- [Glen] Campers, caravans, and motor homes
have been around since 1910 with some cool looks,
and ingenious designs from the popular Winnebago
to a recreational vehicle that was designed
by the person who brought us the Weinermobile.
This is Glen and today we are showing you
10 of these crazy retro designs.
- [Woman] Number 10.
- [Glen] Larry Shinoda who had designed
the 1963 Corvette Stingray and the Boss 302 Mustang
helped to develop the Rectrans Discoverer
which was made by the White Motor Company.
The Rectrans camper was 25 feet long
with a fiberglass shell that was mounted
on a Dodge M300 chassis.
With a 413 cubic inch Chrysler engine,
these came with a three-speed automatic transmission,
could accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour
in 11 seconds, and could get 10.1 miles per gallon.
This comes with only one door that is located
on the passenger's side with a refrigerator and freezer
that can operate on either electricity or LP gas.
And there is also a bathroom, a kitchen, and a dining table.
There were approximately 3300 Rectrans built
from 1971 until January of 1974.
[Woman] Number nine.
- [Glen] The Starstreak 1 and Starstreak 2 motor homes
were both built on a Cadillac chassis
with an Olds Toronado 455 engine with minor differences
that you can use to tell them apart.
They were built by Air Force officer Paul Jones
of Cape Coral, Florida.
The Starstreak 1 is in the California Automobile Museum
in Sacramento's permanent collection.
This one is is set on a 1971 Olds Toronado chassis
and has trim from Cadillac.
The panels, glass and things were all hand fabricated,
and the windows have a foot of paneling between
the back corner and the back edge of the side window.
The Starstreak 2 motor home is in the Motor Home,
Recreational Vehicle and Motor Home Hall of Fame
in Elkhart Indiana, and has five circles on the belt line,
full length side windows, and an aluminum colored trim piece
at the top of the side.
This was built in 1988 on a 1976 Cadillac chassis
using a 1976 Olds Toronado 455 engine.
The length was 22.5 feet with a height of about seven feet
and a curb weight of 5400 pounds.
- [Woman] Number eight.
- [Glen] In 1958, David Holmes enlisted Chuck Pelly
founder of Designworks USA to design
the Holiday House Geographic also known as Model X
as a limited production model.
With a price tag of almost $8500 there are thought
to have only been parts of seven
of these revolutionary fiberglass trailers ever made
with only two currently known to be in existence.
One, a 1961 Holiday House Geographic,
has been completely restored from the ground up
by Flyte Camp in Bend, Oregon
and it's in beautiful condition.
Among the most desirable vintage travel trailers
in the world, this is 24 feet long,
sleeps up to four people,
and has a water capacity up to 40 gallons,
and one air conditioner.
This was available for sale on eBay but the listing ended
on August 22 at a price of $225,000.
- [Woman] Number seven.
- [Glen] Built in 1963 by Torston Johansson,
the SAAB 92H caravan camper with Toppola camper shell
on a SAAB 92 base had a two cylinder, two stroke engine.
Even with lightweight wooden construction,
the additional weight over the drive axel
meant that the 92H could barely put out 28 horsepower.
Torston later made a similar RV,
this time using the running gear of a SAAB 95
with an upgraded V4 engine that put out 55 horsepower
and was later upgraded again to a 65 horsepower engine.
The 92H was later converted into a stationary hunting cabin
before being rescued by Klaus Johansson
who picked up the 95HK at auction
and has now restored both to a beautiful new condition.
- [Woman] Number six.
- [Glen] Winnebago industries was incorporated in Iowa
in February of 1958 and adopted its present name
in February of 1961.
Winnebago, meaning people of the dirty water,
and model names such as the Brave and the Warrior
were influenced by Native American culture.
The first Winnebago was made in 1966,
sold for half the price of competing models,
and that RV with the serial number of 001,
was still running well into this century.
Different lengths were available from 17 to 27 feet,
and the V shaped body work with the iconic flying W emblem
on the side are recognized all over the world.
