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Ever wonder how the first teardrop trailer found it’s way to on to the highways and into the hearts of family vacations and Americana? We did, too! And, what we found out may be more surprising than you’d expect… from world wars and highways, to excess raw materials and dreams of adventure, all the way back home again! Join us as we take a trip down tear drop memory lane on this episode of RV Small Talk with PJ, Lindsay and Clint.
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Did RVing start with Teardrop Trailers?
Start, no, but they’ve been on the scene since nearly the beginning! The first RV was Pierce-Arrow’s Touring Landau, which debuted at Madison Square Garden in 1910. Trailers are another question, as the first references are closely related to covered wagons as the U.S. expanded west, and the Roma caravans of Europe. Of course, prior to mass-produced models there were homemade rigs and kits to create from raw materials.
Post-WWII is when we see the majority of teardrop models start on the mass production scale, as the cars of the time couldn’t tow as much, leading to the popularity of the lightweight teardrop trailers rolling down highways and into national parks and state parks across the U.S.
History of the Teardrop Trailer
Teardrop trailers evolved in the 1930’s and became extremely popular in the 1940’s after World War II. The Depression was over and the war had given the economy a large boost. The citizens of the U.S. and their families wanted to go on vacation to explore the great outdoors:
- The United States was developing the highway system and that made travel easier!
- The teardrop trailer was light weight and could easily be pulled behind the family car which in the 1930’s and 1940’s had an engine under 100 horsepower, or in some cases a motorcycle.
- Most of the original teardrop trailers were constructed with materials obtained from World War II surplus markets.
- The chassis were made of steel U channel or from round steel tubing, and in some cases the wheels came from jeeps that were salvaged and found a new life on a teardrop trailer.
- The exterior skins were usually made from the aluminum wings of World War II bombers which gave the Teardrop trailers their shiny exteriors. Some Teardrop trailers are called Woodys due to the wood sides.
- Teardrop trailers continued to grow in popularity through the 1950’s. This popularity was due to the do-it-yourselfer that wanted to build their own teardrop trailers with their own hands.
- In the 1950s the “Popular Mechanics” magazine published teardrop trailer plans in their magazine which many do-it-yourselfers used to build their own teardrop trailers. These plans included a trailer made of wood. Many Teardrop trailers today are built on purchased steel trailers or custom made steel trailers.
- The popularity of the teardrop trailer started to dwindle in the late 1950’s because the Americans wanted campers that were “bigger and better”. With cars getting bigger and more powerful in the 1950’s larger campers could be towed rather than the smaller teardrop trailers.
Source: https://www.theteardroptrailer.com/history
Teardrop Trailer Related RV Small Talk Episodes:
Helpful Links for this Episode:
- TearDropShop.com | TearDropShop.com
- Princesscraft.com | Princess Craft RV
- TheTearDropTrailer.com – History | Teardrop History
- TexasTinyTrailerRally.com | Texas Tiny Trailer Rally
