This is a 1947 Westcraft Sequoia 28′ travel trailer that has been given a professional three-year restoration to better-than-new condition. It now has an interior with pecan-stained birchwood, red leather upholstery, and updated wiring and plumbing.
The travel trailers built by Westcraft earned a reputation in the 1940s and 1950s for being among the best in the nation. They have aluminum frame ribs and heavier-gauge aluminum skin panels than many of their contemporaries, and great detail was paid to each element of their construction.
Fast Facts – The Westcraft Sequoia Travel Trailer
- This 1947 Westcraft Sequoia 28′ travel trailer recently underwent a professional three-year restoration, it now has a pecan-stained birchwood interior, red leather upholstery, and updated wiring and plumbing. Known for their durable aluminum construction and attention to detail, Westcraft trailers were among the finest travel trailers of the 1940s and 1950s.
- Westcraft was founded in 1932 in Los Angeles, initially selling trailers, heaters, and other accessories. After WWII, the company incorporated aircraft-inspired aluminum construction techniques, producing steel chassis trailers with aluminum frame ribs and riveted skins, achieving exceptional quality control and minimizing common issues like leaks around windows and doors.
- This restored example boasts a retro-modern interior with custom features such as a double bed, a stainless-steel kitchen with Smeg appliances, a fold-down couch, and Buster + Punch electrical outlets. Its period-accurate design includes red distressed leather, wooden blinds, and ample storage, combining functionality with plenty of vintage charm.
- Previously part of a vintage trailer collection, the Westcraft Sequoia received a new two-tone exterior paint job during restoration. It is now offered for sale in Indiana with restoration photos, modern amenities, and a clean title, making it a rare and sought-after example of a classic travel trailer.
A History Speedrun: Westcraft Travel Trailers
Westcraft was founded in 1932 as the George T. Hall Company out of 3221 San Fernando Road, Los Angeles, California. Unusually, the company was founded by George Hall and his mother. Initially they sold trailers, butane gas, and heaters, soon growing to become one of the major travel trailer distributors in Southern California.
The high-quality of Westcraft travel trailers with their aluminum frame ribs and heavier-gauge aluminum skin panels means that many of them have survived to the modern day. Image courtesy of Westcraft.
Earlier travel trailer designs from Westcraft typically used a steel chassis with a wooden body frame which then had screwed on exterior skins. During WWII the company shifted over to helping the war effort, as many manufacturers did, and then after the war they returned to travel trailer production, from 1946 onwards.
The trailers that Westcraft built after the war were similar looking to their pre-war counterparts, however the construction techniques that went into them had drastically changed.
The key reason for this change was the fact that the mass production of aluminum aircraft during the war had resulted in many new techniques being developed, and it would be these techniques that would be used by Westcraft from 1946 onwards.
The trailers would now be built on a steel chassis but rather than a wood frame they would be given an aluminum frame ribs and a riveted aluminum skin, much like an aircraft. The quality control at Westcraft was exemplary, and as a result the trailers rarely leaked through common trouble areas like skin seams, roof vents, and window frames.
By the early 1950s, Westcraft was building some of the best travel trailers in the country. The company was still the distributor for other items like travel trailer oil heaters and the controllers required by these heaters.
Issues with control valves on these oil heaters resulted in the creation of an entire industry dedicated to automatic controls, and this business had grown so much by 1955 that the company (regrettably) shut down their travel trailer production to focus on these automatic controllers.
The design of the Sequoia 28′ is undeniably beautiful, with a swept rear, a clerestory, or Pullman, roof and fender skirts over the wheels.
Though this was the end of Westcraft production for a time, it wasn’t the end of Westcraft production forever. A new iteration of the company was founded more recently and has returned Westcraft trailers to full production including recreational, commercial, and hospitality versions.
The 1947 Westcraft Sequoia 28′ Travel Trailer Shown Here
This is a 1947 Westcraft Sequoia 28′ travel trailer that is said to have spent approximately 30 years in a vintage trailer collection in Indiana. It was then bought in 2021 and given a three-year refurbishment which was performed by the seller’s restoration company.
During this restoration the trailer was stripped back to bare metal and given a new two-tone paint job. The interior was completely redesigned, but it remained period-correct with the new fit-out.
Inside you’ll find red Relicate™ distressed leather upholstery, Buster + Punch electrical outlets, classic wooden blinds, period correct chairs, pecan-stained Russian birch wood for the cabinetry and paneling.
The interior has a custom double bed in the rear bedroom and a kitchen with stainless-steel surfaces, a Smeg refrigerator, a Bertazzonni range with four gas burners and an electric oven, a Smeg toaster, a Smeg coffee maker, and a Nostalgia Retrowave microwave.
The bedroom in the rear has pecan-stained birchwood panelling and cabinetry, wooden blinds, and a double bed memory foam mattress.
It also has a dinette with seating for four, and a couch that folds down into a spare double bed when you need it. There is ample storage space inside and a double-door with a main door and a second screen door.
This Westcraft Sequoia 28′ is now being offered for sale on Bring a Trailer out of Westfield, Indiana with photographs from the restoration and a clean Indiana title in the seller’s name. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
