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Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:25 am

Hi to you Heilite owner's
Here is a good one for you, a fews years ago I pulled my SW down to Busses By the Bridge. My Vin# is 0485 and on the other side of the show was another SW with a Vin# 0486. Not sure how manny came of the line back in 1953, but my bet would be they were side by side in the factory nearly 60 years ago :shock:
tubdub (Bob) thanks for the hook up on the glass tail lights 8)
Bill

Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:19 pm

bc59bus wrote: Hi to you Heilite owner's
Here is a good one for you, a fews years ago I pulled my SW down to Busses By the Bridge. My Vin# is 0485 and on the other side of the show was another SW with a Vin# 0486. Not sure how manny came of the line back in 1953, but my bet would be they were side by side in the factory nearly 60 years ago :shock:
tubdub (Bob) thanks for the hook up on the glass tail lights 8)
Bill

bill, i am looking for 2 plastic len's if you have any extra

Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:10 pm

Bob, the tail lights on my sw are not oem to heilite.
I will check with Bob M to see if he can help you out, or drop him an email as he dose'nt post on the samba much

Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:37 pm

Many Heilite's had the same lenses found on Cushman golf carts and other utility style vehicles. Here are the lenses that were on my 1968:

http://www.who-sells-it.com/cy/dennis-carpenter-fo...ge-75.html

Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:10 pm

Anchovy wrote: Many Heilite's had the same lenses found on Cushman golf carts and other utility style vehicles. Here are the lenses that were on my 1968:

http://www.who-sells-it.com/cy/dennis-carpenter-fo...ge-75.html thats the same style as i have. just picked up 2 lenses from a wanted ad i had on craigslist :P guy was about 5 miles away. thanks for the info.

Tue Apr 13, 2010 12:22 pm

I took a video of my 1967 Heilite Valiant camper (currently for sale):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7HuonCQTQ0&feature=channel

(Sorry about how the camera jumps -- its one of those Vados that are smaller than a pack of cigarettes, and I apparently haven't learned how to hold it steady.)

Great thread!

Tue May 11, 2010 12:51 am

And while I'm responding to interested buyers, I ended up with an explanation (kind of) of how the Valiant sets up that might be useful to somebody else down the road:

Quote: Two shots of the camper with the cover off. I don't know if I mentioned this, but the previous owner had a separate cover made (the green one you've seen in the other pictures). The new cover doesn't fit perfectly - some of the snaps are a little bit off - but only a few, so there is no problem with the cover really. The original one is in perfect condition and is included. So its better to use the original cover for show, and use the new one for transport. Anyway, here is front and back with the cover off:

Quote: The next step is to slide the two sleeper sections back. There are pins (secured by chains so they don't get lost) that fit through the frame to lock the sections in the expanded position. Two shots of that, front and back:

Quote: On that last shot, notice how that step drops down? Nothing is wasted on this camper. The spare tire is supposed to mount on the back of that step (and the spare tire is included and is in new condition). The way I received the camper, the threads were rusted out on the nuts that were welded onto the step, but it is still possible to thread bolts through the holes and attach the spare that way (which is the way that it was when I bought it). But my plan was to grind the original nuts off and replace them with nuts that fit the studs on the wheels, then find bolts with the same thread patterns as the studs to secure the spare.

So once the sleeper sections have been slided out, the next thing is to flip out the ends of the beds. This is where the work I did on the webbing comes in. The original webbing (which was in tatters and only two were still intact when I bought it) was riveted in to the camper frame, so I had to drill them out and replace with appropriate bolts, nuts and lock washers. What I'm talking about is the black pieces that are holding up the poles: when you flip the bed-ends out, the poles have no choice but to follow. The webbing has no structural value whatsoever, but it makes it possible for the poles to be in the correct position to slide the canvas over, and it is the canvas that actually gives the whole system structural rigidity. Here are six shots that give you a 360-degree view - and notice that the stress at this point is on the inner pieces of webbing closest to the center of the camper, and also that I raised the poles at the ends:

Quote: And those are double beds on either side. Now go back and look at those pictures again: you'll notice that there are pieces of webbing that snap from all four corners to the underside of the camper. The three white ones are original, and the one black one is the one I replaced. I did everything I could to keep this camper original, but did replace the one remaining working upper set of webbing because I figured that it was going to fail pretty soon. Now as to why the lower webbing was designed for this camper, it beats the heck out of me. It isn't structural - the canvas more than takes care of that - so I guess it is there just as a precaution against freak wind that might collapse the camper when empty and possibly damage the poles. If you decide to buy it, maybe you can tell me what they are really for.

Now at this point, you would drape the canvas over the camper - but I didn't do that. Then you would crawl in and start to set up the last two pole sections. Here are two shots of the first stage of deployment:

Quote: Now there are a couple of things to notice here. First of all, the stress on the webbing is now towards the OUTSIDE of the camper. I didn't figure this out until I replaced all the webbing that wasn't there when I bought it, but the webbing is only there to assist with setup - it is NOT structural. You can imagine trying to get to where the last pictures were, folding out those poles, without that webbing in place: well I've tried it, and that's what earned me that rip in the canvas that I had to fix, and what got me interested in recreating the original setup in the first place. The other thing you should notice is that the poles aren't fully deployed yet. Do you see the tiny pieces of black webbing that are holding the top poles in place? Those were missing entirely when I bought the camper, and I was able to figure out by the holes that were drilled into the poles that they used to be there - mostly because it made sense. So those are just short pieces of webbing that hold the top poles in place until you are ready to deploy them. And when you are underneath the canvas setting this thing up, this really helps.

