When does a truck/camper combo hit the jackpot? When it’s a pristine 1968 Chevy C20 CST Golden Anniversary Edition, in the custody of its original owner for five decades, paired with an elusively rare Del Rey Sky Lounge tri-level camper – color-matched, of course. This rig is available here on eBay, with a buy-it-now price of $68,000 or best offer; two years ago, almost to the day, this combo changed hands for $60,000 on another venue. Whether today’s sale is an attempt to capture a profit or simply a mismatch of expectations, we don’t know. But the new owner can roll it home this summer from Scottsdale, Arizona. Thanks to T.J. for this exceptional tip!
I’m not sure which part of this story is better than the rest – the ownership story, the condition, or the rare camper. This engine bay, where Chevy’s 396 cu. in. V8 big block resides, is about as nice as any ’68 anything I’ve ever seen, including on the show field. Ok, it’s not concours, but gee. Assisting the overall impression is the fact that the entire truck was repainted in its original colors in 1991. Still, that’s over three decades ago. Clean up the transmission cooler and the radiator shroud, and this rig would take trophies. Speaking of the transmission, it’s Chevy’s Turbo Hydra-Matic three-speed auto. Dual fuel tanks were fitted in 1970, though one is currently disconnected. Of course, the truck is fitted with heavy-duty springs and a front stabilizer bar to ease the ride under load. The carburetor was rebuilt; a new aluminum radiator was installed; and the power steering unit and alternator were upgraded.
The Del Rey Sky Lounge is a rare, tri-level camper that adopted the “panoramic view” design feature found on buses and passenger trains of the day. The camper was mated to the truck in 2023, and its condition matches the truck exquisitely. This photo shows the forward berth, where cushions allow for lounging in front of the big side-to-side windows. Back in the day, the Del Rey Sky Lounge was touted as a large family camper, capable of keeping the kids occupied while parents drove, but safety regulations later prohibited riding in the camper while underway. Another level contains a bunk; and on the ground floor we have a vintage-look kitchen and wet bath. The shower lines are new, as is the grey water tank. The cupboards and other trim are hardwood.
The cabin is in near-perfect condition, displaying the collection of vintage maps that conveys with the sale. Beneath those, on the glove box lid, is the SPID label, detailing its options. The air conditioning unit has been upgraded and blows ice cold everywhere.
Ok, it does look top heavy. Estimates of the camper’s unloaded weight range from 2000 to 3000 lbs; you can add another half-ton for water, propane, cooking paraphernalia, etc. Forums indicate that running a one-ton truck under this tri-level is probably a good idea. As nice as the 3/4 ton Chev is, I might be tempted to switch it out for a beefier option. What do you think of this vintage combination?
Drive it only on windless days??? Too dangerous to drive otherwise says I….
Actually, not unsafe to drive. My parents had this exact same rig. In the summer of 76 we drove it from north-eastern Ohio to San Diego California and back. Ran out of gas one time between Phoenix and SD. Rescued by highway patrol
And lived to tell the tale….
I have to say. This is one amazing Time Capsule. Where do they store this thing??? You’d practically need a barn, with a very high clearance. Its just beautiful. And the inside too, very, very nicely done, the wood, the vintage Dometic appliances. Its just great. It would be a sure show stopper anywhere you take it. I agree with Michelle, you need a beefy truck for this camper, but truth be told, this trucks sitting very well with all that weight, it’s not squatting badly at all. And a 396???? Perfect!!! “Wanna drag for pink slips??? Hang on, just give me 15 minutes to get this camper off….. I’ll be right back 😆 🤣 😂)
Looking at the build data sticker in the glove box that Michelle mentioned, there quite a few upgraded springs in this truck from the factory.
” Are we there yet?”
“It would be a sure show stopper anywhere you take it.”
For people who don’t camp in an RV regularly, and think that the “car show” culture and mentality applies to camper rigs, it doesn’t. Outside of a small group of people out west who host a few vintage camper shows a year, there is no “vintage camper scene”. At all.
As for typical public campgrounds in 2026, you get your slot and you are essentially isolated from the rest of the campground people. Privacy and space are why people are there. Nobody is cruising the grounds, looking at other people’s vintage rigs.
