Vintage Campers, Trailers & Teardrops

Unable to travel overseas and unsure about the safety of staying in a hotel, Covid !9 has reawakened our love of camping. Statistics show that people world wide did more camping in 2020 than in any other year in recent history. And what better way to camp in comfort than with a camper? Foster lets us relive the golden age of camping, with information and pictures about the many types of camping trailers that were popular from the 1930s-1970s. Whether you’re thinking about restoring an old camper, already own one, or just dream of an old fashioned getaway, this is the perfect escape from the craziness of life in 2021

Brimming with nostalgia and full of fascinating photographs, this book gives me the hankering for camping, though we are currently buried in snow. From childhood through early adulthood we technically tramped (wilderness tented) then graduated to a slide-in on the truck and then a pull trailer. Though I have no personal experience with vintage campers I have knowledge of them as a nature fiend and tramper/camper. What an inspiring and unique book, just what I craved in the depths of a northern Canadian winter! The sidebars include quips and tips. The focus here is on American and European campers/camping. The author taught me a lot!

Foster describes the first known campers which were technically covered wagons but the first auto campers were likely built in about 1910 and became popularized because of and with the Vagabond group in about 1920s-1930s. What an era this was for camping! Though tiny, they were enough and encouraged adventure and outdoor living and could be easily towed and parked. Of course they did not have toilets or running water or stoves as they do now. "Tin cans" described this early camping as the food was mostly of the tin can variety.

Designs and importance of aerodynamics evolved over the years, as did the construction materials. The top production companies are discussed here as are the many types of campers and trailers including buses, unique teardrops, "canned hams" and vans and the infamous VW mostly seen in Europe.

Such a refreshing book! My favourite parts were the interior photographs and layouts. Camping always brings back wonderful memories. If you are a tramper, camper or glamper, this book will interest you. Or, if you wish escapism and enjoy anything vintage and retro, do read this. Great fun.

My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - Motorbooks and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this intriguing book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

Ah, the delights of using a tin Anderson shelter on wheels for a holiday. Packing what little you can in the spaces provided, spending hours making sure there's a balance so you can actually speed over 20mph, heading off into the great, unique unknown, to find a campsite full of a thousand mirror images of yourself, all struggling to entertain themselves in ways that don't necessarily involve drawing the curtains first, or getting all the exercise you need from those electronic tennis bat-shaped insect zappers. It's a hobby that is apparently made much more joyous when you have a vintage tin Anderson shelter. I'll take the author's word for that.

The images here, in this wonderfully illustrated volume, include antiques that seem able to have fit under a six foot bridge, therefore suitable for dwarf occupants only given their ground clearance, and odd metal bubble-shaped contraptions you might as well chop in half and use as a lid for your two-person hot tub they're that tiny wee. You'll guess that these early days of caravanning are anathema to me – I would have to settle for nothing less than the full Hollywood Winnebago, which makes it rather galling to see Barbara Stanwyck posing on the stoop of a piddly little thing back in the day.

And back in the day is where it's at here, for this survey takes us past all the technical options, like a fifth-wheel outfit, or a pop-up (ironically made by some of the longest-lasting firms in the trade), and manages to put such a positive gloss on the hobby it gave me itchy feet. Almost. This has to get a high rating because it succeeds in what it attempts to do. So despite the copious era artwork and adverts, with their snappy captions, and despite a lengthy recap of this author's Airstream history published in full elsewhere, this is not a coffee-table love-in. It is so much more, being a strong guide to the curious about where to go to get your camper, what to consider when buying and using it, and more. As such, I hope the copious company names, fan group websites and so on don't get allowed to date this before it's become the success it deserves.

If you love camping and interested in trailers, you'll love this book. I love the photographs and all the interesting information.

Review to come to blog/goodreads March 2nd.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just couldn't resist it. I love campers in all its shapes (well, OK, some are just too ugly or weird), and one day I hope to own a camper. For now I will just camp with a tent. But one day when I have enough money! Oh yes!

This book is all about campers/trailers/teardrops! Vintage style! It was a fun book to read and I learned a lot about campers. I learned what canned hams are, that there are campers/trailers that are called Wooden Teardrops (which is a fitting name). I loved seeing all the different kinds of campers, I didn't even know there were that many and that they had all these names. Though, I do fully agree on all the names, they fit so well. It was great that we also got the history of the campers, or at least those in the US. Later in the book we also get more on Europe and of course, the VW phenomenon. I was definitely hyped about it going to VW, because I was looking forward to that!

The writing style was pretty great and I love how it often felt like a friend or acquaintance was talking to me. Telling me all about their favourite thing in the world, campers/trailers/teardrops. I really love it when this happens as it makes the reading experience even more fun.

