Retro Campers For Sale That Are Actually New
Since the birth of RVing, a lot has changed and this form of holiday offers today through the large variety of models more and more opportunities for mobile vacations. But a variety of RV enthusiasts have succumbed to the charm of old models and RV manufacturers decided to satisfy this customer segment and dedicate to produce retro campers.
Hardcore RV enthusiasts recognize the soft lines, large windows, and stylish interiors are requirements that are difficult to find in modern RVs and many of them are switching to old retro campers.
However, there is a serious caveat found by these enthusiasts when they dedicate to the preservation and restoration of old and vintage campers: that despite your best effort to restore these retro campers, well, they are still retro campers: heavy materials that difficult towing, presence of asbestos, and more difficult to handle in the road.
Current retro campers merge the vintage designs we love with modern attributes and features: new interiors, durable and lighter raw materials used in the construction, easier to drive thanks to their improved structural stability and easier to tow due to their low weight.
Retro Travel Trailers: The Retro Tourer
The idea for these Retro Tourer RVs belongs to a couple: Marion and Buzz Burrell. They were always living in campers.
The two have always been traveling with VWs – ranging from a 1954 VW split-screen camper to a Beetle to a modern T5. Eventually, however, there were four children and the Burrell family needed a larger vehicle.
When Buzz started to build the first retro motorhome, the two had the idea to turn it into a business. Inspired by the design of classic American RVs, Buzz built an RV with four beds for the family and one to use for exhibitions and shows. He decided to use the long chassis of a Volkswagen T5 for it.
Each of these retro campers is individually manufactured make-to-order. Buzz and Marion discuss with the prospective customers about their requirements and they design the layout and floorplan afterward customized with the colors and materials required by the customer. Photography from Retro Tourer.
Retro Campers: The Shasta Airflyte
An exact replica of their 1961 model Shasta Airflyte, manufactured of course by Shasta RV: the colors of this limited edition are yellow, green, and red.
Most units are sold by 2019, but on this website and in Mount Comfort RV you can rent it or even buy it. There are some models but as it is a limited edition, they do not have this model currently in their manufacturing forecast for the future. Photography from shastarving.com
Retro Campers: The Gidget
Of course, that teardrop trailers cannot be dismissed from the Retro Camper’s game. From the many beautiful retro campers in the teardrop family, I selected this one.
The reason to select this one is the expandable slide that practically doubles the available space in the cabin and duplicates the floorplan. In the open back, as with all teardrops, there is a fully-fledged kitchen, a skylight in the roof, a solar panel and it can host an air conditioner unit as well. Photo: thegidget.com.au
I have a full article with several teardrop trailers models for you to see.
Retro Campers: White Water Retro
Whereas some RV manufacturers envisaged a few limited-edition models, Riverside RV, instead, built a complete product line of retro campers: This lineup includes: a travel trailer as in the picture below, and of course, a teardrop trailer. Photo from riversiderv.com
Retro Campers: Winnebago Brave
I decided to introduce also to the readers, this motorhome. Class A RVs are here included informally into the category of retro campers. This iconic brand Winnebago has recently showcased these Brave models, that preserve the vintage flavor with honor.
This one, recently updated, is now my favorite unit in this retro campers list. Photo: winnebagoind.com
Retro Campers: The CH
Due to its weight of about 1210 pounds, it can be towed by almost any vehicle so not too many worries about the towing capacity. It is also very short, as it measures only ten feet long.
This top RV in our retro campers list is quite cheap and offers the possibility of buying it without any appliances, which provides you a free ground for remodeling and customization as you find it suitable.
Retro Campers: Meet The Dub Box
No, this is not a VW, remain calm. This is called the Dub Box, completely made in the United States. Manufactured with fiberglass, therefore, easy to tow and lightweight. It has that VW vintage design, but Volkswagen is unrelated to this project.
This is one of our retro campers that can also be used as a retail business, a towable office, for example. This is something that Dub Box also encourages you to do. I recommend you to visit their website. Photo: dub-box-usa.com
Retro Campers For Sale: The T@B Teardrop
Another teardrop trailer to show. They are the new trend for a couple of years ago. Teardrop trailers are easy to two because of their lightweight. Nevertheless. they encompass many attributes that you also find in large RVs: you will be able to install an RV air conditioner, a convertible bed, a kitchen, and a wet bath as well. However, most of the activities will be done outside the teardrop trailer. Therefore they are probably not the best option in winter. Photo: tab-rv.com
Retro Travel Trailers: The Happier Camper HC1
The Happier Camper model is for me the most beautiful of this retro campers list. I updated the article with new models, but I have not changed my preference.
This style is called egg-style and Casita has also some models like this one. It is lightweight with 1114 pounds of dry weight. Therefore the towing capacity of your vehicle should not be a problem as it can be towed also with small vehicles without too much capacity. Photography from: happiercamper.com
Retro Campers: The Airstream Bambi Sport 16′
Of course that in any list of retro campers there must be always an Airstream model. I could have selected many of these retro travel trailers, but I have selected the Airstream Bambi Sport 16. This retro travel trailer is suitable for two people, maximum of three.
Retro Travel Trailers: The Egg Camper
There are dozens of beautiful egg-type retro campers that we could have included in this list. We have requested to include more Casita models in our articles and we just refer to them in an article about tiny RVs.
Apart from the Happier Camper HC1 depicted above, and the U-Haul/Casita model, all these egg campers look very much alike, despite being all of them proud representatives of the retro travel trailers category.
The model finally selected is the one below from Egg Camper. It is lightweight and made with fiberglass. Even with the improvement in the materials, the outside part has not received many design modifications and that is why they have conserved this typical charm of the vintage and retro campers. Photo: eggcamper.com
The Serro Scotty
The photography below is from Kerola’s Campers . This is another iconic model. The Scotty models dazzled everyone in the sixties and seventies. Now they are back and sold out. Yes, they sell through their dealers. Normally it is very difficult to find a new Serro Scotty. In any case, forget the old Scotty models: these are built with better materials, fifty years later and will save you precious time. Forget any RV restoration and go camping with a Serro Scotty.
