Photo: Streetside Classics - Nashville
It's hard to make a mobile camper feel like home, especially when it's bolted to the back of a pickup truck. But rest assured, with enough TLC and upkeep, even a 44-year-old Ford F-350 camper conversion can feel like home sweet home.
The specific make of the camper trailer on this 1978 Ford F-350 out of Streetside Classics of Nashville, Tennessee, is Kit Manufacturing of Caldwell, Idaho. What's also known is that it's a part of a generational phenomenon.
From the 1950s through the 1980s bed mounted pickup truck campers from everything from Toyota, Datsun, and Ford F-Series trucks like this one were one of the more preferred means of camper traveling before larger recreational vehicles stole a majority of the market in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Say what you will about preferences, but as far as factory fresh-looking complete packages go, it doesn't get much better than this 1978 F-Series Camper. With a slick-looking two-tone Cream and Brown paint job, it's a bit subjective. But in the context of this truck's time period, it makes all the sense in the world. Brown only looks good on a small handful of classic vehicles, and this Ford truck is one of them.
The two-tone aesthetic is doubly vibrant in the interior of this truck, with spotless Cream White leatherettes seats, brown door paneling, and matching Cream White door paneling throughout. Old trucks aren't always all that wonderful to sit inside. It's nice to see that, at least, in this case, we really wouldn't mind a nice long road trip in this truck. If not for the gargantuan fuel costs.
Powering this four-decade-old beast is a 460 cubic inch (7.5-liter) V8 found in many Fords, Mercurys, and Lincolns from the 1960s through the 90s. Though emissions regulations in the late 70s meant power figures for this 1978 Ford's 460 V8 were dissatisfying.
But with modern performance parts, we can see those issues being fairly simple to solve. Earlier iterations of this engine could generate as much as 365 gross hp. After a little bit of tweaking with the exhaust and the engine, it's not impossible to get power figures back up to something similar.
But let's be real, it's all about what's rocking in the back of this truck, isn't it? Well, we're happy to say it doesn't disappoint. If the brown wood grain is totally your thing, this is the camper for you. With tasteful wooden countertops, a four-burner propane stove and oven, a full suite of electrical sockets, a cozy-looking master bedroom seemingly straight out of a countryside wooden cabin, and a full wet bathroom, this thing starts to look better than some apartments of similar age.
All in all, this F-350 Camper has a charm unlike any vehicle of its type. It may not have a Wi-Fi infotainment system, a full surround-sound stereo, or a flatscreen TV for your Xbox. But hey, it's not like it's not you can't just install all that stuff yourself. The price for it all? A cool $37,995. We'd take that deal every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
From the 1950s through the 1980s bed mounted pickup truck campers from everything from Toyota, Datsun, and Ford F-Series trucks like this one were one of the more preferred means of camper traveling before larger recreational vehicles stole a majority of the market in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Say what you will about preferences, but as far as factory fresh-looking complete packages go, it doesn't get much better than this 1978 F-Series Camper. With a slick-looking two-tone Cream and Brown paint job, it's a bit subjective. But in the context of this truck's time period, it makes all the sense in the world. Brown only looks good on a small handful of classic vehicles, and this Ford truck is one of them.
The two-tone aesthetic is doubly vibrant in the interior of this truck, with spotless Cream White leatherettes seats, brown door paneling, and matching Cream White door paneling throughout. Old trucks aren't always all that wonderful to sit inside. It's nice to see that, at least, in this case, we really wouldn't mind a nice long road trip in this truck. If not for the gargantuan fuel costs.
Powering this four-decade-old beast is a 460 cubic inch (7.5-liter) V8 found in many Fords, Mercurys, and Lincolns from the 1960s through the 90s. Though emissions regulations in the late 70s meant power figures for this 1978 Ford's 460 V8 were dissatisfying.
But with modern performance parts, we can see those issues being fairly simple to solve. Earlier iterations of this engine could generate as much as 365 gross hp. After a little bit of tweaking with the exhaust and the engine, it's not impossible to get power figures back up to something similar.
But let's be real, it's all about what's rocking in the back of this truck, isn't it? Well, we're happy to say it doesn't disappoint. If the brown wood grain is totally your thing, this is the camper for you. With tasteful wooden countertops, a four-burner propane stove and oven, a full suite of electrical sockets, a cozy-looking master bedroom seemingly straight out of a countryside wooden cabin, and a full wet bathroom, this thing starts to look better than some apartments of similar age.
All in all, this F-350 Camper has a charm unlike any vehicle of its type. It may not have a Wi-Fi infotainment system, a full surround-sound stereo, or a flatscreen TV for your Xbox. But hey, it's not like it's not you can't just install all that stuff yourself. The price for it all? A cool $37,995. We'd take that deal every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
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