Just a few days ago, we featured an “oddball” camper built on a 1968 Chevy van. Here’s another extremely rare RV that may be a lot more useful and appealing. This is a 1969 Dodge D300 (that’s a one ton chassis folks!) with a fully self contained camper factory built by Open Road. It’s for sale now in Tucson, Arizona here on craigslist with an asking price of $6,500, which seems fair for what you are getting here.
This is a very original truck and camper. It’s got a 383 V-8, and shows only 78,000 miles.
What makes it really unusual is its back door porch feature. The back folds down to create a porch, and the entire rear of the camper is open, with a great view of wherever it’s parked.
Apparently it had one Los Angeles area owner until 2014. It appears that the current owner bought the truck on eBay earlier this year (it is a rare and special enough vehicle that it warranted a story in Do-it-Yourself RV which documents the eBay listing).
The new owner serviced the truck, which had been sitting for some time (new hoses, belts, water pump and battery) and then took it to Nashville, and then to Tucson, where it currently resides, and has passed Arizona emissions testing.
In the ad, the seller says she is eight months pregnant and needs a more practical baby vehicle so it’s time to sell it, after these two cross country trips.
The interior is very original and does have a great period look, if you like that era. And according to the seller, it comes with all original manuals and brochures both for the camper and all the appliances. And there is even an original unused Open Road cooking apron to complete your wardrobe.
Even with a few flaws on the truck, and doubtless some refreshing needed inside the camper (that bathroom does not look very inviting to me), this is an amazing time capsule RV that is both unusual and highly practical to own and use. This one should easily find a new owner who will take it out on the “open road.”
She’s going to have to find the “perfect” buyer at that price I am afraid.
I am in the market for one of these, but they are much cheaper in my neck of the woods.
Good god, that’s an ugly rig….but not so valuable that you’d hesitate to paint it better colors or take it to Burning Man. The folding porch is super cool.
Nahh!!!
The cool retro vibe is pegging the needle. The photos of the interior look pretty good. I’d be tempted to give it a Partridge Family bus paint scheme, then I’d sit on the back deck with my Gibson and play “Lookin’ Out My Back Door.” I would.
I agree Rex, but I think Credence Clearwater would track you down and sue you.
looks like you could haul a small dirt bike/race bike using the sliding doors to get it in and out of the camper. i wish it was a manual trans. if you want the truck but do not want the camper you will have to patch the big hole in the back of cab. nice find
Awesome! I’ve been looking at old motorhomes for a couple years now. This is one of the coolest I’ve seen.
The 383 will provide plenty of power for this rig, plus the 727 Torqueflite could make the drivetrain indestructible. The doors on these trucks were known to let water leak to the bottom of the doors. These doors show rust right there. Repair or replacement should be possible as this cab design was in production for 10 years. Not a bad camper to own.
When Solar flares release destructive magnetic pulses and takes out our infrastracture, Cell phones, satellites, and all these fancy modern vehicles with all there computerized gizmos, Cool old trucks like this will rule the land. Might as well put a big snow plow cattle guard on the front to push all those stalled Priuses off the roads. Ugly as sin, but super cool.
Maybe bring it to Albuquerque and Walter White can find a use for it :)
I’m curious if this 1969 vehicle chassis cab model is still available for $ale in August 2020. It looks a bit short possibly 11′ to 13′ long not including the overhead bed cab, but at least it’s self contained & still functions after 5.1 decades! If anything that existed in 1969 especially a motor home/truck camper chassis cab model like this 1 is a miracle in 2020! I possess a 1969 Dodge truck camper special 3/4 ton tan with white top that I purchased in Oklahoma in March 2016 now with a damaged 1969 Avion C-11 truck camper that looked like an airstream model that’s dull silverish gray with rounded ends & aluminum riveted construction. It’s a shame it got structural damage in that terrible Sunday night February 23, 2020 accident! At least the truck still functions after being serviced & sustained only minor “injuries” to its’ front passengers’ side near the hood.