Having almost grown up in the back of a pickup camper, I love to see these nice vintage units still out there. This 1975 Chevrolet C30 and Camper is one sweet looking retro rig. It’s listed on eBay with four days left on the auction and it’s located in Eldridge, Iowa. The current bid price is $4,550 but the reserve isn’t met.
This isn’t an official “highboy” but oh boy is this one high camper. I’m assuming that the camper stripes have been painted to match the truck, says Captain Obvious. The seller says that “Truck and camper were purchased new together.” The truck is a C30 one-ton with dual wheels which are really the way to go for hauling such a heavy camper on the back and the seller mentions “some minor rust on the drivers side (top of arch on front fender, Rocker, and under the Dually fender, all passenger side.)”
I’m assuming that the hollow bumper-behind-the-real-bumper is for carrying the tank hose for emptying the.. um.. er.. used water. That is if there’s a little bathroom in that compartment behind the RR wheel which is looks like it could be, although there is no mention of one in the description. I don’t see a roof AC unit so be prepared for a lot of early-spring and fall camping otherwise it’ll be like a hot box back there.
The interior looks great with new carpet and a nice seat cover. The dash has a crack in it and the AC isn’t currently working due to a locked-up compressor. This is one of the times when you probably don’t want a manual transmission, or at least when I wouldn’t want one.
The camper brings back a lot of memories for me with those old finishes and colors. Our Winnebago had more of a harvest-gold color to the appliances if I remember right but it’s hard to beat green when your truck is green. It’ll probably need some updating back there and they do mention that the ceiling paper needs help. I remember ours being cracked in places from the camper racking and the ceiling paper splitting.
The seller says that this 454 cubic-inch V8 has an “Edelbrock carb and intake, Long tube headers, Comp cam and valve springs”, all fluids have been flushed and filled, it has a “New Gas Tank, Fuel Pump, and Sending unit” and much more. It sounds like it’s been sorted out and once the AC is fixed the next owner will have the coolest pickup camper combo at the campground.
That shot of the front seat put me right back in my grandfather’s truck, in 1985.
Likely 6 mpg, and worth every bit of it. I don’t see a toilet either Scotty, but a porta potty usually fits in a lower cabinet. I also don’t quite understand the back bumper, but would love some fun trips in this Camper. What a fun time.
Hope he doesn’t expect a zillion dollars for it. His audience is a bit limited
I think the back bumper is positioned so that it isn’t such a long step going in and out of the camper ?
Terlet (as Archie Bunker would say) appears to be in the LR. I see an access door. Shame they didn’t provide a photo. I can’t imagine using this as a DD in 100 + heat. Nice camper ..6-8 MPG, perhaps?
The truck on its own is amazing, with the camper being the proverbial cherry on top! The colour match and vintage vibe is great, and the green seals the deal for my eyes…and with the 454, priceless.
Great find Scotty; LOL on your harvest-gold reference..that was our kitchen growing up. Dad even had a body shop paint the dishwasher to match, when they couldn’t find one in harvest-gold! True dedication to the 1970’s!
I had a neighbor with the truck only growing up. It was called the “Camper Special”. Dually with the 454. Had a logo on the front fenders. Cannot see in these pictures, but I am sure that is what it says right next to the C10 logo.
This is a C30 pick up.
In the engine photo we can see the tires, the inner sheet metal is missing. I would not plan on driving through any deep puddles.
That’s a nice rig, but boy, that’s a heavy load right there. I hope the wrong person don’t win it, drive it and flip it from being top heavy
Yarrr, matey, I likes it too. This is like my GMC shortbox on steroids.( like the Chevy above in “Related Finds”) This is how one of these should be equipped. While the duals provide the added stability, be careful with that gas pedal, it looks like it could pull a wheelie, as is. At least it’s a BB, and won’t struggle near as much as the 350, and might even get better mileage. Besides, poor mileage is the trade off for not having to deal with airports, rental cars, and general modern mayhem. This a great find, for sure.
Why are the front inner fenders missing? That will make a mess of the engine compartment in short order. Also, the rear A/C compressor bracket is missing.
I do like the color and the overall look of this beast.
If I had to guess I’d bet that the upgraded motor with the headers made the engine compartment too hot and they were removed to allow lower under-hood temps — but that’s just a guess.
On Jul-07-18 at 12:27:44 PDT, seller added the following information:
The inner fenders were removed by me when I bought the truck to do a 5/7 drop, then decided not to. I do still have them and will be sent with the truck when sold.
What a way to start my day. The truck jumps this gear heads heart. The warmed over 454 with the enhanced breathing, gets my blood pumping. Those 454 were always strangled from the factory , left to only sip the glorious air. When you make the mods this guy has, they really come to life. These big boys were ment to guzzle the preacious ○ 2. I bet the exsaust note is sublime. The best news is the camper comes off without much effort. And that dually pick up is a blvd monster, that will give any hemi a run for their money. The entire rig is impressive. I hope who ever gets it cares for it as well as the original owner obviously has.
