Elkhart, Indiana, can easily be accessed from the I 80-90 toll road in north central Indiana. For decades, there was a large recreational vehicle manufacturing industry in the idea, but the whole market declined drastically when the economy tanked over the past few years. As a result, the RV manufacturing businesses have been very hard hit.
Located in Elkhart is the RV/Motor Home Museum. We heard the museum may soon close, with the nearby factories sitting idle. I suppose the museum isn't getting enough visitors to pay bills. That's a shame. I think they are trying to raise funds to remain open, but we decided to make a trek here from Fort Wayne, in case the place closes down and we were never able to see its collection.
And what a collection it is. There is memorabilia from the 1920's and '30s, the earliest of pull-behind-car camping trailers. Some of these were tent trailers, some nearly replicas of covered wagons.
But with the technological advances before WW1 to the present, designs changed, materials improved and makers could take advantage of mass manufacturing processes. Better woods and laminates, fiberglass, aluminum. A plethora of ways to go.
I had never seen some of these things - a 1913 Earl Trailer and Model T Ford, with the most gorgeous wood sides, in and out. A bench seat to drive and in the back a wood stove, dining table and sleeping benches.
There was a 1915 Model T with a wooden telescoping apartment that slid in and out for camping. Drawers slid out on both sides and the back slid out to make camping beds. Ingenious and slick.
A beautiful thing was a 1931 Chevy Housecar custom made for Mae West, to get her to leave vaudeville and come to the MGM movie studio. Plush grey velvet seats, all luxury, it was like the first version of the studio trailer (didn't Charlie Sheen just kidnap his?).
Things progress to the futuristic aluminum Airstream trailers - capacity in post-war airplane factories opened up this industry and created lots of good American jobs. Come back, economy - we need to go camping and we need our jobs! The 1958 Airstream Flying Cloud - what a name. What a slice of the best of Americana.
A lot of this museum is kitch, to complement the flavor of trailer parks, perhaps - I noticed weird matching statuary and such set out for decorations by the exhibits, as if they came loaded in the trailers - must be part of camping culture. Imagine a garden gnome or flamingo stuck out by the 1954 Shasta 'canned ham' style trailer. Oh, the life.
They even have a recent model plush Winnebago to walk through, I suppose to tempt whomever they can into seeing how wonderful they are and buying one. It'd be great to drive to Yosemite or some where like that in one. Dream on - you never know.
Check out the website at rvmhhalloffame.org. You can see photos of some of the exhibits without having to drive there and pay the admission costs. If you're on the toll road on a trip to or from Chicago, though, it's worth the exit at #96. I hope the museum can stay open and more people can walk inside the 1976 custom Cadillac Eldorado camper donated by a family from Cape Coral, FL. It's great that with so many of the campers, one can actually walk in and experience the living arrangements inside. People are so creative.
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