RV history on display at Indiana museum
The RV industry will spend 2010 reminiscing about its 100 year history throughout the year 2010 with special events and parties planned throughout the year. But RV and camping enthusiasts can learn about the industry's history anytime at the Recreation Vehicle/Mobile Home Heritage Museum and Library in Elkhart, Indiana.
According to RV Business, the RV/MH Heritage Foundation relocated the museum to a 56,000-square-foot facility in Elkhart in 2007. It includes a theater, library and a display of several of the newest and largest motorhomes and travel trailers. But the primary attraction is the two huge halls that house a collection of RVs that include a 1913 travel trailer that is believed to be the oldest in existence.
"Camping has been around for centuries," said Al Hesselbart, the museum's archivist and on-site RV historian. "But 1910 is when the first auto-related camping vehicles were built for commercial sale."
The oldest RV on display at the museum is a1913 Earl travel trailer that was custom-built for a California college professor. The trailer is displayed hitched to a vintage Model T Ford.
Other displays include vintage camping equipment and open displays that visitors can explore.