In a similar way to the Bluebird featured last month, Winnebago was a major catalyst in popularising coachbuilts, only this time it was A-class models and ‘across the pond’ initially, and then globally. In 1958, Forest City, Iowa, businessman John K Hanson brought a small travel trailer company, Modernistic Industries, to the city in a bid to bolster a flagging economy. He became the manager and in 1960 renamed the company Winnebago, after the river, county and Native American Nation. Six years later, following warp factor expansion, Winnebago launched its first A-class, the F17 on a Ford chassis. Assembly line production mirroring the car industry enabled it to go on sale for less than half the price of the competition, making it affordable for ‘ordinary folk’. Efficiency savings were achieved…
