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

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
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