David Holmes, President of "Harry and David" fruit company, began producing the Holiday House travel trailers in November of 1959, in Medford, Oregon. These were aluminum and wood constructed trailers as many of their counterparts of this era, however, the Holiday House trailers stood out as distinctive due to their highly progressive and futuristic design.
In 1958 Holmes enlisted Chuck Pelly to design the Geographic model, also known as Model X, as a super limited production model, which he dubbed the "Trailer For The Rich". The styling was unlike any trailer of it's time. There are thought to have only been parts of 7 of these strikingly futuristic fiberglass trailers ever made
Built in 1961, the Geographic trailer was touted at the time as "the lightest, strongest 24-foot mobile home ever seen," sheathed inside and out with fiberglass, and "designed on aeronautic principles that borrow from the latest jet aircraft, satellite and missile development.... It has forward windows which allow 270 degrees visibility, and was developed at a cost of $1 million in Van Nuys, California, by skilled craftsmen from the aircraft and missile components industry."
It has a full bathroom, two double beds, a stainless steel kitchen with double sink, four pull-down gas burners, a refrigerator and built-in heater and air conditioner.
Fast Forward to 1999.
Bardy Azadmard, an architectural designer who specializes in luxury homes, never wanted a trailer, never even set foot in one until 1999, while driving to land he'd just bought in Leona Valley. That's when he spied an oddly shaped hulk alongside a dusty canyon road.
He needed a tool shed for the 7 acres of raw land he was making into a ranch. "I was buying shovels, mowers, all that stuff. I thought, I'll buy this old trailer, clean it up and use it instead of a shed. It's much more interesting to look at."
He had no idea that he was looking at what may be the first trailer built of fiberglass. And the only trailer designed by renowned industrial and race car designer Charles "Chuck" W. Pelly
He had no idea that the trailer's famous designer, Pelly, was alive and well -- and living just a few miles away in Woodland Hills.
Reached by phone, Pelly, a consultant for BMW, a catamaran designer and a partner in Design Academy Inc. of Woodland Hills, laughed to hear that the trailer he had designed was still around. "It's like an old girlfriend coming back," he said, when told of Azadmard's odd tale. "I just assumed they were all lost and no more existed. This could be the only one left, although I have no idea."
Azadmard spent a decade restoring it with help from Iowa Boys LLC and Wayne Butters. After the trailer was completed, it toured some RV shows until it was sold to someone (in 2011) for a reported six figure sum, and it then shipped to France. Until recently, it was thought to be the only survivor.
Fast Forward to 2016
In 2016 another one turned up. The owner was storing car parts in it and was willing to entertain selling it. Justin Scribner of Flyte Camp found out about it and was able to make a deal with the previous owners and trailered it back to Flyte Camp in Bend, OR.
The restoration of the fiberglass body proved to be extremely difficult. The fiberglass had black mold throughout that had to be removed. The ceiling was buckling and had to be completely replaced. Once those repairs were made, getting the trailer to line up correctly was another challenge.
https://www.vintagecampertrailers.com/blog/1961-holiday-house-geographic
http://www.flytecamp.com/vintage-trailer-sales/item/1961-holiday-house-geographic-model-x-2
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/oct/12/home/hm-trailer12
https://hiconsumption.com/2018/07/1961-holiday-house-geographic-model-x-trailer/
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