The Origins of the Vintage Trailer Movement

From the pages of the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine
With the 100th anniversary of the Tin Can Tourists (TCT) and the induction of (re)founders Forrest and Jeri Bone into the Recreational Vehicle/Manufactured Housing Hall of Fame, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of the origin of the vintage trailer movement.  But I wanted to understand more about its roots in the West. So, I set out to learn what I could and put this article together, which includes information about early vintage trailer clubs and events across the country.  

First, it is important to note the evolution from “old trailer” ownership to “vintage” trailer ownership.  People have always treasured, preserved, and restored old stuff, including trailers, just because they liked a particular thing.  Then, with the advent of vintage trailer clubs and the internet, it became easier for owners and enthusiasts to find one another.

Trailer owners have long formed clubs. The Tin Can Tourists (TCT) was established in 1919.  The TCT’s success encouraged a short-lived competitor, the Automobile Tourists Association, in 1939. Brand-specific clubs emerged later, notably Airstream’s Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI) in 1955.  By 1957, the Travel Trailer Clubs of America gave advice and assistance to the founding of these clubs.  There was also club activity specific to teardrop trailers.  However I have found none focusing primarily on vintage trailers during the middle of the last century.

Still, the idea of getting like-minded folk together was percolating.  In 1972, the Recreational Vehicle/Manufactured Housing (RV HOF) Heritage Foundation was founded in Elkhart, IN. It opened its RV HOF Museum in 1991. By 1982, The Period & Classic Caravan Club formed in the United Kingdom.   By 1993, Bud and Bettye Cooper gathered fellow WBCCI members to form the Vintage Airstream Club (VAC).  So, finally, there was a club focused specifically on vintage trailers.

Todd Kimmel and Kristin Doughty (soon to be Kimmel) decided to take their interest in vintage campers to the next level by starting an all-brand vintage club, The Classic Trailer and Motorhome Club. Its official publication was called “Lost Highways”. It was originally intended to be issued quarterly, but only three issues were printed. The first Lost Highways Rally was held on March 27-30, 1995, in Sarasota, FL. Later that year, and for some years following, a Lost Highways Summer Reunion for the Tin Can Tourists was hosted at St Ignace, MI.

A year earlier, Kimmels ran an ad in Hemmings Motor News seeking vintage trailer enthusiasts.  Johnny Agnew and Steve Butcher were driving toward Monument Valley, working on the movie, “Pontiac Moon.” They saw the ad, got excited, and contacted Todd. After some back and forth, Johnny decided to hold a Western rally.  He used the Lost Highways mailing list for the area and contacted others he knew.  In 1996, he located an old campground in Azusa, CA, called Follows Camp.  As many as fifteen trailers came, and West Coast rallying began! 

Lost Highways and Johnny promoted a couple of more rallies, including one at Newport Dunes. By 1999, Craig Dorsey, one of the attendees, stepped in and hosted several rallies at Newport Dunes.  Dorsey was a master of promotion and ran a restoration business, Vintage Vacations, for years.  (I’m sure many of us stole time at work to view the Vintage Vacation site and dream).  A small group of Newport Dunes attendees, led by Toni and Chuck Miltenberger, founded the Trail to Pismo rally in 2008, which soon became the largest vintage rally in the world. Johnny, Steve, and their crew from Funky Junk Farms are a key part of that rally today. 

Dal presented Johnny Agnew with a plaque and induction into the Tin Can Tourists Hal of Fame at Palm Springs, CA in 2024.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Mississippi, VAC President Forrest Bone was seeking a way to gather all vintage trailer brands together.  This couldn’t be done under the umbrella of the Airstream-only VAC.  He and Bud Cooper discussed this, and Bud mentioned the moribund TCT.  Forrest and Jeri researched the copyright, trademark, and related issues, and in 1998, the TCT was reborn.  I think it’s fair to say that the TCT’s newsletter, website, social media presence, rallies, area representatives, and the Bones’ endless efforts have served vintage enthusiasts well and have given many the incentive to start local clubs and rallies.

By 1999, sisters and avid fly fisherwomen Maurie Sussman and Rebecca Clarke saw an unmet need. They started the successful Sisters on the Fly. The club is specifically for women trailer owners (many are vintage trailer owners) and hosts rallies nationwide.

Former VAC officer Pat Ewing had been privy to some campfire discussions between Bud Cooper and Forrest Bone at the 1998 Boise VAC Caravan. Pat hosted WBCCI regional rallies and the first Mt. Baker Vintage Trailer Rally at the Deming, WA, Log Show Grounds in 2001.  That rally is one of the longest-running vintage rallies, second only to TCT’s Camp Dearborn Rally and Annual Meeting in Michigan.

All of these efforts have given birth to a fulfilling pastime for many people and a growing industry that now includes many clubs, vintage-friendly campgrounds; a bi-monthly magazine, Vintage Camper Trailer Magazine, rallies, restoration-themed rallies, and rally promoters; restorers, repairers, and suppliers; and specialized trailer insurers and appraisers. Steve Hingtgen’s Vintage Trailer Supply significantly accelerated and aided the preservation and restoration of vintage trailers.

There is currently no one place to discover the beginnings of the vintage trailer movement. Some of you may know of early vintage gatherings and activities I would love to hear about those so I can continue to add to this modest account of the beginnings of our beloved vintage camper movement.

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