custom suspension products for fifth-wheel RVs. However,personal goal was to visit the new Hall of Fame.besides seeing the exhibits, was to present copies of books, Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider’s Guide to Working on the Road and RV Traveling Tales: Women’s Journeys on the Open Road to the Hall of Fame’s extensive collection of RV books and publications.

We entered into a two-story entrance area. A young volunteer collected our admission fees: $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, amd $3 for youths. (RV parks in the area have maps with $2-off coupons.) We first visited the “Go RVing” exhibit. You can watch a video and see examples of a pop-up trailer, a fifth wheel, and Class C and Class A RVs.

The main exhibit features a collection of vintage units.These old RVs are always fun to see. We started “Earl” travel trailer and Model “T” Ford, the oldest travel trailer in the world.

Two custom “housecars” were especially eye-catching. One was Model A housecar built by an unknown custom carriage maker and woodworker. It was discovered by the donor in an old barn after being stored there for more than 40 years; the engine still ran fine! Bobby White and a friend restored it, dubbing it the “Tennessee Traveler.” A woodstove provided the heat. The driver and passenger sit on wooden chairs bolted to the wooden floor.

The other was Mae West’s housecar. Built on a Chevrolet rv chassis, this is a chauffeur-driven lounge car was built by Paramount Studios to entice Mae West into making movies for them.

Serro Scotty tear-drop trailer had a crawl-in bed plus a kitchen compartment in the back. Tear-drops were popular and are making a comeback. All sorts of vintage travel trailers and even a 42-foot mobile (reminding us of Lucy and Desi’s “long, long trailer”) catalogued the history of the development of RVs.

Bathroom facilities weren’t included in trailers, and even then they were tiny. We peaked in one RV, and the toilet was a wooden plank with a hole cut out over a toilet bowl- reminiscent of an outhouse! Some of the RVs of the 50s and 60s seemed quite spacious until we realized they had no microwave, entertainment center or other amenities that are now standard. These “bare bones” units, some with electrical wires exposed and possibly added later, led the way to the RVs we have today.

Upstairs, the RV/MH Hall of Fame Library houses thousands of magazines, photos and books. This is the only library dedicated entirely to the archives of the recreational vehicle and manufactured housing industries. Besides professionals doing research, many individuals come to search out more information about their older units.

The hall housing the Wentworth collection is under construction but should be ready shortly. In fact, they hope to use it for the induction dinner on August 5 for the Hall of Fame class. Each inductee has a photo on the wall upstairs.

The staff is excited about their new home. It is more than three times the size of the old space and has plenty of room for expansion. Conferences and even RV shows will one day be held here. It will be fun to stop back on trips through Elkhart to see the vintage RVs from the David Wentworth collection, check out new exhibits, and to see the progress being made.