The 1974 Camelot Cruiser RV that sold on Bring A Trailer recently was absolutely bananas. The auction photos showed us a wonderland of avocado-colored toilets, burnt-orange tilework and acres upon acres of green shag carpet, but photos just weren’t enough. I wanted more, so I was beyond stoked when I came across this video tour of the one-of-three Camelot Cruiser.
So, in case you need a refresher, the Camelot Cruiser is essentially a semi-truck-turned-RV that was designed and built in the early 1970s by Edler & Co in Skokie, Illinois. This one came with a rare automatic Ford C750 cabover to pull it and two color-matched snowmobiles for winter fun. It sold on BaT for a whopping $133,000.
In addition to a fairly thorough walkthrough of the rig itself, we get to see some cool photos of the vehicle in its guise as a mobile gubernatorial campaign headquarters for Illinois Democratic hopeful Michael Howlett in 1976. As a mobile nerve center, the Camelot Cruiser is only rivaled by the Snowpiercer train or the War Rig from Fury Road.
Also rad is getting to see the rig’s original brochure, tons of fabric samples, all the original linens, etc. This whole thing is remarkably complete and has aged much better (matters of taste, notwithstanding) than a lot of other stuff from this era or even modern, crappy chipboard and fiberglass RVs. Edler really built the Camelot Cruisers to last.
What would you have done with this thing if you won it on BaT? Would you tour the country? Would you live in it? Would you open it as a very kitschy AirBnB? Personally, I like the idea of getting a plot of land somewhere along the unpopulated parts of the California coast and using it as a very cool vacation getaway.