You Won't Believe This Incredible Two-Story Trailer | RecPro

We've all seen big trailers before. Spend any amount of time on a highway, and you are bound to eventually see an RV, a camper, or a trailer of some sort. These compact houses on wheels come in a ton of different shapes and sizes for travelers of all kinds! Some even bring their families with them on their travels. For Shirley Wallace, traveling in a trailer was her whole childhood!

Since the age of 3, Shirley spent her childhood traveling throughout California in a 40-foot Spartan Manor trailer with her mother, sister, and her father, Merrill Williams, who worked as a finishing carpenter. The nature of her father's profession took him all over the state of California. But, rather than leave his family behind for long periods of time, they went with him!

Merrill Williams bought the 40-foot Spartan Manor trailer brand new all the way back in 1953. There he and his family, including Shirley, lived for the next 16 years, traveling throughout California. Of course, with two growing girls, space eventually began to run out. By 1957 Shirley and her sister could no longer fit on the front sofa of the trailer. That was when her father, Merrill Williams, put his skills as a craftsman to good use, adding an entire second story to their 40-foot home on wheels using parts he ordered from Spartan Aircraft. The addition of a second story brought the total height of their trailer to 13 feet and 5 inches! The second-story addition to the family trailer consisted of two separate bedrooms complete with their own closet spaces. Bedding in these bedrooms was originally built out of foam padding on a raised platform.

The trailer featured all of the amenities you might expect from one of that time and size, plus a few extras. Not only did Merrill Williams add an entire second story to this trailer, but he also added a push-out (very similar to a slide-out) in the 60s. The push-out was added when Shirley's mother obtained an organ and needed space to fit it inside the trailer.

Shirley and her family traveled far and wide in this trailer during her childhood. Throughout her childhood, the family lived in and traveled through the California areas of San Diego, Lompoc, Santa Maria, Nipomo, Ventura County in Fillmore, and Oxnard, where Shirley then left for college in 1969 and Merrill Williams moved the trailer to Alderpoint, California.

Shirley had spent nearly all her life within the family trailer, making college life a new experience for her, though not particularly difficult to adjust to. Shirley enjoyed growing up in the family trailer but found that she'd brought a few habits with her when she began living in an apartment during her college years.

Shirley remarks, "You're used to living in a trailer, and the walls are really close to you, so I found when I moved into an apartment, I noticed one day that I was piling all my belongings to where I just had a little walkway in between to recreate the feeling of living in this trailer. It took me a while to get used to all that additional space."

After the passing of Shirley's mother, Merrill Williams then moved the trailer to Lake Port, where he bought property and stayed for the remainder of his life. Years later, Merrill Williams suffered a fatal stroke, after which Shirley obtained the trailer and moved it to Visalia, California.

The tale of Shirley's childhood with her family's two-story trailer is a remarkable story, one that is both wholesome and inspiring. Her family's trailer and their story stand as a testament to all, showing that anything is possible with the right additions or modifications to a trailer or RV.

Shirley's story has certainly inspired and even humbled us here at RecPro, and we wish Shirley a happy, healthy future with many more opportunities to create wonderful memories in her childhood home on wheels.

What do you think of Shirley's story? Has it inspired you to transform your RV and visit far-off locations? Or has it perhaps sparked fond memories of your own experiences? We would love to hear your thoughts, and especially your stories, so share them with us in the comments below! Who knows, maybe the next story to be told will be yours!