What do you picture when you think of “travel trailers?” It is safe to say that you probably don’t imagine something that looks similar to a covered wagon. What would you think if we told you that’s exactly what gave birth to what you now know as the travel trailer?
To learn more about the history of travel trailers, we go back to 1910 when early adventurers would place their tents on platforms on wheels to create the first tent trailers. At this time, most cars only reached 15 mph, so campers could even leave the tents on the platforms to drive home.
By 1915, hard-sided travel trailers became available as trailer camping increased in popularity. People would even build their own removable trailer bodies to fit Ford chassis. That way, whenever they wanted to go camping, they could simply replace their car body with a camper body and be on their way!
Travel trailers in the 1920s began to look more like what we think of today. Some trailers had things like kitchens, living rooms and screened windows. Since there were more quality paved roads at this time, longer, more comfortable camping trips became possible, and some people even began to live full-time in their portable abodes.
Then, in 1929, Arthur Sherman built the first modern travel trailer and called it the Covered Wagon. The motivation to design the trailer came when he was trying to set up a tent trailer in a rainstorm on a family camping trip in northern Michigan. Sherman knew he could create something that was easier to set up, but was just as easy to transport.
Sherman began mass-producing the covered wagon and sold them for $395. By the end of his first year, his sales totaled $56,000, and by 1936, Sherman was the largest manufacturer in the travel trailer industry… but not for long.
By the time the 1930s came around, around 400 companies manufactured travel trailers. The only one that still remains today was a trailer built in the Los Angeles backyard of a young entrepreneur named Wally Byam, who would eventually found Airstream, Inc.
And the rest is history. Here we are today, with over 80 years of experience and millions of miles on roads throughout the world, producing high-quality travel trailers for Live Riveted adventurers everywhere.
For all you history buffs—do you know any fun facts about the history of travel trailers? We always love hearing from our audience, so feel free to comment on this post or on our Facebook page to share with us!
