The ultimate in glamour? A vintage campervan!

Every child’s dream is to build a hut, maybe a small house of their own. Unsurprisingly then, the freedom that arrived with the advent of the automobile pushed man – and his woman who was delighted to have a second mobile home – towards the creation of caravans or, more properly, because they were created and thrived in the United States, Trailers.

The arrival of trailers in the United States came about for a number of reasons: for starters, before the outbreak of the Second World War, cars were already widespread over there. Then, for all intents and purposes, the Great Country was made especially for travel. Finally, when the crisis of 1929 hit the economy hard, a house that could be towed resolved more than its fair share of problems. There was a surge of creativity in this field, often due to the reconversion of companies in decline, as was the case for the world of aviation. The aluminium-bodied Hawley Bowlus, Curtis and the now legendary Airstreams all have aviation in their veins, and the streamlined shapes of their creations clearly show it. 

Now we know a little more about the history of camper vans, here’s a small sample of the incredibly vast universe of historical trailers. This week, we’ll take a look at the USA, next week, under the familiar name of “caravans”, it’s the turn of the European ones. There’s a lot of fun to be had here. And it might also be worth raising your antennas because there’s a new phenomenon sweeping across the USA, and it won’t take long for it to reach Europe, called “glamping”. “What?” we hear you ask… Why, that’s an easy one to figure out: glamorous camping in which only vintage trailers are allowed, carefully curated and meticulously cared for. This is also an interesting theme for the post-pandemic era: let’s make a sensation with our vintage caravan! Towed, of course, by a car from the same period…

Below are a few examples that have impressed us the most for their imagination and innovation. Unfortunately, some of them, such as the Airstream, cannot be used in Europe for their electric braking system, which is not approved. But no matter, these are undeniably magical objects that can become a small villa if well positioned in the right place. Have fun!