Classic RV: 1928 Chevrolet Camp Car


Like most camp cars of the era, this 1928 Chevrolet Camp Car is one-of-a-kind. This camp car's evolution began in 1928 when Clarence Stimpson, an engineer residing in Michigan City, Michigan, purchased a 1928 Chevrolet chassis. Stimpson drew up plans for the interior and exterior woodwork and delivered his drawings and the chassis to the Zagelmeyer Auto Camp Company in Bay City, Michigan.

Zagelmeyer manufactured fold-up camping trailers under the Zagelmeyer de luxe Auto Camp Trailer name as well as its specialty, the Zagelmeyer Kamper-Kar, which was mounted on a Ford coupe or roadster chassis. Zagelmeyer also advertised that it could build custom camp cars for mounting to other types of vehicles, and that's what it did with Stimpson's Chevrolet.

In August 1928, Stimpson, his 79-year-old father, and another friend took off for California in their new camp car, which they dubbed “The Gypsy.” Their journey took them along the Old Spanish Trail, then to Globe, Arizona, and onward to California via the Apache Trail. Their reports home told of a delightful trip and the comforts provided by their camp car. They even commented that there were “no bad roads,” which is testament that all things are relative to one's expectations. After wintering in California, the trio returned to Michigan the following spring.

The camp car was stored in Mackinaw City for a time, and then moved to a specially built barn in Roger City, where it resided until 1996, when John McMullen of Lapeer, Michigan, acquired it. McMullen, and two friends, Walt Davenport and Gary Callendar, undertook the restoration of the camp car, which only had 9,000 miles on it and was in mechanically sound condition. Although the restorers took the entire engine apart, almost all of the work was cosmetic. The biggest challenge was replacing the wooden spoke wheels, which had deteriorated beyond repair. By 1997 the camp car was (in the words of John McMullen) “ready for a return trip to California by someone else, not me.” The camp car was photographed in Flint, Michigan.

The interior and exterior of the 1928 Camp Car will be in Douglas Keister's new book, Mobile Mansions, that will be published by Gibbs Smith Publisher in the Fall of 2006. If you have a unique motorhome, e-mail a photo to doug@keisterphoto.com. Doug is also the author of Ready to Roll: A Celebration of the Classic American Travel Trailer and Silver Palaces: America's Streamline Trailers. Personalized autographed copies are available from Doug through the above e-mail address.