As glamorous as a brick on wheels, the Travelall was produced from 1953 through 1975. By this time, IH was well established in the light-duty truck market, selling to farmers, contractors, and families who wanted rugged, go-anywhere haulers. The Travelall competed with Chevrolet’s Suburban, but it led the market when it delivered factory-installed four-wheel drive in 1956 and four doors in 1961. Despite its innovations, the Travelall suffered from a poor distribution system, rust, its ungainly looks, and a rough ride, so while the Suburban is still made, we have to sift through ads and wait patiently to catch even a glimpse of a Travelall today. Mike F did that work for us, when he passed along this craigslist offering: an unmodified 1971 Travelall, built on a 3/4-ton chassis with four-wheel drive powered by a V8, with an asking price of $12,000. It’s located in Centennial, Colorado.
The engine is IH’s 345 cu. in. V8, good for 197 hp and around 305 lb-ft of torque. Tough as nails, the engine could outlast the body. That said, with plenty of room underhood, swaps are common, to big block IH V8s, or outside the make toward the land of resto-mod. Gear changes are handled by a BorgWarner automatic, and a divorced NP205 transfer case puts the power to all four wheels. The seller notes that a major tune-up was performed “a few years ago”; at the same time, the carb was rebuilt, and the fuel lines were replaced. The tires are nearly new.
International Harvester never got the hang of luxury, falling well behind the market while Chevy’s Suburban and Jeep’s Wagoneer were decking their vehicles with bucket seats, plush upholstery, deep pile carpet, air conditioning, consoles, and extra trim. The Travelall is a brutalist exercise both in and out, proudly severe – like riding around in a breadbox. An investment in new upholstery will provide the only upgrade you really need here – there’s no carpet to be dirty, headliner to be torn, or door cards to be blemished.
The seller indicates the body has little rust and only one major dent. The glass is good, and the front winch is a great bonus. The paint is faded enough that it probably can’t be brought back, but that said, a gentle wax job might improve the look. If this rig were mine, I would probably service it and drive it as is; what do you think?
Nice one, Mike, there seems to be an outstanding amount of these coming up, a guy in town has a pickup like this for sale. I’ve never seen a starter motor power a winch before, and while it may be 4 wheel drive, it was a different world then, and there was a call for a slow going, all wheel drive, cargo carrying vehicle. Unlike todays modern 4x4s that glide down 8 lane interstates,practically by themselves,, there was a big movement, hippies mostly, to move to the hills, and this is how they got back there. The winch insured you to go where no person had gone before. Many are low mileage, because they just weren’t that much fun to drive. While the automatic is a plus, one test drive will produce horrors never before experienced( what is bump steer now?) and fuel,,,well, let’s just say much more compliant at .35/gallon than today. I can smell the gas from here. Nice find, be lucky to get a shred of what they are asking.
IH offered a nicer trim level with carpet, upholstery on the doors and you could even get woodgrain exterior trim. You’d still be spending Olds Custom Cruiser money at a farm implement dealership, so those are rare and this one screams “state highway department”.
An absolute beast, Thanks Michelle and Mike F. These were designed to go just about anywhere, in any weather, with plenty of butts in the seats. I love 4WD trucks and light duty trucks in general. IMO this is an honest work/ tow vehicle that should be driven just like it is.
My dad bought a 71 model to pull a 25 foot Yellowstone travel trailer. Both were beasts. I called our Travelall a Suburban on steroids. There was nothing luxurious about it. It even had 2 gas tanks that were switchable in motion. That meant less timev at Stuckeys to look for candy and stuff!
Had a ‘72, in “ gas chamber green”. A sturdy beast, would tow anything without complaint.
Throw an $800 GM 5.3 in this and it will be peppy and get 20+ mpg and still be reliable, then drive the wheels off it.
I remember these vehicles as being longer than the GMC/Chevrolet Suburban! In those days GMC and Chevy sold Suburbans! I’m surprised no one has trademarked the name, this would be ideal for an SUV or Ideally a Minivan!
It’s an International Harvester;
NO WAY TO GO WRONG !!!!!
I’ve had 5 !!!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
(…and still want more !)
Love that color. Believe it’s Omaha orange. They weren’t above painting them to match your Allis Chalmers equipment! Bet it’d buff out. Best year grille too. Loose the Dodge wheels!!! They look kinda PlaySkool-ish on this. Some Ford E350 steelies would be cheap, easy to find and more in character.
