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Searching for information on the history of RVs and motor homes? VersaTube has what you're looking for.

As you might expect, the history of recreational vehicles coincides with that of the automobile. As automotive travel increased, American imagination and ingenuity quickly came up with the “auto camper”. These trailers built by famous companies like the Los Angeles Trailer Works were rolling off assembly lines at an astonishing pace as early as 1910. In fact, the first RV was Pierce-Arrow’s Touring Landau, which debuted at Madison Square Garden in 1910. The Landau had a back seat that folded into a bed, a chamber pot toilet and a sink that folded down from the back of the seat of the chauffeur, who communicated with his passengers via telephone.

By the early 1920’s cars were a permanent fixture of American culture and the new found convenience allowed people to enjoy things like an 800 site campground in Denver complete with a beauty salon, movie theater, and golf course. In 1919 the first formal camping club “The Tin Can Tourists”, so named for their practice of welding a tin can to their radiator for warming food, was formed complete with an official song, “The More We Get Together,” and a secret handshake. Camping and vacationing were becoming normative for the middle class.

The crash of 1929 and subsequent Depression slowed enthusiasm for such luxuries, though used travel trailers were sometimes purchased by the poor as inexpensive homes. In spite of downtrodden economic times the ingenious Wally Byam managed to invent the now famous Airstream which rapidly grew in popularity, though not without difficulty. As the economy slowly recovered, the world fell into chaos and World War 2 began. The need for wartime supplies created an almost immediate shortage of aluminum which was highly coveted in the making of RV’s. Many RV manufacturers converted to wartime manufacturing, making prisoner transports and mobile hospitals. It wasn’t until after the war ended that RV manufacturing really took off. With GI’s returning and families rapidly growing, the RV was the perfect way to get away.

The 1950’s saw the advent of the first “Motor Homes” which were self contained mobile units rather than trailers. This form of RV rapidly grew in popularity as modern manufacturing and technology advancements made sophisticated designs easier to achieve. As RV’s became more elaborate with more creature comforts, a new breed of RV enthusiast came onto the scene. These newcomers were focused on travel to destination sites like Disney World, and Branson, MIssouri rather than camping or touring. They also brought demand for comfort and luxury which sparked entire industries built around the manufacturing of accessories like RV covers.

In the mid 1960’s the first Winnebago rolled off the assembly line in Forest City, Iowa. This really marked the beginning of the technology and comfort race in the motorhome industry. With technological advancements occurring at a mind boggling pace, RV’s and motorhomes have rapidly become futuristic modern technology centers on wheels. Today, modern RV’s feature convection ovens, microwaves, garbage disposals, washers and dryers, king-size beds, heated baths and showers, satellite dishes, flat screen TV’s, computer networks, and wi-fi.

The RV industry is now over 100 years old and according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, about 8.2 million households own RVs. Approximately 450,000 of them are full-time RVers who rarely sleep in a home without wheels.

References:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Commemorating-100-Years-of-the-RV.html
http://www.airstream.com/company/history/
http://www.winnebagoind.com/company/about-us/story.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_vehicle