Free House! 1970 Dodge Travco Camper
There comes to a point where the money for a project becomes less important than just getting a heap off your property and having the space back. The seller of this 1970 Travco camper in Wakefield, Rhode Island doesn’t explain whether he’s the one who gutted the camper to make it into a mobile storage unit or if he just inherited the property with the Travco on it. Like most basketcase motorhome projects, there’s very little monetary value in owning one in this sort of condition, and only a few bucks more if it was complete and moved under its own power. Find the Travco here on Facebook Marketplace that’s offered up for $0.
Now, if I had an old motorhome on my property and didn’t possess the necessary skills to renovate it with new cabinetry, couches, and sleeping quarters, I sure as hell would gut it and store bikes, car parts, wheel and tire sets, and any lawn and garden equipment that demanded a winter time storage arrangement. The seller doesn’t explain whether he bought the property and the Travco was on it, or if he’s owned it for a few years with grand plans of restoring it. Given it has no engine or transmission, it’s entirely possible it’s been sitting in this Rhode Island backyard for ages, providing extra storage space for when the shed ran out of room. The listing claims the Travco still has “good bones” despite being stripped down to its fiberglass shell.
With the steps installed next to it, it seems quite likely it’s no accident that the Travco lost its drivetrain and became a permanent structure here. I don’t know what the zoning laws stipulate, but I could certainly see a cheap camper as a way to add some additional living space to a property that didn’t seem worthy of a major housing addition. Regardless, $0 is pretty hard to beat when it comes to picking up a new project; however, when the project is a near-abandoned Travco motorhome, I wonder if even that cost is too great. Would you save it?
Comments
I can smell the cat urine in this thing just from looking at the pictures, 🤮. The price is definitely right if you are restoring one of these, but depending where you are located, the shipping will be expensive.
Wow – just tow it “…down by the river” and you’re living the dream on Easy St. Perfect for Santa Barbara, CA where you can rent out a storage shed in your back yard, with an extension cord for power, for $400 a month.
Did y’all see the pretty calico kitty? Wonder if it’s part of the deal.
None of the keyboard speciaists can complain on the price !
Read BrianT’s comment below.
Old motorhomes can be Very hard ton get rid of. Very few auto wreckers or scrap yards will accept them. Way too much labour involved to strip them for scrap, and towing costs. I recently called multiple yards for an elderly widow that was clearing her property for sale. She had an early ’70s Winnebago, that had sat about 10 years in her back yard. None of the wreckers would touch it.
One suggested a local guy that would remove it for a fee (about $500+). He apparently strips them, disposes of the wood, fiberglass, insulation etc and sells the scrap. A friend finally ended up agreed to take it as he wanted the very the low-mileage BBC powertrain out of it.
I can’t imagine the unspeakable horrors that have happened within those walls.
Scrap aluminum value. $1500
You could use that money to buy a more complete Travco, with less work needed.
Too bad this is fiberglass!
I can see this being a clean slate for someone to start his/her own restoration project. They can rebuild this Travco however they want to build it. If I had one like this, I’d install a Cummins Turbo Diesel engine, a bed for two adults to sleep in. A kitchen, etc.
I own a late model motor home. But one thing that surprised me when I got into camping a couple of years ago is that some private camp grounds won’t allow older motor homes into their parks, regardless of their restored condition. I’m told that there are some camp grounds that cater to restored motor homes. The unit featured above has a long way to go through.
Do you know why older motorhomes are forbidden? Been interested in an old gmc for awhile and that would quite annoy me.
I was about to leave the house to make a 8 hour drive to buy a restored version of this but decided to call the owner to make sure it was still there. I had cash with me. He answered and told me it was still mine but added that he had raised the price $2000. I didn’t go get it. It could have been worse, he could’ve waited to tell me until after I got there.
Brian, in the 80s, my friend Tod and I drove his pickup from Burlington to Fair Haven (definitely not 8 hours) to buy a mint condition Norton Commando for $800. We got there, checked it out and proceeded to buy it. Right up until the seller mentioned he didn’t have the title.
I truly think this has a negative value. Good luck getting someone to tow it away. Being fiberglass, it has no scrap value.
In-law apartment?
One of the most expensive motorcycles, I have ever owned was a free one, and I think that probably goes for just about anything,boat,hot rod project,RV, ect. The reason is because you justify the money you throw at it because it was free,that initial “free” offsets all future monies poured into it,oh and the divorce in my case just added to finial tally,though she never actually came out and said that was the real reason, I guess inconsolable differences sounds more legitimate than, he brought home a old motorcycle without my blessings.