Ranger - Hille Engineering
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Manufactured from the years 1954 to 1956 by Hille Engineering in Anaheim, California the Ranger camping trailer is considered the first modern pop-up camper. Only 200 units were ever produced during this time. Walter E. Hille applied for a patent on March 15, 1954 and was granted US Patent 2,798,760 on July 9, 1957. The trailer was put into production in early January of 1954. Manufacturing facilities were first located at 701 East Cypress Street in Anaheim. Early in the morning of April 5, 1954 a fire completely destroyed the 16,000 square-foot wood framed warehouse building, equipment and 12 Ranger trailers on the production line. The cost was estimated up to $50,000 for the building and another $25,000 in tools and equipment (about $875,000 in 2024 dollars). Frank Sallee, general manager at Hille Engineering, noted the building had been leased for about six months and that both the building and equipment were covered by insurance. An interesting side note here, it was discovered the building was set ablaze by a serial arsonist, William C. Schrink. New manufacturing facilities were setup at 16762 Santiago, Olive, CA and production quickly resumed.

As of the time of this writing it is unclear as to the reasons why but the entire manufacturing plant, equipment and 19 near completed Ranger trailers were put up for auction on February 15, 1956. Typically this happens when a business declares bankruptcy. It is assumed that Forlyn Manufacturing Company, located in Minneapolis, MN, acquired the assets of Hille Engineering and resumed production of the Ranger camping trailer as early as July 1, 1956. Now referred to as the Sport Ranger Trailer they continued to manufacture and sell the trailer through late 1960. Sometime in either late 1960 or early 1961 Twin City Products Co. located in Minneapolis purchased the Forlyn Manufacturing Co. Manufacturing of the Ranger trailer was continued at least through 1961 where it was featured in the Minneapolis Sports Show from March 29th to April 9th of 1961. Most likely the trailer was discontinued after 1961 as new companies and technology were beginning to change the entire industry.

The Ranger camping trailer holds the distinction of being the first manufactured pop-up camper to be made of fiber-glass and polyester-resin, both the body and top of the camper. An interesting side note here, Popular Science ran a small blurb in January of 1953, Low Camping Trailer Raises Roof To Give Standing Room. In this article John Dudley of Anaheim, California built his own 800 lb trailer of fiber-glass that sported a hard-top and canvas sides. While smaller it has many of the same features incorporated into the Ranger Camping Trailer, although it never went into production. None-the-less it does not lesson the significance of the Ranger Camping Trailer.

Another new and very important feature introduced by the Ranger Camping Trailer was the slide-out bed on the back. It was 39 inches wide and resembled a dresser drawer with a canvas roof. It could sleep 1 adult or two kids. Typical tent trailers of the time featured beds that flipped or slid out to the sides and were supported underneath by braces. The bed on the Ranger supported itself, much the same way a dresser drawer does.

Much effort was put into designing the hand-crank system that raised the roof and dropped the canvas, much like today's pop-up campers. This system is well documented in the patent. The crank was on the front driver's side of the trailer. It was very durable and built into the sytem was anti-sway brackets that raised with the roof. The trailer top raised to give 6 feet 3 inches space inside. Total trailer length was 12 feet long and 82 inches wide. The trailer weighed 1,100 lbs. It sold for $1,500 in 1954 or $15,861 in 2018 dollars. It was an expensive pop-up camper for the 1950's.

The Ranger Camping Trailer caught the eye of Popular Science who featured an article on it in May 1954. The article is included in the photos and advertisement section for Ranger. Today only a handful of the trailer survive. One is displayed in the RV Founders Hall in the RV/MH Heritage Foundation Museum located Elkart, Indiana.