We have seen quite a few unique chassis-mount campers here on Barn Finds over the years but I couldn’t find one like this unique 1966 Chevrolet C20 chassis-mount camper without the truck doors! It almost looks like a trailer mounted on a truck chassis, which I guess a few of these RVs were. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Elizabethtown, Indiana and there’s a $6,000 buy-it-now price or you can make an offer.
It almost looks like one of my Photoshop exercises in the opening photo but this one really is real and it really is cool. How unique is this without having the pickup doors? I love it, this looks like a really nice rig, or it was at one time. It took some coordination to get the windshield (is that safety/windshield glass?) coordinated with the windshield wipers and everything else. You can see that there will be rust repair to do here but you already knew that. The photo above is the only tiny partial glimpse that we get of the passenger side, the only side with a door to enter this camper. Sigh. There are three photos of the other side, why isn’t there one of the passenger side? It looks great in the photo above.
We don’t have a clue what brand of camper this is as the name on the front is missing, just revealing four holes where there would have been a fancy script with a company name. That this camper/rig/RV is located in Indiana, basically ground zero for the camper and RV industry, is pretty interesting. Someone there could figure it out but there were at least dozens if not hundreds of camper makers at one time. It was almost like vintage snowmobiles, almost everyone jumped into the business in the 1960s. It looks good overall but there is some trim work to repair and things like the rusty rear bumper which would typically house the toilet tank hose and a few odds and ends. But exterior-wise, I’m surprised at how good this camper looks.
The interior is another story, but it’s not a horror show as some decades-old campers are. The photos, as is often the case, aren’t the best, and yes, there were many vertical photos that had to be converted into these horizontal photos to be shown here. But, I really wish that people would learn how to use their $100-a-month cell phone cameras. Cutting off things and showing partial photos is no way to sell a vehicle online.
You probably have already guessed that there isn’t an engine photo. They list it as a 350 8-cylinder so there’s that, and they do say that it runs and drives good and has a three-speed manual with a column-mounted shifter which works well. The roof AC works which is amazing but there is no cab AC or power steering so bring your Popeye forearms for this one.
The interior looks pretty good although, sadly, the roof leaks in a few spots so that’ll have to be fixed ASAP. They don’t show any photos of the bathroom and in my world, there are never enough photos for online listings. I don’t get that but it’ll never change so I have to get over that mental hurdle… somehow. In any case, this really looks like a super cool and unique camper. Have any of you seen one with just the front clip and no pickup doors like this? Any guesses as to what the camper manufacturer was?
must be replacement engine or would be 327….I’m in the process of remodeling the home my grandparents built in 65, same lino as the camper. I will say the cabinets look better than the ones my grandfather built tho
We just picked up a 65 C20 walkthrough camper, sliding back door with rear deck.
327 45k miles.
It goes with our 63 C20 camper, 327 locker rear end, had a clear snap cover over the rear window opening. We have been told, the 63 may have been a prototype.
If it tips over onto the passenger side, how do you get out?
Nifty vehicle!
Through the sliding driver’s side window is my guess.
This looks to have been built on a factory flat-cowl chassis rather than cut down from a pickup cab. I couldn’t find pics of a light duty one of this generation but here’s a link to a ’71 C-30 that was for sale back in 2012.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=516117
Fantastic! Thanks, nlpnt!
Flat back cowl truck chassis were around before WWII. School buses & armored cars for the most part. School buses ranged from one ton on up. FBC’s are still used for buses and armored cars today. This is the first RV I’ve seen this way.
Cool looking rig. Very creative on the part of the builder. I like it a lot.
Yup, I wouldn’t drive this around the block W/single rear wheels, also don’t worry about gettin out if this rolls over, since it a wood framed camper it would disintegrate from around U and your stuff would be scattered all over..junk
It’s a rolling horror show.
Yes, certainly hope the windshield is full-on windshield safety glass. And, keep that sliding driver-side window working properly.
My very first rv was a 77 winebago brave
Horrible drive but well equipped for a couple with 2 kids
I hated that tv sooo much , i sold it after 2 long years
One of the many things i hated about it , the stupid one door thing , you need to wiggle out from the drivers side , walk to the back side to get out , what croc
Never again and this one looks worse off than my fugly brave …
Looks decent for it’s age but you never know what the wood is like where the leaks occur. The seats definitely look newer. I don’t see if it’s a 6 or 8. Would have to keep it inside or will rot out quick.
Auction update: this unique camper was relisted for $5,000 and is now “no longer available” so someone must have made an offer on it.
Hahaha