This Glorious 78-Year-Old Aluminum RV Is The Most Incredible Thing You Wouldn’t Want To Camp In

The RV world has been missing something special for far too long, and it’s creations of eye-aching beauty. Sure, Airstreams look striking and people have told me the new Wingamms look hot, but there’s nothing really out there that stops you in your tracks and drops your mouth open. There are few RVs that make you want to look back as you walk away like you might do with your dream car. Look no further because here’s just that. Every inch of this 1947 Westcraft Sequoia for sale is a work of art from its glossy aluminum body to its rich wood. Yet, one weird omission means this is an RV that you wouldn’t want to actually sleep in.

Wind the clock back a better part of a century and RV design was in an entirely different place. Many trailer manufacturers, regardless if they were building trailers to live in or to travel in, were obsessed with bringing aircraft construction technology to trailers in an effort to build something to stand the test of time. Still, time gets to even the best of us.

This 1947 Westcraft Sequoia was found worn down from 71 years of being on this planet. Yet, it was still in remarkably good shape. A man and his restoration shop then spent three years and 10,000 hours bringing this outrageously rare trailer back into its prime. Now, someone can bring it home from the Bring a Trailer auction going on right now.

Once A Big Name In Luxury

Westcraft the trailer builder is long gone and most of the trailers the company built have vanished from existence. But, back when it was around nearly a century ago the company made a name for itself as a producer of top-shelf trailers.

I specifically mention that the trailer part of the company is gone because surprisingly, while it’s been 70 years since a Westcraft trailer was built, its parent company is still alive and kicking today. That company is the George T. Hall Company, a firm working in several different sectors including building control systems, renewable energy, medical devices, processes to treat wastewater, and more.

In 1928, George T. Hall graduated from a high school in Ohio and went into the automotive sector. Right out of school, his first job was as a clerk at an auto parts store in Cleveland. Unfortunately, Hall’s automotive dreams were halted by the onset of the Great Depression. Hall found himself out of a job and was forced to move back home. Yet, he would take this opportunity to hit the road in the trailer below, from my previous retrospective:

During the Great Depression, George T. Hall Co. writes, the federal government encouraged Americans to get out and visit National Parks around the country. Many Americans chose to travel by car back then just as they do today. Those motorists wanted affordable places to stay, and that’s where trailer companies started sprouting up to feed this demand. The George T. Hall Co. says that Hall’s mother, Cecile, designed her own travel trailer, taking inspiration from a trailer she had seen being used by missionaries. By having the family tow their own trailer, they could travel the nation inexpensively. The company explains what happened next:

George had originally seen the prototype for Covered Wagon Trailers featured at the 1930 Detroit Car Show and they were inspired on their road trip to get into the business of trailer distribution. Within 8 months after returning home from their trip, George and Cecile became the first Covered Wagon Trailer distributors in the U.S. In October of 1932, George and Cecile decided to move West as they believed there were more opportunities for success. They packed up their 9-foot Covered Wagon Trailer and headed to Los Angeles, California. It took them about a month to arrive in Los Angeles where they were able to secure a sales lot for their trailer inventory.

In Los Angeles, California, Hall founded the George T. Hall Company and he started his empire as a distributor of enclosures, trailers, and butane heaters. The trailers Hall sold were made by regional brands and were marketed in newspapers. Over time, Hall apparently found himself slinging enough of other peoples’ trailers that his company became one of the largest distributors of RVs in Southern California.

One of the trailer brands in Hall’s portfolio was the Westcraft Manufacturing Company. Not much is known about the origins of this company, but it’s believed to have started around the time when Hall founded his company in 1932. Westcraft’s early trailers featured steel chassis, wood body framing, and aluminum exterior skin either bolted or riveted on top.

