Sweeping changes were underway in the mobile home industry of 1963. The futuristic, space age exterior design, which had appeared around 1957, was quickly going out of style. The latest rigs had boxy, house-like exteriors. Case in point, THE HOME model, built by the Active Homes Corporation of Marlette, Michigan.
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THE HOME was a kinda-sorta "double-wide" house trailer. It arrived from the factory as a 10' wide unit and was "unfolded" and reassembled into a 20' by 45' dwelling. There was a gigantic (for the time) 17' by 11' living room, plus a utility room and ample closet space. The rig featured cathedral ceilings throughout.
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By the 1964 model year, the new, box-like mobile home design was firmly established in the industry. It was exemplified by the AMERICAN PRESIDENT SERIES of rigs, which included some of the most up-to-date features. Among these were sliding glass doors, house-type (simulated) window shutters and large-pane jalousie windows.
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The 50' - 10' AMERICAN PRESIDENT SERIES home included a convenient U-shaped kitchen, spacious bedroom (there was only one) and "Glide-A-Room" living room extension.
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In the early 1950s, Bristol, Indiana's Stewart Coach Industries became one of the first manufacturers to offer a 2-story house trailer. By the mid-'60s, Stewart was building the gigantic -12-wide- SPLIT LEVEL model.
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In the Stewart 50' x 12' SPLIT LEVEL, the back end was actually the front. The "front" kitchen had ample counter space and adjacent living area was especially roomy. The Upper Level was accessed by not one -but two- stairways.
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The "double-wide" concept had been introduced around 1960. By mid-decade, the twin-type trailer was gaining in popularity. The 1966 CAPRI TWIN-TEN was built by the Budger Manufacturing Company, of Sun Valley, California. It consisted of two 10' by 55' units that were joined into a single -20-wide- home.
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In the mid-1960s, the 20' by 55' TWIN-TEN was among the most spacious mobile homes that had ever been built. It featured a gigantic master bedroom suite -complete with a two-room, 3/4 bath- and sizable walk-in closet. The trailer's living and dining area was just as enormous!
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