Travel Trailers

The term “travel trailer” loosely describes any and all trailers used as a home away from home. The fact that they are trailers means that they are towed, rather than self-propelled. Beyond that, the class is wide open. There are luxurious travel trailers; there are travel trailers that scream out their owner’s impoverished status. Somewhere in between you have seen hundreds on the Interstate.

For years, the most distinctive travel trailer was the Airstream. The Airstream was a child of the post World War II era. The supposedly aerodynamic hull was made of stainless steel and brought forth images of flight in the minds of the beholder. Travel trailers are not to be confused with motorhomes which are self propelled vehicles. Travel trailers get brought along and left where the family or individual that brought it wants to make their temporary domicile. The motor vehicle that it was being dragged by is then released of its obligation until the time for the return trip. This allows people to have a vacation with a subset of home and what is intended to be little overhead on a year to year basis.

Taking a travel trailer to a favorite fishing location allows you to set up home near the pond, stream or lake, and then drive to the nearest town to buy bait, tackle or (in the worst case) a fish dinner.

A travel trailer can be towed along on a trailer hitch or can be connected to the towing vehicle with a device called a fifth wheel. This is a large disc that resides in the rear portion of the tow vehicle. In the case of a pickup truck, the fifth wheel is usually installed in the pickup bed. This installation is no mean task, as the entire connection between the tower and the trailer is dependant on the strength and stability of the fifth wheel. Most trucks that are used to tow fifth wheel trailers have the fifth wheel permanently installed, and never removed. The device doesn’t take up all the space of the bed, but severely limits other uses of the bed.

Among those travel trailers that are towed by a common trailer hitch there is great diversity. Henry Ford himself, had a travel trailer made of wood which he often dragged behind his personal Model T for picnics and camping trips with his friend Henry Firestone, (of tire fame). We have come a long way from those days to the modern distinctive designs for hauling your favorite household goods to your secret fishing spot, but the travel trailer remains identifiable to this day with all its heritage.