by Matt Latham
My grandfather, Robert Latham, loved to take his wife and two sons camping for family vacations. Growing tired of sleeping on the ground in a tent, he set to make a pop up camper. (I believe that he saw a homebuilt camper while staying at East Harbor State Park.)
Drawing up the plans and salvaging old car parts from the local junk yard such as an axel from an old Nash Rambler and tail lights from a 1957 Ford, he came up with a box-shaped camper that could accomodate 4 adults. He even went to welding school to learn how to weld the frame together. With a final cost of only $418.00, the camper was complete.
He took the family all over with this camper and caught the eyes of everyone. Forty-four years later, the camper is still being used. I decided to finally replace the old canvas top with a newer top and cleaned it up with a fresh coat of bright red paint and some lacquer on the wood work. It is a treasure to me and I am proud to show it off. I hope that I can keep it for another forty-four years.
Basic Information
Year Built:
1963
Built by:
Robert L. Latham
Sleeps:
4 adults
Total cost to make:
$418.00 (I have all the original paper work and
receipts)
Restored:
2006 – replaced drop axel and wheels (The old wheel fell off while returning from East Harbor State Park.) Replaced Canvas top in 2007
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