An Introduction to RV Week
Recreational vehicles have been around in one form or another since before the internal combustion engine, and not long after cars and trucks became widely available for retail sale, enterprising owners began putting homebuilt structures on them that we'd call camper bodies today.
We don't know who the first RV builder was, but we do know for a certainty who was the inventor of the modern travel trailer....
The unexpectedly enthusiastic response--he quickly earned $15,000 from the sale of plans--convinced Mr. Byam that there might just be a commercial market for these trailers of his. He began building them to order in his backyard workshop, and when the neighbors complained about the noise, he raised a little capital, went out and rented factory space, and formed a corporation to carry on his trailer-building business. That corporation, Airstream, is still in business today.
RVs range from such curiosities as the Goggomobil Camper (pictured at right), a subminiature trailer intended to be towed by the equally-subminiature Goggomobil microcar, all the way up to Class A motorhomes that are big enough to owe real estate taxes when they're parked. We can't cover them all (unless we rename the blog "RV Lust"), but we hope you'll find this week's "vacation" from our usual subject matter as interesting as we do.
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
The archival image of Mr. & Mrs. Wally Byam is from the "History" section of Airstream's corporate website; the Goggomobil Camper photo came from Wikimedia Commons.
toronado455 on July 09, 2012 at 12:40 AM
I really like RVs. You can get really creative with them. My favorites are the classic 70s GMC motorhomes, and pickup truck campers.
Gene on July 09, 2012 at 09:07 AM
Never been in an Airstream, never knew anyone who owned one, and don't really want one myself. And yet ... I love love love them, always have.
That Car Guy (Chuck) on July 09, 2012 at 09:50 AM
Here's a great video; "How It's Made: 'Airstream Trailers.'"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu9kRx1CIpw
M. Thompson on July 09, 2012 at 10:37 AM
Saw a Mercedes-Benz badge Sprinter van converted by Airstream into a RV. Looked rather top-heavy and narrow.
MarveH on July 09, 2012 at 11:44 AM
Campers can be classified under the heading, “seemed like a good idea at the time”. Take an average family confine them to a car for hours on end, then once at their destination, confine them to equally claustrophobic living quarters; throw in four or more people using the same chemical toilet and you have the recipe for family fun. Campers are like towable Petri dishes of family conflict, sowing the seeds of resentment that can lead to lengthy counseling or juxtaposing heirs on the parent’s will. Find an alcoholic in a family and I bet there’s a camper involved somewhere. And yet an RV parked along the road with a “for sale” sign still garners my attention.
John B on July 09, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Seeing the pictuere of Wally Byam (IIRC, the founder of Airstram) reminds me of a chance encounter I had with the Wally Byum Caravan Club...the Airstream Ownwers Club.
It seems they have a meet every year (note in the photo the locations painted on the trailer, as a kid I remember seeing something about the club going to Africa...their preferred tow vehicle back then was the International Travelall...in the days before everyone made a SUV) in the early 90s they went to Dayton, Ohio near where I was living at the time.
I had never seen so many trucks and Airsteams...hundreds...if not a thousand of them. Enough to take over a deserted (for the summer) college campus (Wright State Univ) in Fairborn.
The medain age seemed to be dead -10...but they were nice folks and enjoyed all the arranged events and tours. Too bad our economy and fuel prices don't allow more folks to have fun like that.
That Car Guy (Chuck) on July 09, 2012 at 12:30 PM
My friends had an Airstream, but they did not like the caravan meetings. They preferred to make their own trail, not follow hundreds of others just to discuss the different colored drapes in their trailers.
If you look at the Airsteams and see a number above the windows, it's a reference to the Airstream club members. There's a book, and I'm sure it's online now, where you match the number to the owners. Then you'll know their name, where they live, and other stuff, so when you meet them, they are not strangers. That's kind of nice.
Gene on July 09, 2012 at 01:07 PM
This reminds me of another common sight of my childhood that has apparently disappeared forever: trailers being towed by cars.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on July 09, 2012 at 02:13 PM
For about a year in the early 90s, I worked for a man whose father was one of the four original investors who supplied Wally Byam with the capital to start Airstream.
Just on July 19, 2012 at 03:25 PM
the camper that are on the pic white the goggomobil are home made :)
the owner of the goggomobil have made it :) the car are in Gjerstad Norway
Regards
Just