00:12Hello and welcome back to the show. I'm Patrick with New Jersey's Outdoor Adventures on YouTube.
00:18Today I've got a very special episode for you. I'm going to showcase a 1947 Campmaster teardrop trailer with a
00:27pop top.
00:30Now what's cool about this is it's fully functional like the way it is. There's an access door here on
00:35the side.
00:35You could sleep in it. You could eat in it. But a unique feature about this, it actually expands and
00:40pops up to give you full standing height on the inside.
00:43These were built in Torrance, California. In 1947, people didn't have trucks. They had cars and vehicles.
00:49So it had to be lightweight. 840 pounds if you get one fully equipped. And it was $875 fully loaded.
00:57Now the value today, because it's a vintage rare trailer, is going to be quite higher than that.
01:01So what it is, is an aluminum body over plywood with an aluminum rail, buck riveted in place, very similar
01:10construction to an Airstream travel trailer.
01:13And it is 8 foot long floor and it's 6 feet wide. So they advertise that it's no wider than
01:20a vehicle.
01:20So you don't need mirror extensions or anything crazy like that.
01:242 inch ball, steel frame, C channel frame, I'm sorry, boxed frame.
01:28And it's got a 5 pound propane tank up here in the front.
01:32It's got a manual hitch jack to raise and lower it off your vehicle.
01:35And there's no trailer brakes on this trailer because it's so lightweight.
01:39Aluminum wraps all the way under and all the way along the top.
01:43You've got a gutter rail here over the entry door.
01:46And you can see here the Camp Master little badge here on the side.
01:51It's K-A-M-P, not C-A-M-P.
01:53When you open up this door, it's pretty substantial, pretty heavy door.
01:57Those little curtains here, you've got a slider window here in the entry door with screens.
02:03So this fully opens up to give you ventilation on the inside.
02:06And it's got that gutter channel all the way over the window.
02:10So for rain, you've got the gutter rail there.
02:12But you also have one on the glass to prevent it from leaking in.
02:17When you go inside, check this out.
02:24You can fully sit on the sofa.
02:26You have access to the kitchen over here and access to this other side in storage.
02:32And then this whole thing folds into a bed.
02:35Now I'm going to showcase that once we pop the thing up, which is pretty unique.
02:41Because I think it's an engineering feat, the way they made this and the way they put it together.
02:46And this door has a regular lock on the outside and the inside.
02:50And it just shuts like a car door.
02:53It's got the full moon hubcap style, really large rims and tires.
02:59So it's not little tiny skinny tires.
03:01It's got that vintage style white wall.
03:03What's really cool about this on the back of the trailer is these glass marble style vintage lights.
03:10You know, so you have more running lights here.
03:13There's a step well that flips down.
03:15Of course, it has a modern license plate light there to meet the needs of the road today.
03:23And it has a battery ventilation here and a shore power connection because there's an onboard battery charger.
03:30And then in the bedroom, there's another slider window on this side.
03:34I'm not sure if they had an optional second door back then, a door on both sides.
03:39But I'm five feet nine.
03:40You can see the standing height of the trailer.
03:42It's a pretty low profile.
03:44So you could put it in a garage.
03:45You could tow with a small vehicle.
03:47And you could see over the top of it when you're going down the highway.
03:51All right.
03:52So there's two latches here.
03:54They're unlocked.
03:55I'm going to lift them up like that.
03:57And that gives me access to lift this back.
03:59Now, it's quite heavy.
04:00So you might see me struggle just a little bit.
04:03But I want you to take a close look here.
04:05See this rail here?
04:07This is an awning rail.
04:08You could slide in an awning.
04:10So once you have it fully assembled, you could have an awning going off the back.
04:14Now, I'm going to lift up on it.
04:17I would say lifting, it's about 50 pounds.
04:20You see this here?
04:21This is the screen door.
04:23See how it's hinged in the middle?
04:24I'm going to lift this up.
04:26And I'm going to pull this back.
04:27And it snaps back in place.
04:30I'm going to hold it the whole entire time.
04:32And there's wing nuts on both sides.
04:36If you want to get in close on that, that you tighten.
04:41And that's what holds it up.
04:42But there's also these poles here.
04:47They've got a rubber bottom on them.
04:48They sit in a hole here.
04:50And it slides up.
04:52And that stabilizes it so the roof's not all wonky.
04:57Same thing on this side.
04:59Take this.
05:01Put it in the hole.
05:03And wedge it in place.
05:04So now that you have it up, you could flip down the entry step.
05:08Look at that.
05:09It's got a step tread there to gain access.
05:12I mean, it's not a high step to begin with.
05:15But I think back then in 1947, people were a little bit smaller.
05:20So not as tall as they are today.
05:22So it might have been a useful step.
05:24So this canvas here snaps right in.
05:27There's all little snaps here on the body.
05:30So I found it easier to start from this side.
05:34There's snaps here on the inside.
05:36Another one here.
05:39Do half of it.
05:40And then finish the rest when you go inside.
05:47And there's a matching canvas for the other side.
05:50So you can have it fully enclosed.
05:52What I found neat is the owner of this, who invited me to their property to showcase all these vintage
05:58trailers in their collection,
06:00there's a screened one just like that.
06:02So you can have half canvas and half fully screened.
