MOBILE MANSIONS: The History of RV's and Trailers Full One Hour Version by Douglas Keister
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2013
- Please consider a small donation via PAYPAL to DOUG@KEISTERPHOTO.COM to offset the considerable time it took to create this extraordinary history.
Mobile Mansions is a one hour video detailing the history of RV's (motorhomes and trailers) from the Conestoga wagon to the present day. Writer-photographer created this well researched and entertaining video based on material contained in his popular books, READY TO ROLL, SILVER PALACES, MOBILE MANSIONS and TEARDROPS AND TINY TRAILERS.
Wow, I had no idea the depth of RV/Trailer history. Thank you so much for this detailed history, Mr. Keister.
I’d love to see you come back on a part 2 with the “Van Life” movement and modern RVs and RVing! Thank you!
Love this video---have it bookmarked on my toolbar and have watched it several times over the last year. I got so inspired, I bought a 1950 Spartan Royal Mansion and am now restoring it and am hoping I can have it ready enough to take to Florida in Feb.of 2018 for the 100th anniversary of the Tin Can Tourist Travel Trailer Club rally and celebration. Thanks for your excellent work. It obviously took a lot of time and effort to produce such an excellent, informative, funny, and interesting piece. I've told numerous people about your video so they could enjoy it too. It's a study in some of the best things about our American spirit and our cultural heritage. Thanks again.
Well put
I love America. I love History. This is the best of both worlds. This kept my attention.
An EXCELLENT film, Douglas! Thank you for educating me!!
Thank you for all your comments (even the negative ones where some people said the music was too loud in some places and a couple people who didn't like that I asked for donations). It gladdens me that so many people like the video. Please understand that I am not a video production company. I am a one-man-band and felt compelled to share my knowledge of the history of travel trailers and motorhomes in a way that lots of people could see. There is a common belief that everything on the Internet is free, but hopefully people realize that it often takes hundreds of hours to produce something like this and that's why I have asked for donations. So far, I have received less than $100 after over 35,000 viewings. Again, thanks for all the compliments and viewings.
Hi Doug, what is the difference between the two 'Ready To Roll' books? I noticed the covers are different.... Is one an updated from the other one or..???
I want to buy one but if there 's a difference than I might end up buying both of them. I all ready own Teardrops and Tiny Trailers and that is an awesome edition to my book collection. Thanks in advance and keep up the good work.
Bart Cops The new version has a few corrections and some updated photos and resources. We also had to eliminate a few things to put the new content in, but nothing that affects the breadth of the material. Short answer: you want the new version.
Awesome video! Anything that allows people to travel the country in style, comfort, and convenience, and hopefully safety. :)
I'm new to full-timing in a fifth wheel I was given (cure for being homeless). I have been bitten by the Vintage RV bug, as my rig is vintage. I LOVE the history of RV's and "car camping." I am a member of TCT, and can't wait to get my rig ready for the road! As kids, we grew up visiting my Grandpa and Great Uncle in their travel trailer (wish I knew the year/model), and traveling in their homebuilt truck camper on the back of a 1950's Dodge. It's in my blood.
The only reason I could tell that this wasn't made for TV was because of the low voice over sound quality. Excellent video, better than many big TV channel documentaries.
Thanks again for the comments (most recently, Tom) I did this without any financial support and yes, parts can be improved. If I ever have the time and resources, I'll remix the sound and clean a few things up. I'm pretty much a one-man-band, but I thought the RV/Trailer story was an important one to tell even if I couldn't do it with Hollywood flair. Again, I'm very happy 52,000 viewers have watched it.
Douglas Keister: History is repeating its self again now! Thank you!
Thank you so much Doug. This was priceless. It took me back to the simpler times when people and their attitudes were way different than they are today. Bless you !
Really interesting but I wish the audio was better. All the narrative is only in the left channel so the music drowns it out.
Doug, congratulations on this really informative and fun video. You correctly captured the spirit of RVing.
We have owned 5 motor-homes and absolutely love going out into various parts of western America.