4wd market for poseurs didn’t exist back then.. 👍 😎
If IH had remained in the full-size SUV and pickup truck markets, I sometimes wonder what their offerings might look like today. For example, it seems logical that they would have a Ford Excursion-type model.
This might be a reasonable facsimile of what could be. I sure wouldn’t kick this off my driveway.
Binder had a troop of good designers working for it, and it really is a shame they couldn’t keep applying their trade. Personally, I don’t think any companies had anything to lord over IH. I spent 50 years working on everything with wheels, tracks and skis and I saw a lot of trash; no one had the monopoly of how bad to make it…
They had that in the travel all! Ford was the last one to the full size SUV party in 95′ with the Expedition! GM and International had these vehicles for years! International would be a successful brand in today’s market, probably owned by Chrysler! The way parts chains work, being completely independent wouldn’t work!
This is an interesting vehicle.. Whys Guy has said it all. For someone who does not mind a “Plain Jane” heavy duty, go anywhere, not very fast, fun truck this is it. Depending what he wants to do, I would either remove that winch or house it in a better bumper mount. With some TLC the new owner can have a truck he can both play in and start conversations at Cars and Coffee.
My dad had a ‘72 IH 3/4 ton p-up same orange with white cab top & white down both sides.. 392 ci (?) 4v Rochester and he always said a Chrysler torque flight 3 speed auto.. I must say those IH’s were built like a truck..his p-up was the upgraded model with carpet, AC, padded dash &door panels, & headliner. He bought it in 1975 and around 1978 I installed a after market cruise control where you would tape two magnets on the drive shaft… worked very well!! In ‘83 he retired (brick layer) him & mom bought a 34’ Royals International travel trailer and come fall headed to Chimney Park TX. That IH had no issues pulling it back & forth 4 times to north central IA. The tin worm was the worse thing on those IH vehicles.. especially the fender lips, bottom door edges, and under hood hinges & inner fenders.. I remember pops having a body shop repair those areas at considerable cost. I sold the p-up for him in 2008 for $ 1k w/ 90k miles on it… motor and drivetrain were still strong.. GLWTS
By the time this truck came out, IH was keeping well in step with the rest of the industry. Bucket seats were offered as early as 1968 and options like A-C came out well before that. My dad ordered a ’69 1200D Travelette, and it was loaded. 392, A-C, automatic, bucket seats with cloth upholstry, full custom trim including carpet. I don’t think power windows were offered yet, but that wasn’t offered by GM or Ford either.
Dad traded the IH in for a Ford F-250 XLT a couple of years later. The Ford didn’t have one thing fancier than the Binder. In fact you couldn’t get factory buckets on the Ford in ’71.
It’s interesting to speculate on what might have been, had IH decided to remain in the light truck business. I’ve seen some renderings and was quite impressed with what I saw. I thought I had one in my files here at home but I guess it’s on the computer at work so I’ll have to let that go until Monday.
I’ve mentioned this before so I’ll just touch on it now. IH didn’t drop its light truck line because of lack of sales; I have it on good authority that there was a deal made where a competitor offered to drop its heavy truck line if IH would drop its light truck line. IH had some concepts drawn up which have a striking resemblence to some trucks that came out years later.
Anyways, this truck. Driveline and brakes aren’t too hard to get parts for. The body and trim is going to be a challenge. Best to get acquainted with some enthusiasts on Facebook to get some of those pieces. People are restoring them and doing a fine job.
My folks had one too. Ours was a well optioned ’73 with a 392, dual tanks, (you’re gonna need ’em) and a fair share of goodies to make it tolerable for my Mom,
who said that it was too big for her to drive safely. I remember them going to one of the discount stores they had in town
called Pick & Save. Well, the prices were so good that Mom and Dad completely loaded the
Travelall from floor to ceiling with
all kinds of groceries. And if that
wasn’t enough, Dad packed the roof rack with boxes of canned and boxed goods! My friends and I were practicing for a one
one nighter in Rantoul that night
so we got pressed into service unloading the truck while Mom and Dad relaxed in the kitchen
with a cup of coffee ☕..With 5
strong young guys working on it, it wasn’t long before we had everything unloaded and put away. And I can tell you first hand that we were still eating the
canned stuff they bought until maybe ’76 or ’77 at least. After
practice, we packed our stuff into
the trailer, showered, changed, jumped in the Packard limo I had
then, and took off to play that job
in Rantoul. Great times back then.