This is one of the wildest motor homes I've ever seen, and if you're into the decorating styles from 1974 it doesn't get any better. Lots of green shag carpeting, dark wood paneling, and harvest gold accessories. The snowmobiles are included. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-gerstenlager-camelot-cruiser/ There's also a YouTube video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y6R6LULol0
Even the folding chairs are perfect. (And you have your Wiffle Ball strike zones right there waiting.)
In reply to stuart in mn :
That’s cool as all get out but the “Slow Boat to China” lettering on the back doors is probably a sign of the performance of a 391 gas V8 with a 4 speed automatic. I’m guessing under 5 mpg too.
I see this has air brakes. I;m pretty sure, that by modern standards this then requires you have to have a real CDL to drive it, even for just personal, non-commercial purposes.
The BaT write up also states there is an intercom from cab to trailer. I'm gonna guess that by 1974 standards this then meant the intention was for passengers to be riding in the trailer while traveling down the road. In today's world this is highly illegal.
I also see that this is a gas engine. That right there is the reason you don't want this!!!! You may think what I mean is, the gas engine will be slow or inefficient. That's really not my point. The real trouble is, "where do you get fuel?" Imagine your typical Petro/Flying J/Loves truck stop. Cars go up front and semis go to the rear, but.... In the rear, with the semis, they only offer diesel. That means, to fill this rig, you're up front with the cars. Due to the size, your gonna need the length of two open pumps at the same time. It's gonna suck.
For the 2018 Challenge, I helped drive this rig from Ohio to Florida
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That's a 20ft trailer towed by a SuperC motorhome based off a Chevy Kodiak. It towed great and was a pleasure to drive. It's an 8.0L, gas so though this picture was taken in the back of a Petro/Flying J/Loves type truck stop what is not shown is the wait to get an opening in the front of the station to fill it with regular gas (not diesel.) Then, after getting gas, we had to drive around back to have room to park such a huge combo. IT should be noted that the nose of the motorhome is parked even with the nose of the semi. The semi is a 53ft trailer (the longest standard length allowed) and our combo is just slightly shorter!
Time was every FD in the USA had an F750 / 850 with that cab. A little known fact, Mack built trucks with that cab too. I wonder how hard a more modern diesel swap would be. A lot of them that were diesels had 3208 V8 Cats. No disrespect to the Wanderlodge community but that engine is a well documented steaming pile of crap. On the gas side, I cannot imagine a 391 would be much good for anything but longevity. I've seen FD's with 534 V8 gassers which would drink even harder. 7.3 Godzilla crate?
In reply to A 401 CJ :
I wonder if a Cummins out of Dodge pickup would fit. Or even better one from a school bus. The newer ones get astonishingly great fuel mileage. They also come with the big Allison automatic.
Since they are now nearing 10 years they will soon be obsolete for Domestic school bus use. At that point the value free falls low enough so foreign buyers seek them. However up in the rust belt the resale value is only slightly higher than scrap value.
10 years is as long as buses can legally be used without written exemption granting another 5 years. The school district that does that puts their students at extreme risk. Brake lines rust through. Floors rust through. Steps rust through. Doors fall down.
John Welsh said:I see this has air brakes. I;m pretty sure, that by modern standards this then requires you have to have a real CDL to drive it, even for just personal, non-commercial purposes.
The BaT write up also states there is an intercom from cab to trailer. I'm gonna guess that by 1974 standards this then meant the intention was for passengers to be riding in the trailer while traveling down the road. In today's world this is highly illegal.I also see that this is a gas engine. That right there is the reason you don't want this!!!! You may think what I mean is, the gas engine will be slow or inefficient. That's really not my point. The real trouble is, "where do you get fuel?" Imagine your typical Petro/Flying J/Loves truck stop. Cars go up front and semis go to the rear, but.... In the rear, with the semis, they only offer diesel. That means, to fill this rig, you're up front with the cars. Due to the size, your gonna need the length of two open pumps at the same time. It's gonna suck.
For the 2018 Challenge, I helped drive this rig from Ohio to Florida
That's a 20ft trailer towed by a SuperC motorhome based off a Chevy Kodiak. It towed great and was a pleasure to drive. It's an 8.0L, gas so though this picture was taken in the back of a Petro/Flying J/Loves type truck stop what is not shown is the wait to get an opening in the front of the station to fill it with regular gas (not diesel.) Then, after getting gas, we had to drive around back to have room to park such a huge combo. IT should be noted that the nose of the motorhome is parked even with the nose of the semi. The semi is a 53ft trailer (the longest standard length allowed) and our combo is just slightly shorter!
Good point. Nobody ever seems to think about where / if they can get fuel.
A corollary I found reading The Road Chose me blog is that everyone overlanding around the world assumes they'll need a diesel because that's the fuel they'll find in the backwaters. And twenty years ago that was true. But these days the proliferation of Chinese motorbikes mean that gasoline is available everywhere- even from peoples homes. And the diesel that's available is often not the highly refined stuff that today's sophisticated common-rails need.
Meh - $120,000?
frenchyd said:In reply to A 401 CJ :
I wonder if a Cummins out of Dodge pickup would fit. Or even better one from a school bus. The newer ones get astonishingly great fuel mileage. They also come with the big Allison automatic.
Might work. Most of these had V8 though so an I6 might be on the long side. If you could fit it, a DT-466 would be the way to go. I think Stacy David's Gearz put a Duramax into the International version of this.
Oh man, just read the autopian write up on that the other day.
In reply to John Welsh :
Actually in some states, it's perfectly legal to have passengers in a fifth-wheel trailer. A number of those do require that there be some method of communication between the trailer and the driver.
I don't know my truck tractors well, but isn't that from well before 1970? So that camper, it could be appropriate to restore back to when it was made?
edit- reading through it, the answer is clearly no. It was made then. But seeing that, I can't imagine why someone would build a tiny home when you could have that amazing beast.
John Welsh said:I see this has air brakes. I;m pretty sure, that by modern standards this then requires you have to have a real CDL to drive it, even for just personal, non-commercial purposes.
A CDL isn't required unless the GCVW is over 26,000 lb.
Additionally, RVs with air brakes don't require a CDL when over 26,000 lb except in Washington, DC.
However, I am not sure how RV licensing works on a tractor trailer style setup.
~EDIT~ I see that this one has been successfully registered in Illinois as an RV.
In reply to John Welsh :
Even our Ram 3500/truck camper with 24' trailer is 53' overall. Fueling is definitely an issue when there's no semi or RV fuel lanes.
The problem is not as much space at the pumps, but pull-through. Most of the newer fuel/convienence stores have the pumps too close to the building and the lanes perpendicular to the storefront... there's no room to get in/out. That rig wouldn't have a chance anywhere there wasn't a gas RV lane.
alfadriver said:I don't know my truck tractors well, but isn't that from well before 1970? So that camper, it could be appropriate to restore back to when it was made?
That style cabover had amazing longevity - Ford built them from 1957 all the way to 1990.
I find it hard to believe that whoever buys this will use it for practical RV purposes. It I bet that thing is destined for car shows or other limited uses that make the fueling issues and licensing questions less important.
I agree, people taking it on a 2,000 mile trip is probably not likely. It will probably be used for display or show.
However, I was wondering if there's enough space in the snowmobile storage area to slide in a small sports racer of some kind - imagine pulling into paddock at your favorite race track with this thing. 
In reply to stuart in mn :
Lotus 7, maybe?
And looks like we have a new owner.
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