This Silver Streak branded motorhome is a rare bird. Indeed, it may be the only roadworthy one in existence. Silver Streak was born in the flush travel trailer times following World War II when trailer manufacturers scrambled to meet the surging post-war demand for recreational vehicles. The genesis of the Silver Streak Trailer Company occurred when three investors, Kenny Neptune, Frank Polido, and Pat Patterson, bought the Curtis Wright Industries trailer company in 1949 and renamed it the Silver Streak Trailer Company. Based in El Monte, California, Silver Streak was essentially a boutique trailer manufacturer that never produced more than a few hundred units a year. But they were quality trailers and a surprising number of them are still on the road today.
The story goes that Silver Streak decided to enter the rapidly expanding motorhome market in the early 1970s but didn’t actually produce any units until 1974, a date that unfortunately was during the energy crisis. Sales of all motorhomes plummeted during those depressing times, and Silver Streak didn’t have the resources to establish much of a client base. Sources indicate that Silver Streak produced a dozen Class A and a dozen Class C motorhomes at most. All of the motorhomes that have been attributed to Silver Streak appear to have been custom made; no two are exactly the same.
This 1978 25-foot Class C motorhome is mounted on a Dodge M-400 motorhome chassis and powered by a Dodge 440 gasoline engine. The owner states that following a year of restoration he drove the motorhome and towed a 6,000-pound trailer from California to Ohio, averaging an impressive 11 miles per gallon. Owned by Jim Jarzebek. Photographed in Camp Dearborn, Michigan
NOTE they built a 27 foot model in 1968 with a german hanomag 4 cyl engine- looks like a vw van atached to the front of a typical silver streak trailer-i believe thier were 27 of these made.
Jesse Salisbury northcalgreens@yahoo.com