The Story of Trailer and It's Actors; As a Mobile Home Case _ Nur Gülgör Thesis

MEF University
Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture
Alternative Architecture Practices
The Story of Trailer and It's Actors;
As a Mobile Home Case
Nur Gülgör
2023

At the outset, I wish to express my profound gratitude to my esteemed thesis advisor, Arda
İnceoğlu, whose unwavering support I have felt throughout the entire thesis process. It is
through his patience and expertise that I have been able to successfully navigate this journey,
and I consider it a great honor to work with him. I extend my heartfelt thanks to my cherished
peers, who have consistently provided encouragement and been instrumental in keeping me
motivated. Lastly, I am infinitely grateful to my dear family, who have reposed their trust in me
and offered unwavering support, consistently standing by my side in times of need.

Abstract
“House” is example of a place, while “person” exemplifies a user. The
relationship between the two entities culminates in the creation of
a “home,” which persists as long as the relationship endures. This
study seeks to explore the nature of this relationship in the context of
trailers, which serve as examples of mass-produced mobile homes.
The trailer’s features, such as mobility, minimalism, and massproduction,
set it apart from traditional houses with respect to the
user’s relationship. A comprehensive perspective has been obtained
by delving into the trailer’s lifelong history and examining it within
the sociological context of different periods.The study is confined to
the United States, where trailers were born and evolved. The trailer
has undergone several transformations over time, responding to the
critical impacts of the era and reaching its present form. The study is
divided into four sections, each covering a distinct period in history:
the wagon era, the post-Ford T era, the post-World War II mobile
home era, and the post-technology RV era. The trailer has undergone
both minor and significant transformations, with individual actors,
cultural influences, and crises identified as the primary drivers of
these changes. In conclusion, the relationship between place, people,
and crisis is questioned. In this study, the trailer is regarded as a case
of place, and the necessary attributes for creating and transforming
a place is discussed. Finally, speculation on the future is made based
on the findings.
Key Words: Trailer, Mobile Home, Manufactured House,
Recreational Vehicle (RV), Wagon, Auto Camping, Camping Auto,
Trailer Park, Transient Families, Trailerites, Digital Nomads, Mobility,
Temporariness, Mass-Production, Transformation, Adaptation,
Crisis
Science Code: 80107
I

II

Özet
Bir mekan örneği olarak “konut”, kullanıcı örneği olarak “insan” ile
ilişkilidir. Bu ilişki sonucunda “ev/yuva” ortaya çıkar ve ilişki devam
ettikçe, ev de yaşamaya devam eder. Bu araştırmada, bu ilişkinin
seri üretilmiş mobil ev örneği olan karavanlarda nasıl gerçekleştiği
incelenmiştir. Karavanların minimal boyutları, mobil ve seri üretilmiş
olması, kullanıcının geleneksel ev ile kurduğu ilişkiden farklılaşmıştır.
Bu ilişkiyi doğru okuyabilmek için, karavanın doğduğu ve geliştiği yer
olan Amerika’daki karavan tarihi araştırılmış ve dönemin sosyolojik
bağlamıyla birlikte anlatılmıştır. Karavan, tarih boyunca dönemin
kritik olaylarıyla ilişkili olarak büyük dönüşümler geçirmiştir ve
şimdiki formuna ulaşmıştır. Bu etkilerin dönemdeki yansımalarını
ve mekan ile ilişkisini daha detaylı analiz edebilmek için karavan
tarihi dört bölüme ayrılmıştır. Bunlar, vagon dönemi, Ford T sonrası
dönem, 2. Dünya Savaşı sonrası mobil ev dönemi ve teknoloji sonrası
RV dönemidir. Karavan, küçük ve büyük ölçekte birçok dönüşüm
geçirmiştir. Araştırmada, bu dönüşümlere sebep olan aktörler,
birey, kültürel etki ve kriz olarak tanımlanmış ve bunun üzerinden
mekan – insan – kriz etki ilişkisi sorgulanmıştır. Burada, karavan,
bir mekan örneği olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bu bulgulardan yola
çıkarak, mekanın oluşması ve dönüşmesi için gerekli olan özellikler
tartışılmış ve gelecekle ilgili spekülasyonlar yapılmıştır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Karavan, Mobil Ev, Prefabrik Ev, RV, Vagon,
Otokamp, Kamp Arabası, Geçicilik, Karavan Parkı, Karavan Sakini,
Dijital Göçebe, Mobilite, Dönüşüm, Adaptasyon, Kriz
Bilim Dalı Sayısal Kodu: 80107
III

Table of Contents
LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................VII
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................XIII
DICTIONARY...........................................................................................XVI
TIMELINE..............................................................................................XVIII
CHAPTER 1: THE TRANSFORMATION OF TRAILERS IN
FOUR PERIODS............................................................................................1
1.1 Wagons before Ford T (1717 - 1908).............................1
Covered Wagons...........................................................1
Ambulance Wagons ..................................................5
Coaches and Camping Cars .................................8
Transient Families......................................................11
1.2 Trailer Industry from Ford t to World War II.....17
Ford Model T and Auto Camping......................17
Camping Auto............................................................20
Travel Trailers..............................................................23
Great Depression and Trailer Boom.............28
Trailerites and Trailer Parks...............................30
1.3 Trailer to Manufactured Home after WWII......37
War Time Trailers ....................................................37
Housing Shortage....................................................40
Trailer to Manufactured Home.........................41
IV

1.4 Trailer to RV (1760 - Present)......................................47
New Generation Travel Trailer, RV..................47
Neonomadism and Digital Nomads.............49
Pandemic and Homeoffice RVs........................53
Trailer People...............................................................54
CHAPTER 2: THE ACTORS OF TRANSFORMATION OF
TRAILER.......................................................................................................59
2.1 People / Indivual Impact................................................61
2.2 People / Cultural Impact...............................................69
2.1 Crisis Impact.........................................................................76
DISCUSSION..............................................................................................83
REFERENCES ...........................................................................................97
V

VI

List of Figures
Figure 1 - Pioneers moving west .....................................................2
Figure 2 - A Turnpike Schooner ......................................................2
Figure 3 - The Covered Wagon of the Great Western
Migration, 1886 in Loup Valley, Nebr..............................2
Figure 4 - Mess-Chest which is transformable box in The
Prairie Traveler: A Hand-Book for Overland
Expeditions guidebook, 1859..............................................3
Figure 5 - The Coolidge ambulance wagon ..............................5
Figure 6 - The Wheeling or Rosecrans amb. wagon............5
Figure 7 - A Zouave (French North African) ambulance
crew demonstrating removal of wounded soldiers
during the American Civil War using the Howard
ambulance wagon in the USA............................................6
Figure 8 - The Herdic Coach drawing ..........................................9
Figure 9 - The McMaster Camping car in Yellowstone
National Park in 1892 ..............................................................9
Figure 10 - Lasley’s “houses on wheels” drawing.................10
Figure 11 - Jonathan Olson’s “houses of wheels” ..................10
Figure 12 - The mobility diagram of tansient families
between 1717 and 1908...........................................................11
Figure 13 - The Lasley family, their ‘house on wheels’.......15
Figure 14 - Campers in Corkscrew Swamp...............................17
Figure 15 - L.A. municipal auto camp, Elysian Park ...........17
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Figure 16 - Gasoline stove for camp use...................................18
Figure 17 - Knickerbocker Case......................................................18
Figure 18 - The Fitall kit for carrying toilet necessities....18
Figure 19 - AutoTent Outfit................................................................19
Figure 20 - Auto bed advertisement in Montgomery
Ward Catalogue.........................................................................19
Figure 21 - Foldable Camp Trailer.................................................20
Figure 22 - The DuPont Camping Auto .....................................21
Figure 23 - Gustav de Bretteville’s Automobile Telescope
Touring Apartment ...............................................................22
Figure 24 - Zagelmeyer Kamper Kar Advertisement ......23
Figure 25 - Interior of Zagelmeyer Kamper Kar .................23
Figure 26 - The Adams Motorbungalo ......................................24
Figure 27 - Curtiss and Aerocar built for Graves of
Pittsfield with Graves’ Cadillac.........................................24
Figure 28 - The Airstream Superliner .......................................25
Figure 29 - Interior of a Airstream Clipper ............................25
Figure 30 - The interior of Covered Wagon Trailer ...........26
Figure 31 - Schult Trailer Coaches ...............................................27
Figure 32 - Life Magazine, February 1936 ..............................28
Figure 33 - Trailer Postcard ............................................................29
Figure 34 - The mobility diagram of trailerites between
1908 and 1939............................................................................30
Figure 35 - Tin Can Tourist Convention ...................................32
Figure 36 - Inteior of a vacationer’s trailer, 1937..................33
Figure 37 - Inteior of a nonmobile trailerite’ trailer...........33
Figure 38 - Sleeping outside in a Palm Springs trailer
park..................................................................................................35
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Figure 39 - Trailer camps maps of United States................35
Figure 40 - Burlington, Iowa Federal Park..............................38
Figure 41 - The high density of trailer park in
San Pablo......................................................................................39
Figure 42 - Madison residents’ protest......................................40
Figure 43 - A father veteran .............................................................41
Figure 44 - 1956 Tri-Level Pacemaker Mobile Home
brochure........................................................................................42
Figure 45 - The DUBL-WIDE Roadliner Mobile Home
brochure ......................................................................................43
Figure 46 - Tornado Towers..............................................................44
Figure 47 - Multi-storey mobile home park...........................44
Figure 48 - Paradise Cove trailer court in Malibu...............45
Figure 49 - Current Manufactured Houses in Oak
Haven...............................................................................................45
Figure 50 - 1974 GMC Motorhome in RV/MH Hall of Fame
Museum........................................................................................48
Figure 51 - Kamp King Koaches brochure...............................48
Figure 52 - EarthRoamer LTi-001 ................................................49
Figure 53 - 2021 Roamer 354MBH Bunkhouse....................49
Figure 54 - Timeline of Digital Nomad.......................................51
Figure 55 - A section of daylife a digital nomad in
Sunlight T68 motorhome ..................................................53
Figure 56 - The mobility diagram of trailer people
between 1939 and Present..................................................55
Figure 57 - Comparison of temporary mobility and
lifestyle mobility ......................................................................55
Figure 58 - A permanent fixed couples in Oak Heaven..58
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Figure 59 - Diagram of the relation with the actors of
transformation of trailers .................................................59
Figure 60 - Interior of a covered wagon ..................................63
Figure 61 - Camping at Crater Lake National Park.............64
Figure 62 - Couple camping with automobiles ...................65
Figure 63 - Couple camping at Rocky Mountain Lake
Park..................................................................................................66
Figure 64 - Interior of a Palace ......................................................66
Figure 65 - Jim and Lois in trailer home...................................66
Figure 66 - Diagram of the Relation between
Indiviual and Place..................................................................68
Figure 67 - A man sleeping on McMillin Autobed .............70
Figure 68 - The first ‘houses on wheels’ built by
Morgan Lasley ............................................................................71
Figure 69 - Jonathan Olson’s “houses of wheels” ................71
Figure 70 - An Airstream Clipper Twin Axle ...........................71
Figure 71 - Interior of a Zagelmeyer Auto Camp..................72
Figure 72 - Interior of a trailer ........................................................72
Figure 73 - Bedroom of Dubl-Wide Roadliner.......................72
Figure 74 - Flying Cloud Office, Airstream ..............................72
Figure 75 - The Lasley family and, ‘house on wheels’ .......73
Figure 76 - Dr. A.A. Foster and family of Dallas.....................73
Figure 77 - People picnicking near camper at St. Andrews
State Park .....................................................................................73
Figure 78 - Digital nomads Jesse and Rachael.......................73
Figure 79 - Diagram of the Relation between
Cultural Effect and Place......................................................74
Figure 80 - Burlington, Iowa Federal Park...............................78
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Figure 81 - Parsley Trailer Park .....................................................79
Figure 82 - A digital nomad in Sunlight T68 motorhome
as a homeoffice RV ...............................................................80
Figure 83 - Diagram of the Relation between
Crisis, Place and People.........................................................81
Figure 84 - The profile and cultural impact on the
camping car in wagon era ................................................84
Figure 85 - The profile, crisis and cultural impact on the
travel trailer in before World War II era....................86
Figure 86 - The profile, crisis and cultural impact on the
manufactured home in after World War II era ....87
Figure 87 - The profile, crisis, industry and cultural
impact on the RV in digital era........................................88
XI

XII

Introduction
Dictionary meaning of “house”;
A building in which people live, usually the people belonging to one
family.
Dictionary meaning of “home”;
1. The place or a place where one lives: have you no home to go to?
2. A family or other group living in a house or other place.
3. The environment or habitat of a person or animal.
4. The place where something is invented, founded or developed:
the US is the home of baseball. 1
Carole Després defines home as permanence and continuity as follows;
“Home is a temporal process that can only be experienced along
time. Along weeks, moths, or years, the home becomes a familiar
environment, a place that provides its occupants with a sense of
belonging somewhere, of having roots.” 2
In accordance with dictionary definitions, the term “house” refers to
a tangible construction that is produced, while “home” represents an abstract
experience resulting from human interactions within a given space. As Després
presents in her definition, continuity and process are essential elements in
creating a “home”. However, the question arises as to whether the continuity
of a space that is mass-produced by a factory, rather than constructed using
brick and concrete, impacts its “home” characteristics. Throughout history,
mass production of housing has been categorized into two main types:
prefabricated houses and trailers, which share similarities with automobiles.
One of the common features of both is their transportability; they are not
fixed in one location, lack foundations, and are therefore associated with
temporariness. Additionally, they are generally modular, adaptable to
different sizes, affordable, quickly produced, and have standard designs. It is
in this context that industrially produced houses differ from traditional houses
in that they tend to be temporary, modular, and adaptable.
1. Collins English Dictionary, 2023 https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/house
2. Després, C. (1991). THE MEANING OF HOME: LITERA-
TURE REVIEW AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
AND THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT. Journal of Architectural
and Planning Research, 8(2), 96–115
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3. Wallis, A. D. (1997, June 19). Wheel Estate: The
Rise and Decline of Mobile Homes. https://doi.
org/10.1604/9780801856419
In the year 2020, a mass-produced micro house known as “Volu-te” was
designed by Mef University’s Architectural Design Master’s AAP (Alternative
Architectural Practices) students, including myself. Volu-te is a transportable
temporary living space with minimal dimensions and functions that can meet
a person’s basic daily needs. The design and usage story of Volu-te emerged
as a response to a current debate regarding the extent to which we use our
homes in this digital and mobile era, and whether a permanent home is
truly necessary. This inquiry leads to the question of whether the “home”
that Després speaks of can be created regardless of location, and whether
such spaces have been created before, as well as the necessary requirements
for their creation. This research delves into trailers as the closest example to
understand this question. Volu-te and trailers share similarities in that they
are both mass-produced, small, transportable, and temporary.
This thesis evaluates the life periods of trailers in a sociological and
industrial context and divides their transformation into four sections. These
sections are limited solely to the trailer industry and trailer life in America,
where trailers were first introduced. Therefore, the transformation of mobile
homes can be seen from past to present on a wider scale. Each chapter is
examined in detail regarding the trailer’s relationship with the user, the
sociological environment, and social crises. At the end of the study, the trailer
user groups of the period are defined. Some groups live temporarily in trailers,
while others live in them permanently. Some groups refer to trailers as their
home, while for others, they are holiday or secondary homes. Over time, these
usage habits change due to various push factors, leading to transformations
in the trailer industry. It is not possible to describe this transformation as a
cycle or a linear change, as various actors shape the evolution of trailers. In
the second chapter, the actors involved in the transformation of trailers are
explored with reference to the first chapter.
The trailer’s flexible design and other potentials have rendered it
adaptable to numerous effects. In this context, Dina Smith has defined the
trailer as an “adaptive system.” The features that make it adaptable are
its “light/portable design, collage of vehicular and house-like design, its
applique form which consists of loose meaning and rapidly introduced and
recycled innovations, its constant circulation as mobility, transformability,
and disposability, its pluralism as well as individuality, and its inventiveness
and adaptability categorically: it changes function, even name, according to
need.” 3 The trailer’s transiency is due not only to its mobility but also to its
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continuously transformable structure on both a small and large scale. This
situation gives the trailer a temporary appearance, but it can also be defined
as permanent through its transformation. According to Smith, the trailer
consists of a series of oppositions. These include:
Car / House
Mobile / Immobile
Masculine wanderlust / Feminine domesticity
Stability / Instability
Design / Messiness of daily life 4
The next chapter elaborates on the contexts and effects in which
the trailer experienced these contrasts in four different periods. The first part
explores the period between 1717 and 1908 - “wagons before Ford T.” During
this time, wagons, which were the primary mode of transportation before
automobiles, and the mobile groups of that era are described. The pioneers,
being the largest mobile group of the time, used “emigrant wagons” as mobile
homes during their months-long journeys. Additionally, many Americans
lived in the wild as mobile health seekers with ambulance wagons built to
carry wounded individuals during the tuberculosis epidemic. The second part
delves into the “trailer industry from Ford T to World War II” between 1908
and 1939. During this period, as camping and travel culture became integral
parts of American lives, new camping vehicles were created, resulting in the
emergence of trailers. Moreover, the economic crisis of the era created an
unexpected advantage for trailers. The third part, “Trailer to manufactured
home after World War II,” covers the time period after 1939. During this
period, the war and the subsequent housing shortage caused the trailer’s
name, shape, and usage to change, eventually leading to the evolution of the
trailer into a manufactured home. The new trailer owners began living in their
permanently fixed homes without wheels, providing an affordable alternative
to traditional houses. The fourth part, “trailer to RVs” after 1960, is explained.
In this period, trailers made a permanent mobile life possible, especially
with the effects of technological developments. Neonomadic groups such
as digital nomads emerged, and a location-independent concept of “home”
began to be adopted. In particular, the emergence of remote working after
the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has led to the growth of neonomadic groups
and new practices in different places.
4. Smith, D. (2003). Lost Trailer Utopias: The Long, Long
Trailer (1954) and Fifties America. Utopian Studies, 14(1),
112–131.
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Dictionary
1 - Auto Camping: A way of camping with automobile,and also a popular
culture after Ford T
2 - Camping Auto / Car: A customized automobile for camping by user or
industry
3 - Caravan / Van: A general name of vehicles on wheels for living in 5
4 - Conestoga Wagon: The early type of covered wagon for carrying good for
long distance
5 - Coach: A horse-drawn vehicle for public transportation in 1800s.
6 - Covered Wagon: A large vehicle with four wheels and a high, covered
frame that is pulled by horses or other animals, used in the past to transport
people and goods to the western part of the US 6
7 - Digital Nomad: Someone who performs their occupation entirely over the
Internet while traveling 7
8 - Emigrant Wagon: A type of covered wagon for western pioneers in 1800s,
also known as Prairie Schooner
9 - Great Depression: The financial and industrial slump of 1929 and
subsequent years 8
10 - House on Wheels: One of the definitions of trailer, especially in early
periods
5. Cambridge Dictonary, Caravan
6. Cambridge Dictonary, Covered wagon
7. Merriam-webster Dictionary, Digital nomad
8. Oxford Dictionary, Depression
XVI

11 - Housing Shortage: A deficiency or lack in the number of houses needed
to accommodate the population of an area, and a crisis in the U.S after World
War II 9
12 - Manufactured Home: A house “manufactured” in factories piece by piece
in accordance with building codes set by the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) 10
13 - Mobile Home: A type of building that people live in, usually staying in
one place, but able to be moved using a vehicle or sometimes its own engine
14 - Motorhome: A developed type of trailer, similar to RV 11
15 - Prairie Schooner: A type of covered wagon for western pioneers in 1800s,
also known as emigrant wagon
16 - RV / Recreational Vehicle: A modern and developed type of trailer
17 - Trailer: A wheeled vehicle for living or travelling in, especially for holidays,
that contains beds and cooking equipment and can be pulled by a car 12
18 - Trailer Parks: An area of ground where trailers can be parked, especially
by people using them as their homes 13
19 - Trailerites: A term created by Donal O. Cowgill to define people live in
trailer
20 - Travel Trailer: A trailer for just temporary travel
9. Collins Dictionary, Housing shortage
10. Araj, V. (n.d.). What Is A Manufactured Home And Is It
The House For You? www.rocketmortgage.com. https://
www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/what-is-a-manufactured-home
11. Cambridge Dictonary, Mobile home
12. Cambridge Dictonary, Trailer
13. Cambridge Dictonary, Trailer Park
XVII

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE TRAILER IN FOUR PERIODS
Culture /
Trailers (Automobile) Industry Crisis Sociological Groups Periods
Before FORD T ( 1717 - 1908) FORD T to World War II (1908 - 1939)
Transient Families
1)Temporary Traveler;
a)Temporary Transient is the group travelling to reach a specific
point (emigrants),
b)Travel Tourist is the group travelling frequently for fun (camping
tourism),
2) Roader is the group being on the road except recreational reasons
(migrant/seasonal workers, job-hunters, health seekers, homeless
tourist, itinerant traders),
3) Mobile Dependent is the group has nomadic lifestyle and full
time mobile (gypsies, mobile families)
European Colonization of the America (Emigrants)
Tuberculosis Epidemic (The Health Seeker)
Wagons
1717, Conestoga Wagon
1861 - 1865 American Civil War
“Trailerites”
1) Temporary Traveler/Vacationer is the group they own homes and just live in trailers for a few months
of the year (middle aged professional men, categories of jobs that take long vacations or have flexible
hours, retired people, tin can tourist),
2) Roader is the group being on the road except recreational reasons (eople looking for job, seasonal
laborers, salesmen and construction workers, individuals whose occupations are in high demand across
the country),
3) Non Mobile Trailerite is the group that lives in a trailer permanently as fixed and mostly economic
reasons (unemployment people, retired people)
4) Mobile Dependent is the group has nomadic lifestyle and full time mobile (gypsies, mobile families,
retired people, tin can tourists),
1910 - 1940 Tin Can Tourist
1929 - 1939 Great Depression
1860 - 1920s Camping Culture with Wagons 1920 Mobile Living in Trailer/RV
Coaches / Camping Cars
1880, Herdic Coach
Auto Camping
20th c., L.A. municipal Auto Camp
Camping Auto
1920, Folding Camp Trailer
Travel Trailer
1928, Aerocar
19th century, Prairie Schooner
1889, McMaster Camping Car
1917, AutoTent Outfit by J.H. Witmann
1911, DuPont Camping Auto 1939, Airstream Superliner
1864, Howard Ambulance Wagon
1897, J. Olson’s “houses of wheels”
1920, Auto bed advertisement
1915, Telescopic Camping Apartment 1936 Schult Trailer Coaches
XVIII

