RV & Camper

Extremely Rare Camper Trailer For Sale, 1953 Westfalia T5 Camping

Here's we found this one extremely rare camper trailer for sale in Paso Robles, California, it already posted in craigslist about 20 days ago looks still available, the owner claims is one and only ever made by Westfalia is a T5 camping trailer built in 1953 VIN: 50998 has size / dimensions: 141 X 83 X 75 is said good condition overall. That's could be a rare beautiful European small camper trailer it ready to go for $8500 if you interested please read details was provided by current owner below.


The exterior looks so cute like a charming tiny house, fairly cool with a green color has many window. The trailer had a pretty good care and has a good shape, the body looks okay, no dent or rusty. That's a extremely lightweight camper so making it possible pulled by your classic coupe.


The trailer interior looks so simple, is said all still original with rear bed layout without a bathroom fitted with cupboard, stove and sink, overall looks okay but there are traces of leaks in few locations. Designed to able goes to the Alps with a small car, this camper made of cheap materials like cardboard and very light woods without paint or varnish.


Specifications
1953 Westfalia T5
VIN: 50998
condition: good
paint color: green
size / dimensions: 141 X 83 X 75
title status: clean
transmission: other

Owner Says
Hello,

I am selling an extremely rare 1953 Westfalia T5 camping trailer. Here's a brief history that I bought from a guy in Beligum.

Camping trend really became only big in the sixties; I remember my parents picked up only 1972 camping trailer when they bought their first camping trailer to tour around Europe. But I have a lot of friends where the parents started camping in the mid to late sixties. The people needed to be adapted to this new style of time consuming as before they could not do a lot more like working and taking care for things like house and garden. But things like washing machines, lawn mowers, and etc. That started to make life more practical, easy and even regular class working people started to get spare time to relax, enjoy, and travel. So finding sixties and seventies trailers are common in the late fifty's. All the brands that made the better trailers started to build very luxury camping trailers. If you ever have the chance to see a 1958-1961 Westfalia camping trailer in and out. You will know what I'm talking about. These trailers off course attracted every average family in Europe and so every body started to dream from his own camping trailer and go for holidays to all the popular camping places of the time, I can remember like yesterday that half of school went to Boden in Germany and Lago di Garda in Italy. But many of them found the more unique spots and enjoyed maybe even more, or toured through Skandinavia. With all this in mind and the history known so far imagine my surprise when one of my specialized hunters called me and told me about this 1953 Westfalia camping trailer, so early I asked??? This do not fit into my regular time period of thinking as in the early fifty's most people did not dream to travel yet, as most didn't even have a car! Everybody was recovering from the mother off all wars of all times stopped only 8 years before everybody tried to pick up life. Everybody was working hard and gaining something so daily life and house could be paid for. And if "one day" somebody could save some money they all dreamed about a car and travel? No way, you come 10 years ahead of time unless you're rich.

So somebody that was thinking about traveling, and to buy a camping trailer to do regularly outings was not an average man in 1953 and that makes that European camping trailers from this period are hardly inexistent. But one company did feel the future would bring more leisure time and gambled to started small series of camping set ups in cars or trailers. From this company, some became big and Westfalia is for sure one of today's main mobile camping suppliers.

Camping trailers so early where mainly made from very poor materials, mainly to save weight as the cars did no have any horsepower, so hauling trailers over the Alps was more like an adventure. This use of cheap materials like cardboard and very light woods make that most camping trailers from this era are long time gone. But not this one. . ..

The trailer was built at the Westfalia plant in June 1953 we think the trailer did not sell until 1954 as its only first registered on March 30, 1954 to its first owner in Stuttgart. Two years later in 1956 the camping trailer were sold to Dr. Mac Lean of Coll who should have been relative from the first owner but we do not have any document to prove that. The Doctor resided at that time in Hamburg with his wife Miriam Senta Hilde Elisabeth Mac Lean of Coll born as "Freiin von Grossschedel zu Berghausen und Aigelsbach." I guess from the names this is very aristocrat and therefore the reason they could afford time and money to travel, but all in a sudden something strange happened. The Doctor used the trailer only few times to travel to Italy, until he bought a big country house there; from then on the camping trailer was kept in sunny dry Italy in a barn on the property and was unregistered in 1960. It came only back on the road when the lady passed away in 1991 and the testimony came in favour from another doctor in MÃÆ'Æ'¼nchen who sold the camping trailer few years later to a local south German collector. He just kept it with out doing nothing to it until our hunter discovered it in 2002 and tried to buy it ever since. After 3 years of begging and asking to sell the trailer changed hands and came to Belgium where it was just cleaned as everything was to an original to touch. We brought the trailer to Hessisch Oldendorf for the show in June 2005 but unfortunately he did not make it to the market square, so only the people that visited the museum could see this strange "box on wheels"

The Camping trailer is 100% authentic as it left the factory, it's a frame with a cardboard roof, and aluminum sides inside covered with wood. The windows are very common as house windows, and open as such. The floor is 22mm of hardboard. We point out that all and everything is in very good condition, there is a rot wood in the front of the trailer, and there is no corrosion on the aluminium outer skin!! There are some marks on the roof from some leaks in the past, so we advise the buyer to keep the trailer inside to preserve and make sure it will have a long life.

The paint is absolute first paint, there are some marks and scratches from use and storage, but this camping trailer was never repainted, damaged or repaired!

As for details we like to point out the original Westfalia badge in the back, and the original taillights, or what about the original 16 inch wheels with the original Westfalia hubcaps. Also the license plate that changed in 1957 does still come with this camping queen on wheels.

Interior is very Spartan with Mahoney wooden chests never painted or varnished. The beds on the back is a double stack, in the front it's a double bed that like many camping trailers can be transformed into the dining table. The kitchen block contains a sink and a gas cooker. The gas cooker was not in when we bought this camping trailer put we found the perfect match.

There is one mirror above the kitchen block, and one the big closet opposite from the kitchen.

We guarantee that all upholstery from beds and seats is original and even the curtains are original!! This is an incredible strange camping trailer that is extremely early for Europe, and it will be hard to find a second one in this shape.

Ever dreamed for a Spartan guest house in your garage, or go back for a Spartan camp out? Trailers like this are extremely rare. The fact that this is an absolute the only one I ever saw is for me proof enough to say that it's the only one registered in the world.

Now with the statement from a guy in Beligum proves that it's a prototype trailer made to see if it'll sell in the 50's. Westfalia started to produce trailers in 1958 and I used to own a 1960 335/4 Westfalia trailer which is now in a museum. After I bought the trailer and did some work to the trailer. I had to replace all wiring because it was so brittle and fire hazard. I replaced the wiring as clean as possible to the factory style. I replaced the bearings, seals, and greased the bearings.The floor firm and handles well then towing on the road. I replaced two new white wall tires. I am the third registered owner. This trailer is the only one registered in America and one in the world. I even got an original 1953 California trailer plate.

Please contact me if you have any question about the trailer.

$8,500.00.

The trailer is located in Paso Robles and is 200 miles from Los Angeles.