The only thing cooler than this Scout trailer is the story behind it

That rolling billboard for Troop 346 of Minnetonka, Minn., offers more than meets the eye.

Yes, the troop trailer design cleverly integrates different activities the Scouts of Troop 346 enjoy: paddling, fishing, eating s’mores.

But it’s the story behind the design that really impresses. The Scouts designed the trailer as part of their Graphic Arts merit badge class.

Scoutmaster Greg Sanderson, understandably proud of the Scouts’ work, sent me some photos.

“I know that you dig Scout trailers,” he writes. “Well, we just did a really cool facelift.”

He’s right; I’ve blogged about cool Scout trailers before. But this trailer is one of the best yet.

A mom in Troop 346 is a graphic designer, and she taught the Graphic Arts merit badge class. Scouts in the class created different design ideas and voted on their favorites.

Then it was time to pay for the $1,700 vinyl wrapping. The Scouts handled that, too, chipping in $15 per Scout, with the troop committee allocating matching funds.

Sanderson sums it up nicely: “The images are completely Scout-designed and paid for — and they earned a merit badge in the process.”

More than a trailer

When Sanderson took over as Scoutmaster last August, one of his first goals was to consider how the troop presented itself to the public and to its chartered organization.

“The only thing the public sees is our trailer,” he says. “And our chartered organization, other than seeing the Scouts themselves, only sees the sad, old, dingy trailer.”

So he planted the seed with the patrol leaders’ council, which liked the idea.

“I am so proud of our Scouts and our adults for how the trailer design was handled,” Sanderson says. “Our Scouts totally embraced the idea that they got to design the trailer and earn a merit badge at the same time.”

This cool design doesn’t just stop at the trailer. Troop 346 plans to use the new logo on everything, including T-shirts, bolo ties, neckerchiefs and — of course —  patches for trading.

When that happens, here’s hoping Sanderson remembers me. I must have one of those patches.

More photos of Troop 346’s trailer

Troop-346-trailer-1 Troop-346-trailer-2 Troop-346-trailer-3


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.