By William Coleman
When Jeremy Clarkson, who ironically loathes to caravan, finds a vintage or modern classic car you can see hear and his passion for vehicles. Having looked at this amazing 1960 caravan you can see why Clarkson does not need a script to put his point across. I truly believe that this amazing tourer would convert the ex Top Gear presenter in a heartbeat.
When 60s caravanning pops into my head all I can see is that little fiberglass white and blue Penguin Vintage Caravan, yes that came out in the 50s but you get what I mean.
What I would have never thought of is the ‘Holiday House Geographic’ which looks more like a 60s big city office than a leisure vehicle. Following a recent restoration the caravan looks like a million bucks.
The rare and fully restored touring caravan is actually up for sale and offers a life of luxury, class and style of a bygone era. And I really bloody want it!
Way, way back in 1962 industrial engineer Chuck Pelly designed this work of art but only 7 were ever built. The fiberglass caravans were on the market for $8,500, I would not even want to think about how much that would be in today’s money. Now only 2 are thought to be in existence.
Chuck Berry also designed the Scarab race car and is a founder of Designworks USA which is BMW’s California Studio.
David Holmes, President of “Harry & David” fruit company, began producing the Holiday House travel trailers in November of 1959, in Medford, Oregon. These were aluminum and wood constructed trailers as many of their counterparts of this era, however, the Holiday House trailers stood out as distinctive due to their highly progressive and futuristic design.
This particular caravan was names “Model X” and was to be the “Trailer For The Rich”, something I cannot imagine would go down well in modern times. The high price tag follows the decision of making the series a super limited production.
Flyte Camp, based out of Oregon in the US, did the full revamp of this stunning 4 berth and the asking price is now a whopping $250,000. So if you have spare £194,633.75 burning a hole in your pocket this may just be for you.
Not long after they were built, in 1962, the Holiday House factory burned down and the molds for Model X were later discarded.
The modern revamp has spared no expense, hence the heft price tag I guess, and has been totally restored from the ground up.
The exterior was tastefully re-finished with Axalta finishing systems and coatings, in a two-toned champagne and moss green with bronze colored pinstriping. The entire running system was upgraded with new axles, brakes, wheels, and 10-ply Diamond Back white wall trailer tires. The exterior is completed with a vintage style fabric awning.
Once inside you will find a black walnut wall skin, cabinetry and black walnut hardwood floor along with custom aluminum detailing.
The bathroom/dressing room features Marmoleum flooring, Walnut & Marmoleum countertops and a Stainless Steel shower with a Teak hardwood shower floor insert. Throughout the coach original vintage light sconces are combined with LED lighting.
As you can see from the interior it is more a luxury lounge spot than a practical functioning caravan, not that this makes me want it any less. I could just imagine Winston Churchill sitting in one of these smoking a large cigar and sipping on his favourite mid morning tipple.
Photography: Hal Thomas via Flyte Camp
