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Some things are just worthy of a pic and that is one of them. :) Somebody had some time on their hands! Wonder if that would be welcome at most RV parks?
 
I've seen one of those before,,,,,hmmmm,,,,wonder how many there were ???? OR maybe the same one !
 
And they say putting a truck camper on a 1/2 ton is a dumb idea
 
I believe you will find those were built here in Denver.
 
If you are older, think about the pickup truck offerings of these eras the Cadillac campers represent.

Pickup trucks of the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's are very basic utilitarian farmer or tradesman transportation. Not at all like the lucury rides that were offered beginning in the 80's through today!

If you wanted a comfortable vacation journey these modifications make perfect sense for they utilized what many consider the pinnacle of luxury motoring for their travel platform.

I'm sure they sport beefed up suspensions to safely carry the load.

I'd roll one in a heartbeat!

Dave
 
And it's not too far of a leap from those car-body front end mohos to factory builds using the Toronado engine and trans.

Another Toronado-based factory job, the Kruise Aire from 1970:

[img=600x358]https://assets.hemmings.com/blog/wp-content/uploads//2014/04/KruiseAire_02_2000.jpg[/img]

The MUCH more famous Clark Cortez...  (I had a friend who lived in one in a trailer park in the late '80s)

[img=600x399]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c8/c2/50/c8c25034503cecc6189ee0d5beb07666.jpg[/img]

And probably the most famous production coach to use the Toronado drivetrain, the GMC... light years ahead of its time in styling.

[img=600x346]http://www.gmcclassics.com/davidyoung/cover.jpg[/img]
 
There are SO many of these wild things...

[img=600x360]http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cadillac-rv-custom-.jpg[/img]

A Buick front end... sort of...

[img=600x448]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3e/e1/ed/3ee1ed84301ee6ad00634909243c5f50.jpg[/img]

HDR... here's one for you to take to RTR with NO worries, right?  A true Burner's motorhome!

[img=600x503]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/94/17/17/94171780b97cd17eaaf62c509b023294.jpg[/img]

Google is SUCH a wonderful resource... Another Caddy... this time a pickup camper/moho!

[img=600x450]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3f/99/a2/3f99a2db9669d6ce53ecaa10eea38bfb.jpg[/img]

I'm not sure how THIS one would go over at RTR?  Maybe it'd be more at home at Fantasy Fest in Key West?

[img=600x451]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9c/ef/45/9cef451652c13a8f9406f8faf5628b1b.jpg[/img]

A Citroen-based moho?  What a great barn find!

[img=600x450]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/48/99/e2/4899e2afcc7777862b104a85e10c8af3.jpg[/img]
 
I would buy one if I had the chance! The engines are easy to get to and work on, the ride would be smooth, and they are just so damn unique it's cool! Would be a conversation starter everywhere you go!
 
I was having fun posting these as I thought that there just couldn't be that many of them...  but if you do a Google search on 'Toronado motorhome,' select images, and then select 'related' you get an image search with dozens of them...

I didn't realize how many of these Caddies and Toronados (and Chevys and Buicks and God-knows-what-else) were turned into motorhomes using campers of various kinds.  The imagination of folks is just amazing!
 
You can't help but admire some of the fabrication work. Personally I think they're pretty ugly, but have respect for the skill it takes to modify them like that. Some better than others, but hey, that's how you learn.
 
djkeev said:
If you are older, think about the pickup truck offerings of these eras the Cadillac campers represent.

Pickup trucks of the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's are very basic utilitarian farmer or tradesman transportation. Not at all like the lucury rides that were offered beginning in the 80's through today!

If you wanted a comfortable vacation journey these modifications make perfect sense for they utilized what many consider the pinnacle of luxury motoring for their travel platform.

I'm sure they sport beefed up suspensions to safely carry the load.

I'd roll one in a heartbeat!

Dave

Beefing the suspension is one thing, beefing the frame is another, how many of those have 3/4 or 1 ton axles? If the axles aren't upgraded, I doubt the frames were, either
Properly beefing of suspension, axle, and frame components would involve significant upgrades, some of them have it (dual wheels) and some don't

You can upgrade the suspension of a 1/2 ton truck so it'll carry a truck camper, too, but it's not really near as good as starting with enough truck to begin with
 
The suspensions don't seem to be hurting in most those pictures. Guessing those cars back then were as strong if not stronger than a 1/2 ton truck suspension today. And if that's the case, that's pretty sad the way things have gone. My 1/2 ton doesn't even have a solid front axle.
 

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