Curbside Classic: 1974 Dodge D-100 "Gypsy Wagon" Camper
Dodge trucks have gotten short-shrift around here. They do tend to kind of disappear in the background, especially this generation, even thought they were built almost forever. But this one caught my attention, given the love and effort that went into this home-built “gypsy-wagon” camper on back. Let’s take a closer look.
Easier said than done, with the sun in my camera lens. That happens all too often; maybe I need something other than a $100 cheapo. It’s also why I like shooting in Eugene’s all-too common foggy weather.
Someone has certainly put a lot of craftsmanship and detail into this exterior. Quite a contrast from the usual corrugated aluminum siding. Ah, that window is uncovered; let’s be real nosy and stick my camera lens up to it and shoot.
Cozy and quaint. And the book on the rack: “Gypsy Queen Card Reader”. A little table between two chairs, and a lamp overhead. I’m beginning to suspect the owner really is living the lifestyle. She probably works the festival circuit.
Gypsy Queen Card readers need to sleep too, and there’s a cozy bunk over the cab. And all so immaculate.
Having run across both of these home-made rigs on the same day, they make a nice juxtaposition. Different strokes for different folks, and Eugene has a higher percentage of different folks than average. Keeps things interesting.
And I haven’t talked about the poor neglected Dodge D-100. What can one say about it, except that of the Big Three pickups from the seventies, it’s engines and transmission were certainly as or more bullet-proof than the others (Lean Burn carbs excepted – did they use them in the pickups too?). But they’re easily replaced with something that runs a bit richer and happier. Just make sure you keep a spare ballast resistor in the glove box.
More by Paul Niedermeyer
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And, +1 on the invisibility of old Dodge trucks. When I owned this low 1971 pickup I showed it once at the Puyallup swap meet; parked between a 1956 Chevy 2-door hardtop and a black 1955 Studebaker coupe. I don't think anyone noticed the truck all day.
I had a 1983 W-150 4x4 with the Slant 6 that had spent most of its 300,000 miles on winter logging roads plowed through the bush in Northern Minnesota. I drove it back and forth 300 miles between the farm in North Dakota and Northern Minnesota. Body was all rusted out, but it was reliable and economical. I even put a heavy Alaskan camper on it and it handled the weight.