Fun swimming egg from the past, a Suleica

[Gerda, H]

Hi all,

I found an interesting German web page about caravan history. Looking through all those brands, I found the Suleica brand, also called Schaefer. They are fiberglass eggs. Just scroll through the scanned-in brochure from the 60th and have some fun. You will find also a swimming egg...

http://www.oldiecaravan.de/Sch%E4fer/Sulei...leica_1967.html

Gerda

[Gerda, H]

... and some more nice shots of the Suleica... I somehow am fascinated by this thing!

http://www.suleica-caravans.de/60301.html

[Frederick L. Simson]

You will find also a swimming egg...

http://www.oldiecaravan.de/Sch%E4fer/Sulei...leica_1967.html

The last photo is priceless! I used to see several of those amphibious cars on Oneida Lake in New York back in the 60's.

[Gerda, H]

And here another blast from the past, a Fahti egg...

http://www.oldiecaravan.de/Hersteller_A_-_...i_600__iv_.html

I unfortunately have never seen those amphicars in real life. They just seem so unreal to me. Would love to drive one, just for fun to have a swim!

Gerda

[Roger C H]

... and some more nice shots of the Suleica... I somehow am fascinated by this thing!

http://www.suleica-caravans.de/60301.html

Notice the "100" in a circle on the back of the caravan about 1/3 of the way down. That means that vehicle is limited to 100 kilometers per hour, about 62 miles per hour.

Also, I notice a lot of exterior pictures, few interior pictures.

[Mike Ames]

And here another blast from the past, a Fahti egg...

http://www.oldiecaravan.de/Hersteller_A_-_...i_600__iv_.html

I unfortunately have never seen those amphicars in real life. They just seem so unreal to me. Would love to drive one, just for fun to have a swim!

Gerda

That 53 Chevy is a beauty, I learned to drive in a 53, so they hold a place in my heart.
Trailer ain't bad either, a work of art!

[Vickie B.]

What great pictures!!! Gotta admit---those Europeans had some great design ideas. My daughter lives in Germany and is coming home next week for a visit (haven't seen her in 12 months!) I tried to get her to bring me a nice little Eriba Puck back in her suitcase! LOL

[BOBSMITH]

Amazing photos. The Suleica looks a bit like the Oxygen that was briefly produced in Canada. You guys are right...those Europeans really have had some amazing fiberglass RVs.

[Donna D.]

I love it, one of the pics shows cooking/camping in a skirt and high-heels. Shoot, I'm lucky to stay CLEAN when I camp.

Thanks for sharing!

[Mike Watters]

The curved front corner windows give it a feel very much like the BIOD trailers I've seen on this site. Very pretty trailers inside and out.

"Trailering" with an Amphicar:
Gotta be great for the bearings... And the frame... Hope the door seal is working right...

When I was a kid I remember seeing Amphicars a couple of times. Once on a hike when I was in summer camp (a couple parked at a gas station - seeing the props in the rear was nuts) and once while I was fishing. Kinda odd watching a car pull down a boat ramp, pull into the water and drive off in the lake.

[Gerda, H]

I agree, those trailers just look great! Also I saw resemblance to the Oxygen and BIOD trailers shown on this site. I also wish for more interior pictures of the European trailers. I shall do some further digging later on...

Vicky, where in Germany does your daughter live? I grew up in Northern Germany, near the Dutch border. I guess I am the opposite to your daughter, moving away from my folks... Here another link you might enjoy, from Hymer Eriba:

http://www.hymer.com/cms/en/caravans/Touring.html

I also wish they would bring those over here. BUT they are no fiberglass eggs! Still, they are sweet, and you can tow them with really little cars!

[Gerda, H]

Here some remodels of Suleicas, with some interior shots:

http://www.suleica-caravans.de/42963.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embegestalt/s...57602665444545/

http://www.altmuehlnet.de/~picassouwe/Suleica.htm

http://www.bilder-speicher.de/fotoalbum.php?album=57976


And more about Fahti:

http://www.jo-fe.de/19.htm

BTW, Fahti was bought by the Dutch company BIOD in 1969. BIOD continued building Fahti's for a while...

Tonight I am doing some more search. This is fun, but work is waiting, hmmm....

Gerda

[CindyL]

I love the curvy design and all the windows!

Where in Germany, Gerda? We are kind of talking of a trip to that area next summer to visit the locations of the families of my grandmother, grandfather, and my husband's grandfather. All these families came from that area.

CindyL

[Vickie B.]

Hi Gerda,

Devyn is in Dusseldorf. She was in Duisburg (sp?) for awhile. She majored in German and International Business in Lincoln, NE. Went to school for a semester in Germany (Berlin). After she graduated she got a Fullbright Scholarship to teach English in Duisburg for 9 months. Now she is going to school in Dusseldorf to get a Masters to teach English there. She LOVES Germany and wants to stay! I think she speaks mostly German now (except when she's teaching), so it's funny to hear her talk to us and try to find the English words!

That Eriba sight is beautiful! What opulance!!!

[Gerda, H]

Cindy, I grew up in Ostfriesland, near Aurich. It is just about an hour off the Dutch border, and 30 min off of the coast. Where are you going to travel? Sounds like lots of fun! My daughter and I will be going to visit over Christmas this year, and we are looking forward to it. By the way, back in Germany I used to drive a to an RV converted VW T4 bus, also in white... But it was a Diesel, very economic. Got about 40 miles to the gallon, because it was also a small engine, around 69 horsepower... Would have been way underpowered to tow anything...

Vickie, the world is really small. My brother lived for about 15 years in central Berlin (Neukoelln). It is funny that some people seem to be more happy or successful or both that far away from where they were born.... That would include me, although it is at times very difficult to have almost all family that far away .....
By the way, when I talk in High German, everybody notices an American accent... And I constantly have to look for German vocabulary...

Gerda

[Weinel, Alan]

Hi Vickie - Alan here / Galt Calif.

Our daughter, Jessica, was a Congress / Bundestag exchange student, then worked summers in both DE and CH, then spent most of her Masters in Mainz (1/2 hour west of Frankfurt), met and married a nice German guy, and now lives in a small village south of Mainz w/ hubby and two little boys. Michele was pretty bummed at FIRST, but like I told her - if she married and lived in Boston, you would STILL have to get on a plane to go see her. The only difference is that on the other end they don't speak English - and you could ALMOST say the same thing about Boston! (just kidding)

Now all is ok - Michele generally goes over at least once a year for her grandma fix, and now that I am retiring in December, I TOO will get to go over .

Hi Gerda,

Devyn is in Dusseldorf. She was in Duisburg (sp?) for awhile. She majored in German and International Business in Lincoln, NE. Went to school for a semester in Germany (Berlin). After she graduated she got a Fullbright Scholarship to teach English in Duisburg for 9 months. Now she is going to school in Dusseldorf to get a Masters to teach English there. She LOVES Germany and wants to stay! I think she speaks mostly German now (except when she's teaching), so it's funny to hear her talk to us and try to find the English words!

That Eriba sight is beautiful! What opulance!!!

[Vickie B.]

Alan,

Devyn has met a nice guy in Germany, so one of these years I may have grandkids to visit over there, too!