Sure, you’d get some curious passers by who might stop and comment as they walk by your camp, but otherwise, nobody else cares what you camp in. It’s your business.
As well, modern camper owners are all fairly well-aware of the compromises and challenges that you have to accept if you want to camp in a vintage rig. Few people are willing to do that. If they were, you’d see a lot more vintage rigs at campgrounds. Mostly what you see are modern rigs.
To keep out the riff raff driving beat up junk as their permanent, low cost housing (seriously, it’s an issue), there are now “ten year old” rules at a lot of commercial campgrounds. They will make exceptions for something as nice as this, but you have to submit photos and beg for an exemption.
In the end, owning and using a rig like this is a personal choice that hopefully pays it’s dividends in nostalgia, because by and large, the modern camping culture gives this stuff a brief glance and moves on, largely uninterested in camping in this context and well aware of the compromises.
Wasn’t this recently featured here?
It sold on Bringatrailer a few years ago and was listed there again 2 weeks ago.
What needs to be stickered on the dash is the overall height for bridge clearance.
Eggs-ackly! The first thing that came to mind upon viewing the photo. I remember the time I moved my sister to a new place with a rented U-Haul box truck. The old PA RR main line bridge underpasses were quite low. I chewed a lot of gum to “patch” a corner hole so daylight was avoided from inside.
Me and my brother both survived Riding over the cab from Ky to Fla.in Grandpa’s 68 Chevy C/10 with Dads slide in Dreamer camper,circa.1971.ps there and back 🥃
My Dad had a Chevrolet truck of that vintage. Glad they moved the gas tank out of the cab on the redesign.
10 miles per gallon. Ask me how I know…….
It may be the motivation for the sale. It’s a damn nice truck and camper,
just be prepared.
I’d like just to have the camper and put it on my 69 F-250 Camper Special, but I would have to paint it the same color, Chrome Yellow.
First thing I thought of is the height and clearing under bridges. Too bad the seller doesn’t mention the height in his prodigious notes.
This is a stellar looker! It all seems to blend together just right. The interior is as the author says, perfect. Seems to be equipped well enough to haul this thing without too much strain, although might be better with a 1-ton as Michelle said. But where you gonna find one of those like this one? Nowhere! Too bad it doesn’t have a dash tach.
Also, I’d be concerned about crosswinds with something this tall. The other night 80 mph winds blew over a train in Hoffman, Mn. So I wouldn’t be taking this thing through the Columbia Gorge until things calm down a bit.
GLWTS!
Hi Jon! Long time no see! I can
remember seeing a lot of these
truck campers as a teenager in the late ’60s/early ’70s. And they
seemed to be everywhere. Even
we had one at some point. Ours
was nothing like this and was mounted on a 67 Ford Ranger 3/4
ton camper special running a 428
V8 and C-6 auto tranny. And as many of you have said, these things looked impressive but were a real handful to drive. Maybe one or two trips, and Dad
had enough and decided to go the pull behind route instead until
he and Mom decided to get one of those new fangled motor homes. Even while touring, I saw
a lot of these hulking truck campers as we roared down the
Interstate in our tour bus– which was nothing more than a converted Crown flat nose school
bus pulling an instrument trailer.
I seem to recall seeing them with
the spare tire hung over the grille
of the truck! Best way I know to
overheat the engine. But people
did it and paid dearly for it. Just
waiting to read what Howard will
have to say when he sees this beast.
Hello, Ken! I actually thought about you when I saw this hulking beauty & wondered if you toured with your band(s). I can see you sitting in it with Waylon or Willy or both strumming away!
You know who else hasn’t chimed in for awhile? Bill W.
Holy Toledo, Batman! What a sweet looking truck.
Well, if it was the authors intent to upstage MY 2 story motorhome, nice try. It’s amazing, to me, just how far camper makers would go, and I’d have to think this was the extreme. Looks a bit like Homer Simpsons car. Focus was on making it as comfortable as possible, with actual safety wasn’t their concern. I’m sure there was plenty of remorse here. I read, these weren’t cheap. Almost $2500 new, or 3 times a small pull behind, and that doesn’t include the pickup. Dual rear wheels would certainly help matters. I do think it’s a nice camper,,,once/if you get there, that is.