After World War II (1939) Digital Era (1960)
Trailer People
1) Temporary Mobile/Vacationer is the group they own homes and just live in trailers for a few months of the year
2) Temporary Fixed, is the group live in a trailers for a limited time in a condition of emergency (war time workers, people in housing shortage, infected
emergency personnel in pandemic)
3) Permanently Fixed, is the group live in a trailer, mobile home and manufactured home permanently as fixed mostly economic reasons (students,
unemployment people, retired people),
4) Permanently Mobile, is the group has nomadic lifestyle and full time mobile (seasonal workers as an old style, digital nomads as a new style).
1939 - 1960s Housing Shortage 1970 Digital Nomadism
1939 - 1945 World War II
1950 Living in Mobile Home / Manufactured Home (Trailer Parks) (Fixed)
War Time Trailer
Travel Trailer / RV Manufactured Home
RV Home Office RV
1942, Burlington, Iowa Federal Park
1954, Tri-level Pacemaker
1961, DUBL-WIDE Roadliner
(expandable mobile home)
2021, EarthRoamer
2021, Sunlight Homeoffice RV
1946-1947, University of Wisconsin
Veteran Students Dormitory
1960s - ‘70s, Kamp King Koaches
1970, SkyeRise Terrace
2021, Roamer 354MBH Bunkhouse
2021, Sunlight Homeoffice RV
1942 San Pablo Trailer Park 1974, GMC Motorhome
2013, Oak Heaven Manfc. House
2021, Flying Cloud Office, Airstream
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XX

The Transformation of Trailer
in Four Periods
01
1.1 Wagons before Ford T
Transporting goods often took days, and people would live in wagons
during the journey. The wagon’s large size and sturdy construction allowed it
to carry goods and their belongings, making it a self-contained living space.
This was a temporary, mobile living practice until the mass production of cars
industry began.
Covered Wagons
Before the mass production of cars began, wagons provided mobility
worldwide. Since the 18th century, natives and pioneers in North America
used wagons, the first version of the vehicle, on their journeys. This mobility
was crucial for particularly pioneer emigrants and transportation goods
over long-distance routes in America. The migration of the pioneers carried
their belongings and travel needs in there. These vehicles carried out goods
transportation for commercial purposes. The type of wagon could change
depending on what it was carrying.
The Conestoga wagon was one of the first known examples of
America. The name “Conestoga” came from Conestoga Valley, where the
Conestoga Indians live. The design belongs to the Dutch farmers living in
Conestoga Valley in Lancaster Country, Pennsylvania. 14 The first Conestoga
wagon was manufactured in 1717, but its use became popular almost 100
years later. Its peak years were between 1820 and 1840, and after this period,
its use dramatically stopped as America’s railroad lines developed. Conestoga
was mainly used for the transportation of goods. Farm products - mostly flour
- were transported from rural areas to food markets in city centers by these
wagons. On their return, they carried agricultural and personal necessities
for the farmers and their families. 15 Products could reach very high weights.
For this reason, the wagon had to be strong enough not to fall apart under
14. The Conestoga wagon. (1953). Boards of the Public
Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County
15. Wilkinson, N.B. (1988) The Conestoga wagon. Common
wealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission, Harrisburg.
1

heavy loads, but at the same time, it had to be light enough not to strain the
mules and oxen pulling it. In addition, the wagon’s interior was mostly filled
with goods and travel necessities, so the passengers were escorted on foot
so that they did not weigh on the horses and oxen. When they stopped, they
removed their tents out of their wagons and stayed outside in their tents.
Conestoga design was based on earlier Dutch wagon practices that
were also used for long-distance transportation of goods. Its curved floor
prevented the products from slipping to carry heavy materials securely on long
roads, but it was also uncomfortable for people. The wagon can be divided
Figure 1: Pioneers moving west (Image courtesy of Wikicommons,
Public Domain)
into three main parts: bed, undercarriage, and cover. The bed’s frame was
usually white oak and covered by poplar boards. The undercarriage consisted
mostly of iron to carry a rectangular wooden bed. The final part of the cover
had a hickory bow frame to support cotton or canvas fabric. All parts were
created with very basic hand tools; it took several weeks of nonstop work by
the wheel smith and ironworkers to finish the product. 16
Figure 2: A Turnpike Schooner. This Conestoga wagon
was used for carrying freight on the National Pike published
in c1906 (Source: Library of Congress) https://lccn.
loc.gov/2012645749
Figure 3: The Covered Wagon of the Great Western
Migration. 1886 in Loup Valley, Nebr. (Source: National
Archive)
Pioneer emigrants also used Conestoga wagon. Emigrants had
settled on the east side of the continent in the first step, and then they
created a great migration wave to the west side in the 19th century. The most
well-known of these westward routes were the Oregon, California, Santa Fe,
and Mormor Trails and these routes were crowded with wagons, which were
16. Wilkinson, N.B. (1988) The Conestoga wagon. Common
wealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission, Harrisburg.
17. Shumway, G. (1964). Conestoga Wagon, 1750-1850:
Freight Carrier for 100 Years of America’s Westward
Expansion. Early American Industries Association.
drawn by teams of four, five, or six horses and featured their specific white
cloth tops. 17 These were Conestoga type with a large interior volume or other
simpler designs of covered wagons. Pioneers have been traveling these routes
for months. The Oregon Trail was completed in four to six months. So, a family
2

traveling on the Oregon Trail had to carry their necessities for about eight
months. The needs mostly consisted of food, clothing, and accommodation
(tent). That was too many loads for a wagon, assuming a family of 4 people.
Moreover, families’ main reason for making this journey was to build their
own homes, and they also carried personal belongings that would make them
feel at home.
Consequentially, there wasn’t enough space for passengers in the
wagons because of so many products inside. Still, only children, pregnant
women, and the elderly who could not walk long distances were traveling in
wagons. In the following years, Conestoga was replaced by Prairie Schooner,
which was almost half the size of its. 18 Like the Conestoga, the Prairie Schooner
was a white top-covered wagon, but unlike it, it had a much simpler design
and was lighter. It was often used for settlement trails and light weight was
also more advantageous for drivers. On the other hand, the limit of interior
volume was challenging for passengers.
Figure 4: Mess-Chest which is transformable box in The
Prairie Traveler: A Hand-Book for Overland Expeditions
guidebook, 1859.
The figure 4 is described in the book as follows;
“A represents the chest open for table; B is the same closed; C is the
upper tray of tin, with compartments, b, b; E is the lower
wooden tray, divided into compartments, a, a, for various purposes,
and made fast to the bottom of the chest; d,d, are lids opening with
hinges; f (in figure B) is a wooden leg, turning upon a hinge,and
fitting snugly between two pieces of wood screwed upon the cover”
The pioneers were not experienced in the nomadic lifestyle. For this
reason, they were getting help from the emigrant guidebooks of the 19th
century to plan their mobility which took months on the road. “The Emigrant’s
Guide to Oregon and California,” written by Landsford Hasting in 1845 and “The
18. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
19. Marcy, R.B. (1859). The prairie traveler. Authority of
the war depertment.
3

20. Marcy, R.B. (1859). The prairie traveler. Authority of
the war depertment.
Prairie Traveler: A Hand-Book for Overland Expeditions,” written by Captain
Randolph Marcy in 1859, were crucial references for especially inexperienced
emigrants. There were lots of tips on what to pack and how to pack it, what
draft animals to purchase, miles, water resources, terrain, grass, conditions,
firearms and ammunition and equipment, wagon components, how to fix it,
and what difficulties they might encounter in the books. In particular, Captain
Randolph Marcy’s book gives detailed information about things that may be
needed. At the same time, there were drawings of some necessary furniture
for camping, and explains what materials it can be made from. Here is a text
from the book in the “camp equipage” part;
“Every mess of six or eight persons will require a wrought-iron camp
kettle, large enough for boiling meat and making soup; a
coffee-pot and cups of heavy tin, with the handles riveted on; tin
plates, frying and bake pans of wrought iron, the latter for baking
bread and roasting coffee. Also a mess pan of heavy tin or wrought
iron for mixing bread and other culinary purposes; knives, forks, and
spoons; an extra camp kettle; tin or gutta percha bucket for water --
wood, being liable to shrink and fall to pieces, is not deemed
suitable; an axe, hatchet, and spade will also be needed, with a
mallet for driving picket-pins. Matches should be carried in bottles
and corked tight, so as to exclude the moisture.” 20
Westside trails contain very important memories and experiences in
the history of American emigration. Pioneers were traveling for months with
their wagons (as a vehicle). They set up a mobile self-contained living space
and experience being mobile temporarily until they go to the areas where
they want to settle. The 18th-century vehicles, the Conestoga and Prairie
Schooner, were not primarily produced for the accommodation of people.
However, it worked as baggage for passengers’ needs and provided the
opportunity to stay inside if needed. Wagons’ support beams created more
resistant conditions to harsh weather rather than tents. This story supports
that Conestoga could be defined as the first mobile accommodation vehicle
used for journeys temporarily. Although this is not the primary function,
covered wagons are lead designs for using way in a mobile home and trailer
history. In addition to being used for trade and migration, other wagon-type
vehicles were produced to be used on shorter distances in the 1800s.
4

Ambulance Wagons
Until the wagons, the only transportation way was horses and oxen.
They were like live vehicles carrying people and their belongings, trading
goods, and anything to be loaded. Wagon provided great volume to carry
the goods and was much easier and safer than horseback. The new vehicle
opportunities became widespread rapidly. Especially the covered wagons,
which are examples of the early period, played an important role in making
a big jump in the level of development of transportation. Naturally, they
were evolved for use in many areas, and the most important results were
in the healthcare industry. Medical supplies had to be delivered quickly and
seriously wounded patients had to be transported to health centers for
surgical intervention. However, those big covered wagons were risky to carry
people and time-consuming because of their weight for health necessities.
The term “ambulance” was born exactly in these demands.
Especially the U.S. Civil War had an accelerating effect on improving
health conditions in America. Until the war, the healthcare system had limited
facilities, but it had to develop to respond faster and better to the wounded
soldiers in the war. The first examples of ambulances in America were produced
in this period. The U.S. Army Medical Board was established in 1859, and this
organization created the first structured American ambulance system. Several
ambulance models were reviewed by this board, which included Surgeons
Clement A. Finley, Assistant Surgeon Richard H. Coolidge, John M. Cuyler,
Richard S. Satterlee, and Charles S. Tripler. The board ultimately decided to
test the two-wheeled Finley and Coolidge model at several locations in the
Western service, as well as the four-wheeled Tripler model. 21
The design of the two-wheeled models created by Finley and
Coolidge was inspired by the “French ambulance volante,” also called
the “flying ambulance,” produced towards the end of the 18th century.
Nevertheless, these models were smaller versions of the commonly covered
wagons with wooden beds and fabric top cover. In the wagons, two people
could be transported in a lying position. It seemed advantageous to complete
this journey by lying down in a wagon rather than being carried on a horse
for long distances at first time. However, the soldier who had experienced the
two-wheeled wagons mentioned that they gave the wounded a staggering
journey and named the “avalanche.” In the second year of the conflict, most
two-wheeled vehicles were abandoned by Union armies due to their not
Figure 5: The Coolidge ambulance wagon
Figure 6: The Wheeling or Rosecrans ambulance wagon.
United States Government, Surgeon General’s Office, The
Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion,
part III, vol. II, Surgical History (Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, 1883), 947-948.
21. Haller, J. & John, S. (2011). Battlefield Medicine: A
History of the Military Ambulance from the Napoleonic
Wars through World War I. Southern Illinois University
Press
5

22. Haller, J. & John, S. (2011). Battlefield Medicine: A
History of the Military Ambulance from the Napoleonic
Wars through World War I. Southern Illinois University
Press
performing as expected. The four-wheeled ambulance, which was Tripler
designed in 1859, provided more stable conditions for the injured and quickly
replaced two-wheeled ones on the roads, and it replaced two-wheeled ones
quickly. The interior volume could contain more litter and could carry 4 in
total. The Tripler was more successful than Coolidge and Finley’s early designs,
and the government produced hundreds of Tripler and used them in the Civil
War. 22
Figure 7: A Zouave (French North African) ambulance
crew demonstrating removal of wounded soldiers during
the American Civil War using the Howard ambulance
wagon in the USA photographed by William Frank Brown
in 1961-1965 (Source: Library of Congress) https://www.
loc.gov/pictures/item/2011660482/
U.S. Army Medical Board’s first designs were inspiring attempts
to show the potential of the wagons and then, more advanced examples
of Tripler were made. Designed under the leadership of General William S.
Rosecrans, the “Wheeling” or “Rosecrans” (ca 1861) was the most widely used
ambulance wagon through the Civil War. The advantage over Tripler is that it
is lighter and also has enough space for patients, an extra litter, a water tank,
and medical equipment. Additionally, it is simply constructed and repaired.
There were seated areas for 11-12 people in the wagon, and the seated areas
were replaced with two reclining plus 2-3 seated areas. Although Rosecrans
provided a better ride than its early trials, undeveloped wheel structures
could not tolerate minor bumps on the roads. The injured had to use both
hands to hang on to avoid falling to the ground on the road, and the situation
in the war was much worse. It was still used after the war until the 1870s.
Many models were developed after Rosecrans, and the most well-known of
these was Rucker. It had a more spacious and comfortable interior, was made
for rough terrain and long distances, and could transport four litters as well.
Constructed in 1864, The Howard had the volume to carry four litters as the
6

Rucker. Its suspension system was more advanced than previous ambulances
and, therefore, less joggling for orthopedically injured patients. In 1864-
1865, the Langer ambulance wagon was produced, which had a slightly more
complex design. 23
The ambulance wagons were the first vehicles for the transportation
of people in American history. The old-style covered wagons were developed
to carry people more ergonomically in the ambulances. Despite the emigrant
wagons, ambulance wagons had flat floors (no sloping), seating areas (some
of them made of leather), and advanced suspension systems to reduce the
jiggle. Even in some models, the upper part of the wagon was covered with
wooden plates instead of fabric top and had become much more resistant
to weather conditions. In the meantime, the advantages of comfortable
accommodation made the battlefield ambulance wagon a vehicle for civilians.
Nomadic communities preferred the ambulance type of wagons rather than
comfortless covered wagons for their long trips. The ambulance wagon,
made for relaxing or sleeping while traveling, also did away with some of the
difficulties of sleeping when stopped. It allowed for resting and sheltering
without requiring the setting up and taking down a tent in every break. Thus,
people did not need to carry tent equipment for camping in the wagons,
and they also saved space and weight. They generally used their wagons
for short-term camping excursions when the long-distance journey ended.
Especially health seekers are one of the transient groups that most prefer
the comfortable journey of the ambulance wagon. At the end of the 18th
century, people who wanted to escape the Tuberculosis epidemic started to
live mobile to get the clean air of forests, lakes, and mountains in the West.
They were accommodated in the ambulance wagons until they reached safer
places. They parked in an area and set up their tents. 24 In a newspaper report
in 1875, it was mentioned that an Englishman named James K. Newcombe
was traveling in Nebraska by converting an ambulance wagon he had bought
from Toronto. In the interview, he mentioned that his health was not good
and that he went on a trip “in search of health and the pleasures which
attend health. “He also illustrated his wagon: “roomy, comfortable, covered
conveyance, bedroom and kitchen in one, with a little cooking stove and
glazed windows and a due complement of carriage lamps.” 25 These are the
first and critical steps of the development of vehicles for the second half of
the 19th century. The fact that wagons started to carry people inspired later
wagon and automobile designs.
23. Haller, J. & John, S. (2011). Battlefield Medicine: A
History of the Military Ambulance from the Napoleonic
Wars through World War I. Southern Illinois University
Press
24. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
25. Nebraska State Journal. (1975, November 12)
7

Coaches and Camping Cars
26. U.S. #206120¢ Bobtail Horsecar Street Cars. https://
www.mysticstamp.com/Products/United-States/2061/
USA/
In the first half of the 19th century, railroads began to be established
in America after the production of steam vehicles. They shortened the
8-month migration journeys of wagons and accelerated the settlement to the
west of America. Cities grew faster, and larger urban centers began to form in
the west and east. After the 1850s, the transportation provided by horses and
covered wagons began to be replaced by wooden vehicles called “coaches.”
Coaches are different from covered wagons; they carry people instead of
goods. They were much lighter and more compact vehicles, and their small
dimensions were more practical to use in the city than large goods wagons. In
addition, families used these vehicles on their journeys, such as out-of-town
hunting.
At the same time, there were omnibuses, small versions of
locomotive vehicles, that provided public transportation in the city. Horsecar
lines were built to reduce the shaking of the wagons on its hilly streets, and
horse-drawn omnibuses used these lines. In 1832, the John Mason Streetcar
was officially put into service. It quickly gained popularity and was regarded as
a luxurious improvement over the omnibus. It had more pleasant upholstery,
was more comfortable, and required less horsepower to go nearly twice as
fast. John Stephenson created the vehicle’s design based on a modified British
railroad car. Stephenson made several more designs for American street
transportation in the years to come. One of them, the “Bobtail,” which he
produced in 1889, was a very light model compared to the human capacity it
carried and the last animal-drawn vehicle in the U.S. 26
In 1880, Peter Herdic produced the first production of Herdic Coach,
which can be considered the ancestor of today’s taxis. The difference between
the Herdic and the omnibus was that it did not move on a certain rail and
route. Although it resembled the coaches of the period from its outlook, its
use purpose was urban public transportation like omnibuses. The suspension
system was much more sophisticated than previous wagon designs, so it
offered as comfortable a ride as omnibuses. However, unlike omnibuses, it did
not go on a certain rail and could leave passengers on the sidewalk instead of
the street. Like ambulance wagons, these were light vehicles with low floors
and back doors.
Moreover, The Herdic coach has several innovative features. Side
benches were built to carry four people along each side. The goal was to
8

create the greatest strength with the least weight. The vehicle weighed
half that of the ordinary public omnibuses of the day, and one horse could
easily pull it. In order to protect passengers from rain and snow, the coach’s
roof extends outward from the back, and the driver’s seat is covered with
protective material. Herdic’s company also planned to launch a line of extra
coaches for picnics, excursions, private parties, etc. Peter Herdic made a few
changes in his design in 1881 and finalized the design. 27
Herdic Coach’s advanced suspension system, lightness, and compact
interior volume made it a successful enterprise. Inspired by this design,
Alonzo J. McMaster produced the first known purpose-built, horse-drawn
trailer in America in 1889. McMaster Camping Car served exclusively as a
pleasure camping car. It had two versions in different weights, but both were
light enough to be drawn by a couple of horses. The larger camper had a fifth
hammock for the driver underneath the vehicle, bench seating along each
side that could be converted into four beds, and a bathroom. Also, according
to the brochure, two water tanks, a wash basin, a closet with a removable
door that may be used as a table, and an ice chest.
Figure 8: The Herdic Coach drawing. The Carriage
Monthly, vol 17, April 1881, pl.2.
Figure 9: The McMaster Camping car in Yellowstone National
Park in 1892. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational
Vehicles: A World History 1872–1939.
McMaster, an entrepreneur, marketed the vehicle as follows in the brochure
in 1892; “the car can be owned by one or more families, or by clubs of young
men, and provide a cheap, pleasant way to secure recreation and comfort in
camping out.” When McMaster took his first camping vehicle, the Niagara,
on a camping trip in 1889, he received excellent responses from other
campers. He started a small-scale manufacturing operation called McMaster
27. Green, S. (1881). The Hedric Coach. The Carriage
Monthly, 17. 171-174.
9

28. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
29. ii
Manufacturing Co., Lockport. He placed ads in the neighborhood to sell the
car. On the one hand, camping tours for touristic purposes became popular
in the last quarter of the 19th century. The most well-known of these was
Yellowstone, the first national park in the world. Sam M. Wilson and William
Wallace Wylie ran a traveling enterprise in the park with movable tent camps.
They also offered a somewhat private escorted journey for four people over
twelve days in a cozy, self-contained vehicle with a driver with McMaster’s
camping cars. The sleeping cabins proved to be far more comfortable than the
company’s previous use of tents for tourists in bad weather. 28
Alongside McMaster’s multi-production camping vehicle venture,
some travelers of the time produced their own personal vehicles and went
on trips with them. These custom-made cars are the first trailer examples
before the motor vehicles in America. They were produced individually and
there are usually no photos in the archives. Even so, the trailer owners made
drawings of their mobile homes and published them as “house on wheels”
in the newspapers and magazines of the period. The traveler family Lasley
made a 4-year trip from Washington to New York in their mobile cabin starting
in 1894. The “house on wheels” of the Lasley family was the most classical
visualization of a chimney house placed on four wheels. In 1896, a Kansas
carpenter built a “summer house on wheels” for his unhealthy wife to travel to
the Rocky Mountains yearly. The family doctor advised that the builder’s wife
should get some fresh air the idea came from. The car was lightweight and of
simple construction. A year later, Jonathan Olson from Altoona, Pennsylvania,
decided to travel the world for pleasure in a wagon. His vehicle consisted of
three luxuriously built rooms with a separate kitchen, bedroom, and pantry,
with a sliding door on one side. However, whether he started or finished
his journey is unknown. 29 Olson’s drawing of the interior section reveals the
difference in the idea compared to other drawings of the period. Instead of
drawing the wagon from the outside like a vehicle, he visualized the story of
the place he lives inside. This is the first example in America of how domestic
life can be reproduced on a wheeled vehicle for travelers.
Figure 10 (left): Lasley’s “houses on wheels” drawing in
1897.
Figure 11 (right): Jonathan Olson’s “houses of wheels”
drawing in 1897. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational
Vehicles: A World History 1872–1939.
10

Transient Families
The first part mentions the mobility habits and related vehicle
usage in America from the 1700s to the 1900s. Humans were provided their
mobility with animals until the 1700s, and this situation increased after the
first vehicle of America, the wagon. These vehicles created new possibilities
for being transient and then, the various mobile groups occurred. Robert S.
Wilson mentioned these mobile groups as “transient families” in 1930 and
classified them according to their transient periods and reasons. 30 Referring
to Wilson’s classification, American transient families in the period 1700-1900
can be defined into three groups and these groups are as follow;
Figure 12: The mobility diagram of tansient families
between 1717 and 1908
1)Temporary Traveler; a)Temporary Transient is the group traveling
to reach a specific point (emigrants), b)Travel Tourist is the group traveling
frequently for fun (camping tourism), 2) Roader is the group being on the
road except for recreational reasons (migrant/seasonal workers, job-hunters,
health seekers, homeless tourists, itinerant traders), 3) Mobile Dependent is
the group that has a nomadic lifestyle and full-time mobile (gypsies, mobile
families)
The 18th-century pioneers, who emigrated to the West side of
America, are specific examples of “temporary transient” groups. They traveled
probably once but long-term with the iconic vehicle, the Prairie Schooner.
The vehicle was for goods and passengers in need, such as newborns and the
elderly. Healthy and resistant ones were walking along the migration route.
Passengers usually carried their tent in the wagon, removed them out and
stayed outside the vehicle at night. The wagons like Prairie Schooner were
made of wood-framed and waterproofed fabrics, and they could stay in
their wagons if the weather was bad. Overall, the primary use of emigrant
30. Wilson, R. S. (1930). Transient Families. The Family,
11(8), 243–251.
11

31. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
32. Wilson, R. S. (1930). Transient Families. The Family,
11(8), 243–251.
33. Woodmansey, A. (2022)
wagons was carrying belongings like baggage. In the same period, the workers
carrying goods in the Conestoga wagon can define as the first “roaders.”
Unlike the emigrants, they made more individual and shorter journeys. But
like emigrants, they stayed in tents outside the wagon when it got dark.
In the post-war period of the second half of the 19th century, the
great wave of immigration started to decline, and pioneers settled and
established their cities and farmlands. This situation resulted in a significant
increase in the American population. This rapid population growth in the
eastern seaboard’s congested, dirty, and inadequately sterilized towns and
cities coast caused serious diseases. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of
death in 1850s America. On the advice of their family doctor, thousands of
immigrants suffering from diseases traveled west between 1840 and 1900 in
search of the only known “cure” at the time—a healthier environment and
less stressful way of life. 31 The minimum number of tuberculosis migrants
in the southwest, according to the National Tuberculosis Association, is ten
thousand; if we count their families, there are thirty thousand additional
people, at least half of whom are kids. 32 This group of people was referred to
as “health seekers” which is one of the “roader” groups.
Ambulance wagons were the most comfortable vehicle for rough
roads in the 1850s, and there was also the advantage of lying down for
patients. However, these wagons carried wounded to health centers during
the civil war period were not adequately equipped for the health seekers’
long journeys. In a 1975 interview in the Nebraska State Journal, health
seeker James K. Newcombe described how he customized the ambulance
wagon for travel. In the following years, camp vehicles were produced and
people started to make short trips to national parks to get fresh mountain air.
Even some families produced their own “house on wheels.”
Although the habits of being on the road and camping in natural
parks started for seeking health first, it turned into a touristic journey for some
Americans over time. The dramatic American landscapes attracted and became
the touristic equivalent of Europe’s historical buildings for “travel tourists,”
including a new and quickly expanding group of middle-class Americans as well
as some wealthy and curious European visitors. 33 “Wilderness” was the main
concept of American tourism. Travelers described their travel experiences in
their books. William Murray, one of the travelers of the period, describes his
first camping experience in the Adirondack Mountain in New York in his book
“Adventures in the Wilderness; Or, Camp-Life in the Adirondacks” published in
12

1869. Murray was one of the important figures of recreational camp culture,
and he described the tactics of camping in the wild and his experiences in
hunting and fishing in his book. He has always encouraged people to take
nature trips; in his words, “Indeed, it is marvelous what benefit physically is
often derived from a few weeks trip to these woods.” 34 But after Americans
widely read Murray’s book, the natural Adirondacks region was flooded with
tourists, so the wilderness could no longer stay wild, contrary to what he
intended. In the following years, environmentalists and nature lovers drew
attention to the importance and sensitivity of American nature. One was
John Muir, who immigrated to America from Scotland with his family at 11
as a “temporary transient .”After years, Muir opposed the traditional view of
the home and stated in her books that nature is our “home” and that we
should live here by protecting it. According to Wilson (1930), individuals with
temporary, transient experiences at a young age tend to lead a temporary life
in adulthood, as in Muir’s example.
“Wilderness” tourism and then nature lovers have led to short and
long-term recreational trips in nature people. Tourists had a new method to
experience their natural surroundings in comparatively safe and comfortable
conditions after the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion in 1869. Some of
the wealthiest people in the late nineteenth century hired Pullman Palace
Cars, luxury self-contained rail cars connected to regular train services, and
left them at a tourist location as mobile private hotels. In this context, camping
was an option for everyone else, especially the growing number of American
travelers with an independent spirit who found the formality and the
schedules of resorts and railroads oppressive. 35 Travel tourists used different
types of wagons as camping vehicles for the period. Ambulance wagons were
first preferred in the 1850s, and in later years, they were replaced by coaches
and, in the 1890s, camping cars. The well-known McMaster Camping Car is
America’s first wagon produced for recreational purposes. Alonzo J. McMaster
is the entrepreneur of this car and it had a pioneering design according to
the conditions of its time. In addition, it is known that the car is used as an
alternative to tented camping tours in Yellowstone National Park for short
trips. According to the interior depiction, it was designed to be suitable for
the traveler to stay while traveling and in the park.
In addition to short-term trips for pleasure, other transient groups
were “on the road” by necessity. People who didn’t have a fixed job and their
families were in motion throughout the year to find work. Until the 1900s,
34. Murray, A.H.H. (1869). Adventures in the Wilderness;
Or, Camp-Life in the Adirondacks. Boston: Fields, Osgood
& co.
35. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
13

36. Wilson, R. S. (1930). Transient Families. The Family,
11(8), 243–251.
emigrants in North America were just settling in, and the cities they built
were very crude, so it was difficult to find jobs for every resident. In addition,
seasonal workers were needed in many areas, and unemployed people
were working temporarily in these areas, such as agriculture and mining.
However, seasonal jobs in small towns are limited, and workers look for jobs
in different cities throughout the year. This group is called “job-hunters” and
contains families and single individuals as croppers who shift crops seasonally
throughout the year. Families with thier own cars combined their obligatory
job seeks with a small family vacation. If they found a permanent job in the
process, the family would be ready to settle down. In some occupational
groups, even permanent work can be complicated; for example, miners are
not seasonal workers but have deadlines. As a result, families are essentially
forced to look for work elsewhere when mines close. Approximately half of
the miners are believed to have traveled at some point. 36 The uncertainty of
the job-seeking process causes job hunters and their families to be on the
road temporarily and indefinitely. For this reason, they lived mobile in their
wagons until they found a job.
In addition to those seasonal roaders, there were “itinerant traders”
who were always roaders due to the nature of their business. They make
sales by traveling from region to region with their families. They don’t have
a specific house and full-time mobile as a merchant. In one of the transient
families Wilson (1930) mentioned, Red W and his family lived as “roaders
.”Red W was an itinerant horse trader with his wife and children. He was
born and raised in a prairie schooner-type covered wagon and continued this
mobile living culture with his own family. They spent each winter in a small
squatter community close to Wichita. Here, they were referred to as “home
folks.”
Many people, like the Red W, are accustomed to being on the road
from their ancestors. The parents were probably born on the road or grew up
on it, and they continue the nomadic life pattern in their own families. Like
Red W, it is challenging to wean the kids off the road because they have been
raised to live a life of continual travel. In adulthood, most people continue their
usual lives by combining their nomadic life with their itinerant work. On the
other hand, some people prefer to be mobile only as a lifestyle. This group is
called “mobile dependent”; it includes gypsy groups known for their nomadic
lifestyle and families or individuals who travel long distances. Nomadic gypsies
made up the majority of mobile people in Europe and gave their name to one
14

of the first mobile homes in history, the “gypsy wagon.” These wagons first
appeared in Britain and later in America, and they had a very different design
from the covered wagons in America. They were used as horse-drawn leisure
vehicles in c1860-1885. 37 In the next ten years, recreational camping wagons
also began to be designed in America. After 1880, mobile-dependent culture
grew in popularity.
Figure 13: The Lasley family and their ‘house on wheels’
(USA, 1898)
Some families even built their own wagons and published their cars
and experiences in newspapers as a “house on wheels.” One of them, Morgan
Lasley and his family, had four years of mobile-dependent experience in their
own mobile homes and described this process in their book “Across America
in the Only House on Wheels.” It has become a reference book for the next
generation of mobile dependents. Mr. Lasley describes the construction
process in his book: “Build it same as if it was to remain stationary, sills, floor,
walls, windows, doors, canvas roof, side boarded up and down.” He built a
cabin resembling a traditional house and made it mobile with wheels. In an
interview he gave to the Seattle Post Intelligencer in 1894, he described his
mobile home as a lightweight but comfortable cabin made of cedar with a
single door, three windows, and a canvas roof. 38 People were interested in
this pioneer style travel with a custom made vehicle, and especially local
journalists were showing attention in the places where they took a break. A
newspaper article is as follows;
37. Wilson, R. S. (1930). Transient Families. The Family,
11(8), 243–251.
38. Lasley, M. E. A. (1899). Across America in the only
house on wheels or, Lasley’s traveling palace.
15

In a House on Wheels, A Journey of 1,200 Miles Made by M. Lasley,
an Upholsterer, and His Family,
Calm courage of a true wife who would rather share her husband’s
fortunes than to stay at home and wait. When Lasley’s house
appeared on our streets business of all kinds stopped. Every person
was awe stricken? What is it ? When first seen they had Market
Street blocked solid. The children say “ they enjoyed the trip,” Their
house is wonderfully arranged for comfort ; fitted like a traveling
palace car. They expect to continue their trip south, soon as the
weather clears. The house is 12 feet long, 6 high, and 5 wide, with
doors and windows. Camp stove, folding table and bed, lockers,
commmode, chairs, etc. They have endured extreme hardships on
their trip.
Sail Francisco Examiner, Dec. 18, 1894.
16

weather. 40 Within a few years, car travel became popular and extended travel
1.2 Trailer Industry from FORD T to WORLD
WAR II (1908 – 1939)
Ford Model T and Auto Camping
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, cities and
towns were particularly loud and polluted. Coal kept the factories running
and the homes warm but at a price—black soot and smoke piled everywhere.
Even the horses weren’t very clean. Only the wealthy could afford to escape
the smog and breathe in natural, fresh air whenever available. Middle-class
and upper-class families had the chance to take the train to their vacation
destination or second home in the country every summer, while the less
fortunate had to stay in the cities. 39
In 1908, the first mass-produced automobile, the Ford Model T, was
introduced. This was the beginning of the easy transportation and mobility era
for the U.S. The most important point of mass production was decreasing the
cost and creating affordable manufacturing. In this context, the automobile
has become accessible for middle-income families, and most people became
car owners quickly. This situation made vacations no longer special for only
the upper classes and increased people’s mobility rapidly. Being on travel
has created opportunities for families to discover new places rather than
stay in smoky cities. Unlike wagons, motor cars made people the main focus
of the journey rather than goods transport. People were making daily auto
trips, which they called “Sunday Drive,” to get out of the city and get natural
Figure 14: Campers in Corkscrew Swamp, Collier County,
Florida photographed by Charles Lee Barron in the 20th
century (Source: Florida Memory Digital Archive, image
number: C027949)
Figure 15: L.A. municipal auto camp, Elysian Park in
1926 (Source: Los Angeles Public Library, order number:
00057249)
durations. Then, long-distance trips across America created the need for rest
breaks and a place to spend the night for several days. In those times, it was
hard to find hotels near the roads, and they were located in the city center
generally. Even if there was a hotel, the drivers could hesitate to stay there
because of the pollution of muddy and long journeys. 41 Firstly, the drivers
were parking their cars in a suitable area on the road and sleeping in the car
overnight. Later, they started to carry tents in their cars and set up them next to
cars when they parked. Campers were also carrying their camping equipment
to make the accommodation process more enjoyable and prepared. Camping
39. Adkins, C. (2019, April 28). The history of mobile
homes (is absolutely fascinating). https://mobilehomeliving.org/the-history-of-mobile-homes/
40. Fowler, K., Goers, H., & Lazzaretto, C. (2016). Trailer
parks and mobile home parks, 1920-1969. Los Angeles
Historic Resources Survey.
41. ii
17

Figure 16: Gasoline stove for camp use
Figure 17: Knickerbocker Case, includes six each imported
enameled plates, cups, and saucers, one each salt
and pepper shaker, one can opener, one kitchen knife,
six cloth napkins, and two food boxes. It is water-proof,
leather-grain lined and the cases can be washed out on
the inside.
Figure 18: The Fitall kit for carrying toilet necessities,
there are brushes, combs, a mirror, and a complete shaving
outfit on the inside.
42. Mark, S. (1998). Save the auto camps. Southern Oregon
Historical Society Magazine, 3(4), 28-33.
43. ii
culture was not new for Americans, as they had already been making long
trips with wagons. Thus, they combined the 200-year-old practice of wagon
camping of their ancestors with the automobile.
Over time, as the ideal areas to stop or pitch a tent became known
to travelers, camping spots began to emerge. Especially open public nature
parks were an attractive point for campers to improve their experience with
fresh air and river views. In addition, there were camping spots that had been
transformed into businesses that provided electricity, water, and gas support
for campers and were called “auto camps”. With the release of the Model T,
camping became a new and accessible interest for passengers who can easily
become more mobile than before. Particularly, the low cost of camping was
one of the catchiest reasons for drivers. As a result, by the late 1910s and
early 1920s, auto camping was at the top of its popularity. They consciously
refused to stay at the hotel in their travels. The auto “gypsies” – as Mark’s
definition for campers – could camp without making bookings or eating at the
scheduled times set by hotel dining rooms. They didn’t have to leave a tip or
explain his occasionally messy appearance after a day of traveling to a hotel
lobby staff. 42
This great interest in camping culture has created a demand
for campsites. In order to meet this demand, first of all, the parks were
transformed into auto camps, and then, special camping areas were created
according to the needs of the campers. However, these camp areas still did
not have the facilities to tolerate long-term stays, and unsafe environments
could occur for campers. Free municipal auto camps were set up to make
campsites more controllable and equipped. The first official municipal camp
was established in the United States in 1913 in Douglas, Arizona. 43 In the
municipal and private camping areas established in the following years, the
official site plans consisting of the defined parcels where the cars will be
parked were created. In the auto camp photographs of the period, it is seen
that these parking areas are approximately wide enough to set up a vehicle
and a tent next to it. (Figure 15). On the other hand, it is also seen that some
campers improvise tent-like shelters created by stretching fabric between two
vehicles. (Figure 62)
In this period, in addition to the developments in the camp areas,
there were also developments in camping styles and equipment. The
Americans already knew camp habits since the great migration and the
equipment they carried with them, but these practices and kinds of stuff
18

changed over time. Travelers like Captain Randolph Marcy explained this
equipment and how it could be produced in their guidebooks for the period
before 1900. However, in the 1900s, mass production was greatly interested,
and several companies wanted to participate in it because of the lowcost
advantage. For this reason, magazines were full of product-oriented
advertisements from hundreds of brands, and a few pages were always
reserved for the camping section. The increase in auto camps has opened
up significant market space for the camping industry. In the visual archives
of 1900-1910, it is seen that the equipment of the auto campers was mostly
custom-made; on the contrary, they mostly used readymade products in the
next ten years. In these 20 years, a large number of specialized auto camping
accessory businesses have emerged, offering a broad selection of innovative
auto camping accessories, including ice boxes and stoves that could be fixed
to the sides or back of an automobile. 44 In addition to companies, travelers
were also promoting camping products in their articles in popular magazines.
The titles of the articles were often sloganized to encourage people to camp.
Here are some title examples for these articles; “Home Comforts en Tour” in
The Automobile Journal, 1916; “Hit the Trail Equipped” by Wallace B. Blood
in Motor Age, 1917; “The Fine Art of Motor-Touring” by Alexander Johnston
in Suburban Life Countryside Magazine, 1916, “When the Car Becomes your
Bedroom” in Outing Magazine, 1921.
Figure 20: Auto bed advertisement in Montgomery Ward
Catalogue Spring & Summer 1920, Catalogue no:106
Figure 19: AutoTent Outfit made by J.H. Witmann Mfg.
Co. provides sleeping accommodations for two people.
(Source: On the Road to Camp in The Automobile Journal,
1917 June 10)
44. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
19

Figure 21: Foldable Camp Trailer (Source: Automobile
Topics, 1920 August 7)
Especially in the post-1915 period, just before the trailers came
out, there were small attempts at sleeping outfits attached to the vehicle,
and they were quite innovative. Campers were looking for more comfortable
versions of traditional tents. In this context, tent manufacturers began to
create fabric systems that could be attached to cars in various ways. One of
the tent companies, Witmann Manufacturing Company, designed a tent and
bed equipment attached to the side of the car. Unlike traditional tent models,
the outfit stands on a piece of equipment so it doesn’t touch the cold or damp
ground and stays away from insects. Besides, the high sleeping level creates
sitting advantages for users. But on the other hand, it cannot stand on its own
and has to be folded if the vehicle moves.
Another innovative sleeping outfit venture was “folding auto beds.”
They were designed for passengers who wanted to stay in the vehicle, and it
was a great alternative to a tent for harsh weather conditions. They were fixed
on the car seats and created a space for two people to sleep comfortably in
an open position. Especially in the Montgomery Ward Catalogue, one of the
popular publications of the period, many tents and camping equipment were
advertised in the camping section in the 1910s and 1920s. Also, some campers
modified their vehicles instead of using readymade equipment. In the “The
Home Workshop” section of The Popular Science Monthly, each month, one
person wrote about their custom-made product and how it could be produced
step-by-step. In the 1922 June issue of the magazine, G.A. Luers explained
how he transformed the Ford T chassis into a camping auto under the title
“Converting Your Car for Auto Camping.” These inventions can be considered
one of the first attempts to transform the mass-produced automobile into a
habitable space.
Camping Auto
In the first years of mass production vehicles, people were camping
by using traditional methods; they carried tents in the vehicles, pitched them
at the parking spot, and packed up their belongings at the end of the vacation.
However, in the following 20 years, the travelling interest was increased and
this directed companies to the the camping industry. There have been great
developments in there. There was a wide range of manufacturers, from smallscale
mobile oven producers to large tent companies, served the camping
20

industry. In the last five years, the innovation in vehicle and equipment
designs has led to the transition from “auto camping” to the “camping auto”;
the act of camping has become the adjective of the automobile and new
vehicle types have emerged.
In this process, many tent brands have produced foldable and quickinstallable
tents for vehicles. The folding camp trailers were the most unique
design, and especially the one that contributed to the formation of the
camping auto term. Until this time, wheeled parts have been attached to the
vehicle, but this was one of the first trailers with accommodation features. This
tent-like unit was not carried in the vehicle; it moved by vehicle in an attached
position on it its two independent wheels. When the vehicle was parked, the
trailer could leave and stand on additional supports independently. The tent
setup was simple enough for one person to do, and then it consisted of 2
separate bed sections and an intermediate corridor. Also, other equipment
for camping could be carried in the trailer; these are a set of cooking utensils,
a folding table, numerous camp chairs, an ice box, and enough plates for four
people. 45
One of the critical reasons for this interest in camping auto is that
the Hotel was not accessible for middle and lower-income groups. In the
1920 issue of Automobile Topics, folding camp trailers were introduced
under the title “Camp Trailer Hotel Antidote for H. C. of L, Makes possible
wholesome outdoor life combined with comforts of home.” Camping trailers
were considered the answer to the problem of expensive vacations. Trailer
Manufacturer Harry Wilkin Perry talked about his trip with a camping trailer
in his article: “One great relief was to know that within five or ten minutes
you could establish your camp with all conveniences and not have to go to a
hot, crowded hotel for accommodations. On arriving at Colorado Springs, we
found the city crowded with tourists and it was impossible to procure a house,
so we once found a beautiful place and within a few minutes had us a home
of which we were proud.”
One of the first examples of a camping auto is DuPont Camping Auto,
produced in 1911. At that time, many manufacturers focused on designing
attachable vehicle parts. However, on the other hand, some companies were
working on making the vehicle directly camping-oriented and possible forms
of it. DuPont produced as a solution to a need, so it had a pioneering design
for its year. Highway builders DuPont hired an engineer for construction in
1911, but he had nowhere to stay nearby. As a result, the company found the
Figure 22: The DuPont Camping Auto (USA, c1911)
45. Camp trailer hotel antidote for h. c. of l. (1920, August
7). Automobile Topics, 1482.
21

46. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
47. ii
solution in producing a mobile accommodation unit, the “camping auto.” In
this way, the engineer could move his mobile home in parallel with the road
construction. The most significant feature was the vehicle’s two attachable
tents, which were made of waterproof inflatable fabric rather than canvas.
The camping vehicle had three spaces when the assembly was finished, with
the bedroom located in the middle of the vehicle. 46 This innovative design,
produced by DuPont for a need, is about 5-6 years before even the tent
sleeping units that can be attached to vehicles.
Figure 23: Gustav de Bretteville’s Automobile Telescope
Touring Apartment (USA, 1916)
Four years after DuPont, a real detailed camping auto with almost
all equipment was produced by Gustav de Bretteville. The vehicle named
“Telescopic Camping Apartment” consisted of a camp unit fixed to the rear
of a standard automobile chassis, but its overall appearance was a onepiece
camping auto on four wheels. Bretteville’s unit had a water radiator,
a dining table, a two-person bed, lighting with electricity, a gas stove, and
storage spaces. Just behind the chassis of the vehicle, there was a double bed
and a small shelf in a closed unit that could be opened on one side. On both
sides of the unit, there were two boxes full of camp stuff. When the vehicle
parked at the campsite, the caps of the boxes were opened and turned into a
table where items could be placed. In total, assembly took approximately 15
minutes, and all this was simple enough to be done by an amateur. 47
Bretteville’s modification for a standard vehicle chassis inspired
many coachbuilders and camping outfitters in the following years. While
22

companies were designing different units for sleeping parts and storage as
camping equipment in several ways, others were experimenting with ways
of expanding the vehicle’s interior space to fit functions. In general, beds
and a variety of other camping equipment were included within the main
frame, so the necessity for a trailer did away. In 1920, Samual B. Lambert
designed a vehicle that combined previous examples of camping autos, which
is “The Lamsteed Kampkar.” The design, consisting of two tent kits installed
next to the Ford T and it resembled DuPont Camping Auto in terms of its
external appearance. But differently, tent kits include features such as two
side-folding sleeping surfaces, a table that folds up, a stove, storage spaces,
and a variety of camping items, which are necessary for camping. Completely
knocked-down kits were designed specifically to fit the Ford T, and they were
distributed around the nation by licensed Ford dealers. 48
Five years later, Frank Zagelmayer designed the most elaborate
camping auto of its time. Zagelmeyer Kamper Kar was a more advanced
version of Lamsteed. Like that, its sleeping units were added to both sides
of the vehicle, but unlike that, these units fixed the vehicle and opened
automatically. Zagelmayer’s vehicle also had a pop-up top window that
opened automatically with the bed parts, and the final interior volume of the
vehicle nearly doubled after all parts were opened. In its commercial, Kamper
Kar referred to itself as a fully furnished, self-sufficient solid frame, canvascovered
camping body. This hybrid recreational vehicle was possibly the most
upscale camping alternative at the time in the 1920s. However, they were
not inexpensive, mechanically complicated, and nonadaptive when utilized as
daily transportation. 49 And they were the last examples of camping auto.
Figure 24: Zagelmeyer Kamper Kar Advertisement
(Source: Outdoor Recreation Magazine, 1926)
Figure 25: Interior of Zagelmeyer Kamper Kar (Source,
unknown)
Travel Trailers
In the late 1920s, after several trials of camping cars, the trailer
industry changed the form of the vehicles. The examples were modified
versions of a standard car until this period. The car owners removed various
parts of it and added foldable and expandable features. In addition, most
vehicles cannot travel with their expanded form; they can reach their final
form after parking, just like a tent. The designers and manufacturers of
camping cars mostly come from the car industry, so they convey their car
practices to the camping industry and cannot go beyond a modified car.
48. Anheuser-Busch,Busch-built, Lamsteed Kampkar,
Bevo Boat, Budweiser, Beer Truck,Adolphus Busch III,
Arthur W. Lambert - Coachbult.com. (n.d.). Arthur W.
Lambert - Coachbult.com. http://www.coachbuilt.com/
bui/a/anheuser_busch/anheuser_busch.htm
49. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
23

50. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
51. ii
Figure 26: The Adams Motorbungalo USA, 1920
Figure 27: Curtiss and Aerocar built for Graves of Pittsfield
with Graves’ Cadillac. Florida, USA, 1929
On the contrary, in the 1920s, after people from different industries
entered the trailer industry, the first examples of designs that were close to
today’s technical and visual aspects emerged. Glenn Curtiss, who works in
the aviation industry, played one of the key roles in the travel trailer typology.
His half-brother George Carl Adams founded his trailer brand, The Adam
Trailer Corporation, in 1917. Curtiss designed a camping car for his brother’s
company. The car is the Adams Motorbungalo, produced in 1919 and it has
fold-out beds, a kitchenette, and electric lighting. 50 Like the previous camping
car examples, the Motorbungalo was a trailer unit attached to the Ford T. It
can be described as one of the last hybrid vehicles in trailer history before war.
Although Curtiss’ design offered the optimum space organization despite his
limited resources, it was costly to produce. Motorbungalo was expensive for
Ford T owners and not luxurious enough for the rich on the other side.
Ford T was an affordable option for Americans. Its mass production
enabled it to be produced quickly and reduced costs, making it accessible
to middle and low-income groups. Unlike Ford T, Motorbungalo did not
appeal to most of Ford T owners. After The Motorbungalo was produced
for five years, the company declared bankruptcy, and Curtiss and Adam split
up. Curtiss continued his career alone under the brand of his name, with his
own experience from the aviation industry and commercial experience in
motorbungalo, and he launched his design, “Aerocar,” in 1928.
Curtiss used the aviation industry’s lightweight materials and
lightweight construction principles in Aerocar design. Compared to previous
hybrid trailers, no fabric was used in the final product, and it was finished
with a single material, aluminum like a car. In previous examples, fabric was
used as a method for folding surface beds of trailers. After parking the trailer,
they opened their foldable parts and reached their maximum volume. In
contrast, the Aerocar did not need to be stopped and folded out and was
suitable for accommodation even on the go. Another innovative feature was
the fifth wheel, which Curtis added. It improves the trailer’s stability and
creates safer use at higher speeds. According to Carl G. Fisher, a businessman
and Curtiss’ friend who wrote about the Aerocar in 1928, Glenn Curtiss has
created the most excellent trailer ever constructed in America. Although
the precise manufacturing numbers are unknown, estimations indicate that
between 1928 and 1940, up to 1,000 Aerocars were produced. 51 The Great
Depression trailer in the 1930s impacted trailers and the owners tried to
generate income by transforming them into different functions. Various
24

organizations quickly adopted Aerocar as a mobile workplace or showroom.
It was also used as a bus since its interior layout can be easily modified and
it served as exclusive passenger transportation for schools and airports. The
functional transformation of Aerocar in this period is one of the first examples
of showing easy adaptation of mobile spaces in emergencies, and the Great
Depression was the effective factor.
Another key person in the travel trailer industry is Wally Byam,
who is from a completely different sector. He is the founder and designer of
Airstream, the most recognized RV brand in the 1930s. Byam is a publisher as
well as a camp and outdoor enthusiast. In 1931, he designed his first trailer,
Torpedo, for himself and his wife. Torpedo is one of the teardrop-type trailers.
Teardrop trailers are mini trailers produced in small sizes for short trips for a
few people, and they differ from the others in that they resemble a horizontal
drip shape. Airsteam’s later models are similar in form to Curtiss’ Aerocar.
Byam has released different models in different sizes and functions in a few
years. The small-size models with lengths between 3-5 m, Airlite, Torpedo,
and Silver Cloud, are produced for temporary camping accommodation. The
5.5 m long Mobile Home was designed for temporary residents who need
long-term accommodation, such as circus people and oil workers. Following
the early Airstream models, the iconic, shining aluminum silver bullet, the
Airstream Clipper was designed in 1936. Three years later, the twin-axle
version of the Clipper, the last airstream model, was designed under the name
of the Superliner. 52
Figure 28: The Airstream Superliner (Source: airstream.
com)
Figure 29: Interior of a Airstream Clipper (Source: airstream.com)
52. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
25

Figure 30: The interior of Covered Wagon Trailer (Source:
autoevolution.com)
53. Grillot, A. (2021, February 2). A Streamlined Legacy:
The Airstream Clipper. Airstream. https://www.airstream.
com/blog/worth-remembering-the-airstream-clipper/
Clipper and Superliner’s forms are similar to each other, so their
interior plans are also similar. In addition, it was able to create different types
of floor plans according to the customer’s demands. Basically, the trailer has
a modern stainless-steel kitchen, wood cabinets, a radio, a bar for drinks, a
bathroom, and room for several people to sleep. The entrance door on the
curbside thus gave users a variety of options for the layout and placement
of the furniture. In the visual resources of the interior, functions such as the
kitchen, toilet, and sofa are placed in the curve section at both ends of the
Clipper and Superliner, and a great space is created in the middle area, which
is higher part and the user can walk comfortably while standing. This large
area can be a bedroom, living room, or kitchen area, depending on the user’s
demands.
All the Airstreams were created with a lightweight aluminum shell
that was both strong and easy to maintain, and it had a distinctive, aerodynamic
shape that was influenced by aircraft design. The curves in the streamlined
shape increased the vehicle’s resistance to the high pressure of wind and
enabled it to reach high speeds. In addition to the form, the material choices
are also inspired by aircraft technology. The shining exterior cladding with its
iconic feature is a type of aluminum called duraluminum and the insulation
is a kapok blanket, which is typically used in aircraft. After aluminum was
classified as a war material at that time, clipper and Superliner production
was stopped. The existing trailers were also purchased for government use.
In the post-war era, Airstream continued the travel trailer industry with the
famous Clipper and Superliner models. In 1963-64, Airstream organized the
403-day Around the World Caravan adventure, attended by 105 people, both
to try out how possible it really is to live in a mobile home and to show its
products to the world. The tour was completed by going through more than
30 countries, starting from Singapore to Portugal. Mac Smith joins this tour
with his wife and three children as a reporter to document the trip. After the
tour, Smith published the book “Thank You, Marco Polo: The Story of the First
Around-the-World Trailer Caravan” in 1966. 53
Another key figure who has contributed to the development of the
travel trailer industry is Arthur Sherman. Like Wally Byam, Sherman worked in
a completely different industry and became a pioneer in this industry related
to his camp interest. He is the founder of the Covered Wagon Company, which
has been described as the “Ford of the travel trailer industry,” in addition
to being a scientist. He produced first trailer with a local cabinet maker in
26

1926 and he founded the Covered Wagon Company in 1929. Covered Wagon
aimed to produce affordable trailers that were accessible to everyone with
mass production like Ford T. After the company was founded, the middle class
became interested in the trailers in a short time and the company increased
their sales rapidly. They had sold 117 trailers at the end of the first year. 54
Thanks to its affordable mission, the company escaped the devastating effect
of the Great Depression and even used it to its advantage. By 1936, the
company had made nearly enough progress to have 35 trailers built each day
on a production line.
The Covered Wagon built its trailers right after Aerocar, and many
details were developed that did not exist in Aerocar. Thus, many of their
facilities were new for the time and later inspired Airstream and other travel
trailers. As an innovative product, it introduced several industry firsts, including
an electric system, a waterproof exterior (which was made of galvanized steel
and plywood), sinks, an icebox, a camp stove, a wood-burning stove, and a
sofa that could be used as a bed at night. It didn’t have holding tanks, but it
did have a toilet, a sink in the bathroom area, and another sink in the kitchen.
Also, materials and features could vary depending on models and price;
simple models had thin plywood walls and cheap floor coverings, expensive
models had gas generators and preferred elaborate and aerodynamic designs,
and even the most sophisticated ones even had air conditioners. 55
Wilbir Schult, one of the Covered Wagon employees, opened his own
company in 1936 and became one of the biggest competitors of the covered
wagon. He bought Sportsman Trailer Company, changed its name to Schult
Trailer Coach, and continued his career there. Schult and Walter O. Wells
produced the first Schult trailers two years before the company. After the
company, they produced more than 1500 trailers in two years. Behind Schult’s
sales success, unlike its other competitors, is the export of trailers abroad. In
addition, he focused on simple and affordable production, and it caused to
reached more users, and enabled the company to produce more. The Schult
trailers were economical and this situation has enabled them to be chosen for
war use during the war, unlike their competitors. The company continued to
produce trailers for the US Army to be used as a military house for soldiers. In
addition, it was used as a prisoner of war transport, glider transport vehicle
and even portable morgues according to the needs of the army. 56
54. Gorgan, E., & A. (2022, August 4). Remembering
the ‘30s Covered Wagon Trailer, the First Production
Travel-Trailer. Autoevolution. https://www.autoevolution.
com/news/remembering-the-30s-covered-wagon-trailer-the-first-production-travel-trailer-195180.html
55. Adkins, B. (2019, April 19). 1936 Travel Trailers:
Fastest Growing Industry In US History • Mobile Home
Living. Mobile Home Living. https://mobilehomeliving.
org/1936-mobile-homes/
56. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
Figure 31: Schult Trailer Coaches Travel Living with Economy
Vintage Print Ad, 1947
27

57. Great Depression: Black Thursday, Facts & Effects.
(n.d.). HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/
great-depression/great-depression-history
58. Adkins, B. (2019, April 19). 1936 Travel Trailers:
Fastest Growing Industry In US History • Mobile Home
Living. Mobile Home Living. https://mobilehomeliving.
org/1936-mobile-homes/
Figure 32: Life Magazine, February 1936 (Source: Trailer
Travel, A Visual History of Mobile America)
Great Depression and Trailer Boom
During the birth of travel trailers, a major economic crisis affected
America's social life. In the late 1920s, the American stock market was
experiencing various problems, and in October 1929, the stock market crashed.
That day, known as Black Thursday, also endangered the international economy.
The crisis followed the crisis and in the first three years, America worsened
economically. The stock market crash directly affected unemployment, and
towards the end of the 1930s, there was a rapid increase in unemployment
with the bankruptcy of many banks. Nearly 4 million job seekers did not find
a job in 1930, which rose to 6 million within a year. By 1933, more than 20%
of the American population was unemployed. 57 The fact that the highh rate
of unemployed population prevented the people from living a fixed life and
made them mobile people who were always in search. The state of being
mobile also showed its effect on an intercity scale and a small scale, and
unemployed adults traveled in trailers to seek jobs.
The economic crisis and unemployment had also deeply affected
housing. Many tenants were evicted because they could not pay their rent,
and many moved to more affordable and smaller housing to save money.
Trailers were a good option for the need for affordable and small housing, and
the economic pressure of the Great Depression surprisingly revived the trailer
industry. During the ten years of the economic crisis, people experienced
staying in trailers long term instead of short-term vacations. However, the
camping autos of the 1920s were insufficient for permanent accommodation
in terms of facilities and could accommodate approximately two people.
1930s travel trailers have more insulated exteriors, and their functions and
dimensions are suitable for long-term accommodation of the travel trailer.
These facilities intersected with the needs of the period and became one of
the most invested sectors.
At the same time, the American road system improved. The National
Highway System was introduced in 1926, and more than 23 million trucks and
cars were using it. The road network system, which allowed for comfortable
cross-country travel, was finished by the end of the 1930s. 58 The fact that
many regions could now be traveled comfortably by vehicle caused them to
enter daily life even more and increased their demands. A quick supply was
produced in response to demand thanks to companies like Covered Wagon,
making suitable ready-made trailers affordable by mass production. As a
28

result, the fact that the demand was met with an affordable supply during
this period of the economic crisis had a bomb effect on the trailer's sales and
social life. Although the rapid entry of the trailer industry into socio-cultural
life was not taken seriously by the publishers at first, over time, this lifestyle
took its place on the cover pages of magazines. The famous magazine of the
period, Life Magazine, published "Trailer Ahoy!" in 1936 as a cover page and
there is even a "Travel Trailer Magazine" published by trailer enthusiasts.
Figure 33: Trailer Postcard (Source: Trailer Travel, 35
Vintage Mobile Home Postcards)
Wheeled mobile homes were a huge travel trend during the first
20 years of their evolution. The main drivers of trailer popularity were
brand advertising on a small scale and government policies on a larger
scale. Ultimately, governments encouraged brands to sell more vehicles and
promoted the idea of a "home feeling" in trailers to customers globally. They
first redefined "home" with an emotional term and then tried to convince
people that they could also create this atmosphere in trailers. Many trailer
postcards were published in the 1930s and 1940s as part of this new trend.
There are some quotations;
“we took along something to make us feel at home! ( when you gotta
go – you gotta go)”
“home is where a body’s happy, be it on stone or be it on wheels;
through I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow, I know at last, how
freedom feels"
29

Trailerites and Trailer Parks
In the first part, mobile groups until the 1900s were mentioned. These
groups were transient in their wagons for compelling or recreational reasons.
After 1900, a new mobile era started in America with the production of Ford
T and its acceptance by society. The increase in mobility was considered an
opportunity not only for vehicles but also for travelers, and this period until
the World War II can be defined as the birth of trailers. Groups previously
mobile with their wagons continued to be mobile with their trailers, but
with more possibilities and advantages. When the groups developed using
Robert S. Wilson's definition of "transient families" in 1930 are compared
to the trailer users of the second era, it can be seen that some groups have
disappeared and others have emerged. 59 The "temporary transient" group of
the 1800s, emigrants, was not seen in this period, in addition, the "nonmobile
trailerite" group, which was not encountered before the 1900s and emerged
with the affordable price of the trailer, was added. In addition to Wilson's
classification, Hosch's 1937 trailer groups, Golinkin's 1937 categorization of
trailer users, and Roger Babson's comment in 1936 regarding trailer users
were all taken into consideration while constructing the new classification. 60
Accordingly, trailer users between 1900-1939, trailerites, are divided into four
groups and they are as follows;
Figure 34: The mobility diagram of trailerites between
1908 and 1939
59. Wilson, R. S. (1930). Transient Families. The Family,
11(8), 243–251.
60. J . W . Golinkin , " Trailers ” , Fortune XV : ( March ,
1937 ) 105
Roger Babson , " We'll Soon Be Living On Wheels " , Trailer
Travel I : ( January , 1936 ) No . 1 , p . 10 ( Reprint from
Los Angeles Times )
Louis E . Hosch , “ Restless Americans and the Trailer " ,
Trailer Travel II : ( May , 1937 ) 13
1) Temporary Traveler/Vacationer is the group they own homes and
just live in trailers for a few months of the year (middle aged professional
men, categories of jobs that take long vacations or have flexible hours, retired
people, tin can tourist), 2) Roader is the group being on the road except
recreational reasons (unemployed people looking for job, seasonal laborers,
30

salesmen and construction workers, individuals whose occupations are in
high demand), 3) Mobile Dependent is the group has nomadic lifestyle and
full time mobile (gypsies, mobile families, retired people, tin can tourists),
4) Non Mobile Trailerite is the group that lives in a trailer permanently as
fixed and mostly economic reasons (unemployment people, retired people)
With the introduction of the first mass-produced car, Ford Model T,
known as Tin Lizzie, in 1908, a new era began in the automobile industry in
the United States and the world. Until then, transportation was provided by
wagons pulled by horses and oxen. More comfortable and sustainable mobility
has been achieved after the production of motor vehicles. Since Ford T's mass
production reduced the cost, it became accessible to middle-class and lowerincome
groups instead of being a vehicle that could only be used by highincome
people. This made it a dominant vehicle that was quickly sold and
used across the country. In parallel with popularity of Ford T, the travel culture
also became widespread and the concept of auto camping emerged. During
their holidays or weekends, working individuals would travel to places where
they could temporarily camp with their vehicles. The auto camping culture
initially started with the transportation of tents and camping equipment in
the car, and in the process, special vehicle models came out for camping that
did not need tents. Camping autos were hybrid auto-trailer models before
they switch to trailers. These models were produced for staying in the vehicle
for short holidays, and they were the first vehicles of the "temporary traveler"
group in the 1900s.
Camping autos were usually customized using the chassis of the
Ford T. Sleeping quarters, dining, and storage parts were mostly movable or
foldable sections that opened after parking. Therefore, it was necessary to
park somewhere and it was challenging to always be on the road. Folding out
and unfolding took time; they also needed a comfortable space to extend.
The travel trailer, an improved version of camping cars that solved several
problems, emerged at the beginning of the 1930s. In terms of design, they
were a finished product, like a car, with no need for opening and closing,
thus making it possible to be on the road all the time and could be parked
anywhere. This comfortable version of the travel trailer was also in demand for
temporary travel groups and quickly replaced the camping autos. New trailer
enthusiast clubs emerged due to travel's quick assimilation into American
culture. The "Tin Can Tourist" RV club was the most popular one, founded
in Florida in 1919. The "Tin" in the club's name comes from Tin Lizzie and
31

61. Tin Can Tourism (no date) floridamemory. Available
at: https://www.floridamemory.com/learn/exhibits/photo_exhibits/tincans/
"Can" comes from big water-carrying metal barrels fitted on vehicles. 61 Tin
Can Tourists have an important place in America's trailer history. They created
a community by bringing like-minded people together. Their goals were to
offer their members wholesome recreation, secure and clean camping places,
and high moral standards.
Figure 35: Tin Can Tourist Convention: Arcadia, Florida in
1931 photographed by Ericson, T. (Source: floridamemory.com)
Travel Trailers' more extensive, more comfortable, and flexible
interior was also suitable for long-term travels. It was like a small version
of home, with sleeping, eating and resting areas in one place. Many travel
trailer companies have models in different sizes, from individual travelers to
family travelers. This advantageous situation of trailers was also suitable for
roader groups. Seasonal laborers could travel with mobile homes instead of
constantly searching for hostels or cheap hotels. Some workers were even
accompanied by their families, so many aspects of a mobile home could feel
like home. There were also full-time mobile groups where more than being
a temporary traveler was needed to living this lifestyle. These groups have
generally retired from active business life and moved from a fixed job to a
completely mobile lifestyle. On the one hand, nomadic gypsies that have been
going on for years continue to live as full-time mobile.
The Great Depression of the late 1920s added a new dimension to
adults' relationship with the trailer. The reason why trailers were preferred
during the economic crisis went beyond just being mobile. The fact that
trailers can be produced quickly with mass production at low costs has been
a good option for tenants who have difficulty paying their rent. Trailers were
helpful in a nation going through an economic crisis due to the low costs of
not living in a small space and the absence of the potential for a rent increase.
Particularly the elderly and retired groups had more challenging financial
circumstances than other groups, making living in a trailer a safer economic
choice. Nonmobile trailerites parked in a suitable trailer park and lived in
32

trailers permanently without even spending gas money. Unemployed people
and retirees preferred to live in the trailer economically.
Sociologist Donald Olen Cowgill published his research on trailer
users and their life practices in trailer parks before World War II in his book
"Mobile homes, a study of trailer life" in 1941. Cowgill classified these users
as "trailerites" regarding income, age, children, occupation and education.
According to the survey results, approximately half of the trailerites have an
income of $150, which means higher than average economic status for 1941.
The age group in trailer parks is mostly between 40-60. Approximately 90%
of trailer users are married and half have children. Cowgill has divided his
research in occupational groups into "allowing/requiring mobility" and "not
requiring mobility". Accordingly, while 62% of the professions of trailerites are
mobile, 46% do not require being mobile. Most of the mobile group consists
of retirees and salespeople. In the non-mobile group, business people and
teachers are in the majority. The users' education levels also show parallelism
with their income and occupations. Two-thirds have finished high school, and
one-third have entered university. It can be said that the level of education for a
group with an average age of 50 is high compared to 1941 conditions. Another
question in Cowgill's research is why users use trailers. The overwhelming
majority of the reasons are "to be free to travel", and "to save money" comes
right after. According to the answers of the users, although there are negative
factors such as unstable jobs, mobile employment, high cost of living, and ill
health making that push them to live in the trailer, it is seen that most pull
Figure 36: Inteior of a vacationer’s trailer, 1937 (Source:
Los Angeles Public Library)
factors, including freedom and adventure are in the majority. 62 Figure 37: Inteior of anon mobile trailerite’ trailer, 1943
(Source: Los Angeles Public Library)
62. Cowgill, D.O. (1941). Mobile Homes, a Study of Trailer
Life. American Council on Public Affairs.
33

Two significant group practices emerge when Cowgill's research and
the trailerites groups overlap. The first group was living temporarily in the
trailer. This group can be defined as temporary travelers or vacationers. The
income and education levels of them are higher than the other groups. They
mostly have a stable job and spend their holidays in the trailer. The trailer is
not a house for them but a temporary accommodation like a tent or cabin,
and they have a real home to which they return at the end of their vacation.
Trailer usage styles are also much more sterile and less established than
regular users. The interior design of most of them has stayed the same and is
close to their factory stands. The second group is the group that lives in the
trailer permanently. These are roaders, mobile dependents, and nonmobile
trailerites. They spend most of the year in their mobile homes, even though
their reasons for living on the trailer are changing. For the permanent trailer
population, the trailer is in a very different place from vacationers; it is their
only real home. For this reason, it is seen in many image resources that they
appropriate the place with their personal small items.
Permanent trailerites had a tendency to personalize space not only
in their interior design but also on the land. Canopies, spaces, and tables
expanded from the trailer for nonmobile groups. They tolerated the difficulties
of living in this small space by taking their domestic spaces out, as well as
the advantage of having many functions in one movable space. Vacationer
groups were often expended in romantic landscapes as they left their homes
in the city. For this reason, it did not matter how much their domestic life
was exposed. Unlike temporary groups, permanent groups had basic needs
for their full-time mobile life and were unlikely to find them in an isolated
romantic nature. For this reason, they preferred equipped trailer parks. They
needed electricity, clean water, and toilets for 12 months of the year.
The Great Depression's universal hardship and lack of affordable
housing options affected the growth of a permanent trailer dweller
community. The fact that a permanent home is affordable for middle- and
lower-income groups, consuming less in small spaces, and not paying taxes
for where they live has provided a way out of the crisis for many families. On
the other hand, trailers were solving the low-cost and mobility problems of
skilled laborers groups that needed to be mobile all the time. They drove their
trailers to various job sites across the nation. There were trailer parks created
by seasonal workers around the work areas. Seasonal farmers would set off
again to look for new jobs when the harvest season was over. According to
34

the landscape historian Eduard Krakhmalnikov, "Millions were on the move". 63
In 1938, 1 million Americans were living in trailers and approximately 250
thousand trailers were on the road. According to the data, in 1939, 10% of the
manufactured trailer was purchased as full-time housing. In addition, there
were self-built trailers, and the total number of full-time dwellings reached
almost 75,000. 64 Suitable sections of American land were being converted into
trailer parks to accommodate so many trailers. Especially in Eastern America,
there were 250 lot-size trailer parks in Delaware and Washington D.C. 65
63. Krakmalnikov, E. (n.d.). The Trailer Park that Became
a City: Hilltop and the Importance of Mobile Home Parks
as Endangered Historic Places. Minnesota History, Winter
2017-2018, 314–324.
64. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
65. Krakmalnikov, E.
66. Woodmansey, A. (2022).
Figure 38: Sleeping outside in a Palm Springs trailer park,
1938 (Source: Los Angeles Public Library)
The uncontrolled and rapid growth of trailer parks has created unequipped and
unhealthy spaces while making many people homeowners. The uncontrolled
occupation of the land and the non-payment of taxes by trailer parks are
considered illegal by a part of society. In addition, there were many primitive
parks with no sanitary systems planned, access to clean water was not easy,
and there could be situations where even toilet cabins did not have a drain.
Low-educated and low-income groups were the majority in undevelopment
trailer parks, and the crime rate was higher than others. In this unhealthy
environment, they were not welcomed by society. They were even referred
as "auto tramps" and "gasoline gypsies" to humiliate them. 66 Almost a few
trailers gathered and settled in one night, and the camp areas were perceived
as "slum." The trailer industry began to be seen as part of the slum culture,
and companies began to use the term "mobile home" to get rid of the bad
meaning of the trailer. They reintroduced the "holiday vehicle," which was
Figure 39: Trailer camps maps of United States, 1941
(Source: Mobile homes, a study of trailer life, by Donald
Olen Cowgill)
35

67. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
part of their first marketing strategy, and tried to eliminate being a part of
their permanent culture.
In 1936, the Federal Government introduced regulations regarding Trailer
parks' illegal appearance and undefined features. There were uncertainties
about the land use conditions, as it was unclear whether the trailer was legally
a house or a vehicle. Accordingly, restrictions were imposed on the duration
of stay to disrupt the "negative" environment in the permanent use of trailer
parks. Some parks allowed maximum of 30 days for parking. Also, there was
no taxation for trailer owners. As a result, firstly government created a trailer
licensing fee. Secondly, national standards were established for trailer parks,
and operations began to be supervised accordingly in 1939. 67 Restrictions,
controls, and regulations have devastated an organic growing permanently
mobile culture. Significantly, the "nonmobile trailerites" group living in the
trailer was indirectly forced into mobility or high rents. Until World War II,
trailers were seen as recreational vehicles, not a permanent dwellings.
36

people. 68 Another solution to cater to housing needs has been trailers, which
1.3 Trailer to Manufactured Home after
WORLD WAR II (1939 – Present)
War Time Trailers (Temporary Fixed)
With the onset of World War II, the US implemented policies that
utilized industrial resources to benefit the war effort, and the automobile
industry was one of the main contributors. Some companies focused on
producing vehicles and equipment for defense-related purposes. In this
context, trailers were part of the solution to the emergency housing shortage
for war workers.
Numerous military facilities were established across the country,
creating demands in line with the needs of soldiers. War equipment and food
production were essential for the sustainability of these facilities. In addition,
rapid developments were being made in the defense industry in some cities,
and these regions were focused on war benefit production. Five new military
installations have been added to the existing ones in the San Francisco Bay
Area, one of the major centers of the war on the American front. Thousands
of people from across the nation arrived in the Bay Area to take on positions
because the local workforce could not keep up with the demand during the
war. The availability of accessible accommodation was quickly reduced by
the flood of so many employees and their families. Beginning in 1943, inmigration
workers from shipyards occupied most of the local small hotels.
In extreme situations, several families would share one apartment or
occasionally a smaller space. Small stores were turned into living quarters, and
workers occasionally had to share beds in tents, theaters, tin huts, cardboard
shacks, chicken coops, barns, garages, cars, and open fields. In order to meet
the housing demand for three years, more than 100 thousand places were
converted into houses, or the houses were arranged to accommodate more
have gradually evolved over the last 20 years. The fact that it could be
produced quickly and stored as ready-made in the stocks of the companies
was seen as advantageous in being used as a residence for the workers by
being quickly transported to the war zones. In addition, it was mobile and
68. Foster, R. H. (1980, July). Wartime Trailer Housing in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Geographical Review, 70(3),
276. https://doi.org/10.2307/214256
37

Figure 40: Burlington, Iowa Federal Park, 1942
69. Foster, R. H. (1980, July). Wartime Trailer Housing in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Geographical Review, 70(3),
276. https://doi.org/10.2307/214256
70. Krakmalnikov. E. (n.d.). The Trailer Park that Became
a City: Hilltop and the Importance of Mobile Home Parks
as Endangered Historic Places. Minnesota History, Winter
2017-2018, 314–324.
71. Foster, R. H. (1980, July)
it could be easily moved to the relevant area as the need areas changed. It
was planned to provide temporary shelter to families until the construction
of durable housing units, the main target for war workers, was completed.
In order to provide temporary accommodation, the government purchased
close to 36,000 trailers between 1940 and 1943 as part of its military public
housing project. Different models functioned for different accommodations,
depending on availability .69 Wagon Company, Trailer Coach model for workers'
homes; Western Trailer Company, Travelo model for agricultural workers,
Spartan Aircraft Company, Spartan Monor model for military personnel's
living quarters and mobile offices; Airstream Co was producing the Clipper
model for mobile clinic and hospital use. "Committe Trailer" was one of the
few designs the government allowed and was better equipped than the
Covered Wagon and Western Trailers' products.
However, the trailers in stock belonged to different brands and had
different features, and some did not have enough equipment for the users'
needs during the war. The War Board supported the mass production of trailers
to guarantee standards and accessibility. 70 Thus, the Federal Government has
standardized the trailers as a temporary measure in an emergency. 80 Percent
of these trailers were large enough to accommodate four people and included
two studio sofas that could be converted into double beds, an oven, a fridge,
a water tank, and storage lockers. The remaining 20 percent of trailers were
models that could expand up to 6 people. 71
In 1939, the trailer industry was in the years when it was newly
developing. The primary marketing and production purpose of the trailer was
travel-oriented temporary accommodation. Also, a few businesses were still
creating them, and they were still discovering the optimum materials and
design to use. Most of the in-stock trailers were not in better condition. Some
of them were not made of weatherproof materials and the workmanship
and installations were primitive. There was a demand for new production of
standardized models, but the newly born trailer industry needed more time
to be ready for this demand that World War II would bring. Factories needed
more time to produce a record number of trailers, which was possible with
substandard materials and workmanship. This led to the production of poorquality
trailers. After all, the society saw the trailers as a makeshift dwelling.
Although trailers solved the urgent housing need, the problem
remained about where to park. First, trailer parks under the control of
the Federal Government were established, and then private parks were
38

established. Living conditions were quiete harsh for both types. Mud was a
compelling factor for residents in the rainy seasons in trailer parks built on
earthen floors. Federal parks ' rules were strict, and modifications to the
uninsulated trailer were prohibited. Only wooded sidewalks were allowed to
be built to solve the mud problem. People that stayed in the private park were
luckier; they could modify the trailers to make them more durable. Due to the
limited availability of materials in the local area, these interventions mainly
were organic and small-scale, reflecting the challenges of modifying. Apart
from these, some people randomly parked their mobile homes on the streets
as trailer parking capacities were full. In order to prevent uncontrolled parking
of the trailer, parking outside the licensed trailer park is prohibited. In order to
cater to the need, the construction and operation of a municipal trailer park
was allowed. The most extensive trailer park life in America was experienced,
with federal parks, municipal parks, and private parks hosting large numbers
of trailers in large areas. 72
Towards the war's end, some families switched to permanently
produced public or private housing. Most federal parks have been closed
as residents move into their permanent homes. Also, most families in the
particular trailer park remained in their trailers. A few years before the start
of the war, most restrictions put in place to prevent permanent use of the
trailer park were no longer valid. Families who had migrated to war zones
and established their new lives there continued to live in their new modified
homes. When World War II started, trailers lost their initial relation to travel
and started to be used as homes and other types of residential use. The
proportion of manufactured trailers purchased for permanent use increased
from 10% to 90%. More significantly, the trailer sites of WWII were the
pioneers of the mobile-home parks that eventually emerged in urban areas,
especially after 1960, because of the provided facilities and the aim to create
a feeling of community.
Figure 41: Trailer park in San Pablo, 1942 (Source: Wartime
Trailer Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area)
72. Foster, R. H. (1980, July). Wartime Trailer Housing in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Geographical Review, 70(3),
276. https://doi.org/10.2307/214256
39

73. Krakmalnikov. E. (n.d.). The Trailer Park that Became
a City: Hilltop and the Importance of Mobile Home Parks
as Endangered Historic Places. Minnesota History, Winter
2017-2018, 314–324.
74. ii
Figure 42: Madison residents were prostesting aware of
the urgent need for more veteran housing through tents
set up on the campus and appropriate boards that went
with them, 1945-1946 (Source: World War II Veterans at
the University of Wisconsin)
Housing Shortage and Trailer as a Solution
In the post-war period, the worker population who migrated to the
war zones, returned back. Many military personnel were returning home in
the millions. However, the cities did not have a stock of houses that could
handle this mass migration. In addition, the Americans entered the war
under the circumstanses of Great Depression. In the process, they got better
economically as a result of the increase in forced production for the benefit
of the war, but they did not make any progress in affordable housing. The
returning population caused housing shortage and a critical period started
again for America. Singles were luckiest, they can found and settled in small
temporary residences, but they too soon got married. Birth rates peaked, and
expanding families were again part of the housing shortage.
The War Housing Bureau reported that ten thousand local
households were in need of shelter, with the majority being forced to live in
poor conditions or share rooms with friends and family. In other cases, families
have even taken shelter in cars and public spaces. Abandoned stores and not
heated spaces were being exploited as living quarters. In 1945, the mayor
of the time, Hubert H. Humphrey, mentioned that his office was overflowing
with returning soldiers and families looking for living space, and conveyed a
request for “the need for development of an emergency housing program”
to the Minneapolis City Council. Later, as part of this process, he established
the "Mayor's Housing Committee" in August and the committee established
a "trailer colony" to accommodate 107 families in 4 months. This time, the
trailer was providing housing for war workers in their own city. 73
There was a major housing crisis for the returned war workers. In
1944, the GI Bill was passed, allowing veterans who took a break from their
education due to the war to attend universities. There was also a housing
shortage for veterans returning to their education at universities and in
cities. Wisconsin University, one of the most accepted universities, doubled
its enrolment between 1946 and 1947. More than 70% of students enrolled
at the University of Minnesota, which is another highly accepted university,
were veterans. 74 After the overcapacity in universities, the need for new
classrooms, social areas, and student dormitories arose. Prefabricated
temporary structures were installed in suitable campus places to provide
those in need quickly. The prefabs were unpleasant and usually had poor
40

ventilation and heating. On the other hand, they were inexpensive, could be
used immediately, and provided flooring space. Nevertheless, the established
prefabricates did not meet sufficient housing requirements. Several students
protested the situation by pitching tents in the university park. 75
The University of Wisconsin rented and bought a variety of temporary
structures, including trailers, sleeping cabins, and spaces for students to park
their own trailers to help with the housing problem. The university afforded
veterans' trailer parks, and the first one was built at Rendall Park, which is a
Civil War memory area. In 1945, furnished and one-room trailers were opened.
Trailers and the park were not equipped and students had to bring even water
to their homes. Although these one-bedroom units were a temporary solution
for single students, they were challenging for married couples with children.
Later, the university built new trailers and larger accommodations. Four years
later, the trailers housed more than 2,000 people, 800 children, in the trailer
park on campus. 76 Thus, trailers were the first solution to the urgent housing
need in the war and post-war period. In the process, temporary units have
become permanent homes for some people and families, and parks consisting
of hundreds of trailers have become a community. War and housing shortages
have made people experience an alternative life practice, even for negative
reasons.
Figure 43: Father veteran, holds his child in front of his
Randall Park trailer, 1946 (Source: World War II Veterans
at the University of Wisconsin)
Trailer to Manufactured Home (Permanently
Fixed)
The trailer industry boomed in the early decades following World
War II. Thousands of trailers ordered to solve the war and housing shortage
problem created an unexpected demand for the industry. However, the lack of
detail in the design of the trailers meant that many models failed as long-term
housing solutions during the war. As a result, manufacturers rapidly developed
more suitable versions of trailers, creating numerous models. Some of them
focused on the technical specifications of the trailers to reduce harsh weather
conditions in long-term living. In contrast, others prioritized the interior living
space for a more home-like atmosphere. Permanent living culture in a specific
plot was completely opposite to the idea of "being mobile," so wheels were
no longer necessary. The final versions of trailers with gable roofs and fixed
foundations were the replicas of traditional houses with industrial mass-
75. Olson, K. W. (1969). World War II Veterans at the University
of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Magazine of History,
53(2), 82–97.
76. Krakmalnikov. E. (n.d.). The Trailer Park that Became
a City: Hilltop and the Importance of Mobile Home Parks
as Endangered Historic Places. Minnesota History, Winter
2017-2018, 314–324.
41

77. Krakmalnikov. E. (n.d.). The Trailer Park that Became
a City: Hilltop and the Importance of Mobile Home Parks
as Endangered Historic Places. Minnesota History, Winter
2017-2018, 314–324.
78. Adkins, B. (2018, May 2). Vintage Mobile Homes Of
1955 • Mobile Home Living. Mobile Home Living. https://
mobilehomeliving.org/vintage-mobile-homes-of-1955
79. Krakmalnikov. E. (n.d.).
80. Adkins, B. (2020, June 21). Expandable Mobile
Homes: The First Double Wides • Mobile Home Living.
Mobile Home Living. https://mobilehomeliving.org/
expandable-mobile-homes/
Figure 44: 1956 Tri-Level Pacemaker Mobile Home
brochure
produced methods. This radical change in trailer design ultimately resulted
in a shift in the terminology from" trailers" to "mobile homes" first and then
"manufactured homes."
Every year, the manufactured housing industry creates bigger,
more comfortable, and more luxurious models. Builders were in constant
competition to introduce new ideas or features. Like cars, people were
exchanging their old homes for the latest model which has fancy features
and this habit was a a very profitable concept for the industry. Around 7%
of Americans were living in trailers in 1948 and six years later, US Housing
had three times trailer as many as there were in the war. 77 The 1950s were a
brilliant decade for mobile homes and automobiles. Economists have dubbed
1955 "The Year of the Car" because one million more vehicles were sold than
the year before. 78 The trailer companies created and promoted newer and
larger mobile homes with showers and full kitchens in response to families
seeking the safety and facilities. They tried to convince people that trailers can
give home-feeling comfort with new exclusive designs.
In the 30 years after the war, mobile homes’ size were growing.
Consumers seemed to prefer the transformation of the trailer into a mobile
home since the sales every year increased by over 300 percent in the decade
after the introduction of the 3-meter wide model. 79 One of the crucial
brands, Pacemaker, focused on creating a more innovative interior space
with preserving the trailer outlook. Its unique and popular design, the 1959
model Pacemaker Tri-Level Mobile Home, promised customers a "spacious
living room, complete sleeping accommodation for six, color harmonized
furnishings, deluxe appliances, and high-level standard of equipment" in its
brochure. The design still looked like a product of the automobile industry,
considering the tiny windows, wheels, aluminum shell, continuation of outer
walls, and roof in one piece.
The later examples were losing trailer outlook and getting more
prefabricated house type. Another significant brand, Roadliner, brought out
DUBL-WIDE in the early 1960s as a luxury mobile home. It aimed to create
style and classic interior houses built with prefabricated methods. It published
a pamphlet containing various floor plan options for families of different sizes.
Its prefabricated construction technique also gave expandable units from 2.5
m wide to 5.5 m wide. 80 However, its interior space was totally furnished
with traditional concept. The interior pictures of the Dubl-Wide promoted
conventional luxury living in mass-produced units and domesticity with
42

female models. Like the interior, its outlook also seemed like a conventional
house, not an automobile product. Its design pioneered the following
manufactured homes with gable roofs and no wheels. In addition, the larger
units were too big to be parked by the owner and transported behind the
family auto. Instead, they were transferred and then put up for purchase on a
predetermined site, transforming the trailer into a mobile home as a mobility
change from temporary to permanent.
Figure 45: The DUBL-WIDE Roadliner Mobile Home
brochure, early 1960s
As demand for mobile homes increased, the community began to
recognize these new mobile homes as full-time housing rather than a cardrawn
travel trailer. By the middle of the 1950s, travel trailers had evolved
similar to traditional homes and contained facilities and design elements that
were not present in earlier models. Roadliner was one of the brands that
offered the most space alternatives. Compared with the construction methods
of mobile houses of that time, they seem almost the same as prefabricated
houses. Specific sizes of walls, floors, and roofs that come out of the factory
were formed by combining them in the factory or on the field. These
prefabricated construction methods led mobile homes to modular designs. As
an example, the New Expandable Nashua by Nashua Manufacturing Company
was designed to expand by removing some of its modular walls and adding
new modular units. Another manufacturing company, Rembrandt, produced
the S-T-R-E-T-C-H Living Room using a similar method to Nashua. The company
designed their houses with the slogan "move, open and live". The interior
visualizations were quite traditional, as in other mobile houses.
43

Figure 46: Tornado Towers, 1972 (Source: The Free Lance
Star Newspaper, 1994 April 22)
Figure 47: Multi-storey mobile home park, St Paul, Minnesota,
1971 (Source: The Prefabricated Home)
81. Thomas, P. (2006). [Review of The Prefabricated
Home, by C. Davies]. AA Files, 53, 85–87.
In the early 1970s, there were several experiments to push the limits
of the mobile home. As a final, the manufactured homes were no longer
vehicles; they were produced as prefabricated and assembled in the area.
The structures were demountable and could be easily moved to another
location. These features opened up an opportunity for creating portable
house apartments. One of these, SkyRise Terrace, was a unique multistory
mobile home park example. The units were placed on the slabs of a
concrete structure in detachable connections. 81 The idea was inspirational in
considering the potential of mobile houses and creating other examples of
vertical mobile housing, such as Tornado Towers. Despite being innovative,
there was some technical impossibility in creating vertical connections, such
as plumbing between the units. In addition, the examples did not meet
the aesthetic understanding of society, so they did not create a sustainable
demand. Even the Tornado Tower was mentioned as the ugliest building in the
period's newspapers.
Unlike the trailer, the manufactured homes were semi-mobile
dwellings that are permanently affixed to a foundation. Thus, the transition
from trailers to manufactured homes has resulted in an increased demand
for suitable land to place these homes. This radical shift like housing units
44

has become necessary a revaluation of land use practices. Some federal and
private trailer parks from the war and post-war period were used as mobile
home parks. Private parks were occupied and expanded as the surrounding
land allowed. Every park user settled randomly and in the final, they created
trailer cities. Between the 1950s-1970s, the mobile home industry peaked
and the proportion of mobile homes in the U.S. has increased by more than
four times, rising from 0.7 percent to 3.1 percent in 20 years in comparison
to all types of housing units. 82 Even more dramatic results can be seen in
the increased rates in some states. In Minnesota, one of the states have
the highest demand for mobile homes, the rate of increase between 1960
and 1965 was 234 percent. 83 This rapid and significant increase was directly
creating a demand for trailer parks at the same rate.
The parks have expanded to community size in many parts of the
country and the user profiles could also differ depending on the area. Mobile
homeowners close to the city set their own community rules to create a
healthier environment and lived under there rules permanently. On the
opposite, the parks outside the city were preferred by generally marginalized
groups and they often became temporary accommodation regions for trailer
owners. The parks in the areas at the seaside were preferred for holiday plans.
The middle-income group used to stay in their mobile homes in these regions
during the summer months.
The trailer parks in the city centers were better equipped than the
others. It was like today's building estates with electricity, water installations,
and shared social facilities. The parks far from the city were not adequately
equipped and they did not have clean and healthy environment. In most of
them the plumbing was not working well and the trailer (not mobile anymore)
and prefab houses were not of good quality for cold and rainy weather. There
was no landscape arrangement for houses in the parks, most of which were
placed on the earth. It was muddy and sometimes even swampy in rainy
weather. 84 The living circumstances in trailer parks were unhealthy on a social
and environmental level in many parts of the country.
Although most mobile home residents chose to live there for
economic reasons, early models did not provide adequate healthy and safe
living conditions. To address these concerns, new designs were developed to
create more habitable conditions in mobile homes as an affordable housing
alternative. Additionally, the government aimed to regulate living standards in
these units. The National Manufactured Housing Building and Safety Standards
82. Irby, L. (2000). Taking out the Trailer Trash: The Battle
over Mobile Homes in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Florida
Historical Quarterly, 79(2), 181–200.
83. Krakmalnikov. E. (n.d.). The Trailer Park that Became
a City: Hilltop and the Importance of Mobile Home Parks
as Endangered Historic Places. Minnesota History, Winter
2017-2018, 314–324.
84. Foster, R. H. (1980, July). Wartime Trailer Housing in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Geographical Review, 70(3),
276. https://doi.org/10.2307/214256
Figure 48: Paradise Cove trailer court in Malibu, n.d.
(Source: Los Angeles Public Library)
Figure 49: Current Manufactured Houses in Oak Haven
(Source: Why do so many Americans live in mobile
homes? in BBC News, 2013)
45

85. (n.d.). HUD Manufactured Housing Construction
and Safety Standards. Manufactured Housing. Retrieved
September 1, 2023, from https://www.manufacturedhousing.org/hud-manufactured-housing/
86. Los Angeles Citywide Historic Context Statement Residential
Development and Suburbanization/Trailer Parks
and Mobile Home Parks, 1920-1969. (2016, January). In
Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey.
87. Foster, R. H. (1980, July). Wartime Trailer Housing in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Geographical Review, 70(3),
276. https://doi.org/10.2307/214256
Act, enacted by Congress in 1974, granted the Department of Housing and
Urban Development the power to establish building regulations for mobile
homes. In 1976, HUD developed the Manufactured House Construction and
Safety Standards (MHCSS), commonly referred to as the HUD code, which
outlined federal requirements governing the strength, durability, mobility, fire
resistance, and energy efficiency of mobile home design and construction. 85
In the 1950s, trailers began to be preferred by educated travelers who
preferred to be mobile. In this way, mobile homes were harder to marginalize
because of their widespread use. Due to such popularity, "resort parks"
were created. 86 These parks were usually close to popular vacation spots
and were regularly used as second homes by retired. Thousands of retirees
lived permanently in trailer parks in Florida, one of the areas preferred by
the most population in motion. Retirees were both economically choosing
mobile homes and were pleased about living in a community with their own
age group in their small houses rather than apartments. Seasonal workers
such as construction and agricultural were also living in trailer parks. They has
been one of the most users of temporary housing for years and trailer was the
most afforable solution for them in this period.
Mobile homes were marketed as luxury spaces as an advertising
strategy, but as a result, middle and mostly low-income profile stayed in there.
People preferred these units because they were affordable. Significantly as the
great post-war housing shortage reduced, the middle class bought traditional
houses and moved out of trailer parks. However, some of them continued
to live as mobile homes were an affordable option for more conventional
dwelling types. In the 1970s and 1980s, most trailer park residents had shifted
to lower-income families and marginalized groups. Traditional home residents
were concerned about trailer residents. One of the reasons was their images of
"shiftless transients" moving without notice and suddenly emerging. The low
level of education and unemployment of some caravan owners contributed to
the image of "shiftless." Sometimes, there were even complaints about this
situation from the outside. 87
46

