THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 6, 1995 TAG: 9504060327
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
You might assume that a guy who's behind the wheel four months a year to promote RV travel would pick Charles Kuralt's ``On the Road'' as his favorite television show.
Actually, David Woodworth never misses ``Coach.''
He catches the ABC sitcom on one of the two TVs in his Thor Residency - without question the Taj Mahal of recreation vehicles.
Measuring a sleek 35 feet and listing for a hefty $75,000, it comes with central heat and air, bay windows, skylights, a microwave-convection oven, gas range, two kitchen sinks, a double-door refrigerator-freezer, a queen-size bed, sectional sofa, swivel seats, a roomy bath, carpeting and hardwood floors.
But when Woodworth, who crisscrosses America for the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, unhitches his vintage, 1937 Hunt House Car, avocation and vocation merge.
Woodworth was at the KOA campground on General Booth Boulevard Wednesday with the National RV History Tour, an informal gathering that attracted a full house of RV aficionados. The day before, it was Wilmington, N.C.; before that, Columbia, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville and Orlando. After a presentation in Richmond today, he'll take a few days off to snoop around the city's museums and historic sites.
That enthusiasm for American history and RVing has been a perfect fit.
``It's something worth preserving,'' said Woodworth, 56. ``Ninety percent of the people have no concept of the history of RVs. They think it started in the 1970s with a Winnebago.
``In 1922, The New York Times estimated that there were 15 million automotive campers in use - half of all the automobiles in the United States were used as some form of automotive camping. In the '30s, there were 2,000 companies, give or take a hundred, manufacturing travel trailers and motor homes,'' he said.
While the development of the RV can be traced to America's infatuation with the car, the courtship was as much a reaction to the railroads, he said.
``It was really a fight against the train because the train dictated where you were going to go, when you were going to go and when you were going to stop,'' Woodworth said. ``The early RVer could go anywhere he wanted to, anytime he wanted to, and really see America.
``They could see the country and really be comfortable doing it. It's that same attitude today.''
If Woodworth speaks with the fervor of a convert, it may be because he's a retired Baptist pastor. He's restored two dozen touring cars, motor homes and tent trailers at his home in Southern California, each outfitted with items picked up at antique shows around the country. The Hunt House Car, a slate-gray, art deco bullet designed by cinematographer J. Roy Hunt, is the newest of the lot.
``I found it in Ames, Iowa,'' Woodworth said. ``It was painted orange and black and yellow and none of the wheels turned. We're talking bad shape. Anytime somebody would come up and say, `Oh, David, I love it,' my wife would lean over and whisper, `Sell it to them.' ''
Woodworth knows he'll spend 120 days on the road this year. He can't say for sure how much gas that means, but he hears the question a lot. The Residency gets about 6 miles to the gallon.
``I saw a bumper sticker on a guy's RV that said, `Gets great mileage for a house.' '' ILLUSTRATION: RV FACTS:
In 1922, an estimated 15 million automotive campers were in use.
In the 1930s an estimated 2,000 companies manufactured travel
trailers and motor homes.
In the early days part of the RV's appeal was as an alternative to
the railroad.
[Color Photo]
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Staff
``Ninety percent of the people have no concept of the history of
RVs. They think it started in the 1970s with a Winnebago,'' said
David Woodworth, 56.
by CNB