We found the RoVerhauler in an ad in a copy of RV Trader that we bought on a lark during our Christmas visit to Chicago last year, and we purchased her from her previous owner in Higganum, CT in February. He told us that he had bought her from a buddy of his who had bought her in an estate auction. Unfortunately, we do not have any of the original documentation that came with the vehicle.
Before we officially christened her “RoVerhauler”, I often referred to her as “The FrankenTruck”, because she looks like a cross between an old school firetruck and a cab-over camper. I even considered mounting giant bolts on the cab to complete the Frankenstein look! She is definitely eye-catching, in a kind of steam-punk (or, more accurately, diesel-punk) way.
Ms. RoVerhauler has a 1972 Ford C8000 chassis. She kind of looks like an old school fire truck, but she has a dump truck bed and a cab-over. She was repowered in the recent past with a rebuild Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine. She has an Allison automatic transmission. The camper body has one name on it, ‘Jac-Kir’, centered above the windshield.
As much as she looks like an RV conversion, she was originally built as an RV. That is what the original owner told us, and we have found no clues that indicate otherwise. The story we got was that the RoVerhauler was built by a Nascar driver to pull his car transporter and provide infield support. We have been unable to verify that story, but are hoping to come across someone who has heard of ‘Jac-Kir’ or recognizes this vehicle from the 1970s. We’d love to learn about its original owner and early history, whether or not the Nascar story turns out to be true.
Google searches have turned up no information about ‘Jac-Kir’, nor did a post to RV.net. We visited the RV Hall of Fame earlier today (Day 3), with the hope of finding out about ‘Jac-Kir’ in their research library (if I recall correctly, they have 20,000 volumes!) or from the staff. We had a great time speaking with Al Hesselbart, their historian, but he had not heard of this brand or maker. He was very interested in seeing the vehicle, so we gave him an impromptu tour in the parking lot. He speculated that the RoVerhauler may have been a one-of-a-kind or one-of-a-half dozen. He said he was going to do some research on our behalf.
I must say that the RV Hall of Fame is worth the visit, and not just because we got a personal tour from Al. They were open from 9 AM to 5 PM, and I could have stayed the entire day exploring their collection, if not for our schedule and the need to get back on the road to Nevada. If you are interested in RVs, vehicles in general, American culture, history, manufacturing or design, there is something there to capture your imagination. Next visit, I will allow more time to explore. We might be able to stop there again on our way home, but our schedule from Moab back to MA is pretty tight.
