Vintage In-Bed Campers/Camper Shells
 

I was thinking of adding a camper shell to my '50 F2.

Anybody have any pics of some cool vintage ones?

~Jason

Vintage as in 1950? Factory produced camper shells are a pretty recent accessory (recreational camping first took off in the mid 60s with campgrounds springing up, but at that time the vehicle merely transported the tent and camping equipment) AFAIK except possibly for owner built caps for protecting cargo from the weather, which would likely have been made of wood (think painted wood crate or flat wood roof with rollup canvas sides) or varnished canvas covered wood ribs (think conestoga wagon or early airplane). I don't thnk you'll ever see a cool one that's really vintage. There were a few motorhomes with living arrangements inside built and sold early on (friend of mine had one built on the rear of a '27 Stuart truck chassis in '27), and I once saw one that resembled a blimp but they were pretty much "one-offs".

This one is in the Peterson Museum IIRC, so it must be period.

Here's three from the 1949 Hildy's Blue Book.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...9Hildys236.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...9Hildys235.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...9Hildys234.jpg

I cant remember were I copied this one from, I think it is home made.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...id=196917&.jpg

A quick Google search yields this. Looks like it has the same '52 Ford with camper as pictured above, plus others. Even has Ozzie Nelson and the boys in the pics.

Mobile Mansions: Taking "home Sweet ... - Google Book Search

Dang! can you imagine trying to drive that around in heavy traffic. Heck, I have a hard enough time seeing whats beside me in my 49 without anything in the bed.

Bobby

The vehicle on the cover is the one I mentioned that looked like a blimp. Hard to tell in the pictures but much of the body is varnished canvas over ribbing.
That's the only one that I'd call vintage and cool. The rest look more like rolling tents, quanset huts or cheese boxes. It took some time, I'd say into the 70's before styling became a feature, until then they were just tin cans to hold what was inside IMHO. But then again beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and most of them were new when I first saw them.

That '52 sits awfully low in the rear too. I suspect it's a lightly sprung F-2. I can't imagine driving it on some of the switch back roads of the '50s or on steep mountain declines. Good thing the traffic was lighter back then.

That's exactly the stuff I was thinking about, right there!

As for the canvas ones... think repops would sell?

~Jason

The small lightweight camper designed appliances and lightweight materials were not being made yet, so things like the stove, refrigerator and toilet were regular apartment sized units, Think how much would your pickup sink if you put your kitchen stove, refrigerator and bathroom toilet complete with water in it, not even counting the rest of the stuff that was in there. :D

I sold a camper shell from California that was on a 56 F250 I sold and the shell was in near perfect condition.
I bought the truck and decided against the shell and so it was sold. I now wish I would have kept it...because I LOVE camper / cap/toppers for my trucks. They really make your truck usable and out of the elements. I now am looking for a shell-camper for my 1971 longbed. Aluminum and nice...no crap.
Nice to bed down in on a trip or carry my dogs. I think I saw another shell like my old one in SAN JOSE California.....look at ads around there...maybe craigslist.
If I can find another...I will be keeping this one...haha
Bill

That's a '49 Sport King... my favorite!

~Jason

Camper shell
 

I've always toyed with the idea of making a "pop up" style camper that would slide into the back. Much like a hardtop :tent trailer. Depends on your requirements, just a place to sleep and be off the ground or full fledged "home away from home" ?

Tom

Here's a real good back view that I came across.