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Kozy Traveler Kar Kamper! 1959 Edsel Ranger

We have seen quite a few car-camper-combos here at Barn Finds in the last few years but I’m trying to think of another one like this 1959 Edsel Ranger with a Kozy Traveler Kar Kamper on the back of it? This rare and unusual find is listed here on Hemmings in Manhattan, Kansas. The seller is asking $25,000!

I can’t imagine how this works, or I couldn’t before reading the description and seeing the photos. Apparently, the trunk lid comes off and that gives the Kozy Kar Kamper a bed to rest in, albeit one with very close proximity to the rear window. Attach it with some braces attached to the rain gutters, you’re off and running.

Add on some temporary mirrors, load up the kids and the accompanying electronic devices so they don’t have to be bothered by looking out the windows at the scenery, and off you go! The Edsel Ranger itself is in mint condition, according to the seller. That’s very high praise and it may force some folks to look hard for flaws and you may find a few small ones. But it’s always been garaged and it really does look great.

The interior looks nice but not perfect. I’m looking for flaws now which isn’t fair, this really does look like a very nice car and camper. They say that it’s 1 of 24 made and it’s the only one left. There are jacks on the camper to help stabilize it when at a camping spot and also for installing and removing the camper from the Edsel. And, in case you were wondering: yes, there is a toilet! A toilet in an Edsel!

The engine looks clean and tidy and this should be Ford’s 223 cubic-inch inline-six Econo-Six with 145 hp and 206 ft-lb of torque. Apparently, this was an optional engine as the 200-hp 292 cubic-inch V8 was the standard engine for the ’59 Ranger, according to Edsel.com. I’m not sure how a camper ended up on a car with a smaller, less powerful engine than the standard engine. In any case, this is one interesting car/camper combo. Have any of you seen an Edsel Ranger Kar Kamper before?

Comments

  1. HoA Howard A Member

    Now this has got to be the answer to the question nobody asked. I’ve seen a lot of campers, limited only by the owners imagination, but this truly looks “unsafe at any speed”. I’m surprised it hasn’t rolled on the 1st off ramp, if you could even take the interstate with the 6. It reminds me of those trucks in 3rd world countries that are grossly overloaded.Separately, I like the Edsel and I like the camper, but this is 2 worlds that should not have crossed paths.

    Like 51
    • Avatar Mountainwoodie

      Bullseye as always Howard A..What a crazy setup.

      Like 8
      • Avatar RJ

        The original Family Truckster perhaps?

        Like 3
    • Avatar mallthus

      Think that’s prone to tipping over…

      Like 22
      • Avatar Tracy Johnson

        It’s a SAAB so it’s a crusher piece from new!

        Like 7
      • Avatar leiniedude Member

        I will say mallthus, they really nailed the name for that camper.

        Like 8
      • Avatar Karl

        Wow 145 hp the move a 5k pound car and 1500 pounds of camper with 3000 pounds of wind resistance at speed. But then that may not be as bad as one thinks since I would bet the WIND DRAG governor doesn’t let the top speed go over 45 mph tops!

        Like 2
      • Avatar JMB#7

        Hey, I saw one of these in Austria near “Stubaier Gletscher” around 1988.
        I was really fascinated, having never seen anything of the sort in America.

        Like 0
    • Avatar moosie

      from the description in the hemmings ad the only attachment to the edsel besides gravity is 2 clamps that fasten to the roof rail much like a canoe carrier, maybe canoes weighed more when they brainstormed this fubar, that or maybe there are helium filled airbags in the ceiling of the slide-in

      Like 3
  2. Avatar Geebee

    Might make a good museum oddity, but no way should anything like this be put on the road.

    Like 17
  3. Avatar Al

    The Edsel weighed 3675 lbs, when built, so it’s kind of heavy.
    Add to this a camper weighing…. who knows.
    Apply a 6 in-line, and in my opinion disaster awaits.
    No wonder it looks to be in fairly good shape…… it never went anywhere.

    Like 47
    • Avatar Bruce Jackson

      Better still, because
      it never went anywhere is the reason why it is the only one out of 24 to survive…

      Like 18
      • Avatar moosie

        yup

        Like 1
  4. Avatar Erik Tisher

    Do they still have the trunk lid?

    Like 4
    • Avatar Neal

      I wondered that too!
      Hey, do you think it’s really any worse that a VW bus?

      Like 2
  5. Avatar Gus

    What the heck r you guys talking about,! I’ve seen a million pick-ups with these and their center of gravity is a lot higher than this low rider! I don’t remember any cowboys driving off the road after the rodeo unless they were loaded!

    Like 4
  6. Avatar CanuckCarGuy

    Beautiful car, but I’d source a trunk lid and remove the camper…although it’s a great looking camper, it needs a more appropriate way to get around.

    Like 10
  7. Avatar macvaugh

    My reading of the Hemmings advertisement suggests that this combination was mated by the seller, who purchased the car from the original purchaser and the camper from elsewhere and combined the two. That explains the small engine for a heavily laden car.