If some of your viewers get the RV bug I would highly recommend that they also join the Good Sam Club.
Thank you both for your comments. It makes all the work I did to create Mobile Mansions worthwhile
Awesome documentary!
Wow, what a great video! RVing today, is at a mega level! It was nice seeing the history of this super community thats growing yearly! Cheers
COOL video.
THANX for posting.
Thank you Mr. Keister! This is entertaining, well made and historically accurate. Beautifully done.
Well Done, Doug!! Viewer prospects please disregard the moronic negative comments, this is an entertaining, VERY informative and well researched video. To change the audio mix, use your balance control heavy to whatever side the commentary is loudest.
There is a LOT of history in this little video, and lots of pictures and clips from movies I've never seen before, despite hours on the internet! Should be required watching for all the potential RV owners out there, prior to buying!
My thanks and sincere compliments to Doug Keister for his RV history video!
i don't know how i got here, but glad i did, very cute, informational, and relaxing video, thank you
Most enjoyable ! In deed👍😊
We have enjoyed 3 different Airstreams since I was just a youngboy. Nothing like owning one
I enjoyed your "blast from the past" presentation
A+ 😂😂😂
Thanks for this, it's great fun and very informative! Well done!
My mother, born in '31 in Ohio, told stories of long trips to Sault-Sainte-Marie. There were barely roads and no facilities -- a can of beans would be opened and heated on the hot engine. She also describes picnics before plastic -- plastics are not good for us or for the planet, but they sure are convenient! The world's first mobile home was created by a French surrealist. I have at least one clip up about him and his life in and around Paris if anyone wants to look. (Type "RV" and "Lisa Falour" in your search box and some should pop up.) His design was very good and he lived in it and traveled in it for several years around Europe. Very good documentary, thank you! Uprated.
Fantastic documentary Douglas! Thank you so much for putting this all together. It was a very interesting and enjoyable watch!
Thank you very much for your nice video! It´s wonderfully made ! You make me enjoy very much!
Congratulations from Argentina
Gustavo
Great work. I applaud the time and effort you put into this production. I have placed an embed on my website and hope you get lots of views from it. Also thanks for mentioning Jurgen Eichermueller as I recognized a lot of his stuff. Wish you could have spent a little more time on the 50s Canned Hams though. Shasta, Aristocrat, Boles Aero just to name a few were some of the most popular trailers in the world and still are to this day. Maybe another video just for the 50s?
N THE LITTLE CAESAR TRAILER'S MY FRIEND 👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾
Enjoyed this immensely. Thank you!
Wow, I leaned allot in this video. I knew allot about the subject, I'm 67. But I didn't know how far back, the went. Thanks for making the video... Don
I have always entertained the notion that the first mobile homes might have had their beginnings from train cars.. passenger cars, sleeper cars and even the caboose! I see so many similarities between early house trailers and railroad cars. Even the Two-Story house trailer looks quite a bit like a caboose with a cupolla!
I have always loved the older house trailers, and was a mobile home dweller for 35 years! I think it would be fun to get one of these "vintage" mobile homes to restore.. Like my favorite.. The 1959 Pacemaker Tri-Level! Current building codes are restricting their use.. And I believe that mobile homes are gradually being phased out. Thanks for your informative video!
Great video. Nothing wrong with the sound. Great narration and editing. Very professionally done. Would have loved to have seen this at one of my film festivals.
Thanks William. Glad you liked it and took the time to comment.
I struggle to hear the narrative! As a retired radio man I can say- yes the music is too loud and in my opinion, wrong for the subject. I just turned off and put on a CD.
Quite simply, Outstanding video. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I've owned two travel trailers and have been concidering another one. I have spent the last three years fighting and beating stage 3 lung cancer, the chemo and fadiation beat me up pertty bad but I'm slowly getting better. We decided to get our 3rd trailer and hit the road, no hurries, no worries. Let's go see some of this wonderful land we call home.
Thankyou Doug. thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved Pricilla!!