1.4 Trailer to RVs (1960 – Present )
New Generation Travel Trailer, RV
The Great Depression, World War II, and the following housing
shortage crises have been challenging periods for Americans for 30 years. As
the crises finally ended and the economy stabilized, people began to travel on
exploration-oriented vacations with their vehicles to relax. After hard years,
they struggled and dreamed of a new, liberated society. Those who want to
see new places and experience new things set out with their mobile homes
with the slogan "get away from it all." 88 During this period, a young profile
settled for comfortable accommodation and holidays in Florida. Florida was
ideal for people who chose instability. There were new environments that
targeted those who did not wanted to spend the entire year in one place. 89
Also, the popularity in travel culture caused an increase in trailer parks.
Existing parks had the necessary infrastructure to support various types of
camping RVs. In addition to providing services like creative workshops that
catered to camper visitors and seasonal residents, it also provided tennis
courts and private covered swimming pools.
In parallel with the transformation of the trailer into the mobile and
manufactured home in the '60s and '70s, upgraded versions of trailers RVs
were also produced. Existing auto companies began producing RVs, and their
target profile was young mobile groups traveling after the post-crisis period.
General Motors was one of the largest RV manufacturers in the 1970s. The
RV models, named Motorhome, were designed according to the new travel
habits of the young generation. Like other RV models of the period, its
difference from previous examples was that it was installed on a truck chassis.
This made it possible to design more freely in the living space. GM claimed
it was more than just a "camper on a truck chassis" in its marketing and
added that it was a well-equipped motorhome. Also, the company wanted
to create low-cost RVs that planned to sell in enormous quantities. However,
it could not reach its goal due to the pauses in RV demands after the late
80s. The most well-known iconic models of General Motors were the 23' and
26', which they launched in 1972 and 1973. The GM 26' Motorhome had 15
floor plans and four interior concepts. They could be customized depending
88. Branch, J. (2019, March 2). A Brief History of the GMC
Motorhome – Everything You Need To Know. Silodrome.
https://silodrome.com/history-gmc-motorhome/
89. Los Angeles Citywide Historic Context Statement Residential
Development and Suburbanization/Trailer Parks
and Mobile Home Parks, 1920-1969. (2016, January). In
Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey.
47

Figure 50: 1974 GMC Motorhome in RV/MH Hall of Fame
Museum Inventory
Figure 51: Kamp King Koaches brochure
90. Branch, J. (2019, March 2). A Brief History of the GMC
Motorhome – Everything You Need To Know. Silodrome.
https://silodrome.com/history-gmc-motorhome/
91. Lee, M. (2023, February 21). Kamp King Koaches:
What Makes Them Unique? - Camper Upgrade. Camper
Upgrade. https://www.camperupgrade.com/kamp-kingkoaches/
92. 75 Years of Trailer Life: TheEvolution of RVing. (n.d.).
Trailer Life Magazine.
93. Newman, B. (2021, June 8). RV History: The Modern
Era - 2008 - Present. Camper Smarts. https://campersmarts.com/rv-history-the-modern-era
on users' demands and those of their families. In addition, some customers
chose GM because the interior could adapt to different mobile functions such
as ambulance and mail delivery. 90
Another iconic model of the 60's and 70's was Kamp King Coaches.
McNamee Coach Corporation produced many models under this name. The
basic concept was that it is a separate part from the car, like a trailer, and
mounted on the vehicle, unlike it. The RV had an adaptable upper design
according to the car. The extended upper part on the cabin was the most
iconic feature of its design and it was the pioneer of later modern RVs.
The company's most important invention was the foam sandwich panels it
produces for RVs. It was the first brand of the period to adapt the materials
used in the construction industry to the RV. The primary use of sandwich
panels was to insulate, but they also provided lightness and ease of assembly,
which is essential for RVs. Thanks to the insulation, heating and cooling costs
were reduced for the users. 91 This invention has been applied to most of the
later RVs.
In 1980, new partnerships were formed to bring the iconic brand of
1930s Airstream back to the industry. Wade F.B. Thompson (founder of Thor
Industries) and Peter Orthwein bought Airstream, which had lost its place in
the market. 92 They implemented current technical developments and interior
concepts on the Airstream. However, after the 80s, there was a decline in RV
demands. Some travelers continued and some of them were content to take
short holidays in their cars. New digital technologies of the 2000s were slowly
being added to RV models. Nevertheless, in 2008, the financial crisis was the
end for small companies.
The Global Financial Crisis also referred to as the 2007–2008 Financial
Crisis, was a major global economic disaster. After the Great Depression, it
was the worst economic crisis. Investment banks collapsed, and businesses
took credit from the government to stay alive. People faced job and housing
losses, and paying for necessities like food and utilities became difficult. The
crisis was also a critical threshold for the trailer industry. Many old companies
went bankrupt. 93 Big companies such as Forest River, Thor Industries, and
Winnebago Ind. could only survive, but more than 10% of their dealerships
were also closed. While an average of 400 thousand trailers were sold
annually until the crisis, this number decreased to less than half in 2009. The
industry's way of fighting the crisis was to focus on "value engineering" as it
did in companies in the 1930s. Instead of introducing new models, cheaper
48

parts were used with keeping -the overall functionality of existing models.
Using lighter and cheaper MDF instead of heavy natural wood furniture is an
example of value engineering in RVs. Companies have sustained the industry
for five years using cheaper but still effective materials. By 2013, the industry
had recovered itself and started to grow again. By 2017, its sales were able to
exceed the old numbers. 94
The crisis has led to new developments in the trailer industry
regarding materials and technical details. RV historian Brian Newman calls the
post-2008 period the Modern Era of RVs. In this new period, modern designs
have begun to be preferred in the interior. The traditional wide space curiosity
of the '50s has reappeared, and the trailers have been tried to fit as large and
many as beds as possible. TV areas, tables, and traditional house patterns have
come to the fore again. For instance, the bunkhouse travel trailer concept was
used to build sleeping quarters with bunk beds for big families. On the other
hand, the designs of the minimal trailer, which full-time travelers preferred,
continued. There were floor-saving solutions by creating different spaces in
the section, such as placing a pull-out bed on the dining table.
In the2010, digital and technological developments brought RVs to
the highest level ever. The suspensions have significantly improved and the
most comfortable road rides in caravan history have been achieved in the
last 15 years. Solar panels were used for electricity generation. However,
integrating large and heavy solar panels into a mobile life was complicated. It
was used mainly by RV users who were not constantly on the road. After 2015,
solar panels were reduced to dimensions that could be mounted on vehicles
and placed on the roof of RVs. 95 They could be used for cooking, lighting, and
other mobile devices. This is the first step towards becoming off-grid in terms
of electricity. Being connected to electricity as an off-grid meant connecting
to the network and online. People have started to connect to their lives in the
city online from anywhere they want.
94. Newman, B. (2021, September 28). RV History:
The Revitalization Period of the Modern Era (2008-
2019). Camper Smarts. https://campersmarts.com/
rv-history-the-revitalization-period-of-the-modern-era-2008-2019
95. ii
Figure 52: EarthRoamer LTi-001
Figure 53: 2021 Roamer 354MBH Bunkhouse
Neonomadism and Digital Nomads
Mobility is a relatively recent term, but it originates from the much
older concept of nomadism. Traditional nomads were constantly on the move
for various reasons. Emigrants who migrated to America in the 1800s and
health seekers who escaped from tuberculosis caused by new urbanization
are examples of temporary nomadic groups mentioned in the first chapter.
49

96. Yavaş, E. (2021). THE HABITATS OF NEONOMADS: Exploring
Neonomadic Lifestyle Through Today’s Dynamics
And Nomadic Codes. MEF University.
97. Bauman, Z. (2007). Liquid Times: Living in an Age of
Uncertainty. Wiley.
98. Germann Molz, J. (2008, May 8). Global Abode.
Space and Culture, 11(4), 325–342. https://doi.
org/10.1177/1206331207308333
Universally, traditional migration is defined as moving to places where the
climate and food are more accessible to challenge the conditions of geography.
Nowadays, permanently and temporarily mobile groups are moving because
of different concerns. These mobile groups, defined as "neonomads", started
a nomadic life due to current problems such as crowded and busy city life,
environmental pollution, noise, traffic, economy, and rent. 96 Today's mobile
population has started looking for adaptable and diverse methods to deal with
unpredictable socioeconomic surroundings. Permanent mobility has resulted
in individuals who travel frequently, work while away from home, give back to
their communities, and continually explore. According to sociologist Bauman,
this trend is a response by nomads during the fluid period of modernity
despite the laws of settled existence. 97
Although escaping from today's problems is the driving factor
for neonomadism, nomadic life also contains many attractive factors. The
initiating factor of high rate of mobility is 1930s travel culture which started
with the production of ready-made trailers. Over the years, for some groups,
travel has become a lifestyle rather than a holiday. Today's generation is more
mobile than ever, and research shows that this will increase even more in the
coming years. The new generations believe that more permanent relationships
can be made with the dynamic attitude of the new era. Temporary living
concepts take center stage while permanent life actions are pushed aside.
Because of this, fixed connections to objects and locations have progressively
decreased and a location-independent living culture has taken the forefront.
Now, modern individuals desire to be mobile because they want a locationindependent
existence.
The new ideas of mobility have also led to a re-questioning of
belonging. Germann Molz discussed the possibility of establishing belonging
in many places, regardless of location and geography, and she created the
concept of a "global adobe." According to Molz, travelers can feel at home
anywhere because of their mobile ability; they think they are genuinely "athome-on-the-go."
98 Also suggested by William and McIntyre(2000) is the idea
that "home" is no longer a singular location. They think, the idea of home
has always been connected to one's sense of self, but it also emphasizes that
home is not always where one dwells. Terranova-Webb (2010) mentioned
that even the concept of moving could provide some people with the sense of
comfort that a home does.
50

Figure 54: Timeline of Digital Nomad made by Eda Yavaş
(Source: THE HABITATS OF NEONOMADS: Exploring
Neonomadic Lifestyle Through Today’s Dynamics And
Nomadic Codes, 2021)
Neonomads are divided into three according to their ways and
reasons for being mobile. These are global nomads, backpackers, and
digital nomads. People who move about between multiple countries for at
least three years are defined as global nomads and their long-term mobility
became the way of their life. Backpackers are similar to global nomads but
they are the beginning version of global nomads. Backpackers mostly make
seasonal and economical trips. Murphy and Pearce claim that backpackers
want to interact with individuals from other cultures by traveling on a limited
budget and utilizing adaptable travel plans. 99 The term backpackers began to
be used in 1990 but has a history of travel practice dating back to the 1970s.
Cohen coined the term "drifter" to describe the first theoretical descriptions
of independent travelers whose historical backgrounds are based on
adventurers and thinkers. The word for "stray," "wanderer," or "tramp" in
studies done in the 1970s was related to the hippie subculture. These two
groups are on the road, motivated to explore without being dependent on a
vehicle or technology. 100
The third group, digital nomads, is separated from the other two
groups due to the technological connection in their travels. With the integration
of technology into daily life, mobile lifestyles have expanded on a national and
global scale due to the digitalization of mobility and how it integrates with
99. Loker-Murphy, L & Pearce, P.L. “Young Budget
Travelers: Backpackers in Australia,” Annals of Tourism
Research. 22, no. 4 (1995): 819-843.
100. Yavaş, E. (2021). THE HABITATS OF NEONOMADS:
Exploring Neonomadic Lifestyle Through Today’s Dynamics
And Nomadic Codes. MEF University.
51

101. The Economist. (2008, April 10). Our Nomadic Future.
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2008/04/10/
our-nomadic-future.
102. D’Andrea, A. (2009). Global Nomads: Techno and
New Age as Transnational Countercultures in Ibiza and
Goa (p. 39). Routledge.
103. Müller, A. (2016). The Digital Nomad: Buzzword or
Research Category? Transnational Social Review, 6(3),
344-348.
104. Jennings, J. (2021, February 3). Stories From The
Road: Meet This Digital Nomad RV Couple. RV LIFE.
https://rvlife.com/stories-digital-nomad-couple/
daily life. In the "Our Nomadic Future" report, the Economist raises questions
about how changes prompted by digital mobile technology have affected our
identity, social relationships, and business practices. According to the survey,
a new generation of urbanites frequents public libraries and coffee shops that
provide free Wi-Fi. 101 These locations are referred to as a heaven for "Techno-
Bedouins" and are socially permanent despite being geographically transient
thanks to laptops and smartphones. At this point, digital nomads are trying to
be everywhere simultaneously, pushing the limits of location independence,
thanks to the internet. Makimoto and Manners created the term in 1977 to
define the impact of technology on people's lives. In terms of the interaction
between space and time, Makimoto and Manners describe the digital nomad
as follows: "A Digital Nomad is the symbol of a new lifestyle in which people
are freed from constraints of time and location, thanks to the progress of
mobile intelligent devices and high-speed communication networks."
According to D'Andrea, the growing role of individuality in a
multicultural environment gave rise to the neonomads. Creative people,
bohemian workers, and therapists who value employment, movement, and
spirituality are some of these groups. 102 Groups that make a living, particularly
with digital occupations, have been added to this list with the innovation
and popularization of portable devices and remote working methods. This
group are digital designers who work primarily in creative fields, software
engineers, digital content creators, and editors. According to Müller, digital
nomads are "the new generation of location-independent freelancers, young
entrepreneurs, and online self-employed". 103 The number of digital nomads
increased by 49% in just one year in 2020, according to the MBO Nomad
Report. Also, 19 million adults in the US who are now not digital nomads said
they planned to do so during the next two to three years.
Jesse and Rachel, who began to travel with their trailers in 2018,
mention that the primary motivations for their transition to digital nomad are
the high rents and busy business life in Boston. They could not keep their travel
programs in line with their business lives and were disturbed by spending
their days between work and home. The couple expressed their satisfaction
with the reduced cost of living and the possibility of traveling while working
remotely after they switched to living in a trailer completely. They could not
free to make the changes they wanted in their rental homes, but they felt a
sense of belonging with the convenience of transforming their trailers as they
wished. 104
52

Pandemic and Homeoffice RVs
The great Covid pandemic that hit the world in 2020 has left people
locked up in their homes and street bans. The rapid decision to impose bans has
resulted in some people getting stuck outside their homes on their journeys.
With the cancellation of buses and planes, many people arrived home in oneway
rental trailers. The availability of accommodation and mobility facilities
has prompted trailers as a solution to the crisis. Additionally, many mobile
space needs during this period, and trailers responded to this need in various
ways. The RV industry modified existing models according to needs. Travel
trailers from different RV manufacturers were provided as mobile triage units
and housing for the infected emergency personnel. Rental travel trailers were
located in the gated parking areas for utility workers who had to remain at
the facility to maintain power and water flow. After removing the street bans,
because of the popularity of the trailers for their mobile advantages, the
number of RV rents increased by 1000% and sales by 600% in the summer
of 2020. Sales in the RV sector increased by an unprecedented 30% at year's
end. RV parks immediately reached capacity. 105
The pandemic, combined with the new era habits brought by
modern Technologies and has caused the beginning of an online and remote
era. Brian Newman (2021) defines this period as "the remote period of the
modern era." The lockdown was an initial factor for the new working style and
continued after the bans were lifted. Due to worries about social distancing,
office workers could not resume their jobs. Also, many employees preferred
the more flexible remote working model rather than the traditional one. This
significant demand for the remote working style has led to the creation new
technological bases and new working principles by the companies. Since the
1970s, digital nomads have laid the foundation for location-independent
connectivity. Morever, the experience of working remotely in the postpandemic
period has been a major push for this independence habit. Trailers
have also been one of the sectors that received the biggest share of this push
effect.
Americans can now live productive lives without residing in or working
in a permanent building. People may practically anywhere in the world they
can live and work in a trailer because of technological advancements. They
started to work in their trailers, which are their new mobile homes by using
technologies suitable for remote work. This was an important opportunity for
Figure 55: A section of daylife a digital nomad in Sunlight
T68 motorhome as a homeoffice RV (Source: Sunlight/
Erwin Hymer Group)
105. Newman, B. (2021, June 8). RV History: The Modern
Era - 2008 - Present. Camper Smarts. https://campersmarts.com/rv-history-the-modern-era
53

106. Newman, B. (2021, June 8). RV History: The Modern
Era - 2008 - Present. Camper Smarts. https://campersmarts.com/rv-history-the-modern-era
107. ii
108. Wilson, R. S. (1930). Transient Families. The Family,
11(8), 243–251
those interested in RV lifestyle and mobility. Many of them who purchased an
RV after 2020 have transitioned to full-time mobility. 106
The radical changes of the new era affected the conventional norms
in the RV sector. The influence of the pandemic has made it necessary to
change the design of the interior because full-time employees have preferred
trailers. The existing trailer interiors until 2020 were not suitable for full-time
working because they were mostly for recreation-oriented trips. The dining
table was the only the place to put the laptop. Until then, the digital nomads
were creating workplaces by customizing their vehicles, but this alternative
was not available for ready-made trailers. The most significant change to floor
plans, furnishing, and design occurred during this remote period. Traditional
furniture was said goodbye in the new designs, and modern interior designs
were focused. Airstream was one of the first companies to take steps in this
regard. Flying Cloud 30RB Office model is specially designed for digital nomads
who work remotely. Another example is the 2021 model Sunlight home office
RV. A "rolling office space" inside the vehicle can be optionally added to the
existing RV model. This space is a smart workstation that charges wireless
devices and transforms into a dining table when folded. Sunlight stated that
its design emerged based on demand as a result of a survey they conducted. 107
In accordance with his life practices, digital nomads can close their station
after their work is done and explore their new location in nature with their
bicycle.
Trailer People
The first chapter was about mobile groups with wagons, which
Robert S. Wilson described as "transient families" from the 19th century
onwards. 108 The introduction of mass production vehicles into the lives
of Americans with Ford T started a new automobile era in terms of social
mobility habits. The limited movable groups of the pre-1900 period reached
more significant numbers with their vehicles during this period. Trailers have
also allowed travelers to travel more comfortably as a mobility means. In the
post-1900 period, the accommodation feature of trailers surpassed mobility,
and the "nonmobile trailerite" group emerged. The experience of living in
a compact space with minimum expense has been especially advantageous
for low-income people who do not leave the trailer park where they park
unless it is compulsory. In the second chapter, trailer user groups defined as
54

"trailerites" by Donald Olen Cowgill between 1900-1939 were mentioned by
adding the nonmobile trailerite group. 109 The reason why 1939 was chosen
as the threshold is the direct effect of the Second World War on the housing
and trailer industry. After the post-war era, some trailers have changed form
and new forms of mobility have emerged. After 1939, "trailer people" profiles
were divided into four new groups according to their usage time and mobility.
These;
109. Cowgill. D. O.(1941). Mobile Homes, a Study of
Trailer Life. American Council on Public Affairs.
Figure 56: The mobility diagram of trailer people between
1939 and Present
1) Temporary Mobile/Vacationer is the group they own homes and
just live in trailers for a few months of the year, 2) Temporary Fixed is the
group live in a trailers for a limited time in a condition of emergency (war
time workers, people in housing shortage, infected emergency personnel
in pandemic), 3) Permanently Mobile is the group has nomadic lifestyle
and full time mobile (seasonal workers as an old style, digital nomads as a
new style), 4) Permanently Fixed is the group live in a trailer, mobile home
and manufactured home permanently as fixed mostly economic reasons
(students, unemployment people, retired people).
Definition
Usual residence
Return
Belonging
Temporality
Temporary
Mobility
Non-permanent
move of varying
duration
Less centrality
May involve a
return ‘home’
Generally fixed
to one location
Occurs at a
spesific point
during the
life-course
Lifestyle
Mobility
On-going
semi-permanent
moves of varying
durations
Multiple
moorings
May involve a
return (to)
“home(s)’
Not fixed to On-going
any one (or throughout the
more) location life-course
Figure 57: Comparison of temporary mobility and
lifestyle mobility (Source: Lifestyle Mobilities: The Crossroads
of Travel, Leisure and Migration written by Cohen,
Duncan and Thulemark)
55

Figure 58: A permanent fixed couples in Oak Heaven
Trailer Park (Source: Why do so many Americans live in
mobile homes? in BBC News, 2013)
110. Cohen, S. A., Duncan, T., & Thulemark, M. (2013,
August 15). Lifestyle Mobilities: The Crossroads of Travel,
Leisure and Migration. Mobilities, 10(1), 155–172.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2013.826481
The temporary mobile group is the most extensive group that has
existed since the wagon period and still exists. It can be said that the trailer
and it’s all users emerged from this group. Cohen, Duncan, and Thulemark
defined temporary mobility as a "non-permanent move of varying duration"
in the table created by Martin Bell's research on temporary mobility and
lifestyle mobility. The article states that this group feels less belonging to the
place where they stay (anywhere) and they return to their original "home"
at the end of their temporary trip. In addition, it was mentioned that they
determined a specific point as a travel practice and stayed there for a certain
period, repeated periods of the year and acquired this habit at some point in
their lives. 110
Perhaps the most unexpected trailer use for the travel industry
was seen during the Second World War. The "travel" trailers which a vehicle
for temporary mobile groups have been functionally transformed to meet
the emergency housing needs of war workers. Although the initial goal of
emergency houses was to provide temporary accommodation until the new
houses were built, the construction period was extended and most of the
workers stayed in the trailer until almost the end of the war. The fact that
the trailers are mass-produced and low-cost has made it possible for bulk
purchases by the government and have been parked in trailer parks created
at specific locations. Trailer is a result product of travel and mobility and it
have become fixed even though they have wheels where they are parked. This
practice started the trend of living as fixed in the trailer during the process and
the trailer lost its wheels. A similar process was experienced in the pandemic
in 2020. Healthcare workers could not return to their homes due to health
risks and they lived in the trailer as a temporary fixed.
After the end of the war, rapid and mass migration of workers
returning to their homes caused a housing shortage in cities. In response to
high housing demand, housing prices rose and only high-income groups could
live in brick houses. The trailer industry played a rescue role in emergency
housing plans for thousands of people out there. This new practice in the
war and post-war period almost created trailer villages, and people began
to live in affordable, small houses. Although the crisis forced people to live
in trailers, many trailer residents continued to live here after it passed. The
practice of living permanently fixed in a trailer has caused the transformation
of the trailer over time. The trailer's small dimensions, which come from
mobility limits, were wanted to be enlarged by the users and they no longer
56

need mobility. New houses type defined as "manufactured homes" produced
without wheels and they have become a good alternative for people who want
to live in a more affordable traditional house. Today, the rate of people living
in manufactured homes is 6.4%. Economics professor Charles Becker stated
that contrary to popular belief, not every person living in the trailer park is
poor. 111 People also preferred mobile homes for reasons such as community
life and minimal living.
Although some of the trailer industry developed mobile homes
for permanently fixed groups, some of them continued to make upgraded
models for travelers with new technologies without leaving the "travel" focus.
According to the current demands, the vehicles are also updated by the social
tendencies of the people who are their only users. The permanent mobile
group emerged with the transition of temporary mobility into people's daily
lives. Developing technologies in the 1980s enabled travelers to expand their
boundaries and saved them from being temporary. This new group of digital
nomads can stay connected with work, friends, and family online, regardless
of location. Martin Bell named this group "lifestyle mobility" and defined it as
"ongoing semi-permanent moves of varying durations." In the article, Cohen,
Duncan, and Thulemark mentioned that people in this group are compatible
with "multiple moorings" and are often on the move without being fixed in
their travels. They also added that they are currently planning a lifetime of
mobility, with the possibility of returning to their "traditional home" one
day. 112
In times when an online connection was not possible, seasonal
workers or itinerant traders, defined as "roaders," chose permanent mobility
for their jobs. Now, thanks to technology, digital nomads live where they can
bring their work to travel with their laptops. It is seen that trailers, or in a
comprehensive term, mobile homes on wheels, can meet different social
needs in different periods.
111. Geoghegan, T. (2013, September 24). Why do
so many Americans live in mobile homes? BBC News.
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24135022
112. Cohen, S. A., Duncan, T., & Thulemark, M. (2013,
August 15). Lifestyle Mobilities: The Crossroads of Travel,
Leisure and Migration. Mobilities, 10(1), 155–172.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2013.826481
57

