One Of The Rarest RVs In The World Is This Semi-Trailer Camper Built To Be A Rolling Castle

Some of the greatest RVs of all time weren’t rigs constructed by famed brands, but by eccentrics who wanted something no company in Indiana could build. One of the rarest, wildest vintage RVs is the Camelot Cruiser, a giant truck trailer-based camper that was designed to be the closest thing to a castle on wheels. Its builder was so obsessed with this dream that he had three of them built, and one has just shown up for sale. This is one of those situations where, if you miss it, who knows when you’ll see one of the other two show up for sale again.

This 1974 Ford C-750 and Camelot Cruiser is currently for sale at Bring a Trailer with six days to go. The last time a Camelot Cruiser came up for sale was in 2022, and that one was a pretty groovy green example. Something I’ve found fascinating is that despite over 50 years on this planet, all three Camelot Cruisers remain largely as they were built in the 1970s, making them fabulous time capsules into what luxury RVing was like over a half century ago.

The reason why only three of these were ever built comes down to their purpose. These coaches were not built by an RV company, but by Richard Edler, then the president of Edler & Company Inc. of Morton Grove, Illinois. While Edler did not have experience in RVs, he had an idea of what he thought the perfect RV would be.

Retiring In Fashion

Richard Edler had a story that sounded like the typical American dream. He spent his life building out a little empire in third-party logistics and warehousing. Then, once he reached the tail end of his career, he decided to retire and spend his time traveling the country with his family and dogs.

Edler & Company Inc. was formed in 1938 as Atlas Van Lines, and this company specialized in third-party logistics. Basically, if a company couldn’t handle its own warehousing or logistics, Atlas Van Lines and Edler & Company were options for handling and hauling the goods. The company expanded as Edler Warehousing LLC in 1962, which continues to operate, as well as Edler & Company. The Edler company’s core functions are the same as they were several decades ago. Atlas Van Lines, Inc. is also still around, and if you live in the Midwest, there’s a high chance you’ve seen its large white and blue trucks on the highway.

As RV Travel writes, back in the early 1970s, Edler began planning out his retirement. He wanted to take up cross-country travel with his family and four Saint Bernard dogs. But more than that, he also wanted to be able to bring along toys or maybe even horses along for the ride. As you might expect, someone with such grand demands as this wasn’t going to find an RV to fit the bill. Honestly, Mr. Edler would have had a hard time meeting his expectations even today.

When Edler found no giant RV befitting his desire to travel like a king, he just designed his own RV and then farmed it out to his subsidiary company, Camelot Cruisers in Skokie, Illinois, to have it built to his exacting specifications.

The first Camelot Cruiser was built in 1970, and it’s pictured below.

This rig is pulled by a 1970 Ford C-900 heavy-duty cabover truck. One of its previous sellers, Auto Parts City, an auto recycling facility here in Illinois, says that it had a 529 cubic-inch V8 engine. This first Camelot Cruiser was built to fulfill Edler’s initial goal of traveling with his family and four Saint Bernards. As a result, the basement storage area under the living area has a giant kennel fit for the four dogs.

However, Edler didn’t stop there. He considered that there would be times that he would want to bring along more than just dogs. Thus, he had two more examples built for his family, both with pretty much the same floorplan, but with different cargo compartments. The second Camelot Cruiser was built to house a tiny boat in its basement, while the third was designed to haul a pair of snowmobiles in its basement. It has been reported that one of the three Camelot Cruisers was designed to carry at least a horse as well.

Thankfully, all three Camelot Cruisers have survived into the modern day. The third Camelot Cruiser went for sale in 2022. That one is green and still has its matching snowmobiles. Each Camelot Cruiser was built out of a Gerstenslager trailer, and an additional manufacturing sticker affixed to the cabover trucks says they were modified by Fifth Wheels, Inc. to become RV haulers.

Richard Rawlings of Gas Monkey Garage bought the other two from Auto Parts City for $30,000 for the pair. In filming that video, it was revealed that the first one carried just the dogs. It would appear that the Camelot Cruiser for sale at Bring a Trailer right now is the second blue one. In the video, this unit had the boat in the basement.

Curiously, there’s also one additional large compartment at the back of the trailer, and I bet that’s where the horse would have stayed.

Surviving documentation also suggests that Edler wanted to sell these coaches to elite travelers for $150,000 a piece, which is the equivalent of $1,027,087 today. For that price, you got not just a castle on wheels, but a stocked fridge with four porterhouse steaks and a kitchen that had everything you needed to cook on the first night.

