The history of caravanning in a nutshell

Some beginnings of caravanning are derived from Gypsy caravans. It was the Roma who spent most of their lives traveling for years, putting all their belongings in carts, which often served as homes. These cars were more and more perfected, e.g. stoves were installed in them ...

However, it would be difficult to conclude that the Gypsies traveled for recreational purposes.

The first trailer , which was supposed to serve primarily the pleasure of its owner, was built in 1880 in Great Britain. The 5-5 meter horse-drawn camping car was constructed by the Bristol Carriage Company, offering representatives of the upper classes a new form of recreation .

About this time in the United States, there was a lot of talk about a man pursuing various professions (he was a miner, trader, and even a hairdresser). John "Jack" Anthony Porcell traveled the western states in a trailer he built.

House on wheels

Along with the development of the automotive industry, car trailers, both amateur and professional, began to appear. The first professional caravan was most likely produced in Great Britain in 1912 by Bill Riley's team. The trailer was towed with a leather strap! Only many years later, hooks made by blacksmiths began to be used.

In the USA, where the Ford T triumphed, various, sometimes bizarre versions of this car were created. Some of them looked simply bizarre - they really were houses, with windows and roofs typical of buildings. There was even a version with a porch and a car with a chapel-shaped superstructure.

Others, however, could be called the ancestors of motorhomes . Some of them had built-up structures ideal for picnics (tables and equipment were set out to the outside, in the rear part of the body), while others could be enlarged during a stop by unfolding tents integrated with the body.

The fashion for caravanning , somewhat independently, developed mainly in the USA and Great Britain. Only with time, houses on wheels began to appear also in other European countries. For example, in France you could find campers (and sometimes whole houses) built on the Citroen 2CV basis.

Poland is far behind

The trailer appears on Polish roads - at least officially - only in 1930, when it was presented as a curiosity during a beauty contest in Warsaw. But the first Polish caravans began to be built in the 1950s, mainly as structures created by DIY enthusiasts.

The first mention of a caravan created in Poland appeared in 1957, when "Motor" wrote about a couple who independently created such a vehicle, with the intention of traveling around Europe in it. The trailer was probably built in 1956.

The first Tramp trailers from Niewiadów, where the most popular Polish manufacturer of caravans operates to this day, left only in 1966. The production of the N-126 model, extremely popular in the communist times, which contributed to the popularization of caravanning in our country, began in 1973.

Currently, caravanning is very popular in most developed countries. In the United States, luxury motorhomes based on coaches are particularly popular. In Australia, customers are eager to choose camping vehicles with off-road properties, while in Europe, the fashion for small caravans and campers based on delivery vehicles is not passing.

And since the next models are becoming more and more comfortable, it is hard to suppose that the fashion for caravanning could ever pass away.