Chimo — Our ‘Vintage’ boler

After the building of the Teardrop Trailer, we decided that we’d like something a little larger… something with headroom and a kitchen.

It turns out, that in the 70’s a Canadian company, out of Winnipeg, created just that. A 13′ fibreglass trailer that weighs just 1200lbs. It could be loaded up to 2500lbs and if you strip it down, could weigh as little as 900lbs. It had a 6′ head height, sleep four, two adults and two children in bunk beds.

The double bed converts to a dinette for four people, and the bunk beds convert to a sofa for four people. The original version had a kitchen complete with working sink (the water was pumped from a 55gal storage tank); a fridge that could be run on any of three fuels (propane, electric or battery) and a propane stove.

They have lasted for a long time, with the only thing that starts to affect them is the frame. Originally made of steel, they tend to rust out and have a few ‘week’ points that we didn’t know about when we purchased ours, but I’ll get to that in a later post.

All in all, this was a cute little camper that is easily pulled, parked, trailed and fun! Add the fact that there is a large, online community that supports these little campers, it was exactly what we were looking for.

The one we purchased was built in the original Winnipeg factory, and best guess as to age, is 1973. This is based on features that became available later, general shape (which never changed from the original) and the information available on the decal in the kitchen cupboards as well as the ownership transfer papers. Not definitive, but the best we were going to get.

We loved the white and red colour scheme and although this has been painted in metal paint, I plan on painting in proper automotive or marine paint to get a better finish on it.

We’ve decided to call it ‘Chimo’ and for those of you who don’t know, Chimo originates from Inuktitut, an Indigenous language of northern Canada, where it is derived from the word saimo meaning “hello,” “goodbye,” or “peace be with you.”

It is the Canadian equivalent of “Aloha” or “Ciao” and during the 1967 Centennial celebrations it was promoted as a potential national greeting. Personally, I loved it and used it extensively. I even had the coat patch for it, however it never really gains popularity outside of specific military groups like the Canadian Military Engineers.

To us, it seemed symbolic of our country, especially at a time when Canada is under attack from those that used to be our closest allies. It’s something distinctly Canadian, just like the camper, representative north and we hope to take it there soon.