Читать книгу RVs & Campers For Dummies - Christopher Hodapp - Страница 31

Every RVer should try to make a trip to Elkhart, Indiana. It’s like going on a pilgrimage. If you own an RV, your whole rig, or at least a lot of what’s inside of it, was likely built in Elkhart. More than 80 percent of the RVs in the United States are made in this part of northern Indiana, so the opportunities for factory tours are a major draw. But for a town of 50,000 people, Elkhart has a lot of attractions and museums; the Wellfield Botanic Garden, the Museum of American Art, the New York Central Railroad Museum, historic homes like the Ruthmere mansion, even the Hall of Heroes Superhero Museum.

But one of the best things to do in Elkhart is to visit the RV/MH Hall of Fame (www.rvmhhalloffame.org). This museum dedicated to RVs and mobile homes is beautifully laid out, with interior exhibits parked along a curving road. People started renovating cars into RVs about a week after they were invented, and you’ll get to see things from this early period, like the 1915 Model T Ford with a “Telescoping Apartment” custom addition. Other exhibits include a 1913 Earl Travel Trailer, movie star Mae West’s personal motorhome while working at Paramount Pictures, a gem of a 1974 GMC motorhome from when General Motors briefly entered the RV business, and a 1958 Wally Byam prototype mini Airstream trailer. If you love RVs, you’ll have a blast! It might even inspire you to modify your own rig.