Portable Camp Company

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The Portable Camp Company was among the first manufacturers of tent trailers that emerged in 1916. Edward W. Reid applied for his first patent on February 19, 1916 and was granted U.S. Patent 1,280,840 on October 8, 1918. This first design was similar in nature to the other trailers emerging in early 1916, tent top covering two wing beds that folded out to each side of the trailer. There is no record of this trailer ever going into production. E. W. Reid applied for his second patent on June 3, 1916 and was granted U.S. Patent 1,285,794 on November 26, 1918. The Portable Camp Company begin manufacturing this design sometime around June-July of 1916 in Detroit, Michigan.

The second design was departure from the typical trailer design of 1916 where two halves of the trailer box opened up and folded down and extended out further. This feature extended the floor of the trailer outwards to encompass the entire space within the tent. The beds were composed of a frame on caster wheels the rolled into place but could also be lifted up to give more floor space. The unique and novel design appears to have proved to be too complicated, maybe even too costly, to compete within the market place. Production of the trailer did continue at least unitl 1918, but no records currently exist beyond that year.

What became of the company and E. W. Reid remains unknown as of this writing. I suspect manufacture of the trailer ceased during World War and was never started again. Contact me if you have any information with regards to either Portable Camp Company or Edward W. Reid.