There have only been very few books written about trailers and mobile homes over the last century.
Trailer Ahoy is iconic for being one of the first and most thorough books about trailer traveling. It was written by Charles Edgar Nash in 1937. Topics include how to pull a trailer safely, highways, and campgrounds. It’s a long, but interesting, read. You can read Trailer Ahoy here.
You can buy a printed version of the book on Amazon here (affiliate link).
In 1983, the Montana Department of Natural Resources released a very informative booklet titled Mobile Home Energy Savings, Keep Comfort Up and Costs Down. It’s been digitized and is now available for your reading pleasure. Click here to read it for free on archive.org.
A huge thanks to Jesse for sharing the link to Mobile Homes: A Study of Trailer Life with me. After checking her link out I became curious and looked for more free vintage mobile home books. Seriously, thank you, Jesse!
I don’t see a way to download Mobile Homes: A Study of Trailer Life but I haven’t created an account with the site, yet. The site is HathiTrust and they are a partnership of academic & research institutions that offer a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world.
You can visit their site to check it out!
To the genius that invented good roads. May his detours in life be few and far spaced! – Dedication in Touring with Tent and Trailer
The dedication in the Touring with a Tent and Trailer book is a great indication of how well-written and fun this book is. It’s another 1937 book (it’s a copyright thing), so you’ll learn how trips were planned, what to pack, and how people towed their tents (and campers) safely. Hint: trip planning was not done by asking Siri to show you directions on a little TV in your hand. You can read Touring with Tent and trailer here.
The 1930’s was a unique time in American history. More families had access to automobiles so trailers were becoming more popular. The depression was slowly becoming a bad memory and families were eager to see the country.
Meals on Wheels was published in 1937 and was specifically written for small kitchens. The little graphics are so cute and there are a few recipes that sound pretty darn good. You can read the Meals on Wheels book here.
Autocamping was one of the first books written about the favorite new American pastime of the early 1920’s: autocamping. In 1923, families loved to travel in their cars and sleep wherever they got tired. Soon after, the auto tent became available which allowed families the opportunity to truly wander while still enjoying some perks of a home. They had privacy and could create a small cooking space and that was all the American wanderer needed. you can read more about autocamping here. (It was so popular a pastime that the President of the United States went on a full campaign trail autocamping!) You can read the free book here.
Find vintage mobile homes and trailers for sale here.
But wait, there’s more! I sound like a late night commercial! While Archive.org has a ton of free vintage mobile home books, they also have thousands of books on all topics and genres. It’s an amazing resource for books.
Have I mentioned how much I love the internet, lately? It amazes me just how much is out there on the worldwide web…especially when it comes to mobile homes!
As always, thank you for reading Mobile Home Living!
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