Ready to Roll:br>A Celebration of the Classic American Travel Trailer

The rise of the travel trailer paralleled the building of our national road system in the ’20s and ended just as the Interstate Highway System was being finished in the ’70s. The new road system made it easier for the tourist to visit the wonders of our nation and having a trailer meant freedom to travel in comfort, with all your stuff in a miniature house on wheels. In Ready to Roll, Chico resident and noted photographer of historical architecture Douglas Keister and writer Arrol Gellner cover the history of the classic American travel trailer, from the humble foldout tent on wheels to the massive rectangular boxes of the ’70s. Keister’s crisp photography of restored classic travel trailers, with monikers like “canned hams,” “teardrops,” “bread loaves” and “aerocars,” look like they just rolled off the factory floor. Gellner’s history of the trailer is exquisitely researched and highly readable—a reminder of the freedom of the road.