Classic Ford F250 Truck with Sport King Cab Over Camper
This is all original super rare Sports King cab over, slide in camper camper.
The earliest truck campers. Sport King camper were built by Walter King’s company in Torrance, California. King was the guy who made first cab over campers back in 40’s. Sport King was the company pivotal for popularizing the premise of a truck camper. Walter King was an avid sportsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. As result of this passion he came up with the idea of the truck camper with his buddies.
This is a hard-side style camper Hard side camper are normal constructed using wood or aluminum framing, finished with aluminum siding. One unique feature of the Sport King camper is the arched curved roof. This design was to provide better stability in shear wind conditions. The idea is that the side, rather than being flat, the curved side would allow the wind to pass aerodynamically. Curved surfaces help reduce sway. To further improve drive ability the cab over front wall is slanted to allow air to pass more easily.
The outer shell is made of sheet aluminum. There are several reasons for using aluminum. The first reason is sheet aluminium is very light weight. It is important to keep the weight down. The second reason is aluminum does not rust. Rust can over time destroy the sheet. Because of the aluminum sheet used in this camper we can witness the longevity of the nearly 6 decade old camper.
The truck is a vintage 1959 F250 pickup. Perfect vehicle for truck campers. The engine is an 8 cylinder 292 y block motor. The fuel system is gas. Drive train is rear wheel drive. Transmission is manual.
Take A Look Inside
Here is a view of the interior bunk. Take note of the ached ceiling that is an integral part of the camper’s design. The wood paneling creates a rustic feel to the inside. There was a choice of either birch or ash wood for the interior wall panels.
A fully equipped kitchen galley make life easy while on the open road. The Sport King included a propane stove for cooking, It also included a refrigerator to keep food cold. Also there is adequate cabinets for storage.
Above you see one of Sport King’s advertisements. If you look closely you can see the basic floor plan. The ad also emphasizes the aerodynamic properties of the rounded curve arch roof. According to the ad the camper will sleep 4-6 people.
Walter King created an aluminum camper that would fit in the bed of a several models of pickup truck. King stated manufacturing truck campers soon after the end of World War II. As the truck camper became more popular other companies began building truck campers.
The F-series Ford is a great platform for a pickup camper because of its reliability, inherent load carrying capacity and robust construction. The Ford F-Series pickup trucks built between 1957 and 1960 offered a design style that was completely different than previous models. This style was only produced for a very short time. Even so this truck design had a huge influence on pickup truck styling and design for years to come.
Sources
Truck Camper HQ Website moderator. Loves camping and especially love truck campers. If it has to do with a truck camper I want to know about it and share it with others.
entirely too cool
spotted on this weekend in LaPorte City, Iowa.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickpaulos/42438885304/in/album-72157695456459712/
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Just to let you know that that is the third one i’ve seen over the
years. the first one i saw was about 9 years ago at a wrecking yard and i bought it. done many repairs to it still have some more to do to it. love the info. thanks
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Wow what a neat write up on my beloved camper..
I loved that slide in and i bought it and was going to put it on my Chevy.
I found in the closet the SportKing order form and apparently the truck and camper been paired together since 59’… i am selling it with a rebuilt 292y block and also hve the original 292 on a crate . road ready mention this article so i can give author funders fee 1kensugar@gmail.com
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I have a 1950,s King sportsman camper without the cab over. Trying to get more information. If anyone knows about this, please let me know