06:05You can have it fully screened or all canvas in.
06:08Now, we had some rain just a few moments ago.
06:11And the way this is designed is, if it's raining out, this snaps on the inside to allow the water
06:18to run down the canvas.
06:20And it snaps on the outside here to allow it to run completely out.
06:25Unlock the screen door.
06:28Go inside.
06:32I want you guys to get the full effect, like you saw in the thumbnail picture, of it completely set
06:38up.
06:50Not bad.
06:51In a matter of a couple minutes, you could be completely enclosed.
06:58All right, now for the purpose of the video, I'm going to leave the other side undone, just so you
07:02could see in a little bit better.
07:04But why don't you check out the inside space?
07:08So in here, this screen door, this whole aisle needs to be wide open when the top is down.
07:15But now that the top is up, you could set up chairs inside here.
07:19There's a built-in table.
07:20And I'm going to dive into all the little details.
07:22The first thing I want to showcase is the rib structure here on the roof.
07:27Very thick, doubled-up ply.
07:30You've got a headliner, like vinyl material.
07:32And then these wooden slats.
07:34And it looks absolutely gorgeous.
07:36There's lights here on the side.
07:38Another light here on the side.
07:41Down here, they just have a buddy heater put in.
07:44But there's a battery compartment right here.
07:51There's a battery charger up here.
07:54Vintage-style linoleum here with aluminum strip.
07:58You've got a vintage-style linoleum square floor.
08:03A little holder here.
08:06Battery kill switch here off to the side.
08:08Battery vent.
08:09Open up your Coca-Cola bottles here.
08:13Slide this out.
08:15All the silverware is in here.
08:18A little cooktop setup.
08:21Three burners.
08:23Put all your spices here on the side.
08:25You've got more counter space here.
08:27This cabinet goes up and down with the rooftop.
08:32But you can put all your kitchen utensils and everything you need over here.
08:37You've got a drawer over here.
08:40And I love the texture on the front of these drawer faces.
08:43This must be over the age of the original wood all these years.
08:47It has some texture to it.
08:48But fully wooden boxed.
08:50On this side, check this out.
08:52First aid kit.
08:53Fire extinguisher.
08:54Fire extinguisher.
08:55This flips over.
08:59Gives you more counter space.
09:01But also is a little sink.
09:02So you can put a jug of water here with a spout on it and wash your hands.
09:08This opens up all the way.
09:11Saran wrap.
09:12Tin foil goes over here.
09:13All your kitchen utensils there.
09:15There's a slider here.
09:19Another slider there.
09:21All of them.
09:22Look at that.
09:23Cool vintage pots and pans from back in the day.
09:29It's not a refrigerator.
09:30It's an ice box.
09:32Put your ice in here.
09:33It keeps your food cool.
09:35Nice and thick door.
09:37I don't know what that is.
09:38Maybe that's what you do is use to sharpen a knife, I would say.
09:42More counter space here.
09:45More storage.
09:46These zip up and have screens built into them so you can get complete.
09:50You want to get changed.
09:50You want privacy, right?
09:52And then look at this.
09:54This lifts up.
09:56Comes out.
09:57Gives you access to more storage.
10:00Another camp stove.
10:01And then you can set up a table right here in the middle.
10:06So I could sit on this back bench.
10:08Or I could bring a chair and someone else could sit there and you could eat your meal.
10:12And this still will work when the top is down.
10:16And this just sits right in this rail right here.
10:21Just like that.
10:23Now back here, where I was sitting before, there's enough headroom for me.
10:28I can stretch out my legs.
10:30There's a 12-volt socket.
10:31There's also an electrical outlet back here.
10:33But I want you to come in and see this.
10:38The guy that owns these trailers loves vintage stuff.
10:41Look at this cool little flashlight holder.
10:43Magazine rack.
10:44Thermometer.
10:46This lifts up.
10:49Got a little writing table here by the bed.
10:52Another light back here.
10:54One of those slider windows.
10:57And then this back here was a rod and gun holder.
11:01That's how it's advertised in the magazine.
11:04And then I have full access to get to the door if I need to get out.
11:09If I want to lock the door, I can.
11:11And then this lifts up.
11:16And look at all the storage underneath.
11:18And this folds out flat.
11:24And you got a bed to sleep.
11:27Two people.
11:28I have five feet nine.
11:30Someone that's six feet could sleep in here and be comfortable.
11:33And there's little rods back here that you could use to hang clothes back here behind the sofa.
11:39So if you're wondering where clothing storage would be, when this sofa is up, you could hang your shirts up
11:44and down.
11:44And that same rib structure goes throughout.
11:48I want to thank the owner of this trailer and the other trailers I featured on the show for letting
11:53me see his private collection.
11:55This is like museum stuff here in New Jersey that he brought out and set up on his property for
12:01me to showcase because he wanted to share all this cool history with you guys and me.
12:06He knows I'm such a geek with all this stuff because of my 1961 Airstream Bambi and being around Airstreams
12:11for 25 years.
12:13This may be on Facebook Marketplace soon.
12:16So if it is, when this video comes out, I'll make sure I put a link in the description so
12:20you guys can click over and check it out.
12:23And I'm sure it's going to be a great deal.
12:25I'll see you guys on the next one.
