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Old 02-28-2020, 08:20 AM   #1
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Pics of the first RV you can remember

Didn't have an RV until last year at age 53. But I remember clearly the one my neighbor had when I was a little kid. Sometime after age 5, my neighbor got a TT and kept it parked all the way in the back yard near our property line. When I would play in the back yard, the inevitable errant baseball or Frisbee would land near it, and I would stare at it, wondering what it was like inside. My older sisters would attend sleepovers with the girls next door inside it, and I was a bit jealous they got to go in it. I still clearly remember the colored metallic looking band on the outside, and the Holiday Rambler logo. I did a Google search of images and found one that most closely resembles my memory image. This image is a 1966 Holiday Rambler.

There would be a vacant spot there most of the summer, I heard they would take it to Lake George and camp. I think they had that camper most of my childhood. When I got out of the Marines, I noticed the camper was gone. And that was the first RV I can remember.
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Old 02-28-2020, 10:21 AM   #2
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I get a kick out of vintage trailers. Maybe one of these is the first you remember! The ones in this slideshow were before my time. Love these little trailers. https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enth...Bnb7Kz#image=1
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Old 02-28-2020, 10:20 PM   #3
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Here is the first camper I remember. This one Dad had before we went to Germany. He was stationed in Biloxi MS, and we went to Florida somewhere, I don't remember exactly where. This camper was pulled by that '59 Cadillac Sedan De Ville, with Dad, Mom, and 5 kids. Yeah, those were the good old days!

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Old 02-28-2020, 11:43 PM   #4
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Here is the first camper I remember. This one Dad had before we went to Germany. He was stationed in Biloxi MS, and we went to Florida somewhere, I don't remember exactly where. This camper was pulled by that '59 Cadillac Sedan De Ville, with Dad, Mom, and 5 kids. Yeah, those were the good old days!



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That looks like heaven!
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Old 02-29-2020, 12:08 AM   #5
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Our first pop up my parents bought in 1966. They had never owned any camper before and had barely camped at all. Bought the pop up and took off on a 3 week trip to California (from Kentucky). This was before interstates and even many campgrounds. Spent a night beside an old gas station that had blown up at some time. Quite an adventure.Click image for larger version

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Old 02-29-2020, 12:50 AM   #6
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My aunt lived about 5 miles from us and back in the 1960's, on the road to her house, was a Scotty dealer. Always thought they'd be neat to have.

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Old 02-29-2020, 07:31 AM   #7
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The first TT I remember was my grandparents Kenskill built around 1957. They towed it with a 57 BelAir with a 283 all over the country.

Our family used to camp every summer at Faria Beach near Ventura Ca for $1 per week. You would camp right at the water front and would hear the waves crashing over the rocks while sleeping. My grandparents would stay a week then we would go for the 2nd week. 3rd week they would come back and tow it home.

A few of unique things I remember are the propane light for the dining table, a hand pump at the sink to pump water from the tank and an ice box which would hold a block of ice. No bathroom. These photo were what I could find on the internet but is very similar to what they had.
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Old 02-29-2020, 09:21 AM   #8
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Great pics guys and great memories! Those old Scotty trailers are so cool. I always loved the way people would make them look 'homey' with old school curtains and stuff.
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Old 02-29-2020, 10:39 AM   #9
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Our first trailer was a 1975 Cox tent pop-up. This could be pulled with any style of vehicle back in the days. Nothing fancy just two beds on each side plus a table that sat 4 that could be made up into a bed.

Everything else was what you brought with you such as dish pans, portable water containers, white gas stove and lantern (Coleman), sleeping bags and so, forth plus food and an ice cooler for a week. This was all packed into the tow vehicle with the kids, wife and myself.
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Old 02-29-2020, 11:48 AM   #10
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Sorry, I had to "borrow" this picture but it's just like the first trailer our family had in the early 50's. We were a family of 6 and somehow it worked just fine with the help of a tent for the two older kids (my sister and I).



