1971 Nimrod Eldorado

[heavyone]

I just bought this camper for 300 bucks. It is in remarkable condition. Has only a few small tears in canvas.  Does anyone know anything about these campers? I cant seem to find  info anywhere.

[PITPOP27]

I know nothing but find the name hysterical.....Like only a Nimrod would camp in folding campers.... :eyecrazy:

[Jeffrey]

Nimrod means.......... Hunter

So if your saying only a Hunter would camp in a PU.
I could live with that.

Nimrod brand has been gone for a long time, but I don't know how long.

[PITPOP27]

For real?  Then why do people say you are such a Nimrod?  It wouldn't be the same as You are such a hunter?  :p

[wavery]

I had a Nimrod PU back in the late 60s. I don't remember much about it other than it had nothing more than 2 bunks. If I remember correctly, it didn't even have windows, just screens.

I also remember that my young family was very happy to have it in those days. We didn't have it long and only camped in it a few times.

One thing that I would recommend in a trailer that age would be to replace the wheel bearings. It is cheap and easy. You will sleep better if you do it. One of the most common failures, on older trailers, is wheel bearing failure. If the wheel bearing fails, it can often result in the wheel falling off. That can sometimes happens on the freeway at high speed and causes a very serious condition.

I hope that you enjoy your PU .

[mike4947]

While I have seen Nimrod PU's over the years (mainly true soft top tent campers) my RV index doesn't show them as a manufacturer active, bought out or closed.

[Jeffrey]

I have a book Called "Sportsman on wheels" - 1969
It says...........
" One of the first (and perhaps the very first) person to offer a compact, collapible, fabric-topped trailer was Ash Ward in Cincinnati. That was in 1956 and he called his creation the Nimrod Camper. But to tell the truth, he had a very hard time selling very many units - for a few years, that is. Only 196 of the original edition were bought, although some of these are still in use."

Then it goes on talking about them, and showing pictures of a 60's model. That has a hard top (fiberglass?).

Most Nimrods that I have seen pictures of are all tent tops.

[wavery]

I have a book Called "Sportsman on wheels" - 1969
It says...........
" One of the first (and perhaps the very first) person to offer a compact, collapible, fabric-topped trailer was Ash Ward in Cincinnati. That was in 1956 and he called his creation the Nimrod Camper. But to tell the truth, he had a very hard time selling very many units - for a few years, that is. Only 196 of the original edition were bought, although some of these are still in use."

Then it goes on talking about them, and showing pictures of a 60's model. That has a hard top (fiberglass?).

Most Nimrods that I have seen pictures of are all tent tops.

The one that I had, had a hard top. It was aluminum and I remember cranking the thing up too.

I'll have to go back through some old albums and see if I can find a picture.

[mbopp]

Sheesh, that brings back memories. My parents had a Nimrod in the late 60's / early 70's, towed by '66 & '69 9-passenger Pontiac station wagons. It had an electric lift & the galley flipped over & pushed out something like a slider does today to give you extra room. Dad added a convection propane heater in the floor. 5 kids in the family, we went from Buffalo to Florida one Christmas, also the Adirondacks, Vermont, then Boston / Gloucester. When I was a teenager I took it with friends to Allegheny SP. DB & his buddies went to the Adirondacks a few times with it also. Can't remember, but I think it was a hard top.

[mike4947]

My listing for manufacturers only goes back to 1978 for orphaned builders so Nimrod (Ash Ward) must have went out of business before that.

[stateparkgrl]

Back in the early 1970's, my parents owned a hardware store and rented Nimrod campers. They had 4 of them at one time. We took annual vacations each summer to Oklahoma to visit relatives, and camped all the way back and forth. Ours was stripped...2 bunks and a folding table. The bunk ends pulled out and the canvas top popped up and was supported by three horizontal poles that popped up with the top. There was a soft vinyl top that snapped down over and all around the camper when it was down.

My one scary memory was one summer in Kansas when we got caught in a terrible storm and dad jumped out of bed and ordered us to pack up...NOW! My parents, and my brother and I got the thing down and on the road in 10 minutes flat. 10 miles down the road we heard on the radio that the campground had been hit by a tornado. WHEW!

We grew up in that Nimrod...and most of the reason I still camp in a popup is because I want my grandchildren to have the same great memories.

[zamboni]

I want my grandchildren to have the same great memories.

What... like this?

[Trailman]

Nimrod camping trailers were built by Ward manufacturing, Hamilton Ohio.
Not sure when they stopped making them but I have seen ads for the Eldorado model before.
There is an ad for sale on ebay at the minute for a 65 Nimrod trailer.
Here is the photo from it.

Here is the link to the ebay ad.
Nimrod ad

[wavery]

WOW!!! Does that bring back memories :eyecrazy: . That is exactly the one that I used to have. I was wrong, I remember now. The top was hard but the beds just hinged over the trailer and met in the middle. It wasn't a crank up (obviously :p )

[unitydnk]

gee maybe it is worth a lot because its an antique...LOL ask the smithsonian