In the 60’s and 70’s, there was a boom in camper manufacturing and sales throughout the country. Many of these manufacturers didn’t survive the 80’s oil bust, yet remnants of the era can be found along country roads, abandoned in fields and junkyards. However, back in the heyday of the family road trip, the big name in these “canned-ham” style camper trailers was Shasta, leading the pack with their coveted Compact model. From Shasta’s Compact, sprang several copy-cat style knock-off trailers from manufacturers looking to cash in on the market, including a model from Bell Manufacturing, who, 30 years later, has long since closed up shop.
We happened across such a camper that we determined to be the perfect prospect for our needs, and over the past few months, the ’73 Bell (model unknown) has been in the hands of Camper Reparadise who’s been bringing her back to life as a modern-day, bullet-proof, adventure rig. After much anticipation, we’re stoked to finally be able to release her back into the wild this past weekend as we embarked on the official maiden voyage (minus the champaign bottle send-off, though that would have been awesome) with a quick trip to Vernal, Utah. Needless to say, we are stoked, as the Bell proved to be everything we could have hoped for in a vintage camper adventure rig.
If you’re interested in the restoration process, as well as want to know what we were specifically looking for in a camper, check out the Bell vintage camper adventure rig build photos. Additionally, you can see some interior shots on the Camper Reparadise page.
Hi! Did you put new offroad wheels/axle on the camper to get her adventure-ready? I’m about to go take a look at a similar Bell camper and have high hopes for turning it into an adventure rig…but am a little nervous about it handling well on dirt roads…thoughts?
Hannah – we did upgrade the axle to an “axle-less” setup. Google Timbren Axle-less suspension for more info. Good luck w/ your rig!