John K. Hansen who started the company
remained actively involved in the company
until his death in 1996 at the age of 88.
With many types and models, Winnebago is still around today.
- [Woman] Number five.
- [Glen] A rare 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado G.T. Motorhome
is a pretty cool car camper with a V8 powered engine
that has 68,000 miles.
With an engine replacement 4000 miles earlier
that will get you 15 miles to the gallon.
Coming with a bathroom, a shower, a wardrobe
and skylights giving you natural light during the day
or looking up at the stars at night,
this has a curtain below the bed giving you access
to the driving area and on the inside.
This camper can sleep up to three adults
or two adults with two kids
and was recently on sale on eBay Motors for $15,000.
While you're waiting to see the next one on our list,
let us know in the comments which crazy campers or caravans
you would like to see in the future.
- [Woman] Number four.
- [Glen] Industrial designer Brooks Stevens
created about 3000 designs including the iconic
front fender design for the Harley Davidson motorcycles,
the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile,
and the 1941 Western Flyer Recreation Vehicle,
one of only three that were ever produced.
In 2011, Howdy Ledbetter discovered a good front half
and a good back half of the flyer
and then took seven months to piece it back together
adding a 1941 Buick headlamp above the windshield
and lengthening the nose with a 1941 Ford COE grill.
Modern enhancements on this one include
a Ford 460 cubic inch engine,
a new Super Duty 40-foot motor home chassis
with additional sway bars,
a new heavy duty Ford automatic transmission
with overdrive and disc brakes.
This was sold on eBay Motors in 2016 for over $70,000.
- [Woman] Number three.
- [Glen] This truck camper was built by
McNamee Coach Corporation in South El Monte
under the Kamp King Koaches division.
This tri-level Sky Rider camper was created
by Merle D. McNamee who was a 1992 RV Hall of Fame inductee
for his innovative ideas that helped shape
the recreational vehicle industry.
Built in the mid-60s this three level truck camper
had a kitchen area on the first level,
a cab over section on level two
and an extended roof and sky deck area on level three.
The sun deck is accessed by a fold up roof
that hinges from the rear and creates a passageway
to enjoy the sky lounge.
With a plexiglass wraparound picture window
allowing passengers to enjoy the view.
At the rear of the camper is another slide out section
that helps increase the living space inside the camper.
And the extended roof includes additional sleeping
above the kitchen area.
- [Woman] Number two.
- [Glen] Once featured in Popular Mechanics magazine
and the movie Total Recall, the 1979 Phoenix Camper Van
was a VW based van that expanded into a tent.
Phoenix had the sleek look of a modern sports van
when driving and it's low frontal area
coupled with a curb weight of 2000 pounds
along with its VW van chassis translated into
a highway fuel economy of 25 miles per gallon.
The tent trailer expanded into a large room
with a height of six feet in the center,
12 feet across when expanded and came with a bench seat
with 14 cubic feet of storage on each side.
Nitrogen cylinder assisted gullwing doors
provided easy entrance into the low profile cab.
And the two bucket seats in front
allowed central walking space into the rear.
Later, cosmetic changes were made to give it a face lift
and it was reintroduced as
the Mechanic's Illustrated's Renegade.
- [Woman] Number one.
- [Glen] The six-wheeled Spartan Starcraft camper
was sold as a conversion for the Ford Cortina Mark III
to Mark V by Spartan Cars.
Founded by Jim McIntyre, Spartan Cars manufactured kit cars
in the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1973.
A large body shell including an overhanging section
above the driver and passenger seats was mounted
on a new steel chassis that was taken
from the Cortina's mechanical components.
The center section of the Cortina was retained
including windscreen, instruments and wiring
while the top area was newly restyled.
There's plenty of storage, a built-in sink, heater,
and a small bathroom.
The overhead cab area measures five feet
by five feet five inches.
The length from the rear of the front seats
to the rear window is nine feet
and the rear section was still being produced
in the early 90s for use with the Ford Sierra.
- Hey guys, this is Kati.
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