58

The Actors of Trasformation of
Trailers
02
PEOPLE
(Individual &
Cultural)
CRISIS
PLACE
(Trailer)
Figure 59: Diagram of the relation with the actors of
transformation of trailers
Allan Wallis has described the mobile house's functional aesthetic
as an "aesthetics of process," where the object constantly adapts and
progresses towards new purposes. Consequently, it can be inferred that the
place and object has undergone a remarkable transformation in the process
of its continuous adaptations. The transformation history of the trailer, from
the trailer's ancestor wagons dating back to the 1700s to the present day, is
meticulously explained in the first part. This historical flow has been examined
in four distinct periods, namely the wagon era before mass production
of motor vehicles, the automobile era and travel culture after Ford T, the
manufactured home era after World War II, and the digital era. The primary
objective of examining the history of the trailer in four different periods is to
analyze them in detail and identify the crises or innovations that triggered
these transformations, along with the sociological context of their respective
periods.
59

113. Smith, D. (2003). Lost Trailer Utopias: The Long,
Long Trailer (1954) and Fifties America. Utopian Studies,
14(1), 112–131.
As per Wallis' description, the trailer is a result of a process that has
been influenced by various actors. Dina Smith also defines the trailer as "an
adaptable system that constantly changes and is changed by its users." 113
People are the primary users of the trailer and the first actors they interact
with. These users can be individuals on a small scale or cultural actors on
a larger scale. Transformations that occur due to the user's small-scale
interventions, such as improvising a standard mass-produced place or
appropriating it with personal belongings, can be defined as examples of the
indivual effect. On a larger scale, camping outfits installed on vehicles with
the camp culture becoming popular in society, the resulting transformation of
the car into a trailer, and new travel habits that started with the production
of the trailer, have all resulted from the mutual interaction of the sociological
environment with the place. The birth of permanent mobile groups after digital
developments is yet another example of this interaction. However, crises not
directly related to humans such as diseases, pandemics, wars, and housing
shortages have also caused the transformation of the trailer as a negative
push effect. Throughout history, the trailer has transformed in form and
function, creating new opportunities from these crises thanks to its adaptable
system. In this context, people, crisis, and place (trailer) are in a continuous
interaction cycle. This triple relationship is examined in this section through
various trailer transformation examples, including the people/indivual effect,
people/cultural effect, and crisis as a negative push effect.
60

2.1 People / Indivual Impact
A home is not merely a building, but rather a place that is created
in progress with a relation to the building itself, and the creators of this
relationship are the indivuals. These people dwell inside the building for a
particular duration and create their own unique home with their habitation.
Each part of the house represents the user's identity, which is transformed
daily. The way of acting and using the space is unique to every person, and the
building, with its floors, steps, doorways, and other features, is transformed
into a dwelling space by the actors or users. The motivation behind "showing
traces of our existence" 114 is to make the place our own possession so that
the user becomes the owner of the place until another user takes over. In this
sense, a home is not just a physical structure but also a space that is imbued
with personal meaning and significance. The users of a home are the ones
who bring life and vitality to the space, and their daily interactions with the
building shape the home's identity and character.
Personalization begins with being aware of one's environment and
continues by defining that environment as one's own. At this point, people
tend to belong to themselves with their unique methods. This process is
distinct from creating new things from the beginning, as the necessities,
desires, and methods are already predetermined, and the final structure is
designed according to these inputs. However, if the person is not part of the
design process or if the design was not done specifically for that person, then
they will need a post-edition progress to feel themselves as a part of the place.
This situation is particularly crucial for living areas as people want to describe
the space as their own and start to take actions such as transformation,
evolution, improvisation, and appropriation. It is important for a person to
feel a sense of belonging in their living space, and this sense of belonging can
only be achieved if the person is able to personalize the space and make it
their own. This personalization process involves a series of conscious choices
and actions that are taken to make the space more comfortable and reflective
of the person's unique identity and character. Thus, personalization plays a
crucial role in creating a sense of attachment and belonging to one's living
space.
The ability of indivuals to create entirely different products from the
same material is a testament to their creativity and skill. However, the critical
point is not just the material, but rather the originality of actions taken with
114. Habraken, N. J. (1975). Supports: An Alternative to
Mass Housing, London: Architectural Press.
61

respect to the existing material and how much the user can manipulate it.
Manipulation requires examining the product in detail and seeing the potential
of the place at the first stage, to identify how a person can deal with it. Once
the analysis is complete, it continues with actions like the personalization
process. Every intervention, edition, insertion, and manipulation leaves
marks on the place, making every action an individual and a step towards
personalization. In this context, this section examines examples of the
relationship between the "indivual" and "place" in the formation of the trailer
history. The ability to personalize a trailer or a mobile home plays a crucial
role in creating a sense of attachment and belonging to the place. The unique
interventions and manipulations made by the user transform the standard
mass-produced trailer into a dwelling that is reflective of the user's individual
identity and character. This section will explore various examples of indivualplace
relationships in the formation of the trailer history, highlighting the
importance of personalization in creating a sense of attachment and belonging
to a place.
Prior to the mass production of motor vehicles, wagons were the
primary mode of transportation in America. The first chapter delves into the
sociological context behind the emergence of wagons in pre-1900 America,
while also highlighting the most commonly produced types. Unlike the
automobiles, wagons were not mass-produced, resulting in each wagon
being unique in its own right. They could be easily customized at the owner's
request or at the manufacturer's discretion during the production process.
Nevertheless, while they were not carbon copies of each other, similar types
of wagons shared a fundamental design, as evidenced by the drawings and
photographs found in period sources.
During the 18th and 19th centuries in the US, covered wagons
were the primary mode of transportation, with two popular models being
the Conestoga wagon and the Prairie Schooner. The Conestoga wagon was
primarily used for transporting goods, while the Prairie Schooner was used
for the belongings of Western pioneers, also known as the "Emigrant wagon".
Both wagons had wooden beds, wooden bows, white canvas covers, and four
wheels, but had some distinctive features based on their mobility reasons.
The Conestoga design was older than the emigrant wagon and had a slanted
floor to prevent the load from falling out on hills. They were also larger to
transport more items in one go. The Prairie Schooner, on the other hand,
emerged in the mid-19th century and was a simplified version of previously
62

covered wagons, almost half the size of Conestoga. The floor of the wooden
bed section was flat to keep the furniture stable during transport, unlike the
Conestoga.
Figure 60: Interior of a covered wagon (Source: Seven
Trails West, 1996)
In the Conestoga wagon, there would usually be one or two people
walking alongside the road while leading the horses. In contrast, the Prairie
Schooner's passengers were typically family members, and there were often
many more of them than in other covered wagons. Some of these family
members might be elderly, pregnant, or infants who could not walk on the
road for months, so they would travel in the wagon. The interior organization
of the wagon would differ depending on the specific needs of the passengers.
Figure 60 is a rare visual resource from the period, displaying the interior of
a migrating family's wagon. Inside the wagon, there is a chair, an oil lamp,
a backup wheel, an open box with small items, various wooden products,
and clothes. The wagon's interior is similar to that of a transport truck, with
almost all items piled on top of each other. However, some items appear ready
to use; clothes are hung for quick access, and there is nothing on the chair,
which is available for passengers to rest if they become tired. It is evident that
the family made improvisations to the wagon to suit their needs during the
journey.
Deborah Hufford's blog "Notes from the Frontier" is a collection
63

115. What Pioneers Packed to Go West. (2019, October
21). Frontier. https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/
post/what-pioneers-packed
of frontier stories she heard from her relatives, detailing the journeys of
emigrant wagons. According to her narratives, emigrants' wagons often
had a "chuck box" located behind them, which had a fold-down table top
in front of a cabinet holding food items, cutlery, plates, and other cooking
essentials. This box is depicted in Figure 60, located in the front right of the
photo. Hufford's stories also mention larger Dutch ovens, bowls for mixing
bread dough, washing tubs, and even bottles of a more diverse type. The sides
of the wagons were equipped with huge wooden water kegs to refill water
supplies from rivers along the way. Some travelers also appropriated their
environment to create familiar life standards, carrying their farm animals for
butchering along the route for animal food sources. Many people brought a
cow and one or two chickens to get eggs and milk. After milking the cow every
morning, the milk buckets were covered and hung below the wagon, and the
new butter could be ready at night. 115
Figure 61: Camping at Crater Lake National Park photographed
in 1913 in Crater Lake National Park (Or.).
(Source: Southern Oregon Digital Archives #3705)
In the years following their migration experience, pioneers adapted
the mobility habits they acquired during their months-long journey to their
short-term trips. After settling, they started camping in nearby national
parks with their Emigrant wagons. Figure 61 displays two women camping
in Crater Lake National Park in 1913. The way of camping in the photograph
differs significantly from that during the migration period. The emigrants only
stopped at night, pitching their tents outside for sleeping and packing up
in the morning to continue their journey. During the migration period, the
belongings in the vehicle were crucial, and they had to be light and essential.
64

On the other hand, camping tourists parked their vehicles at a suitable point
in a park and stayed for more extended periods. Many of them expanded
their wagons with improvisations and spread to the area where they parked.
In Figure 61, the camping tourists created a kitchen outside the wagon by
extending the top covers of their wagons. Standing inside the wagon would
have probably been unstable considering its high wheels and rudimentary
suspension system. The passengers in the photograph also set up the kitchen
space outside the vehicle, where meals were prepared, while their sleeping
areas were inside the wagon.
Figure 62: Couple camping with automobiles (Tarp
stretched between two automobiles creates shelter; at
least one auto has California license plate) photographed
in c1927. (Source: Southern Oregon Digital Archives #
15051)
With the production of the Ford T, significant changes occurred in
camping culture. With an affordable vision, the brand enabled middle and
low-income people to reach mobility, allowing people to own vehicles quickly
and bringing new mobile habits. Although camping was not a new culture in
America, only a few people were doing this before. Camping culture developed
with vehicles, and Americans began to take trips with their cars on weekends.
However, the vehicle was not sufficiently equipped for camping, and users
tried to create habitable spaces by improvising. In Figure 62, a couple is
shown auto-camping. They put a fabric cover between the two vehicles for
protection from the sun and created a semi-open middle space, also used
as a dining area. This cover was one of the most frequently used materials
during the wagon period and was highly preferred because it was lightweight,
foldable, and adaptable. This habit continued in the post-wagon period, and
users carried their fabrics in their cars to create their own spaces.
65

Figure 63: Couple camping at Rocky Mountain Lake Park
in 1918 and 1920. (Source: www.denverpost.com, 2007)
As larger vehicles were produced after cars, people began using
the inside of the vehicle to create living spaces. Many have made small
interventions on their vehicles and adapted them into camping cars, similar
to the practices in the 1800s. Figure 63 shows clothes hanging on the vehicle
carriers and a kitchen table design extending from the back of the vehicle. In
the photograph, a couple is cooking their dinner in their camper. The cooking
equipment is placed on a drawer that extends under the vehicle. Roll-up
canvas flaps cover items like clothing and luggage hung inside the camper,
while a screen is installed over the windows.
Figure 64: Interior of a Palace, the travel trailer (Source:
mobilehomeliving.org)
Figure 65: Jim and Lois in trailer home in the early 1950s
(Source: www.shorpy.com , user: Cazzorla)
66

Starting in the 1930s, the first mass-produced travel trailers were
produced with the beginning of the trailer industry. The interiors of the
trailers were mainly standard due to mass production, with brands offering
users changeable interior alternatives that were still general furniture.
Users could choose their interiors with options such as a large bed or a large
sitting area. However, war and housing shortages affected trailer practices,
and users began to live in their mobile homes permanently, using them for
travel purposes. Unlike a weekend trip destination or a summer house, the
trailer became the users' one and only permanent home. This change allowed
trailerites to feel like part of the place and turn it into a familiar environment.
In Figure 65, a couple living in Florida appropriated the space with their
photographs, traditional lamps, and sofa coverings. The interior has become
so transformed that it is impossible to distinguish whether it is a traditional
house or a trailer from the photo.
The personalization processes seen in the examples demonstrate how
a mass-produced space can be transformed after establishing a relationship
with the indivual. This relationship is unique and reveals some of the space's
shortcomings. Jim and Lou's relationship with the place is very personal and
distinctive. Nevertheless, the tendency to create a new kitchen area outside
and attached to the car in Figures 61 and 62 also suggests some social needs.
It is a clue for the industry that camping vehicles or wagons of the period
were not adequately equipped for camping, and users had to produce these
features by themselves while camping. These small improvisations were
inspiring for the trailer industry, and these features were added to future
models. In other words, the place is affected by the indivual, and the person
is also affected by the place, leading to a mutual transformation of the space
and the indivual.
67

PLACE
Standard Wagon
Ind. Impact
Improvisation
and customization
according to the user’s
needs
Transformed Wagon
CULTURE
Limite
PLACE
PLACE
Standard Trailer
Ind. Impact
Appropriation
to create familiar
environment like a
“home”
Transformed Trailer
PEOPLE
Traditional Habits
Place Impact
Innovative habits in
transformed trailer
Innovative Habits
PLACE
Mode
Figure 66: Diagram of the relation between Indivual and
Place
68

2.2 People / Cultural Impact
Just as the indivual’s relationship with the place can be unique and
singular, it can also be collective, and these social and cultural impacts reveal
traces of the space shaped by the opportunities and difficulties of the period.
When basic human needs or tendencies exhibit similar characteristics, they
can lead to similar results and even create a new culture. On the other hand,
industry developments can create new possibilities, leading to a transformation
for people. If the primary user of the industry is human, this development
may trigger a sociological change, leading to a cyclical relationship between
place and cultural environment. The sociological transformations mentioned
are the changes in human habits, fashion, and popular culture during the
period. These transformations are reflected in the news of the period, topics
that arouse more curiosity and interest among friends, and more frequent
advertisements on the road.
The cyclical transformation mentioned above is continuous, regardless
of whether the first trigger is cultural or industrial. If the transforming object
is art, it becomes a reproduction produced by changing artists. Art critic
Nicolas Bourriad compares art production to postproduction, a term from
the media language used in television, movies, and audio. Postproduction
encompasses a range of techniques used on pre-recorded material, including
montage, the addition of other audio or video sources, and special effects.
Unlike raw material production, postproduction involves a range of activities
related to the service business and reuse. Bourriaud redefines postproduction
as recycling existing material into new material. This definition eliminates
traditional processes such as "production and consumption, creation and
copy, ready-made and original" and builds intermediate or 'hybrid' situations.
Industrial and cultural transformations can be seen as postproduction in the
hybrid situation mentioned earlier. Just like videos, shelters produced as raw
material require editing and completion by their designer. Each designer can
create a completely different product from the same material, making the
originality of actions to the existing material and how much the designer can
manipulate it the key point. Each postproduction or adaptation of the artist or
indivual can ultimately trigger significant changes and lead to the evolution of
the raw material or place.
69

Figure 67: A man sleeping on McMillin Autobed in 1921
(Source: When The Car Becomes Your Bedroom in Outing
Magazine)
The launch of the Ford T in 1908 led to significant sociological
changes worldwide, particularly in America. One of the biggest reasons for
this change was that the car was produced at a low cost, making it accessible
to all people, not just the bourgeoisie. The fast and affordable production of
the mass production industry created a large supply, and thus, automobiles
quickly became a part of social life. Thanks to the impact of automobiles on
people, mobility began to emerge in American geography. With the production
of automobiles, new asphalt roads were built to facilitate driving. Traveling
with wagons was difficult due to primitive suspension systems on rough
roads, but motor vehicles could compensate for many difficulties more easily.
These advantages enabled many motor vehicles, especially the Ford T, to hit
American roads. Americans were now much more active, and this mobility,
combined with their pioneer ancestors and camping culture, emerged. They
would go camping in nature on weekends or holidays.
Over time, this popular culture in America began to appear in
magazines. Camping routes and equipment recommendations took up almost
half of the magazines' contents. The industry took an interest in this social
curiosity and designed equipment for camping. Thousands of inventions were
made, including car-attached cabinets, foldable tents, sleeping area outfits,
and portable beds. There were dozens of camp equipment advertisements on
the camping pages of the magazines. In some texts, campers even suggested
converting their existing cars into a hostable campground, and drawings
explained how to transform them. The attached equipment was a challenge
for the constantly moving campers, and the designs of a whole compact
vehicle began to get interesting. Many brands released "camping cars"
designed specifically for camping. In the 1920s and 1930s, similar models of
70

the McMaster Camping Car of the 1800s were produced. These vehicles are
hybrid designs that transition to the next step, trailers.
Figure 68 (top-left): The first ‘houses on wheels’ built by
Morgan Lasley between 1894 and 1905. (Source: Recreational
Vehicles by Andrew Woodmansey)
Figure 69 (top-right): Jonathan Olson’s “houses of
wheels” drawing in 1897. (Source: Recreational Vehicles
by Andrew Woodmansey)
Figure 70 (bottom): An Airstream Clipper Twin Axle in
1930s
The camping equipment and camping car initiatives led to the
creation of the final product, "travel trailers." The vehicle and the home
became a trailer as a post-produced object with the impact of the user and
industry, and America's first motorized mobile homes were built in the late
1920s. The first attempts at living in a mobile home were seen in wagons, but
due to the traditional house concept of the period, the attempts made could
not go beyond putting wheels under a traditional cabin. Jonathan Olson's
House on Wheels is one of the most prominent examples of the era, designed
by himself with an idea that goes beyond tradition. In many mobile home
attempts at that time, families had difficulty organizing different functions
in one place and, in some cases, separated them from the vehicle. Unlike
camping cars, Olson's car was designed to be on the road all the time, so he
solved all the functions inside the car. According to the drawing, Olson's House
on Wheels is divided into three spaces: kitchen, bedroom, and storage, with
a sliding door between the spaces. The kitchen section has a small counter
facing the window and a closet with plates on the wall. The living room has
a bed/sofa-like living/sleeping area and a small table, and in the warehouse,
there is a bicycle and chests. Olson visualized himself in the living area, his
wife in the kitchen, and his cats next to his wife. 116 Although he considers his
mobile home as a vehicle, it is still possible to see his traditional understanding
through interior layouts and gender constructs.
116. Woodmansey, A. (2022). Recreational Vehicles: A
World History 1872–1939. Pen & Sword Books Limited.
71

Figure 71 (top-left): Interior of a Zagelmeyer Auto Camp
Figure 72 (top-right): Interior of a trailer (Source: The
state historical society of Missouri digital collection)
Figure 73 (bottom-left): Bedroom of Dubl-Wide Roadliner
Figure 74 (bottom-right): Flying Cloud Office, Airstream
in 2021 (Source: Airstream.com)
With the development of the automobile industry, the trailer has
acquired a more machine-like appearance. It can be described as a "Living
Machine" that intersects with LeCorbusier's idea of minimum functions and
minimum movement in minimum space, not only in terms of outlook but also
in terms of interior operation. At least, that was the trailer industry's aim.
The interiors shown in the first years of the trailers were modern, compact,
and advertised as a minimal lifestyle. However, with the transformation of
the trailer into a mobile home and manufactured house in the 1950s, there
was a return to traditionalism in interior designs. This time, brands marketed
manufactured houses with traditional designs to make them seem far from
temporary. The interior illustrations in the Dubl-Wide Roadliner brochure
included traditional furniture with gold and silver coating. Travel trailers were
completely removed from lightweight and affordable modern materials. This
situation eventually turned manufactured houses into cheap alternatives to
traditional houses. In the 2000s, the RV industry created modern interiors.
Especially after 2010, modern and simple designs with fewer materials and
furniture began to be preferred in interior spaces.
72

Figure 75 (top-left): The Lasley family and their ‘house
on wheels’ (USA, 1898)
Figure 76 (top-right): Dr. A.A. Foster and family of Dallas,
Texas, in auto tourist camp (Source: Recreational Vehicles
by Andrew Woodmansey)
Figure 77 (bottom-left): People picnicking near camper
at St. Andrews State Park - Panama City, Florida. in 1977
photographed by Gaines, James L. (Source: Florida
Memory)
Figure 78 (bottom-right): Digital nomads Jesse and
Rachael in 2021 (Source: rvlife.com)
The transformation of the house on wheels, first into a trailer and
then into a manufactured house and RV, also shows the change of the user
along with the "place." One of the rare permanent mobile families of the
period was the Lasley Family, who traveled across the US in 1898 in search of
jobs. They spent two years mobile with their own traditional-looking house
on wheels. The roof and windows of the vehicle show that they maintain
the perception of a traditional home, although the family is mobile. In Figure
76, Foster and his family travel on a temporary mobile vehicle as an auto
camper in 1920. The family created space for indoor accommodation or other
functions with "The Lamsteed Kampkar" set to their car. In the final figure, a
couple describes themselves as digital nomads. The development of digital
technologies has enabled mobility to achieve its most fantastic acceleration.
Now, location-independent people can connect to their work online from
wherever they want. This situation has made it possible for groups to become
permanently mobile, describing themselves as digital nomads.
73

ormed Wagon
CULTURE
Limited Mobility
Industry Impact
Ford T made society
mobile
Mobile Society
PLACE
Ambu
PLACE
Car
Cultural Impact
ormed Trailer
CULTURE
Temp
Mobility Culture
affected industry and
the car evolved to the
trailer
Per
ative Habits
Cultural Impact
PLACE
Modern Interior
Creating familiar
environment like a
“traditional home”
and back to modern
with digital era
Traditional Interior
PLACE
Figure 79: Diagram of the relation between Cultural
Effect and Place
74

