MTFCA Forum

We went on a 3 day and 2-night camp trip with the T. It was back in late spring/early summer. I forgot to post it till now ... We went to School House Falls in the Ozark National Forest on the old CCC Wilderness Trail west of where we live. Did a little hiking, some Dutch Oven campfire cooking, cooked on our 1926 Montgomery Wards gasoline stove, and had about as much fun as two old dinosaurs can. If you have not already seen it, check it out. We are not monetized, we only do it for the fun of it and to promote vintage Auto camping ... Please comment or subscribe if you like what we are doing, it helps keep us near the top of the search engines. We have about 14 videos at this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj5uKH7KvXg

Very enjoyable thanks so much for posting.
I want to do it!

Nice video. Any thoughts of doing the camp out west next summer/fall? We are thinking of doing a long motorcamp out to it.

dobro1956 wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 18, 2024 12:54 am

... We went to School House Falls in the Ozark National Forest on the old CCC Wilderness Trail west of where we live. Did a little hiking, some Dutch Oven campfire cooking, cooked on our 1926 Montgomery Wards gasoline stove, and had about as much fun as two old dinosaurs can.

In the mid-1930s, my dad was an Army 1st Lt and commander of Camp Hedges, a CCC camp near Calico Rock. Where was the Wilderness Trail you camped on?

Reminds me of a few trips when I was a teen. One time our family camped all the way from Los Angeles to Vancouver Island along the coast of California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Then returned through the Cascades, and the Sierras. We also took along a tent my grandfather had used in 1926 when he and one of my uncles drove from Los Angeles to Plymouth Rock in a Model T. We also had a water jug and a few other things he had used including a couple cots.
Norm

Very cool! Hats off to you! When I asked my wife if she wanted to camp in the T she just gave me "that look"...LOL

I tried convincing her with the fact Daisy's front seat back reclines to make a bed....no joy....

Fun fun!
I do a lot of Dutch oven cooking myself when we camp, pretty much all I use other than an old spider or old hand forged griddle on my vintage Coleman....Tami says the T can't pull her trailer, a Shasta canned ham.

Thanks for the posts and interest. I'll try and answer the questions and posts.
Rata Road. You say "you want to do it". It's easy. Start off simple and close to home. State Parks, Some mom and pop RV parks are really nice. Check online for places close to you. Use modern Wal Mart camp gear to start. Even practice in your back yard. It's really a lot of fun.
DL Lodge. Wilderness Trail is west of Scotland Arkansas. It is now a combination county gravel/forest service road. It starts near Scotland and runs west for about 25 miles (aprox) and ends when it meets White Mountain Road. It was built by the CCC Camp at Lost Corner during the 1930s and improved by the WPA in 1940. Lost Corner CCC camp is about 15 miles from School House Falls. My wife Kathy's father served at Lost Corner in aprox 1936. We plan a camp trip and video of Lost Corner CCC Camp soon. A lot of the old structures and foundations still exist and it is in National Forest land. We are allowed to camp there.
Baby Chadwick. We would love to try and make it to Motor Camp west but more than likely not. Do you have a estimate of how long the trip may be ?? We have a hard time staying out more than a week or two due to still needing to be close for my Mom. Wish there was a camp near the center of US.
Norman King. We also have quite a bit of my parents and grandparents we use on our camping trips. It helps us remember how different it was back then.
Daisy Mae. The canned ham may be a little big for the T. But there are smaller options. We just recently bought a 1929 Zagelmeyer pop up tent trailer to use with our T. Our original umbrella tent and cots are OK, but our old bones needs a better bed. I'll try and post a few pics of the trailer. It will be featured in our next videos.
One of the reasons we have really got into the videos of Auto Camping and just camping with the T is to promote interest in doing something with your antique car. We have already got a few young folks interested in camping with their T they inherited from parents or grandparents. We find a lot of young folks think the old car is just good to look at in the garage or maybe take to a car show. When they see us actually camping with the T or driving it on back country roads or gravel National Forest roads, they say they did not even know that people actually do that. We strive for anything pre WW2 in the folks we are associated with, but even 50s 60s 70s car owners are starting to Auto Camp. It may be one of the things that helps save the old car hobby. ???

Here are a few pics of the 1929 Zaglemeyer pop up. We hope to use it soon

We will mostly be gone quite a while. Tentatively first stop at Dodge city where there is a campground showers ect. We are trying to mix it up where we can go several days or a week then pull into campgrounds or motel for showers ect. After that should head to observer ranch near Colorado Springs. Next would be a run up pikes peak and over to vail where some friends have a condo where I may do some work to fund the trip. After CO there may be some mine hunting as we work our way to NV. Most is up in the air for now.

When I grew up between the AACA, MTFCA, HCCA, and local events there was always a tour or something going on. The hobby is dying as events dry up, the local chapter I found in TN apparently is all online unless there is a tour once a year. Sort of a disappointment. The motorcamping is what will bring life back into the hobby by attracting the younger generation. It's a cross between tour, show, and a camping trip. Excellent for a family and much cheaper than these new 4x4 utility things.

Daisy made a cross country trip from MI to CO to attend the inaugural Pikes Peak race. The owner converted the front seat to recline into a bed.
I keep trying to convince my wife to recreate the trip...so far it's been a "oh hell no, you go have fun".
But I just showed her the post with the 1929 pop up....
Now THAT piqued her interest!!
That would be SOO much fun!!!

Wish there was a camp near the center of US.

There is. I was planning to attend last year (late September) but fate intervened. Last year's session (first annual?) was at Nathanael Logsdon's place in southern Indiana. Linus Tremaine is pretty active in the antique camping scene. Maybe he would be willing to post some news about that here. I guess some of the camping I've done since 1946 would be considered vintage, but those activities were just old habits, not considered a special hobby. I guess my mom's sisters boiling coffee in a gallon can over a campfire would be considered vintage.

Hi Steve. Glad to see you back. We missed your comments and suggestions of our videos. You were out of commission for quite awhile. Vintage auto camping to us is anything that people did back in the day. We knew about the Auto Camp in Indiana, but was unable to attend. I'm in touch with Linus from time to time. He has been trying to help us find a camp trailer.
, but we stumbled onto the trailer we have from one of our local clubs members. We did the tent and cots for awhile. Now that we have the pop up tent trailer these old folks will have a real bed. We have not had it long. But should be back camping soon. Take care of yourself and your input is always welcome.
Daisy Mae. We hope the trailer really adds a new level of comfort to our trips. We will still need to use our tent on trips into the rougher back country, but State Parks, and a lot of the primative campgrounds in the Ozark National Forest should be good places to use the trailer.
babychadwick. Sounds like a little too long of a trip for us at this time, but it does sound really interesting. Keep us posted as you plan the trip. We may be able to do a meet and camp somewhere as you travel near or thru Arkansas.

Steve Jelf wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 19, 2024 3:32 pm

Wish there was a camp near the center of US.

There is. I was planning to attend last year (late September) but fate intervened. Last year's session (first annual?) was at Nathanael Logsdon's place in southern Indiana. Linus Tremaine is pretty active in the antique camping scene. Maybe he would be willing to post some news about that here. I guess some of the camping I've done since 1946 would be considered vintage, but those activities were just old habits, not considered a special hobby. I guess my mom's sisters boiling coffee in a gallon can over a campfire would be considered vintage.

We were sorry to miss you at the camp in Indiana.
It seems as though the motorcamp will be every other year with the location changing. Next summer the location is out near Tahoe. May be good to plan some kind of get together for 2026 on the off year?