    Like 12
  8. Avatar Matt Toni

    I wonder if it’s legal to ride in the camper while driving? Maybe just the kids?

    Like 1
    • HoA Howard A Member

      I don’t know about kids, maybe you’re mother in law, if you don’t like her. ( not me, I loved my late mother in law) I’d bet it is legal, like a pickup camper, it’s a unit, not towed. I wouldn’t chance it. A good stiff head wind looks like it would yank this thing right off of the car. Edsel rain gutters weren’t steel I beams.

      Like 7
  9. Avatar alan r leonard Member

    mine has 18,676 origional miles…but NO WAY would I put a camper on this beauty!!

    Like 11
    • Avatar r s

      That’s practically a new car! Beautiful.

      Like 5
      • Avatar alan r leonard Member

        Thanks..stored 38 years..it is in like new condition!!

        Like 3
  10. Avatar Superdessucke

    I don’t think this would pass NHTSA safety regulations today.

    Like 5
  11. Avatar ReTired

    “Handling” issues aside, lemme get this straight – You stand on the floor of the trunk to use the sink and microwave, and you step on a window to climb into the bed?

    Like 3
    • Avatar Johnmloghry

      I had a 59 Edsel Ranger 4 door with small v8. But never one with a camper on it. That’s just weird. I wouldn’t feel safe with it tied to the rain gutters. I once lived in Washington state it is illegal for passengers to ride in campers mounted on vehicles( such as pickup campers etc.).
      God bless America

      Like 3
  12. Avatar ACZ

    All depends on the rear gear ratio. Sixes characteristically are not overpowering but can be sufficient. Seems like a waste, though, because it upsets the appearance of an otherwise good looking automobile.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Del

      Just when you thought an Edsel could not be a worse flop you see this.

      Alas, it cannot be UNSEEN

      Like 4
      • Avatar Bob

        Please someone pass the memory eraser !! This must have been posted in April for an April Fools day prank. I can only hope this was one of the best Photo shopped jobs anyone has seen as it would be a certain disaster. That 6 cylinder would have been really straining. Even Clark Griswald would NOT drive this one. Cousin Eddie—he might like this as a retirement vehicle for him and Catherine.

        Like 1
  13. Avatar Kenneth Carney

    Hi Mike! Showed this to Sis and got a heart-felt “No-ahhhh!” for my efforts. She’s quite happy with her ’08 Nissan Santra for 2-hour commute to and from her
    job every day. I showed her this with the idea of here having a place to take her
    Lunch break. Seems the company she works for is too cheap to provide and area for their employees to eat their lunches on site. But seriously, this concept may have looked good on paper, but from a safety standpoint, it really stinks. Best thing to do would be to mount the camper on a 2-wheel utility trailer frame and pull it behind the car the way God and nature intended. Dad and I built one of these when I was 14 or15 years old with very good results. The recess area at the front of the camper was filled with a 1500-watt Koehler generator we got from the local Winnebago dealer while the LP tanks rode in their normal spot at the rear of the camper. Worked so well that we built and sold them for a short time before I started playing music over the road. Made enough cash for us to buy a much larger home along the way. Definately an oddball that’s for sure!

    Like 2
    • Avatar leiniedude Member

      Lol! Nice try with your sister Ken! Speaking of lunch breaks, maybe turn this into a permanetly parked roach coach and keep it by her company! Take care Bud, heading to the cemetery, Mothers Day.

      Like 3
  14. Avatar TimM

    All I can say is freaking awesome!!!!

    Like 4
    • Avatar Johnmloghry

      That’s the strangest air cleaner setup I ever saw. Must be some aftermarket setup, because I remember oil bath filters on Edsel at that time.
      God bless America

      Like 1
      • Avatar George

        Did a brief Google search of images and found that aircleaner setup on several ’59s along with a more traditional one. None of the engine pictures had oil bath filters.

        Like 0
  15. Avatar r s

    Get that junk off the car and make it back into what it was supposed to be.
    Nothing fancy, but still not a freak show.

    Like 1
  16. Avatar DayDreamBeliever

    How does the water runoff get out of the trunk? Are there recommended locations to drill drain holes?

    Pickup bed mounted campers make sense. This does not.

    Like 3
  17. Avatar John

    Is that the original microwave in the camper? If it isn’t, no sale…

    Like 3
  18. Avatar Neal

    This thing is cool. Needs to be turned into a food truck. Sell waffles out the back door.
    Haven’t read the hemmings ad, but I wonder if it comes with he trunk or if a replacement is hard to find?
    Nice rig and a real attention-getter for slowly cruising around town.

    Like 1
  19. Avatar George

    I would rather see period extension mirrors on the car. The type that strapped to the fenders, rather than the doors, would be my choice.

    Like 0
  20. Avatar bigdoc

    I’ll take the Edsel but you can keep the camper

    Like 0
  21. Avatar Chebby Member

    Come on guys, it’s a Manhattan apartment for only $25,000.

    Like 1

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