Needs Dual rear wheels.
Thought the same thing. All that top heavy weight on a single rear wheel C20…no way.
back then you could buy a dual rear wheel kit complete with fenders,a good place for that aftermarket acc
“New for ’68, the exciting Chevrolet Turducken!”
I would want a big Cummins turbo diesel under the hood, given that water, camping gear, food, and an aux generator would much more weight…is that a heli-pad on the roof?
I’ve got the Cummins dually 4×4 4 door with 8 foot bed. I’m hauling a Lance 1161 that weighs 4000 # and towing a 22ft Larson boat on a tandem axle trailer. Even on the interstate at 65-70 mph with a semi passing by the truck/camper and boat hold steady. I wouldn’t thing of not having a dually
The height is a huge minus. Not just for bridges, but for all kinds of situations. You can’t just start pushing trees out of the way at a campground with that camper, like is done with modern round-face examples.
That top ledge is just asking to be peeled back by a branch, and that might happen as you are going down a narrow two lane to get to your fishing hole.
Second, as cute as old campers might be, modern campers offer so much more in terms of livability, convenience, weight savings, and more. Add in the matching vintage truck accommodations that you’d have to make (virtually no driving safety features like link change lane alerts, etc.) and you’ve got yourself a real “vintage camping experience” going. Whoopee!
Which is exactly why RVs and the vehicles that haul them around have evolved. Beyond a couple of people at a campground commenting on how cute this is, the users of this have to make a huge list of accommodations in order haul this around, and then use it, then maintain it.
Sure, someone, somewhere might want this at $60k, but that is HUGE stretch of logic. I see this whole rig being worth $15k. At that price, you maybe find a willing buyer, and maybe that is someone who has never camped.
As I have said here before. Go to a campground, or even a festival, and see how many people are willing to “go vintage” in 2026. It’s less than 1%. Vintage-gear camping is not “a tend that is catching on”, folks. It is very impractical.
Camping and “car showing” are two very different things. Vintage works at car shows. That’s what it’s about. Camping is all about practical camping for 99% of campers. Jonesing over other people’s campers is for newbies.
Camping in 2026 is not about accommodating your rig’s shortcomings, so that you can show it off to a bunch of people who really don’t care.
EBay seller with zero feedback asking that kind of money. What could go wrong?
Actually, without a tape measure, figure a little over 6′ for the truck roof and it looks like about 4’+ for the camper. That means 11′ or under. Plenty of clearance.
bridge clearance is 14.5 ft unless posted
This is a great LOOKING truck and camper combo.. BUT I would not want to drive it very far or very fast!!! Especially in the wind.. As Michelle said that much camper need a 1 ton with dual wheels chassis under it. Also it needs a slide out back bumper to both protect it and use as a step to get into it..
Very nice restoration but I see two issues right away. Why doesn’t the trim on the bed line up with the cab ? And it’s missing the rear bumper that has a step incorporated in it
These are ok, so long as owners don’t park the camper on milk crates in their driveway, or front yard. Some of these ruined a nice neighborhood in Agoura Hills, CA. An unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. No one to chase them out.
They must be Purple Haired Liberals
Here in eastern TN you could rent it for $2,500 a month ! It would pay for itself in a couple years .
This thing is so cool it gives me chills. I’m not into glamping, but if I was I’d buy this rig in a heartbeat. Sure it would be more practical with a big dually diesel. But the period vibe and colors are what makes it all work. If you’ve ever been in a modern RV and seen the kind of garbage materials and workmanship they are built with, this really makes it clear how far the industry has fallen. For me, the birch cabinetry and period turquoise appliances are the icing on the cake. Oozing sixties retro cool!
“garbage materials and workmanship”
We must be looking at different RVs. The very bottom baseline models do use some cheesy materials, but otherwise, when you get into Airstream, Brinkley, Keystone, Cougar, Lance, and others, there’s no cheap crap in sight.
