Retrospect: tent trailers

Self-tutoring about people and events from the past: the tutor reflects…

Today, in conversation, my wife mentioned a tent trailer. I haven’t heard the term in decades, nor can recall seeing one in that same span.

Believe it or not, tent trailers were very common in the 70s and 80s. I admit they seemed more so in rural areas rather than cities. In PEI, you saw them being towed throughout the summer. Moreover, they were common in driveways and yards.

My family never had one, but many of my friends and/or neighbours did. In PEI, the kids next door had a big one they would often set up in the back yard. They were Americans, and their tent trailer seemed it might have been military issue from a decade or more earlier. For instance, its tent was military green. It was very large – perhaps, when set up for use, it spanned 20 feet long and 7 feet wide. It had no kitchen, bathroom, or table top, but just two sleeping areas either side of the floor. In addition, its ceiling was high: you could stand upright with no chance of touching it. I forget if the sleeping areas were bunk beds, but likely they were.

Often the tent trailer was set up in their back yard, so we could “camp” there overnight. It was an outdoor living space for kids that offered them – and their parents in the house – more privacy.

I wonder why tent trailers seem so rare, here and now, when they were so common back then.