old camper at a site i drove by

Mr.Mark wrote:

jerseyjim wrote:
FireUP; Back then, autos could be had with BIG motors...and of course they (the cars were HUGE with "real" steel chassis.... compared to todays' almost fragile bathtub clones.

Check out that old movie: "The Long, Long Trailer" with Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnez. Same generation trailer, I think...all being pulled with a Mercury sedan (or was it a convertible?)

The Mercury in the movie was a 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible. A Lincoln Capri was used for mountain scenes as described below.

I remember that the trailer hitch mechanism had a tire on it as to take some of the weight off of the car.

From Wikipedia:
"The trailer used in the film is the 1953 36-foot Redman "New Moon" model, which sold for $5,345 (equal to $47,846 today) at the time. The new car used to tow the trailer is a 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible with a 125 HP flathead V8 engine.

Opening scenes were shot on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stage 12, the same location at which Arnaz played his first film scene in Bataan, eleven years before.[4]

The dangerous mountain highway featured is Whitney Portal Road, which leads up to Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The hairpin turn offers scenic views of the Owens Valley. During the scenes of Nicky and Tacy pulling their trailer in the mountains, their 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible is replaced with a larger but similar appearing 1953 Lincoln Capri convertible. The distinct Lincoln grille is clearly evident in a shot as the car rounds a curve. The more powerful Lincoln (which is equipped with a 205 HP V8 engine) was needed to pull the heavy New Moon trailer up and over the steep grades of the Sierra Nevada where the scenes were filmed. Other scenes were shot on the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway (State Route 74) in Palm Desert, California.[5]"

MM.

MM and Jerseyjim,
We have that movie. At the time I responded to this thread, I was only thinking of say, a '53 (estimated time frame for that trailer and possibly the movie) chevy. And, like stated, I know of the 216 straight six in those. I'm thinking the earliest V-8 for Chevy was the 265 in or around '55-'56. I'm not familiar with any of the Lincolns or Mercs back then. Thanks a heap for the info and, the stats on the movie.

Oh, by the way, the wife and I have both been up that Whitney Portal road. It is one seriously winding, steep road.
Scott

femailyetti wrote:
I didn't see any holding tanks on it come to think of it. I have no contact that I can find. It sits on a corner of orange ave, just south of Michigan ave. in Orlando FL

If you want give this guy a call and send him pics and location. He is the be all end all restorer of old RV's and if you need a part to restore an RV he's the guy. He'd know if anyone was looking for parts from the trailer you saw.

He is the one I called that came out and saved the TT destined for scrap.

airstreamguy.com
You can contact me at 785.366.6049
or email mark@airstreamguy.com

It was called a " Slimp"

Its cool that in reverse it would lower the whole tongue

1950's tow dolly

I guess you guys haven't been around long enough..

They used tow dollys back then for the large trailers..

Look at long long trailer here on mountain scene. At end 8 min 9 sec mark..

https://vimeo.com/77392290

Thank you Rockhill for doing that. You made my day!

Boy oh boy ... notice the length between those tandem wheels and the hitch. The tongue weight must have been terrific. I can't imagine even a good old Cadillac or Buick being able to deal with it well.

P.S. We've seen "The Long, Long Trailer" several times, and I'm not sure that the sedan hauling around the trailer in the movie was stock. Perhaps the trailer being pulled was merely a prop mockup of a trailer.

I didn't see any holding tanks on it come to think of it. I have no contact that I can find. It sits on a corner of orange ave, just south of Michigan ave. in Orlando FL

mowermech wrote:
Chances are, that is not a "camper" or "Recreational Vehicle", that is a "trailer house".
Some may ask "What's the difference?". That is a good question.
A "trailer house" does not have holding tanks. It does not have a fresh water tank or pump. It does not have a battery. It does not have a 12VDC system, except for the DOT exterior lights. It was built to be towed to a site in a trailer park, and lived in.
In other words, they were the ancestors of the single-wide "mobile homes" that are built today.
My family lived in one in the early 1950s. It was smaller than the one shown, but similar.

Exactly what I was thinking.

jerseyjim wrote:
FireUP; Back then, autos could be had with BIG motors...and of course they (the cars were HUGE with "real" steel chassis.... compared to todays' almost fragile bathtub clones.

Check out that old movie: "The Long, Long Trailer" with Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnez. Same generation trailer, I think...all being pulled with a Mercury sedan (or was it a convertible?)

The Mercury in the movie was a 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible. A Lincoln Capri was used for mountain scenes as described below.

I remember that the trailer hitch mechanism had a tire on it as to take some of the weight off of the car.

From Wikipedia:
"The trailer used in the film is the 1953 36-foot Redman "New Moon" model, which sold for $5,345 (equal to $47,846 today) at the time. The new car used to tow the trailer is a 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible with a 125 HP flathead V8 engine.

Opening scenes were shot on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stage 12, the same location at which Arnaz played his first film scene in Bataan, eleven years before.[4]

The dangerous mountain highway featured is Whitney Portal Road, which leads up to Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The hairpin turn offers scenic views of the Owens Valley. During the scenes of Nicky and Tacy pulling their trailer in the mountains, their 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible is replaced with a larger but similar appearing 1953 Lincoln Capri convertible. The distinct Lincoln grille is clearly evident in a shot as the car rounds a curve. The more powerful Lincoln (which is equipped with a 205 HP V8 engine) was needed to pull the heavy New Moon trailer up and over the steep grades of the Sierra Nevada where the scenes were filmed. Other scenes were shot on the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway (State Route 74) in Palm Desert, California.[5]"

MM.