The green third Camelot Cruiser has shown up in auctions several times over the years, and as one listing at Worldwide Auctioneers noted, Edler did want to sell them pre-stocked because he was fed up with luxury RVs that forced their owners to fill them with stuff. Edler was quoted as saying: “I can’t imagine something worse than selling a $150,000 RV to someone and having their first night be ruined because they don’t have a can opener.”

Despite having what seemed to be a great idea, it’s believed that Edler built only the three personal examples. Keep in mind that these rigs were built during an inopportune time. The economy wasn’t great, gas wasn’t cheap, and Americans were turning away from driving thirsty vehicles.

This Camelot Cruiser

That brings us to this Camelot Cruiser. Its Gerstenslager trailer was built in April 1974, and the Ford C-750 pulling it was built in the month after.

Now we get to the silly part. It wasn’t really enough that Edler had built three RVs that were fit for a king. He really embraced the whole “Camelot” theme with the builds. When you enter the coach and climb up the stairway, one of the first places you’ll reach is what most RV manufacturers call a dinette. Here, the U-shaped dinette is called the “Royal Observatory Lounge,” and you get yellow curtains and yellow tufted upholstery.

The idea was that the family sat here while traveling and got to watch the world go by out of the panoramic windows. The trailer also had an intercom system so that those inside of the trailer could communicate with the driver of the truck.

Moving back from there is the “Gourmet Galley,” and the idea here is to provide a good residential-style kitchen on the road. The cabinets are made out of oak and the countertops are made out of tile. The sink is made out of porcelain, and this trailer even still has its factory four-burner stove.

Photos with the drawers open show them to be filled with gold-plated cooking utensils. While it’s not said if these utensils are original, what you see in the kitchen is how this Camelot Cruiser was configured from the factory. This RV would even come with gold-plated pots, pans, and dishes to match the bold yellow theming here.

The bathroom is frankly preposterous. Edler called this area the “King’s and Queen’s Privy,” and when it was new, it featured two ebony china sinks, gold faucets, luxury tile, a full-size shower with a velvet curtain, and a toilet.

However, it’s noted that this coach has been through some only partially finished renovations. The listing says that the RV’s water, waste, and electrical systems have been updated, including an electrical upgrade to 50-Amp service. However, it’s also said that the climate control systems have been removed and that some 12-volt equipment, including the doorbell and some 12V lights, does not work. An Eccotemp instant water heater was also added during the renovations, but the installation wasn’t finished, so it doesn’t currently work. It’s also noted that the plumbing renovations are untested, so it’s unknown how well they all work.

When this coach appeared in Gas Monkey Garage, it had purple shag carpeting, a Camelot-named boat was found in the basement, and the pulling tractor was missing a grille. The carpeting is gone, and the truck now does have a grille, but the boat is missing, and the listing doesn’t say where it went. The listing doesn’t even say that a boat used to be onboard.

There’s still more to go here. Behind the bathroom sits “The Great Hall,” which is a fancy sitting room featuring wood paneling, two sofas, and a phone to reach the driver or the phones in the bathroom and in the front of the coach. In this particular RV, this room features a large bed and what’s left of the purple shag carpeting is on the back wall. There is also a second bedroom just ahead of the bathroom with a double bed, a faux masonry accent wall, and a vanity.

Edler wanted these RVs to be self-contained units, so when new, they had a generator, a 300-gallon stainless steel water tank, a 300-gallon wastewater tank, a forced-air furnace, air-conditioning, and three house batteries. It does appear that the three house batteries are present, as is the generator, but the condition of the holding tanks is unclear.

The tractor in front of this Camelot Cruiser is a 1974 Ford C-750. This is powered by a 391 FT big block V8, driving the rear wheels through an Allison AT 540 automatic. The listing says that the truck’s air brakes have been serviced and that the drivetrain has been overhauled. This overhaul included the transmission, cylinder heads, valvetrain, and tossing out the carburetor for a Holley Sniper electronic fuel injection system.

These Camelot Cruisers are thirsty beasts, with one previous owner claiming only 5 mpg fuel economy. To compensate, the truck feeds from two 80-gallon fuel tanks, one of which is an auxiliary tank that refills the main tank. The cab of the semi does feature a bed for the driver, but the air conditioner for the driver is currently broken.

If you’re wondering, the truck and trailer come in at around 44,000 pounds and stretch 55 feet in length. Even with an RV registration, residents of some states will need to have a license in a proper weight class to drive a rig like this.

But, honestly, none of that matters because this RV is so cool. It’s a time capsule into what excess looked like in the 1970s and one of three rolling examples of one guy’s crazy dreams. When the clock runs out in six days, this Camelot Cruiser is bound to sell for a ton of cash, and this is one of those times when I think whatever it sells for might be worth it. If you want a shot at owning it for yourself, click here to visit the auction.