And the industry is bigger than ever.
With all due respect, I’ve had quite a different experience with modern RVs. Look up the “Liz Amazing” channel on You Tube. She’s can be a little annoying, but ignore that and you’ll see one horror story after another about how some of the top brands in the industry crank out poorly built rigs with horrendous quality problems. And I’m not talking about the low end of the market.
There are certainly still very well built RVs, especially from the likes of the brands you’ve named and many of the smaller boutique manufacturers. But ever since THOR and Forrest River bought up the majority of the independent brands, quality has gone out the window in the name of profits.
Yeah, a very wealthy friend of mine ordered one from a huge dealer in SLC I’m pretty sure it is a cougar. Well she ordered the winter package which the bottom should be all sealed. It most certainly wasn’t ! I parked it on a new concrete slab for her and I think within a week I was setting multiple mouse traps all over the outside and inside. That tells me it isn’t sealed ! Since I do help a friend with his animal removal business. 2nd, the first night it got down to 30°F her water lines were frozen ! Either they didn’t do the complete package or they did a crap job. It did have the tank warmers, which I reality should not have been able to see
Leslie and Mtborst, I’ll readily concede that the modern RV industry has it’s workmanship issues. It’s well-documented on RV forums. I am not arguing that point. Somehow, everyone plods through all of that.
Individuals will always exist who will want something like this, but probably not anywhere close to this price, though! Those individuals are few and far between, from what I see regularly at campgrounds and festivals.
There is no groundswell of support bubbling up for vintage camping gear. I’d say its quite the opposite. You don’t see much of it out there anymore. It is cute and quaint and nice to observe, but it comes down to the user and what they have to compromise in order to use it. Most people choose modern rigs these days.
Look at RV trader. Until you get to below $20k, almost all of the listings before 1990 model year are either a few classic style (i.e. bus) motor coaches, or part of the long list of old Airstreams for sale, which are an outlier here due to the support among the owners clubs. Honestly, I can barely tell a new one from an old one, so whatever. From what I’ve been told, they all leak sooner or later.
I get that these Shasta-type campers have an appeal, mostly to buyers who can deal with the challenges and want the nostalgia, but that’s not at all where the camper market is at.
been for sale for a while. it just on B A T a few months ago. i think this seller may have paid a lot more than what it is for sale for now. very cool but still a lot of money.
This is close to what my parents had when I was young. Dad ordered our ’72 C20 Cheyenne with coil suspension and stabilizer bars to carry the over the cab camper. The 402 -Hydramatic never struggled in the least and word was that the heavier it was the better it drove. Legend had it that with the camper mounted with a boat attached and a canoe on top, at 100 mph it could drain the tank in 80 miles coming down from the Straits.
You got to remember they only had oh, 18 gallon tanks. If I remember right. Behind the seat !
Was something like 15 gallons to go 80 miles. Oh, and I drove it for years after that. It really liked fuel.
A slide-in camper with a flybridge! Pretty cool time capsule.
My dad’s cousin shown up in Michigan from California. With a camper something huge like this of course why not ? They had 4 kids !
Estabilidade, não é o forte deste modelo.
What he said……
6/14/26 7:15PM-$68,000.
😳
I think if they would’ve left the Sky Lounge in Delray and put duallys on it would be perfect. That top looks like it belongs on a boat, not a truck.
Can someone explain in the listing title: “250th Anniversary Gold Edition”.
Just whose 250th Anniversary is it? Certainly not the Chevy or the camper.
Geez, what did I miss. Header says golden anniversary. Fifty years, 1918 to 1968. Seemed simple enough.
Click on the Ebay auction link. Right on the title of the auction: “250th”
Ha. I see. Likely a typo. Lazy on my part. That’s why my comments read like I just look at the pictures.
Nice looking rig but I agree it might be a handful in cross winds. and its probably not the best for wilderness use. The truck looks to be set up from the factory in the best way for camper use. The instant-flow water heater is a nice touch, you’d have unlimited hot water in a campground with hookups. Wondering what’s up with the sloping ceiling in the overhead area, though.