I’ve always been interested in the history of the truck camper industry and community. For example, I like finding out how someone got into truck camping, how a truck camper manufacturer started, and where a particular camper design or gear product originated.
Unfortunately, much of this history has gone undocumented over the decades. One bright spot is Camper Coachman, a print magazine from the 1960s and 1970s that was dedicated to truck campers. Here at Truck Camper Magazine HQ, we have accumulated a healthy collection of this original “truck camper” magazine, and lean on them for research and perspective.
As part of my personal mission for Truck Camper Magazine, I look for opportunities to weave this history and perspective into our current articles. A good example of how this approach to journalism can be found in our article, “Lance Cabover Strut Test and Review”.
When we researched the history of cabover struts for that story, we discovered a lost perspective on the validity of the product, which helped us put cabover struts into proper modern context. It was also a lot of fun, and gave us the perfect excuse to put a dancing Hula girl into the accompanying video.
Our Truck Campers Past Photo Gallery is a long-standing reader favorite. It started with a visit to Five Star RV in 2007. Five Star RV has an incredible scrap yard with Mitchell, Red Dale, El Dorado, and other truck camper brands long forgotten. We posted these photos as part of the Truck Campers Past photo gallery soon after our visit and readers responded with vintage truck camper photos of their own. Even now, seven years later, we still get photo submissions and add them to the vintage camper collection.
In the spirit of this week’s Avion camper restoration story, we’re reaching out to anyone who has owned, or currently owns, a vintage truck camper. If you have (or had) a truck camper from the 60s, 70s, or 80s, tell us the year, make, and model of the camper(s). If you owned a camper from that time period, send us a photograph and tell us all about it.
TIP: If you don’t have a scanner, use a camera to take a picture of the printed photograph in day light. That’s a trick we use all the time.
If you own a camper from the 60s, 70s, or 80s, we would love to know how you’ve maintained the truck camper, and we want to hear from you too. Naturally, any restoration stories or modifications are a bonus.
This QOTW is now complete. Click here to read about vintage campers.