Like several manufacturers across numerous industries, Westcraft paused production to aid in the World War II effort. Trailer production resumed in 1946, with Westcraft moving to Burbank, California and revamping its line. The company would become known for two product lines. On the lower end was the Westwood, which featured a “breadloaf” design that was traditional for the day. On the high end was the Westcraft, and these were designed to be the innovative flagships, from my previous piece:

Westcraft models, which include the Capistrano, the Coronado, the Imperial, the Montecito, the Shasta, the Sequoia, the Yosemite, and probably more, featured a more streamlined design. A prominent trait of a Westcraft is what it marketed as the “Pullman Top.” Its trailers had elevated tops with vent openings. These had the double benefit of increasing headroom while helping to extract heat on hot days.

Westcraft also applied what it learned during the war. These new trailers were built like aircraft were. Gone was the wood framing. Like other manufacturers of the era, Westcraft’s new trailers featured monocoque designs featuring thick aluminum skin riveted to inner aluminum ribbing.

Despite Westcraft’s status as a high-end trailer builder, George Hall found that the real money was in parts and repairs for his company’s oil heaters. Hall focused on this so much that by 1955, his company ended trailer production. Weirdly, Westcraft is also back, sort of. Timeless Travel Trailers, a Colorado company unrelated to Hall’s empire, wants to bring back the old Westcraft trailer. Since you can’t buy one of those yet, the only way to get that old Westcraft experience is to buy an actual Westcraft.

A Piece Of History Restored

This 28-foot 1947 Westcraft Sequoia has quite the story. According to the seller, he saw the lovely restored 1950 Westcraft when it was for sale on Bring a Trailer in 2021. He missed out on this trailer as well as a 1948 model, so he decided to seal the deal on a run-down 1947 Sequoia and then restore it to clone the restoration done on the 1950. It’s actually almost scary how close the two builds are now.

Here’s the 1950, for reference:

The seller also has a story about this build:

I found and purchased this extremely rare 1947 westcraft on 8/11/2021. This just so happened to be the day the 1950 westcraft sold. I was in route to pick up my westcraft and got on bring a trailer to look at my daily mail. That’s when i first discovered the 1950 westcraft listed on bring a trailer. By the end of the day I watched from the last 2 min of the auction till it finished. I was amazed at how much everyone loved it!

I also thought to myself… only one of these 4 people who really wanted the westcraft will end up with it. At that point I decided to restore and build the 1947 to be as close to the 1950 as possible. Along the way I tried to improve in areas but keep the elegant speak easy vibe in the interior. Having my own restoration shop and high end construction company made this the perfect project to throw all of my passion from both companies into this rare piece of rolling art. I’m sure that the 1950 westcraft that sold is incredible! I’m not trying to take anything away from what that became. That beyond said, I built this with no expenses spared in the hope that it would be the most incredible westcraft in the world!

Before:

After:

When the seller says he built this 1947 to be as close to the 1950, he means it. The colors are the same and the interiors are similar enough. I guess it’s true what they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Yet, an incredible amount of work went into this Westcraft. The seller claims this restoration project took 10,000 hours over 3 years.

No doubt, a ton of skill went into this transformation process. The body looks more glossy than a lot of new cars. The exterior is just so shockingly good from top to bottom. There is not a piece that appears to have been left untouched and again, the beauty is unrivaled by anything in production today.

The interior is even better. Pop open the door and bask in the rich Russian birch wood all over the interior. As noted before, many of the touches in here are either period-correct or original equipment restored to a new state.

This does not include the trailer’s equipment. The seller notes that they tore this interior down to the bare metal. From there, they added completely new insulation, electrical wiring, and plumbing. Yes, this trailer may be the better part of a century old, but that doesn’t mean you have to deal with an ancient electrical system.

It’s noted that the wood in the trailer looks so great because it was given a pecan stain under five coats of clear coat. The new cabinets were also made by using the design of the trailer’s original cabinetry as a template. That’s why they look old but are new. The new cabinets also have the hardware of the trailer’s original cabinets because those parts, much like the couch, were still in great shape after so many decades.

