Yahoo Autos This Jet-Age Trailer Might Be the Coolest Camper Ever Made
The Airstream trailer has cemented its place in the public consciousness as a mid-century design icon, but even the shiniest Airstream pales next to this wild early-’60s creation: the Holiday House Geographic Model X.
The Holiday House travel-trailer company was launched in 1959 by David Holmes of the Harry & David mail-order fruit company, who wanted to keep his employees busy during the off-season. The aluminum-skinned trailers stood out with their modern design and panoramic front windows, in contrast to the rounded “canned ham” trailers of the day. In 1960, Holmes tapped industrial designer Chuck Pelly (who later founded BMW Designworks in California) to create an ultrafuturistic, high-end offering. Rendered in fiberglass, the wildly styled result was referred to as the Model X-later the Geographic-and was pitched as a “trailer for the rich.” It had a price tag of $8495 when it went on sale the following year, the equivalent of $72,000 today. The concept was too out-there for the market, however, and only a handful were built before a fire destroyed the factory in 1962.
This example has been exhaustively restored and updated by vintage-trailer restoration specialists Flyte Camp. Its running gear has been restored with new axles, brakes, wheels, and wide-whitewall tires. Mechanicals include a 2000-watt inverter, four six-volt batteries, air conditioning via a heat pump, a 35-gallon freshwater tank, a 35-gallon blackwater tank, and a 40-gallon grey-water tank.
The interior is lined with black-walnut veneers and is illuminated with LED lighting, including in the vintage fixtures. Among the amenities are a two-drawer three-way fridge, a smooth-top two-burner cooktop, an on-demand LP water heater, a 32-inch TV, and a DVD/Bluetooth stereo. The trailer sleeps four, and a rear bath contains a toilet, sink, and shower.
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Some things have not changed: This remains a trailer for the rich, with an asking price of $250,000 as of this writing, and it remains a standout design next to the camping trailers of this, or any, era.
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