We sold a pile of 1-ton duallies 40+ years ago. The vast majority of them were equipped like this one. By 1975 it seemed that GM had the fuel system dialled in fairly well; they weren’t nearly as hard on gas as the ’73-’74 models. But someone decided to change that around on this one. Personally, what this engine left the factory with is all you need to haul that camper around, or a sizeable trailer. The factory duals or maybe run a quarter inch larger in diameter is all the exhaust system you would ever need; I would never run headers because they just superheat the engine bay. As far as intake is concerned, the stock manifold and Quadrajet is capable of drowning that engine; you just need to dial it in. I’m curious as to what happened to the inner fenders. Did the guy simply turf them when the headers were installed? Overall, I like the truck but I would likely undo most of what was done to the engine. Definitely get the A-C working. The rust would be fixed somewhere down the line…
Wow! This love shack is sweet! I do agree with Dean as far as using this as a DD in 100 + heat unless you are already on your vacation. Strange, with all the work done the compressor was not replaced. Curios as to what the reserve might be. Nice one Scotty!
I’ve been shopping for something like this but rust showing up where described means winter salt damage, probably rusty underside means trouble. I don’t believe for a second that seller has no idea if appliances work, could easily be expensive to update camper. To many questionable areas despite being all dolled up.
Powder coats the wheels and leaves that nasty back bumper alone.
I would say that square tube on the back is a dropdown/extension to make the bumper work for that camper.
One could live paycheck to paycheck filling the gas ⛽️ tank👍
I like it and the color too😎
Anyone wonder if the units been used much as it looks clean but dusty with the wood faded.
Oh man! This really threw me back! My parents had a camper almost just like this one and we had great trips in it BUT I confess that it was just like a guest house/cabin in our back yard that I had several really great “exploratory” play times that bring back some good memories, awkward as they may be. I was too young to be doing anything really bad, but just the overwhelming curiosity of a couple of otherwise innocent kids… and I never understood why it was called post office, but it’s okay by me. :)
My oldest brother still has one of these as a daily driver, the GMC version, ’79, brown/tan, with the 350 engine, complete with an even older Vanguard slide in camper that he also still uses.
My oldest brother had a 71 GMC 3/4 Ton with camper. It had jacks attached to the camper for easy removal. He worked in union construction ( Seattle Carpenters union) and drove that truck all over Washington state living in the camper. His truck started out with a 307 but it didn’t take long before he put a 396 in it. When he was home he removed the camper, and thing would fly. He knew 2 speeds, stopped or floored.
If the seller bought the proper headers for this application, there would be no need to remove the inner fenders. Ceramic coated headers put out no more heat than the stock exhaust manifolds. Properly sized headers are the first thing that I add to my hobby cars. I save all the stock parts for when I sell the vehicle. Best bang for the buck that you are going to get!
Won’t fit in the parking garage
Love the truck not a fan of the green
Standard cab dually. The “shorty” of duallys, probably the one to have 20 years from now when these go for a lot. Buy the nicest one you can today, and pay for all that gas when you sell it for more later.
Riding up top on the cabover mattress was always a lot of fun as a kid, looking out ahead as the rig careened down the road. Can you imagine how we would have been launched in an “incident”?
Ah, that’s a great memory! You just reminded me of doing the very same thing. I remember being up top and watching the scenery and the hood of the truck as we travelled in the mountains of Tennessee, among others! Thanks for jogging my memory on that!!!
The hallow bumper could be for fishing rods. Nice rig but no inner fenders scares me..
Inner fenders were removed when I bought the truck to do a 5/7 drop. Decided not to and have not put them back on. They will go with the truck when sold
I had an ’85 Chevy K-30 Camper Special with a matching camper, that I bought at an estate sale, for only $ 2,000.00 with a 305-2, automatic! I’m 75 and drive slower than when I was younger. No rush as we are retired. My wife and I avoid interstate highways and enjoy the country side sights and scenes. We visit old friends, relatives and immediate family, four daughters and grand kids plus tourist “attractions” and non-chain restaurants! It’s amazing how many excellant condition, dual lane, non-access restricted interstate like highways with 60 to 65 mph speed limits all over the south! I drive maximum 55 for safety and the 12 to 15 mpg’s. I also avoided any mountanous and hilly routes. You “must” watch the lower speed limits in the small towns and wide spots in the road because one ticket can ruin a great trip in seconds. I have always tried to respect the speed limits when traveling as I lived in a gated community with very restrictive limits. I travelled, driving a lot, as a salesman and developed excellent driving habits during those 42 years avoiding accidents and tickets! No passing of course!!!!
Pretty sure I saw this truck on eBay not that long ago in ratty condition, if so the seller has done a nice job of making it presentable. It’s super cool for sure.