RV History with Al Hesselbart

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Betty Orr was the first female executive in the RV industry. In the 1930s, she was the first female company president, heading Orr and Orr building custom trailers, the first female association president heading the Illinois Trailer Association and as interim president leading the national Trailer Coach Manufacturers Association.
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Ralph Morgan founded Morgan Drive Away in the 1930s, the first (and for many years largest) national RV delivery company transporting RVs from manufacturers to retail dealers from coast to coast.
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Harold Platt, who, with his father, founded the Platt Trailer Company in 1935. He was so well respected that he was selected to be the industry’s representative on the World War II War Production Board, which assigned defense projects to manufacturers during the War. Before his death in 1996, he was recognized as having held more offices in state and national industry associations than any other person.Â
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John C. Crean closed his small California Venetian blind company in 1951 to start Fleetwood Enterprises, which grew to be the largest RV manufacturer and largest mobile home manufacturer in the world.
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Thomas Corson, who, with his brothers, Claude and Keith, called themselves “the coachmen” and together founded Coachmen Industries, developing it into one of the largest manufacturers in the nation.
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John McCarry was the inventor and developer of the ShurFlo water pump, which brought reliable on-demand running water to RVers worldwide.
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Hal McPherson invented the first grinder-style RV toilet in the 1930s, which allowed holding tanks to be emptied. He also made flush toilets (which eliminated carry-out chamber pots as the only onboard trailer toilets) available.Â
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Today’s RVers can thank these giants for the comfortable and efficient rigs we enjoy today.