Text by Patrick Bell.
The call of the open road can come on strong enough to get the creative juices flowing. To avoid the expense of motels people will find a way to take a bed with them. Today we have a gallery of common solutions, along some extreme ones, so let’s get started.
We will begin with a ’65 Studebaker Daytona Wagonaire with a California license plate and an interesting Kamp King camper. It was a joint effort between Studebaker and McNamee Coach Corporation in California. It fit in the sliding roof opening, and had a small opening into the car. The “developmental project” apparently never got the green light for mass production. It did not look very practical to me, with a large bed that you could not sit up in, and the main part looked quite cozy. Plus the step out would be a doozy.
And here is another view likely of the same car. It is not clear how many were built, some say 1 and some say 5. Apparently one was sold at a London, Ontario Studebaker dealership, and it came with a California license plate. The camper was well equipped with a double bed, water tank, LP stove, and an ice box. On top looks like the spare tire, which must have been fun to retrieve on a hot day.
A ’46-’48 Cadillac with the rear half of the body replaced with a camper. It likely began life as a commercial chassis, such as a hearse or ambulance. It had a commercial license plate, but I can’t read the state. It looked like a manufactured camper even though it had no visible nametags. I see a chimney, so it had a cook stove and/or furnace.
A jovial looking fellow at a campsite with a small log cabin built into the side of a hill. He was sitting on the tailgate of a ’57-’60 Chevrolet 3200 Stepside with a canvas over wood framed shell and a Texas license plate, possibly a ’64 issue. Texas changed to this style font in ’61, and the plate style remained the same through the 60’s alternating between white for the odd years and black for the even. The truck also had a snow tire on the rear and a heavy step bumper.
Here was a ’52 or ’53 GMC “Advance Design” that looked like a long wheelbase 1/2 ton. That would have made it a 100 model. It had a camper shell or camper that was made for an eight foot box, aftermarket turn signals, and a rear step bumper. The lady did not seem to be having a good time.
A Dreamer camper in the back of a ’58 Ford Ranchero pickup. Dreamer was a good name for this rig. It looks like a camper made for a regular eight foot pickup bed. It was too tall for this Ranchero, and did not appear to be tied down in any way, unless it was bolted through the floor to the frame of the truck. I don’t know what the purpose of this photo was, as it appears to have been in a large, mostly empty parking lot. The Ranchero seemed to be holding up well under the added weight, but I don’t imagine it would drive very well.
Now we have a ’62 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Holiday Sedan with either a ’65 or ’67 issue Michigan license plate. It was issued in Grand Traverse County in the northern part of the state. Next to it was a cabover camper that lost it’s pickup companion. It was sitting on blocks and the camper jacks were still in place. A very workable situation on a temporary basis.
And a sharp looking, probably 327 V8 powered ’65 Chevrolet El Camino with a rather large cabover camper. It looks built to fit the El Camino, with some sort of auxiliary wheels on the rear. I presume it was bolted to the frame of the truck. It also looks like it would have pushed the width regulations. I will take the truck, you can keep the camper.
Another Dreamer camper, this one mounted on a ’66 or ’67 International Scout 800 Custom Cab Top Utility. It was apparently located at a dealer, as there was a maroon pickup with camper on the left, and a yellow pickup on the right. These campers must have had a reinforced floor that was bolted to the truck frame, as I see no other attachment methods. It also may have fit the new Ford Bronco pickup.
A search reveals this was a homemade camper built to fit this ’66 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. It had a raisable roof that was hinged at the front. It seems reasonably aerodynamic, but it would be interesting to see how or if it was attached to the roof of the car. It was at a recreational type lake, and had a license plate with blurred details.
There are several stories floating around cyberspace concerning this unit, and it was for real. Here is a summary. According to an article in the September 1975 issue of Popular Science, this “Li’l Bugger” was a Class C motorhome built by Travelon Industries in California. They charged $2795 to upgrade your VW. Later, a slightly larger model was built called the “Super Bugger”, and was produced by Super Campers, also of California. This car appears to be a ’70-’73 model, and of course it had upgraded wheels and tires as well as chassis reinforcements to help handle the added weight.
A traveling family was taking a road side lunch or snack break with their Starcraft pop up camper. Of course they did not take the time to pop it up for this short stop. It looked to be at least a 14 foot model, and the tow vehicle was a ’65 Chevrolet Biscayne.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
This is a fun posting.
The link is now dead, but 10 years ago in the UK, an auction house was selling a camper based on a Rover P5.
Nice .
The GM pickup under the tree is an “Advanced Design” model .
All through the 1960’s and 1970’s old hearses were dirt cheap and often well done conversions to C-Class campers .
-Nate
Not to be nit-picky but the correct, although grammatically odd, name is “Advance Design” not “Advanced”.
The camper on the Studebaker shares a feature with the ECamper made by a company called Ursa Minor for the Honda Element, which take advantage of the Element’s (optional) large sunroof opening for access to the camper, which is a popup. I see several in my town and quite a few more out on the roads in popular camping areas. Ursa Minor also made popups for the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco which again take advantage of the their removable roofs, as well as for the Ford Transit Connect.