I had a laugh at this part: "For people who have to have the most room possible...." Which reminded me off my hubby. If we ever are buying a camper, we definitely need one with enough room for him. He is almost 2 metres in height. He wants to be able to stand and have room to move. In the mean time, I wouldn't mind a tiny trailer as I am only 1.66-1.67.

I think I would rather have seen Chapter 6 after Chapter 8. Chapter 6 felt more like a, here are some extra fun resources and fun extras to enjoy, the book is now over chapter. Now I thought the book was over but nope, there was another two chapters. Due to Chapter 6 feeling like the last chapter I had a hard time getting back to a full story which was Chapter 7 and Chapter 8, I noticed I mostly didn't absorb the story, I tried reading but for me the book had ended. My head was already happy it could just rest, but no, more stuff. So in the end I just kind of skimmed/skipped those two chapters. I am sorry.

The photographs were so much fun. I loved seeing anything from ads to promotional to personal to normal photography pop up and see all the varieties of campers/trailers there are.

While I loved the writing style, I had a hard time reading this one as it was a PDF and thus it meant I had to read it on my PC. When I got this book I thought it was mostly photographs so I thought I would be fine, but there is plenty of text as well and with an already big headache this wasn't an easy read. It is only 160 pages but it felt more like 500. Haha, my head is screaming. I know this hasn't anything to do with the book, but people who read my reviews know that the experience also counts for me. Is the book readable? Is the font big enough to be read on a PC (because ADE isn't really OK with zooming in)? Is the book blurry or not? How did I feel while reading? So, yeah, I always add these little bits to my review.

All in all, I would recommend this book. Maybe if I ever find it here (probably translated in Dutch) I will give it another shot.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the vintage camping life. Features the coolest photos and retro ads, plus fascinating tidbits from Patrick Foster, famed auto writer. So fun to just meander through and dream of simpler times.

5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 09 Mar 2021
#VintageCampersTrailersTeardrops #NetGalley

Thanks to the author, Quarto Publishing Group – Motorbooks, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a fascinating book! I love the old ads. The photos are amazing in this book. It's a great coffee table book that will surely gather attention. So many brands are mentioned and described, even European models.. 100% nostalgia and it will make you want your own canned ham! I am a fan of vintage trailers and really enjoyed looking at this book. It also describes some new ways of vacationing. I enjoyed the tin can tourists and the women on the move sections.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC, the review is my own.

'Camping out is sometimes defined as the only vacation where you work harder cooking and cleaning and taking care of your living space than you do in your own house.'
That's as maybe, but I share with many others a quiet fascination with campers 9or caravans0 and campervans. I am especially drawn to the vintage style which I fear will always be out of my financial reach, I think it is the classic lines, bright colours and chrome that I like.
Vintage Campers, Trailers and Teardrops is a comprehensive history of the the start of campers around 1904 up to the near present (1970's). A US based publication which dips into camping in Europe and the UK, it is divided into chapters concentrating on certain eras and designs such as VW campervans and the classic Airstreams.
A veritable feast for the eyes with original adverts reproduced and vintage holiday snapshots, I was also interested to see the social history associated with this subject with a section showing temporary housing of a town of campers for workers during WW2.

Vintage Campers, Trailers & Teardrops by Patrick R. Foster

My cousin, one I have not seen in decades, has an Airstream that I have seen photos of, lusted after, and always wanted to see up close and personal. And I would like to see Sandy again when I see her Airstream. When I saw this book, I knew that I had to request it to read and review and what a fun book this proved to be! My parents never camped and the one time mom stayed in a tent for part of a camp meeting she was aghast at the bugs that made their way inside an we were soon on our way home again…after one night in the tent.

What I liked:
* The photographs – numerous, reminiscent of the past, illustrative, evoked memories and the desire to camp even though I have not done much of it myself.
* The information – precise, historical, fun, provided definitions, made me smile, reminded me of my childhood looking at the clothing.
* The writing – easy to follow.
* The jokes
* The mention of current groups to join.
* Information on how to find campers with additional information that is helpful.
* Thinking about what it would be like to be on the road now, or in the past, knowing that I would be pulling into a campsite…or a place by a lake…to spend some time.
* Being reminded of my sister’s discussion of how they chose the trailer they purchased a few years ago and also thinking about the VW bus she and her husband drove across the USA and back in.
* The information related to the companies and what they created.
* The chapters and what they included:
- Vintage Campers
- Tinned cans, canned hams, wooden teardrops & camper trailers
- From covered wagons to covered wagons
- Pickup shells and slide-in campers
- Vintage European camping and the VW Phenomenom
- Vintage camping life
- Silver Bullets – The Airstream Story
- Pop-up trailers
* All of it, really :)

What I didn’t like
* I can’t think of anything except perhaps not being able to look at, go into, and perhaps take one or more on the road and give it a whirl.

Did I like this book? Definitely!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Motobrooks for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars