Human’s love for exploration and the outdoors:
Before we talk about The history of motorhomes , I believe it is important we first talk about humanity’s love for exploration. The long evolutionary journey that created modern humans began with the ability to walk for long distances on two legs, an ability that separated us from other hominids and was spurred on not by hunting or changes in climate as it was previously believed but by our innate desire for exploration. This desire encouraged our distant ancestors to migrate from one continent to the next, forever evolving and developing new technology (such as the modern combustion engine) as we travelled along. It’s the same desire which has set our eyes towards celestial bodies/distant stars and keeps calling us to visit the outdoors and other distant landmarks from the comfort of our Motorhome/Campervans despite the limitations of our fast-paced civilization.
History of the Campervan:
A lot of self-proclaimed campervan gurus will tell you that the invention of the Camper-van movement we see today dates to the 1950s, but this isn’t long enough to be considered history so we must go back further to late 19th century when a Scottish man who loved travelling as much as you or I came up with the brilliant idea of making the first touring caravan. It was basically a home on wheels as you would have it and was pulled by two horses. This idea faced several structural problems, and the hunk of metal was too strenuous on the horses for any continued movement. Instead of enjoying their invention, Stables and his friends spent most of their time having to drag the house on wheels out of ditches. Because of the absence of the modern sat-nav in the 1850s, their also faced several navigation problems which meant they couldn’t get too far off-grid without finding themselves in trouble. The Dr’s idea was imagined in many bizarre drawings and blueprints but not revisited until 1919 when the first practical caravan was mass produced by a company located in Birmingham which went by the name “Eccles”. This campervan was coined: The Eccles motorized caravan and was so successful in England that it was hard for Eccles to keep up with demand. The first world war came, and the Camper-Van’s development was halted and brought back to life in 1935 after a retired Navy officer known as Captain Dunn, commissioned a local team of engineers to build his dream home on wheels.
The results from this project are believed to have sowed the seeds for the camper van industry. A Hiccup caused by the second world war delayed mass production for German company Westfalia. But as soon as the dust started to settle in the 1950s, the first VW Transporter campers were brought to life by Westfalia and their custom kits for converting small vans. The Dormobile that we are all familiar with, soon followed but was only designed for sleeping and did not have the amenities (kitchenette, fridge etc..) we see in today’s campervans. The Bedford CA was introduced and had luxuries such as the pop-up roof we’re all familiar with and kitchen set-up, soon after manufacturers included these add-ons to their own campers and gave us the Morris J4 and The Ford Thames 400e which had more room for movement, furniture, parts and accessories that can still be found in today’s campervans.
The market continued to grow in the 2000s, and campervans are now more popular than ever since their enable so many people to escape on the road looking for new adventures. Production of newer models such as our own VW Ashton and Camelot have become more cars like in terms of spec and drive with touch screens; charging platforms for mobiles; habitation control; gas alarms and many more!
History of the Motorhome
A motorhome is classed as a recreational vehicle short for RV, and is used for everything from adventuring; long distance travelling; attending festivals etc.… It’s first use can be traced back to 1915 most notably when a Family from New York “The Conklin Family”, had their own Motor bus company to build them a 25 feet long vehicle that could accommodate them on their long journey to San Francisco. The family received international media coverage with thousands rushing to admire the futuristic looking invention. It was a modern and equipped with luxuries of the time such as a convertible sofa; electrical generator; a full kitchen and sleeping berths. It even had a roof garden accessible through an outside retractable staircase. As revolutionary as it was an idea, it also had its limitations. Like many other motorhomes made during that era, it was too large and limited to travelling only on automobile-friendly roads, which made it impossible for those who wanted to access wider landscapes. Because of these limitations, early motorhomes were too costly for buyers in the Great depression era, but the appeal of such a project was there, nonetheless. Motor Camping, J.C. Long and John D. Long declared that urban Americans were “possessed of the desire to be somewhere else” and the solution was evident: tent trailering. This idea charmed campers because of its convenience and ease. “Your camping trip will be made doubly enjoyable by using a Brintnall Convertible Camping Trailer,” announced an advertisement by the Los Angeles Trailer Company. It was light and had exclusive folding bed features with a storage compartment for luggage, which left the car free to be used for passengers.
However, Arthur G. Sherman who had purchased one of these was promised it would only take him 5 minutes to set it up. Sadly, he and his family went to set it up for the first time and were caught in a thunderstorm, they finally mastered it after hours of being soaked in the rain. Sherman was so appalled by this experience that he had the bright idea to make something better. He made a small trailer about the same size as his family car complete with cupboards, built in furniture, stove and an icebox. The trailer was small and unattractive by our modern standards but when Sherman took it camping, he had many campers who were interested and offered to buy it from him. Sherman then made an exact replica and took it to the Detroit Auto Show in January 1930, by the end of the show he sold 118 units and opened his company “the Covered Wagon Company”. An industry was Born! The company grew quick and by 1936 the company was selling more than 15,000 units a year. As the
years went by his Trailers started being built and modeled on the auto industry and the overall shape had merged to look like todays motorhomes with TVs, bathrooms and a king’s size bed. In the early 20th century, western desire to escape modern life’s pressures by traveling into nature intersected with their yearning to enjoy the comforts of modern life while there. This contradiction might have caused frustration but human ingenuity, and our love for autos gave us the beautiful motorhomes we have today.
Don't forget to book your motorhome/campervan with us and choose from our range of berths. TMC is one of the leading campervans and motorhomes rental companies in the UK. We provide hire to adventurers who have a love of the outdoors and have worked with customers who have been on a journey from Lands ends to John O'groats. Our motorhomes and campervans for hire have no mileage limit and are available for long trips! Choose from any of our pet friendly motorhomes and state of the art campervans.