The group of man and there families looks like they where the original glampers.thank you for sharing your video.very well done.i loved the background music.i'm gonna lay down my burdens down by the river side,down by the river side down by the river side.i love that tune :-)
Excellent job Mr. Keister.
Your love and knowledge of this form of housing in amazing. Really well done. There is no reason this video shouldn't be playing on the history channel or TLC. It is certainly more informative then most their shows these days. Thank you again.
Best,
John Fedro
Thank you for all the hard work and research that went into making this quirky film. As a history buff and newly nomadic Travel Trailer qypsy I found your documentary a joy to watch, start to finish.
Some of you who are having problems with the sound might want to check your "sound preferences" in the "system preferences" on your computer. You might be able to adjust the volume to favor one side since this video is done in stereo and one side has mostly music. Sorry for the inconvenience. I did this almost a decade ago when I was just learning.
A "must see" for every travel trailer or RV denizen.
Very nice video. Your voice is easy to listen to. The tidbits of history and how lives intertwined to get us to the rv today was interesting. Thanks!
Thank you for a very informative treatise on the history of RV traveling.
What a great program, thanks for telling this great story....
Hats off for the time & effort that went into making this video....didn't miss one detail. There's nothing like it anywhere out there on the world wide web. Thank you for posting this video Doug. I learned quite a bit. I'll be watching this maybe 2 more times to make sure I didn't miss anything.
Enjoyed your way with words. Well done!
Thank you for making that wonderful video! I throughly enjoyed watching and learning. I love the idea of living and moving, being able to visit new interesting places whenever the mood strikes! The history of these vehicles was very cool! Thanks again for a great video!💜🇨🇦
Extreemly well done. I loved this!
Loved it! Lots of interesting history I had never even heard about before, and of course, wonderful narrative!
Thank you for this documentary! This was fascinating (I had no idea) & heart-sinking @ the same time. When I was first married in the 70's, my in-laws offered to sell us their old Airstream dirt cheap; I was uneducated about trailers & thought it looked claustrophobic. Needless to say, we turned them down. Then in the 80's, we owned an 18ft, 1968 Terry Trailer; we decided to sell it when we had to move to a rental home & there wasn't a place to park it.
That was an awesome trailer that was in such great condition. Bought it for $1800 at the time.
Now that I'm looking to full time it, I sure wish I still had it. It was perfect. So sad, cuz I was married to a bodyman who did amazing handiwork.
I'm loving this. A great effort and presentation. The only imperfection is the choice of background music. Then again, it is as the French say - "there is perfection in imperfection."
What a fascinating documentary. Thank you for your time and effort.
WELL DONE VIDEO I REALLY ENJOYED IT.....THANK YOU!!!
Interesting . The Tear Drop is becoming popular again.
The homemade camper on the Ford AA truck body would be the perfect Rv for me and my dog to live in.
I was pleased to see Spartan trailers on here.
What a great VIDEO!!. Thank you so much. I loved it. Great job.
tou cars
Thank you ..great tour of camping History...
A thoroughly enjoyable excursion, this time by way of video. More, please!
Nice work! Comprehensive and enjoyable throughout.
f0u
Great video! Was surprised to know that Mr Curtis started a trailer even before my 1947 model. He must have been into trailers before or alongside making planes.
Love the Video Narration was great, I'm an avid RVer and this was a great lesson on the history of what we love so much.
You need to do a full length one on Airstream as I can not find anything on the history or building of, like a factory tour start to finish.
Keep up the Awesome work.
I love the long long trailer movie and I think that movie is what made me want to live in a trailer.
Congratulations from the other side of the pond! A great story and well told and illustrated. RV's are getting more popular in the UK, but are mostly very expensive, and of course our island home doesn't allow for the really long trips. Thank you for sharing!!
Thank You, Doug Keister. I enjoyed learning more about this very interesting history! If you make changes to this video, please consider stopping on each picture longer so there is time for the eye to tell the brain what it is seeing. = )
Also, being able to see the whole picture of the ad or Outback Steakhouse Motorhome will be appreciated.
