zero Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 I came across a fiberglass slide-in truck camper today sitting next to a local farmer's potato field. Looks very similar to a Sunrader. After a little research - seems in a way, it is. It's a 1967 or 68 Amerigo. Seems this is how Sunrader got its start. Stewart Gardner bought Amerigo in Indiana maybe around 1966 and later used the fiberglass tooling and/or design to make motorhomes. The "Sunrader" name first got used in 1974 and trademarked in 1979. As far as I can tell, Stewart Gardner is now 75 years old (of the former Gardner Pacific Inc) and is still inventing devices for motorhomes under the name "R-N-R International." He has many patents - many for fold-out or slide-out rooms on motorhomes. The history is a bit unclear (at least to me). The similarities between the slide-in camper and the motorhome is pretty obvious though. I offered the potato farmer $500 for the Amerigo. I'm waiting to hear from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Stewart Gardner of the Amerigo and Sunrader passed away many years ago. I believe Stewart E Gardner is his grandson and he is probably about 75. The original Stewart started in the trailer business in the 30's and was already pretty old when the Sunraders came about. some early examples http://www.allmanufacturedhomes.com/html/1949_stewart_nov02.htm http://www.allmanufacturedhomes.com/html/html/1956_stewart_091103.htm Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 Stewart Gardner of the Amerigo and Sunrader passed away many years ago. I believe Stewart E Gardner is his grandson and he is probably about 75. The original Stewart started in the trailer business in the 30's and was already pretty old when the Sunraders came about. some early examples http://www.allmanufacturedhomes.com/html/1949_stewart_nov02.htm http://www.allmanufacturedhomes.com/html/html/1956_stewart_091103.htm Linda S The Stewart E. Gardner who is mentioned in the 1969 article was 29 years old at the time and sort of taking over the "family business." He would be 75 now if alive and I assume it is his US Patents I'm seeing. The "Sunrader" name wasn't used until 1974, according to the US Trademark authorities. There were several companies. Gardner-Amerigo and Gardner-Pacific. I believe the grand-father was in charge of the former. and Stewart E. in charge of the latter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Gardner-Pacific was incorporated in 1973 with Stewart Gardner as the founder. Not Stewart E Gardner. My friend Peter was a close friend of the plant manager in Vallejo, Dean Elena, and spent a bit of time at the plant. Picking up your Sunrader in person was quite the deal. They treated you like royalty. Peter bought 4 between 1975 and 1987. The old man ran the show here in Cal and the Indiana plantLinda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 So it wasn't the "young whipper-snapper" Stewart E. that had the idea of making a micro-mini? I read an article when times were tough at Gardner-Pacific in 1991 and how they still treated customers very well who came to the factory. At that time they had laid a lot of workers off and were only making one motorhome per week instead of one per day. That's when Dean Ellena was the general manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 I know Dean was there in 86. I met a woman whose husband ordered a Sunrader 4x4 then and when he found out about the new full float axles he drove back the factory and demanded one. They didn't have ones on the 4x4's but Dean had one installed for him and ordered 15 inch wheels for it from Custom and Commercial wheel. That was the only full float upgrade the Sunrader factory ever did. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 Kind of neat to hear info like this making real people out of brand names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 I am so close to where the plant was in Vallejo and obviously a Sunrader nut. The place that repaired my fridge was less than a block from the plant and the guys talked about when it was open. I so regret that I didn't even know they existed back then. I would have loved to buy a new one Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 Along the same line of "missed chances" . . my girlfriend's (almost fiancee) parents had a brand new Toyota Round Tripper in the 70s and I did even know about it until this year when I ran into her on Facebook and she mentioned it. I would of loved to have seen it but I guess back then - getting to know her parents and their stuff was not on my priority list. She later got a Sunrader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.