So the final pictures are of the poles fully deployed. You have to imagine that the canvas is in place, because like I said, it is the canvas that gives the entire thing structural rigidity. I had to tie a bottle to the top just to keep it in place without the canvas:

Quote: Once the weight of the canvas is on the structure, it will assume the shape that you've seen in the other pictures, and no amount of wind will change that.

Wed Nov 17, 2010 6:54 pm

Envious wrote: Looks like mine are later than I thought.

Year VIN
1953 24
1954 553
1956 1120
1956 1289
1957 1804
1959 2285
19?? 2501 no flange along side doors
1964 4423 with flange along side doors

How are you coming up with years?
I just listed mine and have a bunch of people asking what year it is.
I have no idea.

My tag again for reference

No flange, plastic tail lights, axle instead of single wheel.

Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:18 am

This guy is looking to give away his heilite. He is in the Milwaukee, WI area. Contact him at: [email protected]

Fri Jun 03, 2011 6:36 am

La Jolla, California (San Diego area)

Friday, June 3, 2011

Hello fellow Heilite one wheel trailer owners,

Last week I purchased my first one wheel trailer. It is a 1955 Heilite and I purchased it from the ORIGINAL owner.

It has all of the appropriate (two) attachments for conventional bumpers from a bygone era. Although I own two 1952 vehicles, there will be times when I would like to place a hitch adapter inside my two (2) inch square receiver, and tow my 1955 Heilite on a one ball set-up.

Please advise if you know an individual or company that either manufactures or sells the hitch adapter which goes into a conventional two (2) inch square receiver.

Because I am "computer challenged," I would much prefer receiving a teephone call rather than email. However, if you decide to make your initial contact with me by email, please send your email to me OFF the wonderful www.thesamba.com website.

My email address is: [email protected]
My telephone numbers will follow my signature.

Your cooperation is most appreciated. Many thanks for everything.

All the very best,
Howard
Howard G. Singer
Land Line: 858-454-2628
Mobile: 619-980-4586
email: [email protected]

Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:22 pm

I may be picking one of thes up minus the hitch balls. What size are the balls? Thanks for any info.

Sun Nov 20, 2011 7:34 pm

Anchovy wrote: This guy is looking to give away his heilite. He is in the Milwaukee, WI area. Contact him at: [email protected]

Anchovy. Thanks for the heads up. Thanks to you I now have 3 vintage trailers, a '67 Apache pop up, a Sears Tag Along single wheel, and that Heilite. The trailer is now safe in my possesion, he had mentioned when I got ahold of him that he was going to be cuting it up. :shock:

Its all there and in pretty nice shape. Some little canvas repairs to be done, but the supplys to do repairs were with it. No kitchen or such, but a complete trailter/tent. 8)

Once again, thank you. Are you the guy in Cali he mentioned wanted to get it? How did you find it?

Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:29 pm

I am in the begining stages of building a copy of this trailer and would like to get a photo of the bunk hinges and if there is any support features for bunks .have photos of project so far .will post soon . just need a little help on bunk hinges and supports. thanks jeffro

Sun Nov 27, 2011 11:07 pm

What trailer? Like the one I posted? And what do you mean by bunk hinges, the ones for the doors on the side?

Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:35 am

yea that would help! :oops: the valiaint is the one I am copying like the one posted by Meyer the photos are great but would like some of the bunk hinges and the bottom of the bunk if there are supports. it looks as if the bottom of bunks are thin wood and the rest is alum. frame work. photos of bunks with the matress pulled back would be great.

Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:07 pm

Anyone know approximate vins compared to years for Heilites? Ive looked here, singlewheel, and heilite.com and nothing.

Its hard to look at options, as far as I can tell the tail lights help designate some, as it looks like mine is a later trailer, but Ive seen pics of late '50s with the same tail lights. Which who knows if those are even the correct manufactered year.

I got mine bill of sale only. As WI does not reg trailers. Lucky for me its easy to get a title with a bill of sale only. But I'd like to at least try to get a close aproximation of when it was built.

My vin is in the low 3000's

Thanks for any help.

Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:46 pm

Just purchased this 1957 Heilite Single Wheel Camping Trailer.
Serial No. HE 1610
This trailer was found stored indoors in an old airport hanger. The overall condition is very good, the original top cover was ripped and has since been replaced but the original tent canvas with HEILITE Patch was in excellent condition as was the spring mattress, no rips or tears.
Included were two different style bumper bracket attachments with installation instructions.
Also included was the original 1957 Heilite Sales and Accessories Brochures.
The owner I bought it from had put wheels on the front legs in order to move around and they work great.
I'm looking for a Heilite Camp Kitchen if anyone has one "For Sale", can't wait to enjoy this trailer.

Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:50 pm

Very nice. Hope ya plan on using it.

Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:11 pm

Here are a few photos of the progress so far on my trailer , just started the right side bunk and installed it on the right side slider . using 600lbs each sliders should be enough . will have to figure things out as I go .

all alum. frame I am hoping to keep it under 400 lbs total weight 8)

putting the sides on will paint later

here is the bunk slid out ,this will give me 28" between bunks like the orignals

all I need to figure out is how they supported the fold out bunks ?? the photos I have show no supports except for the hinge side hitting the main bunk .seems a little weak to me :shock:

Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:46 pm

The original trailers have pillar type corners made of larger quarter-round aluminum extrusion. I think the frame gets a lot of stability from those stout corners.