In terms of interior content, you’re looking at Relicate leather, Buster + Punch electrical outlets and switches, a Mitsubishi mini split for HVAC, a Kraus sink, a Bertazzonni range, a Nostalgia Retrowave, and various appliances from Smeg. Take note of the larger-than-factory refrigerator and expansive counter space. A Westcraft trailer didn’t have nearly this much space from the factory, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

For now, let’s take a gander at the rear, where there’s a nice memory foam bed. The seller even managed to save one of the original materials sheets that came with the trailer when new, which is incredible.

What’s So Weird

The quality of the work here, at least as my eyes see them through a computer screen, is phenomenal. The RV manufacturers in Indiana should be furiously jotting down notes here. While I do think the 1950 Westcraft that inspired this 1947 build is better, this one is still outstanding.

With that being said, the seller did make some questionable choices. You’ve noticed that I haven’t said anything about a bathroom. That’s because there isn’t one. There isn’t even a cassette toilet stashed away in a cabinet. This trailer doesn’t have any way for you to shower or use the bathroom whatsoever. These trailers did have bathrooms when they were new. The seller gives this reason for deleting the bathroom: “We decided this rare piece of art deserves a special home on a special piece of property so we didn’t install bathroom.”

This decision is mirrored in the fact that the trailer doesn’t have an inverter, a battery, or any method to power it when it’s not hooked up to shore power. The seller says ideally, you’ll just plop this down on a plot of land and build an outdoor bathroom near the trailer. He provides this rendering as an example:

It should be noted that the 1950 Westcraft Capistrano that the seller says he copied does have a real functional bathroom. Personally, I would prefer a bathroom over extra counter space in a trailer. I don’t want to stumble outside in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Sadly, this means that this trailer is impractical to use as a trailer or as a home.

The seller, in amping up the Bring a Trailer community, also says that it’s the only surviving 1947 Westcraft in the world, claiming, quote: “[S]ee if you can find another 1947 Westcraft in the world.” This wasn’t a great challenge to issue because it took me 30 seconds to find two more restored 1947 Westcrafts. One was restored by known RV restorer Flytecamp and another by a private owner. In fairness to the seller, these other examples are Westcraft Coronados, but he didn’t say he had the only 1947 Westcraft Sequoia in the world.

We also have no idea about the weight. A factory-fresh Sequoia would have weighed 4,600 pounds. As for this one, the seller says that his 2022 Land Rover Defender (above) “pulled like it wasn’t even there.” Based on this, he says the trailer must weigh between 4,600 pounds and 7,716 pounds, which is the towing capacity of his Land Rover.

As someone who tows a lot, if it weighed 7,716 pounds you would absolutely feel it back there. Though, you should feel a 4,600-pound trailer, too. So, it’s unknown what this weighs. I would urge a buyer to get this on a scale quickly.

RVs Can Be Beautiful

Still, this trailer is incredible from top to bottom. I’m happy that there are people out there not just willing to preserve these pieces of history, but spend the time and the money to turn them into pieces of art. That’s what this is. It’s art you can sleep in.

So, what is this worth? The 1950 Westcraft Capistrano that sold on Bring a Trailer in 2021 sold for an incredible $630,000. It was a record-breaking auction and one that gathered 826 comments and 369,965 views. However, that longer trailer was still a step above this one. It had gorgeous period-correct appliances, even more stainless steel, and a working bathroom. For those reasons, I don’t see this 1947 Westcraft Sequoia hitting those numbers. It’s currently at $76,013 with four days to go, so it’s definitely going to go for a lot of dough.

Oddities aside, I think whoever gets this trailer is going to adore what they’re getting. Ignoring the lack of anywhere to pee, there’s just nothing in the modern day that can match this trailer’s style. It’s a shame this trailer probably won’t see much camping.

(Images: Bring A Trailer Sellers, unless otherwise noted.)