Heilite Trailers
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Heilite Trailers, Inc. was founded by Theodore Heil (Ted) in 1951 in Lodi, California as a proprietorship. Ted Heil was born on February 28, 1905 in Harvy, North Dakota. His family moved to Lodi, California in 1906 where his father, Peter Heil, was a vineyardist and early shipper. Ted was a natural entrepreneur and has several patents credited to him. He was always looking for a better way to do things. His first invention was a self propelled power sulphur duster, named the Forduster, in 1925. He also took an active role in his community participating in the Lodi District Chamber of Commerce, Lodi Industrial Group, Lodi chapter of American Historical Society of Germans From Russia and Lodi Council of Churches. He helped found and served as the first exalted ruler of the Lodi Elks Lodge. Ted sold Heilite Trailers, Inc. in 1964 and later worked in commercial and industrial property as a sales representative. He died January 22, 2001 at the age of 95.

Ted Heil built the original model in 1935 for his own personal use. He continued to improve and refine the design over the next few years. I have no record showing that he went into production during the 1930's or 1940's. On June 6, 1944 (D-Day) he applied for his first trailer patent. He was awarded US Patent 2,383,192 on August 21, 1945. After some well-thought-through modifications (like using aluminum for the body) he applied for a new patent on March 23, 1948. He was awarded US Patent 2,513,411 on Juy 4, 1950. (He appears to have a knack for important dates). This trailer was referred as Model 5 and production began sometime during 1951 with manufacturing facilities being located at 660 East Lockeford Street in Lodi, California. Today the Golden State Highway now runs through where the original building stood. Manufacturing operations remained small. According to the local newspaper 6 trailers were manufactured in 1951 and 12 trailers in 1952. On March 18, 1953 Ted Heilite officially declared his intent to manufacture the Heilite Trailer and made his debut at the Los Angeles Trailer Show the following month, April 1953. The show lasted 10 days and the unique trailer was a hit. The television show, "The City At Night" featured the trailer on their show. Ted Heil returned home with orders for 84 trailers. Operations were quickly expanded to meet the demand but some of the trailer undercarriages were subcontracted to a Bay area firm. These proved to be defective and were later replaced. A total of 115 trailers were manufactured in 1953. Popular Science featured featured the the Heilite Trailer in their August 1953 issue.

Heilite's first trailer manufactured came with either a standard sized tent or the "Big Tent". Both versions sold for $420 or $456 respectively, or $4,900 and $5,300 in 2024 dollars. Made from lightweight aluminum the trailer weighed only 200 lbs or 220 lbs with the "Big Tent". Total capacity of the trailer was 500 lbs. The trailer featured an attached tent that opened up to the trailer's side like an unfolding accordion. This created additional living space to the side while the trailer itself became a full-size bed with storage, accessible on both sides, under the bed. This unique design, uncommon for the era, reflected the early trailer designs from 1914-1916. The trailer was built to ride on a single wheel that pivoted in 360 degrees. Two hitches attached to the vehicle's bumper stabilized the trailer for towing. This design coupled with its lite weight made the trailer idea for mountain camping where narrow and steep roads were common. When in camp you simply dropped the four supporting legs and unfolded the tent. Early advertisements claimed the trailer could be setup in one minute!

In 1954 Heilite reorganized as a limited partnership. The trailer was agressively marketed at sportsman shows and county fairs. The Campbell Agency in Stockton, California was hired in early 1954 to handle all advertising and public relations. Dealer networks were established at a rapid rate throughout 1954 and continued into 1955. Heilite manufactured 249 trailers in 1954, 300 in 1955 and 578 in 1956. On January 1, 1957 Heilite Trailers incorporated. The board of directors were as follows; Ted Heil president, Harry Pearce of Stockton vice-president, Con J. Deasy secretary-treasurer. Other members, Cap Mettler and Kerby T. Mettler. A total of 801 trailers were manufactured in 1957 with a total of $308,485 (about $3,425,000 in 2024 dollars) net sales. True to his nature Ted Heil continued to innovate and add new products to the company's line. The Car Topper, first sold in 1957, proved to be very successful for Heilite during this time as well. It was essentially the same tent structure but instead it rode on top of the car and folded out from there. Click here to view Des. 186,429. The portable Camp Kitchen was added to the product line in 1958. It was designed to fold down and store away in the trailer.

In early 1959 Heilite Trailers relocated from 660 East Lockeford Street to 1301 South Sacramento Street in Lodi, California to make way for the Highway 99 freeway by-pass that was soon to be built. The Heilite Trailer was featured on the August 1960 cover of the national magazine, Mechanix Illustrated. Later in 1962 the U.S. Department of Commerce selected the Heilite Trailer for exhibition in the government sponsored international trade fair held in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. Heilite introduced a two wheel version of its trailer in 1960. The single wheel model sold for $545 while the two wheel model sold for $575, or $3,904 and $4,119 in 2009 dollars. The two wheel design was targeted at small foreign and compact cars. In 1961 Heilite added a pickup camper to the mix, made in the same likeness as its tent where you drive the truck out from under it once it was setup.

By the early 1960s the single wheel trailer, while safe, was falling out of favor with the buying public. The camping trailer industry was experiencing a major boon with many innovative designs emerging in the marketplace. In 1963 Heilite introduced a new model referred to as Heilite 170. The original Heilite Camping Trailer was referred to as Heilite 161 or 162 with the "Big Tent". Ted Heil filed for a patent for this trailer on May 17, 1963 and was granted US Patent 3,170,724 on February 23, 1965. Most notible in this new trailer was a crank mechanism that moved the two storage-bed compartments outward allowing the tent to bow and then spring outward. Trailer size was 12 feet long by 7 feet 2 inches wide, but only 48 inches high when closed for travel and storage. With 10 inches of road clearance underneath the trailer weighed only 500 lbs and was priced at $745, or $5000 in 2007 dollars. The Heilite 161 trailer was priced at $575 or $3,855 in 2007 dollars.

The year 1964 saw big changes for Heilite Trailers, Inc. On February 19, 1964 Ted Heil sold his 51 percent controlling interest in the firm to Frank Cusumano, a native of Lodi and arancher and asparagus grower. Cusumano named his brother Mickey of Lodi, Alfideo Volpi of Stockton and his son Leo as his new business associates in the firm. Ted Heil agreed to serve the firm on a part-time basis for five years as an industrial consultant. No details for the sale were given.

Going into 1965 Heilite Trailers slightly modified their Heilite 161 model and added a sun canopy as standard equipment. It was renamed the Viscount. The Heilite 170 was renamed the Viking. A third model was introduced, the Valiant. It was basically the same as the Viking but with single beds instead of double beds. This served to economize a bit on the Viking and keep the price down. In 1966 the Valiant model was slightly altered, reflecting more of the look-and-feel of the Viking. But the model line-up was kept the same. After 1966 details about Heilite manufacturing operations become vague. General advertising to the public appears to have been discontinued. But trailers were still sold factory direct from Heilite's warehouse until at least 1970 per one source. Manufacturing operations are believed to have continued into the early 1970s albeit on a much reduced level.

The Heilite Camping Trailer is one of the more popular and well known pop-up campers. Another web site featuring Heilite Trailers, SingleWheel.com, is dedicated to vintage single wheel trailers which Heilite's original trailer is a part of. You can also see some material on Valiant and the Viking models. Great site!