is always churning about other possibilities.
"I've thought about just a true trailer trash trailer," he said.
At the rallies, Pete and Linda will join other participants in "dressing the era," including Linda as a diner waitress and Pete a laid-back, bearded Hawaiian in sandals.
Pete, 70 and a retired mechanic, said he was a "hippie" until he was drafted and served during the Vietnam War. He handles the restoration and electrical duties and "gets by" with the woodwork.
"I'm not good with wood," he said. "But I just like to stay busy and active."
Linda, a seamstress and country girl, makes the upholstery and curtains.
"She's a master at decorating," Pete said.
Vintage trailers are "just catching on" here compared to some other areas, Pete said. Antique TV shows are increasing the hobby's popularity and driving up prices, especially for restored trailers, he said.
He recalled rolling into a classic car show in Reno with a vintage trailer when he first got into the pastime eight years ago.
"I thought I'd be the only one with a trailer,” he said, “but come to find out I was just on the bandwagon."