Access from the car’s interior is the best part of that Studebaker camper setup. Here’s a picture of the camper off the car, and you can see the “door” (looks about 3 ft. high) at the front end of the camper. Lots of crawling around all over that camper (like Patrick wrote, it seems “cozy”), but for nimble people it could work well.
One of the few potential practical uses for the Wagonaire’s sliding rear roof. I’m a little dubious as to whether the chassis would be up to it, though. Better would have been the later, larger GMC Envoy XUV with its similar sliding rear roof.
And then there’s those quasi-SUV/pickups with their midgates that offer passenger compartment pass-thru access. Neither the earlier Avalanche, nor the current Silverado EV would work, largely due to their flying buttress, rear window sail panels. OTOH, the Sierra EV with its more conventional, upright rear window has possibilities.
Unfortunately, the owner’s manual for the midgate-equipped Silverado EV specifically prohibits slide-in camper use. I would imagine the same applies to the Sierra EV, as well.
Here’s some more on that Beetle camper, or a very similar one.
https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/159925-a-budget-camper-you-can-build-mechanix-illustrated-may-1979/
I remember seeing the Lil Buggers around when they were new. If memory serves, Herman Cook was a VW dealer in the San Juan Capistrano area right next to hwy 5. As a kid going to grandma’s house we would drive past and I distinctly remember seeing a line of these on their lot. They were so odd to this car crazy kid I specifically made sure to look out for them. I can’t imagine how lousy they must have been to drive.
Youd notice side and head winds in a Beetle conversion, maybe not so much with that Corvette camper edition, I’ll just hang on to my towable type.
Going by the style of the bumper cover on that Corvette camper (and other things), that picture is fake.
The door hanging into the wheelwell looks like an AI hallucination.
Yes, on a second view, it does look AI generated. It’s been removed.
Dang. I wanted to show that picture to a guy at todays car and coffee who had a ratty old 74 Vette. Give him hope.
Interesting activity behind the El Camino. Looks like a professional photographer with a model, perhaps taking advantage of the rustic site.
That scene appears to have been part of a Chevrolet photo shoot. Pictures of that same El Camino and trailer appeared in this 1965 ad – and another picture featuring that same couple was in the “Chevrolet Pleasure Trucks” brochure that folks could send away for (from the clip-out in the bottom-right).
In the photos actually used by Chevrolet, the camper’s brand markings were airbrushed out (I still can’t figure out the brand of the camper).
Here’s the picture from the brochure (this is from an eBay listing) – the people appear to be an older couple painting.
If the Covette camper modification is real, then we have a first: Room in a Corvette for luggage!
How is it possible to show an early 1950s GMC truck with a camper and not mention Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley”?
Wasn’t there a “brit flick”, a good while back; “Travels With My Aunt”?
Agreed. IIRC, Steinbeck’s ‘Travels with Charley’ camper was one of the first slide-in units.
It’s worth noting that there’s some question as to how much Steinbeck actually used his GMC camper. I read somewhere that it’s been speculated he only really used it from his departure from his home in Sag Harbor, New York to Chicago, where he met up with his wife, and they spent the rest of his trip in nicer hotels and embellished much of the book.
The camper , a top the “50’s, Ranchero” is an image I’ve seen before. Perhaps here? Not for certain on that part.
Thinking some a these may be “AI”. ((or “AI’d))
That Studebaker camper should have been in production in late ’62 in time for when the Wagonaires rolled out. They reeealy needed a selling point.
At the very least, the Kamp King Wagonaire could have been a halo vehicle that would have generated showroom traffic and garnered a few more sales. I’d sure want to check one out.
Believe it or not, there was actually ‘another’, similar camper for the Wagonaire called the ‘Tote Motel’. This one didn’t extend into the Wagonaire’s interior but, presumably, still offered pass-thru access.
Loved this.
I’d bet a dozen donuts that the 58 Ranchero is sitting on jack stands.
There was a camper dealer in the Tri Cities area of eastern Washington that had a little bugger mounted up on a pole as advertising. I think it’s still there all these years later. I first saw it in the 80’s.
Can’t find it now but a couple of years ago I was searching for something to stream on TV and came across a UK DIY show and they were highlighting a father and daughter making a beetle motorhome like the one above. Apparently the father had built a number of them in the 70’s and 80’s and now the daughter wanted one so they built one in his shed.
Edit: Found it show was called Dream Builds on wheels and apparently was on discovery plus.
Here is a vintage Four Wheel brand pop-up camper on a Bronco. They also had models for Scout and K5 Blazer. Company is still in business and thriving, but only supports full and mid size trucks. I have a 1994 version for eight foot bed full size pickups.
That Scout camper seems to anticipate the Chevy Blazer Chalet, although that was more of a Class C motorhome since the fiberglass body was permanently attached.
The lead image also sort of reached fruition with the Swedish Toppola campers that were fiberglass cabover units that fit the rear hatch of a SAAB 900 or Ford Sierra. The SAAB units were a modest success.