The wood-planked camping combi
01/06/2024
We often read that estate cars in the fifties were still considered to be handicraft vehicles and were therefore not so popular with families. But we should not forget that another vehicle class had an even worse reputation: minibuses. While in the suburbs of the USA the station wagon had long since established itself as a presentable imposing vehicle for the family man with a lot of luggage, the boxy front-wheel-drive loadmaster remained the preserve of the service industry.
So what should you do when the family calls for a camping vacation, but the brand new full-size freighter has no trailer coupling for the Airstream trailer? After all, a bus is out of the question. Fortunately, the Ford Motor Company had a solution to this rather specific luxury problem in the summer of 1958: the "Pushbutton Camper".
Based on the brand new Ford Country Squire for 1959, a mobile vacation home was created with all the amenities for a trip into the wilderness. The rowing boat on the roof could be opened electrically to reveal a tent underneath - which could also be erected electrically at the touch of a button. A third button folded down the rear door, revealing the camping kitchen (with two-burner gas hob and fridge!). The sunshade and shower curtain, on the other hand, had to be folded out by hand.
Ford itself had no intention of mass-producing the Pushbutton Camper, but offered third-party suppliers the generous opportunity to take up the idea and have their self-financed developments installed in customer vehicles at the local Ford dealer. However, this apparently did not happen. Perhaps it was simply cheaper to retrofit a trailer coupling.
