Curbside Classic: 1974 Dodge D-100 "Gypsy Wagon" Camper

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

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 new Curbside Classics here

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

More by Paul Niedermeyer

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  • Pete Madsen Pete Madsen on Oct 17, 2010

    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.

  • Fred schumacher Fred schumacher on Oct 25, 2010

    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.

  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
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