Over 34 years of saving lives It was quickly realized that this safe ride service needed to be free. Many intoxicated people didn’t want to go home until they were out of money. We needed to get their cars home too (no I would not leave my car behind as I need it in the morning!) The International Good Samaritans Safe Ride Program (IGS) plan was to start a 501c3 nonprofit charity and provide two sober drivers per team, one IGS driver to follow the other IGS driver in the intoxicated driver's car along with the intoxicated person and all their friends to point the way home (not always easy but always free!)
 Many regulations and much attention was given to this new safe ride start-up program, and many bars, their patrons, and the police watched to see what was going to happen with this new idea. Miracle of miracles! The Program worked! During the first 10 years of service more than 50,000 carefully documented safe rides were given to intoxicated drivers and their intoxicated passengers, and their cars were safely delivered home by a small group of dedicated sober (My turn to drink, Your turn to drive) volunteers. For the first time in Tahoe history, DUI deaths and DUI crashes decreased as reported by the South Tahoe Police Dept. Now for The FUN part of this story! To keep these safe rides free, IGS decided to host an annual fundraiser based on the 50’s lifestyle and 50’s cars and call it Cool September Days Car, Truck, Motorcycle and Vintage Camper Show. Along with an old car show, IGS would put on a 50’s style Sock Hop with dance, dress-up and hairdo contests and at mid-night at the Hop as a grand prize IGS would give away a locally donated and restored old car on a $1 raffle ticket. A lot of things have changed over the past 30 years but the Good Samaritans Safe Ride Program is still alive and well in Tahoe and the 30th annual Cool September Days Car Show was held at the South Lake Tahoe Heavenly Village shopping center on September 18-20, 2015. Over the 30 years of this safe ride programs history, many different cars, trucks, and motorcycles have been located, donated, and restored to be used in IGS’ fundraiser raffles, from a 1953 Buick Special in 1986, to a 500hp Ford PU and new Harley in 2002, to a grand prize of a 1953 Chevy Sedan Delivery with a new teardrop trailer all set up to go camping in 2010. IGS volunteers would like to invite everyone with an interest in vintage cars and/or campers or motorcycles to come to Lake Tahoe for the day or for one of our weekend shows at the Heavenly Village Shopping Center (near the Gondola). This package will be given away October 18th, 2020. To date, more than 100,000 intoxicated drivers and their friends have been delivered safely home in the Tahoe area and much effort has been made to help start safe ride programs in other cities all around America. Many lives have been saved and many millions of dollars of damage has been avoided thanks to your generous donations for raffle tickets or when you attend one of our Car Shows. Get your raffle tickets here. Thank you for 34 years and counting! Tom and Polly Argo p_targo@yahoo.com 530-541-7300 PO Box 7007, Stateline NV 89449  
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In 1954 Chris-Craft astonished just about everyone when they introduced their new Land Cruiser Kit, a 14-foot mobile home that would sleep four adults. The kit contained everything from a steel chassis, aluminum roof covering, aluminum frame windows with screens, to wheels and a hinged door with lock.  In issue #49 of the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine we featured a 1948 Horner & Thatcher Trailer Boat Prototype. Like a Trailorboat or KomPaK, the Thorner & Thatcher toted its boat upside down on top of its teardrop sized trailer. While researching “boat trailers” for the feature in the magazine, we stumbled on a boat company that offered a camping trailer along with their famous wooden boats. Since the product was so unique, Chris-Craft formed the Land Cruiser Kit Division just to accommodate the new product.  An article at the time proclaimed the following: Think of it! Now you can own your own mobile home. You can go wherever you want, whenever you like, without the fuss and bother of stopping at expensive hotels and restaurants. You can follow your heart to new fun and adventure - and take your home right along with you! The new Land Cruiser Kit by Chris-Craft makes all this possible. Now - for the first time! - anyone who can afford to drive an average car can afford this big, comfortable mobile home.  Finished in gleaming aluminum, with an all steel chassis. the Land Cruiser is a full 14-feet overall Inside, there's plenty of room for a double bed, a dinette that converts into another bed, a heating unit and cook stove, refrigerator, closets and cupboards  The Land Cruiser peaked our interest in trailers that were either offered in kit forms or built from plans. We are looking for history, literature, or information on these types of trailers for an upcoming issue of the VCT Magazine. If you own one or have anything to contribute, let us know. email me More Photos of a Chris-Craft Land Cruiser: http://woodenrunabout.com/projects/1954-chris-craft-land-cruiser 
 Kom-Pak Boat Trailer.  Trailorboat  This Westcraft Capistrano is the brilliant result of more than a decade of meticulous restoration, craftsmanship, and modernization. It is the largest and most rare model that Westcraft ever offered The 'Capistrano' is 33 feet long and features a Pullman roof (commonly referred to as a trolley top). Flanked with seven windows on each side, the raised center of the ceiling provides 6'4" of headroom. You would be the talk of the rally if you showed up in this one! Sound like fun? You'll be glad to know that this trailer is for sale.  When the current owner purchased this rare model coach, it was in poor condition. Being one of only two known to exist, he felt the trailer deserved a restoration by a team of some of the best craftspeople in California to achieve the finest restoration possible. The team was led by Steven Butcher to envision a resto-mod unlike any other. Butcher brought his years of trailer and vehicle restoration experience to the project. A collector himself, Butcher's eye for design and knowledge of vintage Americana made him a worthy collaborator.  The original design was modernized to improve the coach by integrating the latest in safety features, luxury, comfort, and connectivity. The Westcraft is featured in a 6-page spread in the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine issue #48. If you are a subscriber to the magazine you have seen many more of the incredible photos by Pawel Litwinski. A profile shot of the exterior made the centerfold!  The trailer was most recently displayed in Palm Springs at Modernism Week in February of 2020. If this was your trailer, where would you take it? Trailers of this caliber are often displayed in museums, company show rooms or on estates where they are used as a tiny house or guest home. If you are looking for a vintage trailer to camp in or go to vintage trailer rallies his one would certainly be a contender if your budget will allow you a one-of-a-kind piece of art like this one.  The Calypso boasts an audio systems that can be played independently in the living and bedrooms, utilizing individual amps to drive NHT, Focal, and Sunfire speakers. Each room has a Sony flat-screen with Bose soundbars using common connections to both surround-sound systems. Concealed throughout the trailer are USB charging sockets, Ethernet, and coaxial cables and modern grounded outlets. There is even a remote-controlled quiet and energy-efficient Duotherm heating/AC system. If you are interested in purchasing this trailer, see the ad with more details and photos here. |
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