Starting at 10am the gates to Bear Lake were opened to everyone
who wanted to walk through and check out the vintage trailers.
The entrants ranged from boxy Volkswagen buses to shiny
Airstreams. Other trailers there included Yellowstone, Shasta,
Nomad, Comet, Pathfinder, Trailblazer, Layton, Serro Scotty
Sportsman, Forester and Westwind models.
Many of the trailers coming to the new event sported stickers
from the Symco Hotrod & Kustom Weekender; a traditional
hot rod show that also hosts vintage trailers. Symco is located
two miles north of downtown Manawa and John Spence, the
organizer of Symco, had a camper at Bear Lake that promoted
his show.
There were quite a few good examples of Wisconsin-made
vintage trailers on display at the event. Dave and Weasie
brought their 1958 Friendship trailer that they call the “Sh…
Sh,..Sugar Shack”. It’s a pretty rare example of these “canned
It was great to have such
an immediate response,
especially with this being our
first year. We didn’t know
what to expect and to fill the
campground was amazing.
ham” type trailers made in Friendship, Wisconsin. The Hovlands
had their 1959 Layton “Open for inspection” according to the
nearby sign. Another family; the Smiths, also invited people to
peek inside their 1967 Trailblazer, which was made in Spencer,
Wisconsin. Inside, the orange curtains matched with the blue
and orange upholstered seats.
The wooden “canned ham” style
trailer made by Roth Trailer
Manufacturing. Co
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