When technological innovation brought early twentieth-century Americans the liberating effects of the automobile, it also produced ancillary developments in terms of vacation, travel, and shelter. Long-distance auto travel led many Americans to use tents or lean-tos in roadside areas, but trailers and recreational vehicles (RVs) would not begin to appear until the 1920s. What began as haphazard homemade contraptions have evolved into a major industry constructing lavish homes on wheels.

Following the model of the "gypsy kit," which started being marketed in 1909, manufacturers sold trailers and trucks possessing enclosed living areas. The liberation of the American traveler had reached a new level. RVs would become identified with complete autonomy because they represented fully transportable shelter. One of the first applications of the new RVs had little to do with the independence of the open road; instead the military made this form of temporary shelter part of many endeavors...