This obviously took awhile to put together and you've had a lot of views. Thanks again, blessings!
I don’t understand how so few views ! I’ve watched it a few times ! Well done Thank you
I recommend this highly . well done .
Thank you. Fantastic
Nicely done. Some really interesting campers, there.
what a amazing video you did a wonderful job thank you
Thank you. I enjoyed your music and the information.
I also enjoy the music throughout the video. :)
Thank you, I enjoy this video on campers :))
Great video, thank you.
I wish I still had my slide in camper and 1989 ford truck because it was perfect for me and my dog.
At 53:55 the narrator states that the R.V. is made from 2 Mercedes welded together, well the 3 sets of lights on the grill and the hood ornament may be Mercedes, the bodies are Chrysler Imperials from the early 60's... No mistaking the scalped headlight pods and the body lines down the sides. Its cool to see old mopars
This was really interesting. Thanks so much!!!!
Nice work !!!
Wonderful. Learned so much.
Thanks for this Video very intresting
Nice work on the video Doug. Very informative and entertaining.
Great presentation
That was great
Although not as sinuos as possible; this is complete and surpasses mosst other efforts. A suggested sequel would be finding and restoring one of those older gems.
You have done such a fine job producing this and I agree that the best RV's are the older generation, 'one of a kind' pieces. (Randy Grubb's /Blastolene creation is also worth a mention too.) Well I really enjoyed that, so Thanks for putting it together. NICE ! = )
Good show!
I love that wolverine camper.
Great presentation.
Awesome history! I've always liked to travel. My favourite way to travel has always been the road trip. If I could afford an RV, I'd buy one and travel the USA, Canada, and Mexico. :)
Very entertaining. Don't worry about all the negative comments. I've found we live in a country where if you're courageous enough to post something like this you can be sure to attract lots of comments. Some good some bad. The critics should try to do better I doubt they could. It's way easier to criticize
Those who can,do. Those who can't, criticize anonymously on RUclips...
very good , I enjoyed it alot.
Well done.
The royals would probably be my second most wanted travel trailer if I could get one because it’s Canadian built.
I really like the homemade house on wheels from the early 1910s. The Pierce arrow truck with the house built on it.
You need to have the Travel Channel see this, you might make some good $. Exceptional, thanks Doug!
The RV/MH museum and hall of fame is the “Recreational Vehicle and Manufactured Housing” complex. It is a common misunderstanding, but “MH” in this name does not stand for “MotorHome.” This is an excellent video, as are Doug’s books. The only thing it doesn’t bring out is that, historically, many of the companies involved in the RV manufacturing industry were also involved in the MH industry, and Elkhart, Indiana (where the RV/MH Museum & Hall of Fame are located) was (and still is) the epicenter of this activity.
I hope to get an Rv or camping trailer that was built before 1960 and preferably before 1949. I love the look of these trailers, motorhomes and truck campers and hope to find one cheap that I can rebuild. I would even love to find a gypsy caravan from the 1800s if I can find a big enough trailer to strap it to when I want to move it. That won’t be often though as I’m planning on living in it with my dog for as long as I’m healthy enough to walk and stay out of the hospital. If I lived in a warmer climate I would even live in a covered wagon but because I live in Canada I need a gypsy wagon that has a wooden roof and a small wood stove. I have seen a few in Manitoba and could probably get one of the menanites who own one to sell me one once I find a little piece of property to rent or buy so I can live there in it. I have been trying to convince my local mayor to let me live in one in town on my friends back yard. We have a lot of people on welfare and small disability pensions and a lack of affordable housing for us. If the mayor and city council would allow tiny homes to be built in people’s back yard or on vacant city property that would solve a lot of the problems with the affordable housing and some of the homeless would also be able to get welfare and a place to live.
now you have full timers who live and work in their rvs and boondock in any place they can to save money on campground fees (which can be very high in many places) and also what is sad it is getting harder to find boondocking sites due to city ordinances discouraging it (basically outlawing it) because no doubt lack of property taxes and other taxes from the rv'er. and possibly those who are disruptive and fear of crime adds to the mix. it is amazing all the styles you can come up with the basic box paradigm. nice video, thank you, i would donate but I am strapped for money right now since my hubby was injuried and is not back to work for a while.
