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All images courtesy of the Recreational Vehicle/Motorhome Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana.

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The 1913 Earl Trailer and Model T Ford is believed to be the oldest non-tent travel trailer in existence. It is the ancestor of the contemporary travel trailer. Custom built for a Cal Tech professor. On permanent display at the he RV/MH Hall of Fame courtesy of Wade Thompson, Thor Industries.

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The 1915 Model T with 1916 Telescope apartment. A unique unit built in California on the back of a Model T Ford roadster. A novel feature is multiple slide-outs on this vintage model RV.

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An advertisement of 1915 Model T with 1916 Telescope apartment T from Popular Mechanics, 1916

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The 1928 Pierce Arrow Fleet housecar. Identified as the Privateer, it’s is one of only three models known to be produced on Pierce Arrow truck chassis before the market crash of 1929, which ended their manufacture of luxury housecars.

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The 1928 Wiedman Camp Body on Stewart truck chassis. Camp Bodies were built in East Tonawanda NY to be placed on any chassis of the buyers choice either factory installed or shipped by rail to be installed by the buyer.

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The 1931 Chevrolet Housecar was built for Paramount Studios to present to Mae West when she left vaudeville to make movies for the studio in 1931. Miss West did not enjoy flying, and the Housecar meant she could travel in comfort.

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Unlike many RVs today, Miss West’s Housecar was a chauffeur driven design with a large lounge area, not unlike a train car. There was even a balcony out back where Miss West could take in the sun or greet her fans. It had no sleeping area, but a kitchen with plenty of interior seating was carefully installed, according to Holland RV Centers

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The 1931 Tennessee Traveler Housecar was a gift from Bobby White of Pulaski TN. This early motorhome was made on Model AA Ford chassis.

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The 1933 Runkle Housecar on Ford V8 chassis is one of several units built by Runkle of Macomb IL over about 10 years of low volume production.

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1937 Hunt housecar, one of several very unique early housecars built by acclaimed Hollywood cinematographer Roy Hunt between 1935 and 1945. Hunt built almost 50 of them over the next decade, making it one of the rarest production motorhomes in existence and considered by many to be the first with a working shower

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The 1964 Clark Cortez motorhome was a gift of Fred and Mary Peek of Marshall, MI. One of America's first front wheel drive motor homes. They were built by Clark Equipment Company that makes fork lifts and heavy construction equipment.

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1969 Ford-based chassis mount motorhome, from the RV/MH Hall of Fame Collection. Gift of the Stites family. Built by the Stites Camper Company of Denver, CO, the trailer RV the evolution from slide-in truck campers to today's type C motorhomes.

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The 1967 Winnebago 19' is an example of their first motorhome model - built on six-cylinder Ford chassis by Hall of Fame Member John K. Hanson. Restoration by Winnebago.

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The 1969 Pace Arrow is first motorhome produced by Fleetwood.

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The 1976 Cadillac Edlorado based homemade motorhome was a gift from Paul and Maureen Jones family of Cape Coral FL.

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John Crean's 1985 prototype for the iconic 1986-87 Bounder.

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