October 20, 1914
Archibald D. Campbell and Lawrence S. Campbell applied for a patent for an innovative camping trailer that they had developed as a vehicle to be marketed and sold by their Los Angeles-based business (known as the Campbell Folding Camping Trailer Company) and used for recreational purposes. This two-wheeled trailer, which was described in the application as a “Combined Camping Outfit and Box,” included not only a tent but also a full-sized bed, two cots, four stools, a hardwood table, an iron stove, cooking utensils, an ice box, and a water cooler. In addition, there was storage space for other items beneath the trailer’s frame.
“The Trailer provides a home complete on two wheels with all the necessary comforts,” proclaimed a Campbell Folding Camping Trailer Company brochure printed and distributed that same year. “It is ideal to use on Hunting, Fishing, Swimming, Week-End, Cross Country Trips.“ The brochure also noted, “It can be attached to any runabout, limousine, or vehicle.”
The Campbells were granted U.S. Patent 1,185,981 on June 6, 1916. This made their invention the first folding tent trailer to be patented, manufactured, and sold explicitly as an automotive camping trailer. (The first page of that patent is displayed in the above image.)
Over the next few years, other manufacturers likewise responded to ever-growing public enthusiasm for camping trips and filed their own patent applications for similar trailers. These conveyances proved to be vital in paving the way for today’s motorhomes and recreational vehicles.
Image Credit: Public Domain
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Transportation History 
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