Rolling Oddities: Vintage Campers Through The Years – From Mild To Wild

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!

 

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