Caravan Books - History, Types and Construction

The Caravan Manual (4th Edition) - Servicing, maintenance and improvements

This fourth edition of the Caravan Manual contains completely revised text and many new illustrations. As well as guidance on maintaining older caravans, it includes details about the very latest models. There's new information on caravan weights, the use of public weighbridges, and related legal issues, along with electronic and computerised wiring systems in cars.

There are major updates to the chapters on chassis, running gear, body construction, gas and all electrical details. This essential manual describes all the vital maintenance tasks and repair work that keeps a caravan in tip-top condition.

Streamline Aluminum Trailers - Restoration & Modification

The iconic shape and appearance of a streamline aluminum trailer sitting at a campsite or being pulled down the highway has captivated collectors and vacationing hobbyists for nearly 90 years. During this time, the exterior appearance of the trailer has changed very little, so recollections can range from seeing a 1937 Dodge Pickup to a 1969 Impala hauling one of these beauties.
Today, restored rarities from Airstream, Silver Streak, Boles Aero, Clipper, and Spartan can command as much as $100,000 in the marketplace. These trailers have become symbols of American pop culture for several generations.

Until now, very little information has been available to help you when it comes to restoring and updating one of these trailers. Daniel Hall, of the vintage restoration company Camper Reparadise, addresses all items of streamline trailer restoration thoroughly in this one-stop-shopping book.

Details on your trailer and how to restore it are covered from trailer tongue to trailing bumper. Key restoration components including chassis, floor, exterior/interior skin, electrical elements, insulation, doorjamb refabrication, LP, plumbing, and polishing are all covered comprehensively in a visual, step-by-step format.
Whether you're a collector car enthusiast, resident of a trailer campground, or a vacationing addict, owning this restoration guide will be an essential tool in keeping your trailer active, updated, and in immaculate condition.

The Story of Caravans International

Founded in 1963 with the merger of three leading brands - Sprite, Eccles and Bluebird - Caravans International was a formidable combination of British caravan heritage.
Drawing on his unrivalled knowledge of the British caravan industry, Andrew Jenkinson describes the history of the individual brands within CI as well as the growing success of the company as a global brand. He follows the changing fortunes of the company in the face of increased international and UK-based competition until its collapse in 1982.
The fall of CI rocked the caravan/motorhome and holiday caravan industry both at home and abroad and, despite a temporary resurgence through a management buy-out, the company was completely finished by the early 1990s.

The author describes the wide variety of vehicles that were produced under the various CI brands, some of them highly innovative, and he also draws on first-hand interviews with company employees and a remarkable collection of photographs and leaflets.
With his unique access to the CI archives, including interviews with the founder of Sprite and Caravans International, Andrew Jenkinson has written the definitive history covering the highs and lows of one of Britain's leading caravan and motorhome manufacturing brands.

The Story of Eccles Caravans

This unique book about Eccles caravans is a tribute to a great and successful British caravan and motorhome manufacturing brand. Eccles was the pioneer of the caravan and motorhome of today. This book describes how the company became a major force and the biggest producer of caravans in the world during the 1930s.

Drawing on his unique knowledge of the caravan and motorhome industry and an archive of material dating from 1919, Andrew Jenkinson takes us from the early development of the Eccles caravan and motorhome by the Riley family, through the war years when their skills were devoted to military equipment, and into the 1950s, when competition in the caravan and motorhome market began to grow.

Not only did the company design and build innovative vehicles, they also marketed them successfully to the public. Purchased by Sprite caravans in 1960, Eccles continued to be a byword for sophisticated design and innovation, making it a market leader by the 1970s.
With its sale to the Swift Group in 1994, Eccles once again demonstrated its genius not only for survival but also for innovation in construction methods and interior design on a sound base of British caravan heritage.

Swift Caravans

Starting in 1965, when Swift found success with its early models, this book follows the development of Swift Caravans to the present day, where it has grown into a multi-brand leisure vehicle producer.
The author describes the early models, which became popular with distinctive features such as the tri-front window. By the early 1970s, the Swift name had become established and the company started to move into the upper clubman market with the introduction of the Corniche range.

Continuing into the 1980s with a spirit of innovation, Swift improved its designs with wind-tunnel technology and produced lighter tourers alongside the manufacture of coachbuilt motorhomes.
The company continued to expand with the acquisition of Cotswold Coachcraft and later Sprite Leisure, Bessacarr, Ace, Award and Autocruise, plus a tie up with US Airstream travel trailers.

The author also covers the latest developments in what has now become the Swift Group, including further brand acquisitions and expansion abroad.
Written by an acknowledged expert in caravans, motorhomes and holiday static caravans, this book is an essential guide to a great British manufacturing success story.

Airstream - Le globe trotteur américain

Cela fait plus de quatre-vingts ans que la caravane en forme de balle parcourt le monde et transporte les amis, la famille, les animaux et autres, tous partis à la recherche d'autres horizons. Ce livre illustré a été créé en coopération avec Airstream ; il raconte comment, et surtout pourquoi, Airstream perdure en tant que symbole de l'aventure.

Sommaire :
1) Partez à la rencontre de Wally Byam.
2) Les débuts d'Airstream: 1930-1947.
3) 1947-1959.
4) La gloire: 1960-1973.
5) La crise et la reprise: 1973-1982.
6) Sur le départ encore.
7) Airstream aujourd'hui.

Legende Dethleffs: 90 Jahre mobiles Wohnen - vom Wohnauto zum Hightech-Reisemobil

Der in Isny ansässige Hersteller Dethleffs ist ein »Urgestein« des Caravaning. 1931 stellte er mit dem »Wohnauto« erstmals in Deutschland einen Caravan vor.
Dieser bildstarke historisch fundierte Band verfolgt nicht nur die Firmengeschichte, sondern auch die Entwicklung des »mobilen Wohnens«. Aber natürlich werden auch die im Laufe der Jahrzehnte angebotenen Fahrzeuge in allen Aspekten vorgestellt.