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1968 Dodge A108 Travco Family Wagon

“I’m a travelin’ man, I’ve made a lot of stops.. all over the world..”.. (in my best Ricky Nelson voice – everyone under 50 just fell asleep). If you like to travel as much as I do this 1968 Dodge A108 Travco Family Wagon looks like a heck of a rig. This beauty is listed on Hemmings with an $8,500 asking price and it’s located in The Big D – Dallas, Texas.

As a Dodge vanatic (see what I did there?) I absolutely love this Travco Family Wagon. According to the seller, this is a three-owner 35,000-mile van. It’s not in perfect condition by any means, there is even a bit of rust on the lower sections but it doesn’t appear that there is any rust-through other than on the floors in one spot that’s pointed out here. The seller has even included a few underside shots, which is always a nice change from the usual sparse photo offerings in online ads. This example has Travco’s Vista Top which is an insulated roof extension. They also offered an Expandable Top which was a fiberglass top with nylon sides and screens so owners could lower it and park inside their garage without ripping the roof off – I bet that’s happened more than once with the Vista Top vans.

I would have loved to have this van in my youth, heck I’d love to have it in my oldth… The Travco Family Wagon was a van camper conversion made by what was the world’s largest maker of motorhomes at the time. This particular Travco is their “Dodge Family Wagon 1” model with the left-rear dinette/bed combo. They also made a Dodge Family Wagon II model with a right-rear dinette/bed combo. This is somewhat primitive camping compared to the luxo-barges of today but it beats having a brown bear wake you up in the middle of the night in your tent.

These interiors are so interesting with the huge engine cover right in-between the two front seats. Believe it or not, that engine cover padded top “converts to seat or extra bed“! It wouldn’t work for me or anyone this side of Mickey Rooney but that’s just a fun, dated feature that I can’t imagine would ever be available today. It has the big-three camping necessities: an optional two-burner gas stove, a sink, and it has been upgraded with an optional refrigerator. I’d upgrade that ‘fridge again if it were mine but I would leave most of the interior as it is other than giving it a thorough cleaning.

The engine under that extra bed/seat-cover thingy is Dodge’s 318 V8. No really, there’s a 210-hp 318 V8 crammed in that little box! My brother and I changed a 225 slant-six in my Dodge van once in a gravel driveway, having to take off the passenger door to get it in. That was not fun at all, to say the least. I can’t imagine having to change an engine in a Dodge A100 series truck where it’s really in the middle of everything. This one sure looks good, that radiator looks perfect. The seller says that this van runs and drives and but it was last used in 2016 and has been stored in a side barn since then. Have any of you owned a Travco? Any thoughts on this one?

Comments

  1. Avatar LAWRENCE

    Yep…saw this one…yes rare…rare it has most of it’s camper stuff….neat-o….!

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Miguel

    Even though this is the long wheel base, it can look cool, I( mean without the topper.

    Like 1
  3. Avatar Adam T45 Staff

    This is seriously cool (since I’m older than the van, am I allowed to use the word “cool”?). As we get older we tend to develop stronger self-preservation instincts, but I could still live with this quite easily….even if it means that my legs become like a sort-of “organic crumple zone” if it all goes horribly wrong.

    Like 1
  4. Avatar Frank

    Rad!

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Mountainwoodie

    While he was kinda square, Ricky Nelson’s ‘Travelin Man’. is one of my guilty secret pleasures as is ‘Garden Party’. I was more of a Jefferson Airplane, Traffic, Dead, kind of guy.

    That said this A 100 is very cool but must be a bear in a tailwind and I wouldn’t want to work on the engine. What do you do, drop it? Scotty?

    Like 2
    • Avatar Miguel

      This is an A108, not the shorter A100.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Jerry Brentnell

      you don’t know what your talking about as the engine cover and sides are bolted in and are easy to remove same with seats ,and that 318 will get the job done quite nicely ,we put a 340 4 speed in one of these years ago for a customer the gear shift was mounted on the drivers side of the engine cover just like a kenworth cabover semi! he loved it with 355 gears in the tail!

      Like 1
  6. Avatar george durante

    Used to work on these type vans when the U S Army had them.Found the easiest way to change an engine was to remove the radiator,then cut the support on both sides with a hacksaw,then unbolt all the connections. Next I’d take a forklift,adjust the forks to go as tight as possible to the “V” of the engine,lift slightly,then drive the forklift backward,smoothly pulling the engine out. Worked like a charm.

    Like 1
  7. Avatar JW

    After owning a 6 cylinder Econoline van and pickup I would be in heaven driving this thing around. Don’t camp anymore as I got wussy and just find a hotel but this Dodge could seriously get me back to my roots in some out of the way campgrounds.

    Like 1
  8. HoA Rube Goldberg Member

    I liked Ricky Nelson too, AND “The Ozzie and Harriet Show”, where Ricky Nelson got his start. This would be great for short camping trips, fishing in the N.woods pulling a small boat or atv’s. I-80 in Nebraska, not so much. The V8 would provide plenty of power ( at a cost) but that popup deal really makes it unsafe in high winds, trust me, I know, the old man had one, only newer. A friend had an A100 van, V8, and as you can see, it’s best to pull the seats and engine cover for any work. Still, a great little camper.

    Like 1
  9. Avatar Rex Kahrs Member

    Rick Nelson and Bob Dylan were good friends. Love the van, especially the color.

    Like 1
  10. Avatar Rich

    When I was 16 I borrowed one of these off my dad’s lot to go to a concert. It was perfect. Then I drove it home to the brand new condo that had the newest of new luxuries….underground parking. Naturally I forgot about the raised roof. I’m happy to say the bottom 3/4’s of the truck drove in just fine. And then suddenly it was a very rare convertible! I remember my dad being quite unamused.

    Like 1
  11. Avatar CanuckCarGuy

    Great find, for me it represents a time when families actually spent time together without electronics and screens. From an era where our best memories usually involved four wheels…we need more of that in today’s world. Thank you again Barn Finds.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Sparkster

    Our father in 1968 bought a new turquoise A-108 sportmans van. No power steering, no power brakes and NO AIR CONDITIONING and No fun to ride in for a family of six across the USA in the summer

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Joe Haska

    This is just too “COOL”, I am old too. If money was no object, I would buy it and restore it to the max. Then road trip and RV parks, and make sure I got a spot next to a Provost, and see what they would think of my “MOTOR COACH”.

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Miguel

    This is odd how many of the cars I am looking to buy have their American brothers show up on this site.

    This one is in Guadalajara and it is on the list.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Miguel

    Here is the interior. I want to put heavy padding and carpet in here then maybe replace the seats or not.

    This van does have the V8 and automatic. I just wonder if I can put the under dash AC in this thing.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Beatnik Bedouin

    Love it, however, the rust in the body seams would have me looking a lot closer at the van’s condition before plunking down my hard-earned cash.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar ccrvtt

    “oldth”?

    LMAO

    Like 0
    • Avatar Scotty Gilbertson Staff

      Ha! Good eye, ccrvtt.

      Like 0
      • Avatar John D

        That made me smile and chuckle too. Maybe because it now describes me?

        Like 0
  18. Avatar Moparmann Member

    The “doghouse” around the engine is removable, and the engine can be swapped through the cargo doors. I replaced my 225 w/ a 340 c.i., I’d love to get it back on the road!! :-)

    Like 0
  19. Avatar PJAKABenziBoy

    I would love to own it but that is because i am young and would have too much fun in this, even more so with a 340 swap.

    Like 0

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