I got everything loaded and hooked up our Honda Pilot behind the Silver Hornet and I thought everything was ready to go. With the ambient temperature at about 82 degrees it was time to turn on the generator and the roof air conditioner. Good idea, but the generator that had been running ok prior to this time refused to start. Read more
Follow Mike and others as they share some RV experiences, tips and advice targeted towards baby boomers.
The RV Turns 100
The very wealthy had custom-made house cars with plush amenities much like the wealthy and celebrities do today. The working class motorist was eager to explore the wilderness while taking some of home with them. If you were traveling by car there were few choices on where to stay. Hotels were in or near the city and beyond what the average Joe could afford. There were no motels. People took what they needed from home to camp out.The early RV's were little more than a pickup with a cover over the bed and pantry that looked like it came off a chuck-wagon. Even so, this was way ahead of sleeping on the ground with no protection from the elements. Cooking was still on a campfire, but that was not bad, because you had groceries with you. During the 1920's motorists made their own house-cars and really enjoyed what was known as "autocamping".
The Pierce Arrow Touring Landau, an ancestor of a type B van camper, went into production in 1910.
The 1913 Earl was an ancestor of the contemporary travel trailer. Read more
The Silver Hornet (our vintage Airstream Motorhome)
Sometimes a small dream gets bigger than you can manage. Recently, I had a small dream to refurbish and restore a vintage motor coach, so I went with my gut feeling and put down the purchase price on a 1984 AirStream 310 Limited motorhome. The previous owner assured me that "everything works". So I drove this 31 foot Aluminum motorhome from Amarillo to Lubbock to begin the restoration process. After checking prices with the local dealers I found that shop labor goes at about $100 per hour. At that rate, the restoration is definitely going to be a "do it yourself" operation. After all, I am handy with tools, and have done more than my share of home repairs, and it couldn't be more difficult than home repair could it? Now there is a question that deserves an answer. Answers are sometimes slow in coming, it seems. Read more
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