RV/MH Hall of Fame
Executive Pkwy, Elkhart, IN
Elkhart, IN
A great hall of vintage campers and travel trailers in the town that builds most of the country's RVs, tracing the whole idea of taking your home on the road.
The RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart is the national museum and hall of fame for two industries that have long shaped this corner of Indiana: recreational vehicles and manufactured housing. Its great indoor hall holds a collection of restored vintage travel trailers, motorhomes, tent campers, and mobile homes, some dating back to the earliest days of taking a home on the road, arranged so visitors can walk among the decades.
Elkhart calls itself the RV Capital of the World, and the claim is earned: a large majority of the recreational vehicles built in the United States come from this region. The Hall of Fame gathers that heritage under one roof, along with a research library and archive, honoring the tinkerers, builders, and companies who turned a folding tent on a Model T into a nationwide industry.
What Guests Love
- A hall lined with restored vintage travel trailers, motorhomes, and campers going back a century
- Peeking inside early homemade trailers that show how the road-trip idea began
- The story of how Elkhart became the manufacturing heart of the RV industry
- A research library and archive for enthusiasts tracing a make, model, or maker
Worth Knowing
- The collection is large and indoor, so it works well in any weather
- This is a specialist museum, richest for anyone with an interest in campers, road trips, or industrial history
- It pairs naturally with Ruthmere and the wider Elkhart and Amish Country loop
- Check current visiting days before you go
Details
Elkhart, IN
Learn about RV/MH Hall of Fame
How Elkhart became RV country
Northern Indiana around Elkhart lies within the homeland of the Potawatomi, including the Pokagon Band, and the Miami (Myaamia), who lived along the St. Joseph River valley long before the region's factories rose. The waterways and rail lines that later fed industry followed routes these peoples had traveled for generations.
In the early and middle twentieth century, Elkhart's skilled workforce, central location, and supplier network drew trailer and camper makers, and the industry took hold and grew. Over the decades the region concentrated an enormous share of the country's RV manufacturing, along with a strong manufactured-housing business, giving Elkhart its nickname and its identity.
A century of campers under one roof
The heart of the museum is a large hall filled with vehicles that trace the whole arc of the industry, from early homemade trailers and canvas-topped campers of the 1910s and 1920s to streamlined aluminum trailers, boxy motorhomes, and modern rigs. Many are restored and open enough to reveal how families actually lived and traveled in them.
Walking the collection is a walk through changing American tastes and technology, and through the changing idea of the road trip itself. The vintage interiors, with their compact kitchens, fold-down beds, and period fittings, tell a story of ingenuity and the long love affair between Americans and the open road.
The library and hall of fame
Beyond the vehicles, the institution serves as a hall of fame, honoring the founders, engineers, and executives who built the recreational vehicle and manufactured housing industries. Portraits and displays recognize the people behind familiar and forgotten names alike.
A research library and archive support the mission, holding catalogs, photographs, records, and documents that draw restorers, historians, and enthusiasts trying to date or trace a particular trailer or maker. It is one of the deepest single collections on the subject anywhere.
Visiting and the wider area
The museum is indoor and expansive, so it makes a good stop in any weather and rewards a slow walk through its aisles. It is a specialist's delight, most rewarding for anyone with an interest in campers, road trips, design, or industrial history, though the vintage rigs charm casual visitors too.
Elkhart sits at the edge of northern Indiana's Amish Country, and a visit pairs easily with Ruthmere mansion in town, the markets of Shipshewana, or a drive west to South Bend and the University of Notre Dame.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Elkhart
Ruthmere Mansion
About 3 miles southeast
A restored 1910 Beaux-Arts house museum built by a founder of Elkhart's Miles Laboratories, along the St. Joseph River.
Amish Country
About 15 to 20 miles southeast
Shipshewana and Middlebury, with markets, crafts, buggy roads, and a large flea market and auction.
South Bend
About 20 miles west, a 25 minute drive
Home to the University of Notre Dame and the Studebaker National Museum.