There's no better life than camping
I’d love to get a Bollus-Tellar camping trailer they are awesome and one of my favourite designs of trailer.
Wow not a comment for 5 years! To the thumb downers, you must be deaf, blind and mute. I was raised with trailers. My family were the ones with the old model A's and T's who crossed America on their was to California in the 20's. I have big fat photo albums of them and their adventures on the way out west. When I was 7 in 1958, my family decided to take off on an adventure as they worked in the produce industry. We left Salinas CA, with an old 56 Dodge pickup, flat head 6 towing a 35 foot Fireball trailer and my mom drove our old 56 Pontiac Catalina. We would follow the crops in CA and AZ, we did this for about five years, we stayed in trailer parks, lot of them were for snowbirds, with a mix of workers like my family. We then settled back in Salinas in a 50 foot Spartan trailer. My dad died shortly after, my mon and I continued to live in it until I was 15, then we moved to Los Angeles. I was on my own at 16, mom and her new husband decided to move into a mobile home in Palm Springs, nice resort like park with a golf course. They bought an Open Road Class A, I think it was a 30 footer. I would borrow it and go on adventures not far away, Lake Havasu, Colorado river, Salton Sea. Then I didn't have anything to do with camping rigs, just tent and truck camped until 1996 when I decided to buy a Lawton 19 footer, me and my gal had so much fun in it, later went on to buy bigger and bigger trailers and now my 31' Nuwa two slide fifth wheel. Now nearly 70, but still camping, it's in my blood. Thanks for the great video, so many adventures to be had, nothing like camping.
With the rising cost of aluminum and how cheap canvas is, I wonder if/when we will start seeing more "covered wagon" style travel trailers. Canvas has some benefits. Lightweight, reasonably durable, water and mildew resistant if treated properly, affordable, breathable (can help prevent mold and mildew inside the trailer), and I think it looks pretty nice. Add some aluminum in places where the trailer is more likely to see cuts and holes and treat the canvas on occasion and it should last a long time.
I've been toying with the idea of building my own travel trailer/trailer home. The big issue I keep coming across is weight. I want it to be durable, but I don't want it to weigh too much either. I'm currently considering a steel frame with steel uprights in the four corners with 2x3 lumber elsewhere for walls and roof, and 2x4 lumber for floors. I'm considering canvas for the outer covering and maybe a painted coroplast or thin paneling for the interior walls and ceiling. The biggest weight/expense from my calculations have been the interior and exterior coverings. Since they also add some strength, this has to be factored into the design if non-structural components are used. I wonder if I can keep the dry weight below 5000 pounds while having the trailer outfitted well (toilet, shower, kitchen with stove and fridge, etc). I'll continue pondering over the details until the day I decide to go for it.
You might could look at the old pop up trailers. You pull them in their folded down position, and when you stop, you crank up the corners and there are canvas walls. They have beds that fold or slide out in front and in back. They can have sinks, and we had one with a stove that opened to the outside. I believe some have toilets, maybe with a shower. Can sleep six, as I remember.
This is such an amazing history and documentary of RVs and camp trailers! We have owned a travel trailer and now for over 8 years a 2000 bluebird Wanderlodge . I have never known the history but have always loved the thought and camping in the travel trailer and motorhomes. I’ve always had the wanderlust bug. Happy travels and thank you ! I wouldn’t change a thing with your documentary. This is an era that isn’t faux Hollywood ! I think it’s great the way it is.
You ought to apply for Ken Burns' job. Thanks for this.
I like the lampseed camp car also but it would only be a summer car for me.
And here I sit on my keister watching a rv video instead of working on the rv