Coleman stove, Coleman lantern, and Surplus GI 5 gallon water cans. For extra shelter from the rain a surplus tarp was rigged over a picnic table. Heavy and stinky (from waterproofing) unlike todays tarps that can cover 200 sq ft and weigh only a couple pounds.
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Old 03-09-2020, 02:46 PM   #11
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Our first RV. Built by Crown, perhaps in the 50’s?? Not much more that a queen bed, ice box, two burner range and a sink. No holding tank. Hook up to water, turn on sink faucet and water drains straight on to the ground. Tow vehicle was a 1968 (I think) GMC pick up with a 402 cubic inch V8.
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Old 03-09-2020, 02:50 PM   #12
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Next was a 1970’s Ideal self contained 18’ trailer. Used the same GMC truck with a WDH as the single axle trailer had a very heavy tongue weight. Nice trailer, white wood (real wood) paneling plus a propane light over the table. Sure was nice having a bathroom and bath tub for the kids.

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Old 03-09-2020, 02:56 PM   #13
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Finally a very nice 22’ Vacationeer trailer. Upgraded to an 1972 International Travelall which was a great TV. Lots of room inside and a large awning. We loved that unit and brought it to NC when we moved here in 1978.
Alas, the girls got interested in boys, so camping ended.

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Old 03-09-2020, 03:45 PM   #14
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Our first RV. Built by Crown, perhaps in the 50’s?? Not much more that a queen bed, ice box, two burner range and a sink. No holding tank. Hook up to water, turn on sink faucet and water drains straight on to the ground. Tow vehicle was a 1968 (I think) GMC pick up with a 402 cubic inch V8.
Attachment 224855
I'd forgotten about the ice box back in those days. If you wanted ice for a drink you had to chip off some with an ice pick.
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Old 03-09-2020, 07:29 PM   #15
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This is not the earliest trailer I remember, but it's the earliest one I've been able to find a picture of so far. I'm still working my way through my Dad's photo collection to see if I can find a pic of the first one.

This is a Driftwood travel trailer my parents purchased when I was 6 (Late 60's). The previous trailer was a home built 12 foot unit that holds some special memories for my older brother and I. Mom and Dad decided the 12 footer was just too small when little brother came along. heheheheh

This Driftwood unit was quite interesting in that it was 16 feet long, but would sleep 8 if two of the people were small enough and not claustrophobic.

This pic was taken in 1972 when Mom and Dad had the nerve to actually go on a camping trip without the kids. Boo!

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That Chevy Suburban brings back some interesting memories as well. It's a reminder of just how far things have come safety-wise. Dad purchased it used and it had a second gas tank INSIDE the truck. It had a basic box built around it and dad found a pad to lay on top of that box that us kids would lay on and sleep while he drove. (Seat belts? We don't need no stinking seat belts!). The second gas tank didn't have a gauge, so after filling up both tanks we'd start with that tank and when the truck started sputtering while going down the road it was a mad scramble to find the valve under the front seat that switched things over to the main tank. Wheee!!

That Suburban also only had three doors. How many people remember that detail from the vintage years?

Enjoy!

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Old 03-09-2020, 08:24 PM   #16
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Old 03-11-2020, 11:22 PM   #17
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I don't have a picture but in the mid 70's I remember seeing my first 5th wheel. It was on the Oregon Coast and was being towed by a Pontiac Bonneville sedan with the trunk lid removed.
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Old 03-12-2020, 09:19 AM   #18
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My new 1983 Monte Carlo SS with my grandparents 1967 Airstream headed into Pennsylvania for vacation!Click image for larger version

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Old 03-12-2020, 10:36 AM   #19
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This is our first RV, a 1963 Airstream purchased from an elderly widow in our church in 1971. Pulled by a 1967 Pontiac Tempest. One of our early trips was this one where we spent the whole July 4th holiday boondocking on the beach here in Florida. This is the old Hwy A1A about a mile north of Marine Land. A storm had washed out the bridge so the new A1A was routed inland leaving paved parking along the beach. There was only one other camper on the same stretch of beach. Imagine that today. Florida used to be a really nice place.
The trailer had a nice Dometic frige and forced propane heating pretty much like today but the water system was pressurized. A metal tank held the water and a small 12V pump pressurized the tank as water was used. The filler pipe had an o-ring seal and there was an air valve on it for external pressurization. There was no grey tank only a black tank. You had to catch waste water in a bucket in Nat. Parks where you learned to take one gallon showers!
Years later we moved to Calif. where the dump valve began to leak. I removed the valve assembly and took it to a shop for repair where the owner called all the workers over to marvel over this large machined solid brass valve!
Nice memories. Thanks for the post.
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Old 03-12-2020, 11:34 AM   #20
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As a kid, this was our 1962 14ft Yellowstone. TV was a 1958 Edsel with the Corsair V8. Fun times and great memories!
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