NY Times Writer Visits RV/MH Hall of Fame

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Editor’s Note: The following story about the RV/MH Hall of Fame Museum in Elkhart, Ind., was written by Larry Edsall and appeared in the Sept. 3 issue of the New York Times.

Even if you love museums, the thought of spending hours touring a collection of historical motorhomes and recreational vehicles might strike you as the equivalent of an afternoon in the dentist’s chair.

At least that’s what I thought my time at the RV/MH Hall of Fame museum would be like — until I went. Instead, I discovered a nicely presented display of rolling American history, logically situated in northern Indiana, where the industry’s production of motorhomes and travel trailers is most deeply rooted.

“The first motorized campers were built in 1910,” said David Woodworth, an RV historian who collected the vintage campers that now fill one of the museum’s primary display halls.

The oldest RV in the museum — and it is believed to be the oldest survivor anywhere — is a 1913 Earl travel trailer that was built for a California college professor. It is displayed behind a Ford Model T.

Woodworth and other RV historians, including Al Hesselbart of the museum, agree that 2010 is the centennial of the recreation vehicle industry.

The museum’s collection is arrayed in chronological order along a pathway that winds through one large exhibition hall; period settings include props like vintage camping equipment. Many of the campers are open for walk-through inspections.

In addition to the 1913 Earl, the museum houses such fascinating RVs as a 1916 Automobile Telescope Apartment, a 1928 Pierce-Arrow Fleet Housecar, a brightly polished 1935 Bowlus Road Chief, the Star Streak II built on the chassis of a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado and even a 1:24-scale model of an RV factory.

The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Directions, fees and more information on the collection are available at rvmhhalloffame.org.