Gypsy Wagons

RanchHand has built several gypsy wagons, and his son Dave decided that he wanted one too. RanchHand and Dave have been working on building Dave's gypsy wagon all winter long. (It's about time for these posts since the wagon is getting close to being done, but I'll still break it up a bit so it's not too long).

RanchHand has a love of making gypsy wagons. He likes the style of them and the fancy little details, which may seem incongruous because RanchHand is a big guy. But he has been a woodworker for more than 30 years, so he's got some skills.

I haven't seen the first gypsy wagon he made. He ended up giving it to a mother and daughter who were friends of his.

The second wagon lived in our barn for a little while, then found its way to RanchHand's youngest son and his wife. I don't have any pictures of that one either, but I can tell you it was the first gypsy wagon RanchHand made with a collapsible frame. That's right, he made the thing from scratch and it folded up for travel! It's really quite amazing. It actually works!

Below is the third wagon RanchHand made. They are all so cute with the little details, and quite practical; this one folds up too!


Each camper has been different than the one before, as he tries out different ways of raising and lowering things, improves on ideas and changes or discards others.

You can see how this one folds down to make it better for traveling.

This wagon lives in front of RanchHand's little house,where it is used for a guest house. RanchHand also hauls it up to the mountain during the summer so he and Wifey can stay in it.

Last year, CG hired RanchHand to build a Cowgirl Camper for her, and he whipped up the one below in a little over a month. Stylistically, it is simpler than the other wagons he's made, and is "boxy," which is one reason he prefers the style of his other wagons. This camper doesn't collapse either, but it suits CG's purposes just fine, by giving her a nice little private space away from the cowboys and the dirt up on the mountain.



To start these wagons, RanchHand hires a guy to make a custom trailer first. This way the things will travel smoothly, be safe going down the road, and it's just smart to hire out the base of the project unless you happen to be a custom trailer maker.

Here is the frame they ended up with for Dave's wagon:


Those four vertical posts will support the wagon walls and frame, which will be entirely made out of wood.

In the next Gypsy Wagon post, you'll see the wood floor go in and part of the walls go up!