RV Hall of Fame Museum in Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart is about 80 miles or so from where we are staying so we got up this morning and went to see the museum.  WOW!  We would recommend any one interested in motorhoming or camping to stop to see it.  It's right off the interstate.














This was very, very well done.  The museum shows the history all the way back to the very first travel trailer  in 1913.  It was called the Earl Travel Trailer and was pulled by a Model T Ford.

 We were surprised to learn that the first RV with slide outs was actually made in 1916 in San Francisco and sold for only $100.00.  It was called the Automobile Telescopic Apartment.  There were so many interesting RVs exhibited that it would take too long to describe them all.  We must, however, talk about a few.

We thought that Pam and Herm had the nicest and longest pull camper that we had ever seen but, believe it or not, there was one from 1954 called the Spartan Imperial Mansion which was 8 x 42 feet and was pulled by a truck.  For people that could afford these types of RVs in those days, they had chauffeurs.  These chauffeurs had their own quarters in the vehicle which towed the RV. 

Another interesting one was the 1931 Mae West House Car.  It was built specifically for Mae West by Hollywood movie executives to entice her to leave Vaudeville and begin a motion picture career. 

The 1929 Covered Wagon was the first production travel trailer in the United States.  It became the largest trailer manufacturing company during the 1930s, going public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1937.  The company went out of existence with World War II. 

 

There were a number of Tear Drop travel trailers exhibited which were used a lot in the beginning and are still very popular today.  Normally there is a bed on the inside and the back unfolds for a kitchenette.  Obviously, no bathroom.    The one shown below is a 1946 Kit Tear Drop pulled by a 1930 Model A Ford.

 

One of the most incredible stories regarded the trailer parked out in front of the museum.  It was lived in for 65 years by it's original owner, who purchased it with his parents when he returned from World War II.  During the 65 years he lived there, he had a wife and child who also lived there.  Only a few years ago, with the assistance of one of the guides in the museum that was a friend, the original owner went to an assisted living facility and donating the trailer to the museum.