November 29th, 2015: The Adventurer

[xoxoxoBruce]

The Adventurer was a custom built motorhome, A.W. Robins and his wife drove from San Francisco to New York. They left on May 18th, 1916 but I haven't found how long it took. I'm guessing a long time for three reasons;
1~ The Model T ford chassis used sprockets instead of wheels on the rear axle, with a 7:1 chain drive ratio to the heavy duty accessory rear. That produced about a 20mph top speed.
2~ They had a small printing press aboard, and sold postcards of their trip along the way, as well as taking small printing jobs.
3~ In 1919 LTC Dwight D. Eisenhower, with 81 vehicles, 24 officers and 258 men, participated in the first Army transcontinental motor convoy. In that test of wartime response, from DC to SF, the best they could do was 62 days.


This picture is in Chicago by the Dearborn Massacre monument, where those redskin terrorists hacked up the white wimmins and chillins.


The interior of the Adventurer looks like they planned on a long trip.

The recreational vehicle was fully outfitted for life on the road with running water, toilet, lights, stove, and a portable bath

And you thought your Thanksgiving weekend travels were tough.