The interaction between the indivual and the place is easily visible in
the trailer, which is a mobile living space. The user is not only the driver but also
the resident of the place. While the user has a temporary role as a driver, they
also have a more permanent role as a resident and transform the space. While
the changes in the place may be unique, they are also reflected in cultural
effects. The efforts to transform the place led to the creation of industry in
the short term and new production in the longer term. It can be said that the
new object is the post-version of the previous production. If we consider that
humans are constantly changing and transforming, it is possible for space to
live, develop, and age with them. In particular, the trailer's adaptation to the
transformation of human beings over the years and its mobility that makes it
seem temporary is a permanent feature in the long term.
75

2.3 Crisis Impact
Human beings interact with places both as individual users and as
part of a larger cultural environment. This interaction can bring about positive
or negative transformations to the place or product. However, there are also
negative factors that can cause sudden changes and these are not related to
human influence. For instance, large-scale crises like war, disease or shortage
can cause abrupt transformations of a place, affecting both the place and its
users. On the other hand, the interaction between a place and its indivual
and cultural environment can be more organic and gradual. In contrast, crises
have a more immediate and negative impact on the transformation of a place.
During a crisis, some things might disappear while others emerge. According
to Wikke Novalia and Shirin Malekpour, crises can be defined as a negative
push effect that transforms a place.
“The term ‘crisis’ can have multiple meanings in the study of human
environment interactions. Crisis can refer to extreme events with
large scale magnitudes and impacts that result in systemic
destabilization. On its extreme ends, the scale and duration of
crisis can have hugely disruptive effects. Many agree that acute
shocks are likelier to generate forces required to temporarily
break ongoing inertia or to punctuate systems equilibrium. In theory,
such a breakthrough opens up ‘temporal, geographical, political,
institutional learning spaces’; creates rooms for reflecting on given
routines and experimenting with innovations; and opportunities for
political contestations and social mobilizations.” 117
117. Novalia, W., & Malekpour, S. (2020, October). Theorising
the role of crisis for transformative adaptation.
Environmental Science & Policy, 112, 361–370. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.009
As Novalia and Malekpour suggest, crises can have the potential to
spark innovation and create new areas for learning. Negative impacts can
transform into positive outcomes depending on the adaptive ability of the
affected industries. The trailer industry in the United States has been one such
industry that has been affected by numerous crises throughout its history,
yet has managed to develop and thrive with its adaptive structure. During
many periods of crisis, trailers have served as emergency housing and have
transformed the daily practices of their users accordingly. Time and again, the
trailer industry has taken center stage as a crucial solution provider in the face
of various crises.
76

By the end of the 18th century, most western pioneers had settled
in newly established cities. However, the underground system of these cities
took time to establish a healthy and clean system. As a result, city water was
the first to be affected by the unhealthy environment of cities, and thousands
of people caught tuberculosis. To escape the epidemic, many turned to nature
to access clean water sources. This group, known as "health seekers," became
one of the most important transient groups of the 1800s. Unlike nomadic
groups, health seekers were singular and constantly on the move, preferring
vehicles over tents for accommodation. At the time, ambulance wagons had
the most advanced suspension systems and could absorb the most shaking on
long journeys. Additionally, the litter section of ambulance wagons designed
for the injured made it possible to sleep in the vehicle. James K. Newcombe,
a health seeker, transformed his ambulance wagon into a mobile home.
In an interview with the Nebraska State Journal in 1875, he described his
modified vehicle as a "roomy, comfortable, covered conveyance, bedroom
and kitchen in one, with a little cooking stove and glazed windows and a due
complement of carriage lamps." 118 Newcombe had reorganized the interior
of the ambulance wagon, which was originally built for patients, to create a
kitchen and sleeping area. He also added basic furniture such as an oven and
lamp. Many health seekers, like Newcombe, transformed their ambulance
wagons for their own purposes to cope with the epidemic crisis. The crisis
first affected people, and then people affected the place.
118. Nebraska State Journal. (1875, November 12)
77

Figure 80: Burlington, Iowa Federal Park, 1942
In 1939, the United States entered World War II, which was one of its
biggest crises, and combat units were formed on certain fronts. The creation of
new combat units caused a rapid increase in military personnel in these regions,
and war workers and their families migrated to these areas for production.
However, the cities' housing stock could not accommodate this migration, and
an urgent housing need arose. The 1930s saw the development of the travel
trailer industry, and the federal government considered a new mobile housing
alternative as a solution to the need for workers' housing. As a first move, the
government bought almost all the existing trailers from companies in bulk and
then produced its own. The affordable and fast production of trailers and their
ability to serve as a vehicle brought them an advantage among emergency
housing options. In this way, wartime families began living in trailer parks
with hundreds of trailers. "Travel trailers" produced for temporary and
recreational purposes were used as fixed temporary houses until the war's
end. Although their mobility was advantageous for coming to the site, they
remained fixed in the exact location for a long time. Moreover, because they
were living in a community of many workers, they found solutions to similar
problems together, and a community consciousness formed. In Figure 80,
certain areas are reserved for laundry hanging in the Burlington, Iowa Federal
Park. In addition, they found a solution to the mud problem on the ground
by creating wooden paths. In the post-war period, many people continued to
live permanently fixed in the trailer park. In this relationship, the government
evaluated an existing product to deal with the housing crisis caused by the
war. In other words, the crisis first transformed the place, and then people
adapted to this transformation.
78

Figure 81: Parsley Trailer Park (Source: greg tykal – flickr )
The most significant and lasting impact of wartime trailers was the
housing shortage in the post-war period. After the war, thousands of people
returned to their homes from war cities and had difficulty finding a home in
their cities. The need for sudden and mass housing became apparent in many
cities in America. The government offered a solution similar to the housing
crisis it had prepared since the war. This time, trailers were temporarily
placed in trailer parks to accommodate war workers until their permanent
homes were built. However, temporary trailers started to become permanent
as the construction process of houses took longer. Over the years, residents
transformed the trailer and its surroundings, and it became a fixed house
that barely moved and was surrounded by additional parts. Residents chose
trailers for their affordability, not mobility. The trailer's strong feature changed,
leading to a major change in the trailer's name, image, and usage. First,
mobile homes were produced, which looked like wheeled houses, followed by
manufactured houses, which are today's prefabricated houses. Manufactured
homes provided a long-term solution to the housing crisis of the period, and a
new housing typology was formed in America. In this example, the crisis first
triggered the transformation of the place, and then the people and the place
transformed again.
79

Figure 82: A digital nomad in Sunlight T68 motorhome as
a homeoffice RV (Source: Sunlight/Erwin Hymer Group)
After the war, some trailers became permanent due to the housing
crisis. However, in the 1970s, developing technologies opened up different
possibilities. Especially in the millennium age, there have been significant
developments in digital technologies that will continue to evolve rapidly in
the coming years. This change has started to cause major transformations
in the life practices of today's people, and it remains to be seen how far
the limits of this transformation can be exceeded. Digital technologies have
been creating new nomadic groups for nearly 30 years. Digital nomads, in
particular, can now live location independently with online access. The
pandemic was a period when people were most immobile; the whole world
had to lock down. However, this stability called into question the practice
of our daily routines regardless of location. During and after the pandemic,
many people continued to work remotely. That no longer meant being locked
up; it also meant never being at home. Current discussions suggest that the
concept of home may be unrelated to the house. Post-pandemic, the number
of permanently mobile digital nomads has rapidly increased. Currently, digital
nomads live location independently by using trailers or other methods. For
this group, who are constantly on the move, being on the road itself may be a
factor that creates a feeling of home. The nomads in Figure 82 have installed a
home office adaptation on their RVs. The group, which deals with the clothing
industry, promotes its products wherever they go and sells them online.
When an order arrives, they send the products to the customer by cargo from
their current location. For this reason, they use their RVs as half office and
half home. Although the pandemic created a major crisis worldwide, it also
caused significant changes in people's working and mobility practices, and
this user transformation also transformed the space.
80

bile Society
PLACE
Ambulance Wagon
Crisis Impact
People used ambulance
wagons as mobile
home because of
Tuberculosis
Mobile Home
CULTURE
Temporary Mobile
Crisis Impact
World War II changed
the using mobility of
trailer
Temporary Fixed
Permanently
Fixed
Housing Shortage
changed the using
mobility of trailer
ional Interior
PLACE
Trailer
Crisis Impact
Housing Shortage
made the trailer
manufactured home
Manufactured
Home
Figure 83: Diagram of the Relation between Crisis, Place
and People
81

Crises have played a critical role in the story of the trailer. Crises
have caused many transformations in terms of place and users. Although
they represent a negative push effect, the trailer has turned these crises
into opportunities thanks to its adaptive structure. This transformation was
sometimes just an improvement and sometimes a complete differentiation.
However, thanks to its flexible feature, it has survived these crises by
developing and multiplying, and it has excellent potential for the future in
this respect. The emergence of many crises throughout America's history
is related to its rapid production. The trailer's adaptive ability is not only
an architectural potential but also an industrial and cultural one. It can be
produced quickly and placed on-site in an emergency, thanks to almost 100
years of know-how in America. The advantages of mobility overcome other
possibilities for crises such as pandemics. In their more advanced forms,
mobile homes can now satisfy their users in many ways. Moreover, it will likely
become a tool for human life practices today and in the future. Although it
does not have a large interior volume like traditional houses, it offers many
advantages to neonomadic generations.
82

Discussion
03
In the first part, the research explains people's mobility habits and
their vehicles, trailers, since the existence of vehicles in America. It describes
trailers as a lifetime tool to analyze the birth and development of a "place"
from beginning to end, along with its reasons. This holistic approach helps
explain relationships better. In the second part, the research analyzes the
actors who affect the transformation of the trailer through these relationships.
As a result, it is seen that the trailer transforms with the effective actors,
thanks to its adaptive features. In this paper, the trailer is considered a case
of mass-produced mobile home. Therefore, the impact of its mass-production
and mobile features is evaluated historically through actors. In the discussion
section, the text talks about the relationship of these features with the
concept of "home," actor and place relations, the features required for the
sustainability of the space, and the changes in terms of place and home in
the traditional and modern periods. The text also makes speculations for the
future.
The history of trailers in America is divided into four periods, which
were chosen based on the critical transformations of trailers. Before trailers,
wagons were used similarly and played an important role in trailer history.
Accommodation was the biggest challenge for mobile groups during that
period. Some people provided accommodation by customizing existing
wagons, while tents were common for accommodation and combined with
wagons in some cases, creating a tent-vehicle type of accommodation. Most
interventions made during this period can be described as customization and
improvisation, which were small-scale transformations made by users. Over
time, camp wagons were also made inspired by these transformations. This
shows that the user's improvisations can inspire society and industry. The
transformative power of the user has an essential role in the creation process
of innovations. These small initiatives before automobiles may have taken the
first steps in the birth of the trailer.
83

Figure 84: The profile and cultural impact on the camping
car in wagon era
Mass-produced vehicles had a significant impact on the development
of camping culture in trailer history. The vehicles were affordable for the
middle-income group, and this advantage enabled them to become widespread
rapidly. As a result, they created a culture of mobility in society. Like the
wagon period, people made modifications to the vehicles for camping. Most
of the first modifications were made with fabrics because of the common use
of tents in camping. Vehicles were expanded with fabrics, and new areas such
as sleeping areas and kitchens were created. However, during this period, invehicle
bed innovations went beyond traditional methods. These innovations
were the first attempts to show that the vehicle can have an accommodation
feature besides transportation. In this way, improvements were made inside
the vehicle, and camping cars were produced as a previous trailer form. In
this relation, first, the developments in the industry created a sociological
effect, and then the user improvised based on this sociological effect. These
improvisations of the user inspired the industry, and innovations occurred.
After the introduction of camping cars, it became apparent that a more
significant change was required due to the hybrid and uncompleted nature
of these vehicles. The first trailer manufacturers, who emerged from the
aviation industry, recognized the need for lightweight materials and compact
design. The automotive industry was unable to meet these requirements, and
it was the aviation industry that brought about a significant shift in trailer
design. The trailer's unique dimensions and distinct appearance set it apart
from traditional cars, creating a new area in the trailer industry. The resulting
product was a fusion of living space and vehicle, transforming the automobile
into camping equipment. Over time, the trailer evolved into a straight product
84

with various adaptations, and the industry and users were key players in
this process. Unlike camping cars, the trailer's continuous ability to travel
has transformed the camping culture into a travel culture. People can now
travel with multiple stops and extended travel times, instead of just going
somewhere and staying for a while before returning. The trailer's versatility
has enabled a new way of travel, and it continues to evolve with the changing
needs and demands of users.
Crises have played a critical role in the existence and spread of trailers. During
the Great Depression, rising rents left many people without housing options,
leading them to turn to trailers as an alternative. This crisis marked the first
impact that transformed the trailer from a travel vehicle into a house. Later
on, World War II and housing shortages had an even more significant effect.
The trailer, which was once a symbol of travel and transience culture, became
a temporary emergency house. In this equation, the crisis was the first impact
that caused the trailer to adapt to new uses and transform into a different
type of space. The transformation was not just in the design of the space but
also in the way it was used and defined. Thousands of trailers brought in as
emergency housing remained stable for many years, temporarily losing their
mobility function. The crisis affected not only the place but also the users who
found themselves living in a small space for an extended period. This marked
the first use of trailers as a long-term stay, even if it was not permanent. The
adaptation of trailers to meet the needs of people in crisis has had a lasting
impact on their design and use, making them a valuable resource during times
of emergency.
85

Figure 85: The profile, crisis and cultural impact on the
travel trailer in before World War II era
The trailer's adaptive structure is a key factor in its transformation
and versatility. With its various features, it can change its predominant
function according to the user's needs. The trailer can serve as a traveloriented
vehicle, but also it can be a home-oriented product in an emergency.
Its powers in emergency situations are its ability to be mass-produced,
affordability, and lightweight and portable design. These advantages are
uncommon in the traditional housing industry, where construction time is
long, materials are heavy and costly, and homes are permanent and cannot
be moved easily. The experience of staying in trailers for long periods during
crisis periods has led the industry to question how to incorporate the powers
of the trailer into permanent housing. With the development of technology,
major changes have already been made to trailer models, creating larger
and more comfortable spaces. Some trailer models have expanded beyond
the scope of travel, and they have been named mobile homes. As the need
for mobility decreased, mobile homes were transformed into manufactured
houses, now known as prefabricated houses. Manufactured houses offer
people a more affordable option thanks to the powers mentioned earlier, and
the user profile for these homes is typically retirees or low-income people.
This development has caused a transformation in the industry and a shift in
user behavior. The new way of using the place has become permanently fixed,
and manufactured houses have created a new housing category for people
who need affordable and adaptable housing.
86

Figure 86: The profile, crisis and cultural impact on the
manufactured home in after World War II era
In parallel with the development of manufactured houses,
technological advancements have led to innovations in the travel trailer
industry. Trailers have become a important tool for neonomadic groups,
allowing them to maintain mobility like a laptop. These technological
developments have also affected the transformation of social habits,
leading people to transform their living spaces with temporality or placeless
permanence. This transformation can occur in terms of place or placelessness.
Permanently mobile groups can stay anywhere permanently in their trailers,
equipping their premises to meet their 360-day needs. The workspace
in the trailer is especially crucial for digital nomads who need a functional
workspace. People have customized their trailers to create workspaces, and
especially after the pandemic, remote working has become popularized. The
rise of digital nomads has led to the design of workspace kits for new trailer
models. Technological advancements and the pandemic have increased the
influence of similar cultures in this equation. This culture has also affected
the transformation of space, and people are now looking for ways to make
their living spaces more adaptable and versatile. The travel trailer industry
has responded to this trend by creating more advanced and customizable
models, allowing people to transform their living spaces according to their
needs. As a result, the trailer has become more than a vehicle or a house. It
has transformed into a versatile and adaptable space, reflecting the changing
needs and demands of modern society.
87

Figure 87: The profile, crisis, industry and cultural impact
on the RV in digital era
The trailer's exceptional ability to adapt to different historical
situations might be attributed to its internal opposition. According to Smith's
(2003) definition of opposites, the trailer has evolved from being a single,
fixed entity into a versatile tool that can highlight different aspects in different
situations. Its dual nature as both a vehicle and a house has enabled the
trailer to evolve over time, even changing its name from trailer to travel trailer
or manufactured house. The manufactured house, in fact, has its roots in the
trailer, and its surroundings are still referred to as trailer parks. Furthermore,
the trailer embodies the concepts of mobility and immobility, as represented
by the vehicle and house, respectively. It also represents the idea of wanderlust
through mobility and domesticity through the house. Changes between these
concepts/definitions mainly occur due to the influence of actors. A crisis
can render the mobile immobile, while technology can facilitate domesticity
through wanderlust.
Actors play a pivotal role in shaping the changing power dynamics in
this paper since they are continually evolving or newly formed. Crises, which
arise suddenly and cause abrupt changes, are mostly actors that are formed
from scratch. However, crises have always existed and will continue to occur,
giving them a permanent structure. Sociological effects are also constantly
changing actors, which can transform over time due to a trigger or organically.
The user effect, in turn, develops depending on the sociological effect. The
sudden emergence or constant change of actors creates a transformative
effect on the place. Given that actors will always exist and be in transformation,
should the place also constantly adapt to these transformations? What factors
88

make the adaptability of the place sustainable? This discussion can create an
architectural reference in terms of the design of the place.
The term "home" refers to a more specific area than "place," and
it can be questioned again through this equation. For instance, is creating a
"home" in a prefabricated and mass-produced house different from creating a
home in a traditional house consisting of a bedroom, living room, and kitchen?
It is evident that living in a trailer versus a traditional house is a vastly different
experience. However, as seen in the trailer examples, a transformation occurs
after the user interacts with the place, and everyone creates their personal
"home." Families who started living in trailers due to housing shortages, for
instance, appropriated the space with their personal belongings during the
process. This can be defined as getting familiar with the location of the user's
home and being in a relationship with the user's environment and habits,
rather than just a material change. Although mass-produced products or
places give people a foreign experience at first, this challenge can make people
think about things they generally do not think about, thanks to more effort to
establish a relationship with the place. As a result, a more unique relationship
can be established compared to usual. To create a "home" in a trailer, a more
special and personal relationship is required than merely buying a bed for the
bedroom or an armchair for the living room.
For neonomadic groups, the traditional concept of a "house"
is not applicable. This raises the question of whether a "home" can be
created without a physical dwelling. Since neonomads establish temporary
relationships with different locations, they cannot follow the typical process
of creating a home in a fixed place, as Depres has pointed out. Instead,
their mobility is continuous, and their relationship with space is constantly
changing. As neonomads define themselves as being on the road and
nomadic, it can be argued that the concept of "home" for them is locationindependent.
Although neonomads do not represent the majority in today's
sociological structure, their numbers are increasing rapidly. In fact, many
young people today plan to become neonomads in the future. This suggests
that the next generation's relationship with place and home will become even
more independent. With online access and remote working becoming more
prevalent, the traditional notion of home is being redefined for many people.
Today, individuals can be virtually anywhere at any time, regardless of country
or geography. Home, therefore, can be defined as a place where one feels
a sense of belonging, even when constantly on the move. For neonomads,
89

being on the road and continuously moving is a habitual and essential part
of their lifestyle, and thus, their concept of home is uniquely tied to their
nomadic way of life.
When we observe the life practices of individuals today, other than
neonomads, we see that the relationship with the concept of a traditional
house has diminished. For many, the dwelling has become a place to sleep,
almost like a hotel. People even resort to using gyms to take showers. In
everyday life, individuals lead a multi-space lifestyle, moving between their
office, gym, and restaurants. Even individuals who work remotely prefer cafes
and co-working spaces over their homes. Flexible and shared spaces have been
gaining popularity among young adults due to their ability to fit into the multispace
lifestyle. Nowadays, temporary rentals are preferred over permanent
ones. These habits may be an indication that nomadic practices will increase
in the future. The rise in nomadism implies that location-independent mobility
and temporary or permanently mobile practices will become more popular.
Therefore, the places of the future should be suitable for these practices.
Although trailers attract digital nomads' attention in today's practices, they
are just one option. Given the increasing rate of individuals' independence
from a fixed location, shared spaces that do not belong to anyone are likely
to become popular. However, the trailers may still boom again in different
geographies due to its adaptive structure that can adapt to crises.
90

91

overed Wagons:
1-Wagon Period
Profile: Temporary Transient
Emigrants
Covered Wagons:
Profile: Tem
Emigrants
Crisis:
European Colonizaon of the America
Crisis:
European Co
mbulance Wagons:
Profile: Roader
Health Seekers
Ambulance Wagons:
Profile: Road
Health Seek
Crisis:
American Civil War
Crisis:
American Ci
Crisis:
Tuberculosis Epidemic
Crisis:
Tuberculosis
amping Car:
Profile: Travel Tourist
Camping Tourists
Camping Car:
Profile: Trav
Camping To
Culture:
Camping Culture with Wagons
Culture:
Camping Cu
amping Car:
Profile: Mobile Dependent
Transient Families
Camping Car:
Profile: Mob
Transient Fa
Culture:
Camping Culture with Wagons
Culture:
Camping Cu
92

The Overlapping of 1th & 2nd Chapter
2-Trailer Period
Auto Auto Camping – – Camping Equipment:
Profile: Profile: Temporary Traveler Traveler
Travel Travel Tourist Tourist
Industry: Industry:
The The Producon Producon of Ford of Ford T T
Culture: Culture:
Tin Can Tin Can Tourism Tourism
Camping Auto: Auto:
Profile: Profile: Temporary Traveler, Traveler, Mobile Mobile Dependent
Travel Travel Tourist, Tourist, Mobile Mobile Families Families
Culture: Culture:
Tin Can Tin Can Tourism Tourism
Culture: Culture:
Mobile Mobile Living Living in Trailer/RV in Trailer/RV
Travel Travel Trailer: Trailer:
Profile: Profile: Temporary Traveler, Traveler, Roader, Roader, Mobile Mobile
Dependent, Nonmobile Trailerite Trailerite
Culture: Culture:
Tin Can Tin Can Tourism Tourism
Culture: Culture:
Mobile Mobile Living Living in Trailer/RV in Trailer/RV
Crisis: Crisis:
Great Great Depression
93

ar Time Trailer:
3-Mobile Home Period
Profile: Temporary Fixed
War Time Trailer:
Profile: Tem
Crisis:
World War II
Crisis:
World War I
ar Time Trailer:
Profile: Temporary Fixed
War Time Trailer:
Profile: Tem
Crisis:
Housing Shortage
Crisis:
Housing Sho
Culture:
Permanent Living in Trailer
Culture:
Permanent
anufactured Home:
Profile: Permanently Fixed
Manufactured Home:
Profile: Perm
Crisis:
Housing Shortage
Crisis:
Housing Sho
Culture:
Permanent Living in Trailer/Manufactured Home
Culture:
Permanent
94

New Generaon Travel Trailer, RV:
Profile: Temporary Mobile
4-RV Period
Industry:
RV / Recreaonal Vehicle
Neonomadism:
Profile: Permanently Mobile
Industry:
RV / Recreaonal Vehicle
Culture:
Neonomadism, Digital Nomads
Home Office RV:
Profile: Permanently Mobile
Industry:
RV / Recreaonal Vehicle
Culture:
Neonomadism, Digital Nomads
Crisis:
Pandemic
95

96

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