While in Nappanee, Indiana, we drove up to Elkhart Friday morning to see the RV Hall of Fame and Museum. Admission was $12 for seniors. It was pretty cool seeing such original, old, creative RVs. Head down part of this historical RV road to see where the RVs of today got started.
Definitely one of the first traveling homes.
1946 Kit Teardrop Trailer. No teardrops for me…Not even ones manufactured today! “Cute” in real estate and RV descriptions equate to small/tiny.
I loved this “Cabin TIme” look.
Kathy Wren purchased the vintage 1967 Fan camper in 2013. Once she talked with Larry Webb the magical transformation began. I love how he made it look like it had an actual porch – complete with a bike hanging basket, etc.
The oldest travel trailer in the world. 1913 “Earl” travel trailer and Model T Ford. The table converts the benches to a bed.
1916 Telescoping Apartment built on a 1915 Model T Ford. These were built on the west coast. They were meant for camping. The side cabinets slide in for travel. The rear section “telescopes” into the main compartment and is secure for travel. Warm water for the shower is produce by radiator heat from the engine.
Smallest Airstream ever built:
1931 Model AA Ford Housecar:
A Custom Travel Trailer for CHARLES LINDBERGH!
1931 Mae West Housecar
1928 Pierce Arrow Housecar
This one caught my eye because the view of the back end reminded me of a train car and a trolley/SF cable car.
This is one of only three housecars built by the Pierce Arrow Company, before the crash of 1929 stopped their manufacturing of luxury housecars. Yes, this was considered a LUXURY coach for the 1920s.
1980’s Kountry Aire by NEWMAR. This reminds me of my parents’ Holiday Rambler Travel Trailer that they had around 1969-1974.
This Class A was in the parking lot. I had been told about this being part of the museum, but forgot about it since it wasn’t inside. Some RVs in the museum are loaned to them on a temporary basis. I’m thinking that’s the case with this one. Now that’s a Philly fan. But it would have been better if it was Seahawks. 🙂
We were really glad that Mark and Tricia from “Keep Your Daydream” (KYD) recently put their Bluebird bus – “The Bird” on display here. It is here for an unknown amount of time. Since we have been following KYD on YouTube for a few years, seeing “The Bird” inside and out was a personal connection for us. This was the highlight of our museum visit.
Route 66 upholstery throughout was pretty cool to see in person, and it looks great. The dashboard of gauges was quite antiquated. I can’t imagine driving “The Bird” with so many crazy drivers everywhere! Kudos, to Marc! The lack of kitchen space and shallow sinks would drive me nuts trying to cook and and wash pans afterwards.
The space to get into the driver’s seat and into the passenger seat is extremely tight. No wonder we often saw Charlie in the passenger seat and Trish back on the couch or at the dinette working. 🙂
Marc removed a board from the twin bed and replaced it with a clear plexiglass type cover to allow visitors to view his upgrade to lithium batteries.
As regular viewers of KYD, we could even hear Gary speaking to us while we were there in “The Bird!” LOL
A treasure sited while we were in the Bar Harbor area…
AIRSTREAM 345 – A 1985 AIRSTREAM MOTORHOME!!!
I can’t believe there wasn’t one of these at the museum. Lynn and Jeff K. were our neighbors at Narrows Too RV Campground in Trenton, Maine. They were leaving the same morning we were, so I tried to get some pics.
Lynn happily sent me a picture they had from when they were in Borrego Springs. Thank you!
