Of course, the 30s were essentially the beginning of what would be decades of political upheaval. While the first twenty years of the 1900s saw the upswing and downfall of World War I and all its challenges, the 30s crashed into the Great Depression with World War II following at its heels. From 1939 to 1945 pretty much every leisure activity was diminished, as every bit of fuel and material was shuttled towards the war effort. 

However, never let it be said that humans won’t procrastinate even the most crucial of things, because where others were focused on surviving the Great Depression and later WWII, many still managed to eke through RV developments throughout the decade. 

Gone Camping just got taken to a whole new level. 

In a total contrast to the Depression, glamping took a turn starting in the 30s with RVs arriving on the scene sporting dinettes, separate bedrooms, and utility hook-ups. And despite the world’s state of economic disaster, Arthur Sherman (remember him?) really got going with his Covered Wagon Company, a wildly successful business when others were fading from existence. In 1936 they were the largest producer in the American wing of the industry, selling approximately 6,000 units.

But, could it be because trailer travel was a better economic choice in the long run? With train and hotels higher priced, perspective travelers chose trailers as their ticket to freedom. Manufactured trailers were sold in the thousands, and could often be bought for $300 USD (approximately $4,700 USD today). Although you’d be hard pressed to find any still around oddly. 

We can definitely blame the media for the trailer boom (at least partially). A variety of magazines, everything from Popular Mechanics to Woman’s Home Companion, plied the benefits of RVing. With all this hype trailer companies started to overproduce for a perceived future number of sales in 1937. Oversaturation of the market slowed the success of these companies (including Covered Wagon), further impeded by the slowly recovering economy and strikes in the auto industry. Trailer companies crawled to the finish line in 1942 when sales flourished again with the US military purchasing trailers by the dozen to use as military housing. 

Trailers as permanent housing for civilians also kicked off, as many owners were forced to park them for longer durations, forming ‘permanent address’ trailer parks in a way. After WWII, (and yes we’re getting into the 40s, but it’s relevant) young families getting on their feet in the post-war world used travel trailers as easy, affordable housing. Overall, trailer construction had remained the same (as a small, traveling home), but this evolved as they became more permanent houses. If we jump forward another few decades, we can see a great example of this is the 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez; a comedy film about a newlywed couple who butt heads over buying a house or being nomadic RVers. 

We’ll talk more about that divergence of the RV industry when we get to the fifties, but we’ll make the brief note that while these companies started making wider trailers in the 30s they’re very uncommon today. In fact, most vintage travel trailers you’ll see are from the late fifties onward. 

The 30s became the decade of the house trailer as they rapidly became a more preferable choice than tents. A wide range hit the market from hundreds of different manufacturers with everything from teardrops, to massive, palatial trailers (huge even compared to modern specimens); but the tent trailer really started to go out of style this decade, with more than 20,000/year solid-body units produced. Many kits were also sold to allow home builders to convert light car chassis into trailers.