Flashback: Tin Can Tourists Centennial Celebration, 2019

1957 Airfloat Landyacht owned by Les Bowen. This beautiful trailer was found in a warehouse in California and brought to Tim Heintz in Florida for a frame-up restoration at Heintz Designs.

In February 2019, more than 200 vintage trailers filled Sertoma Youth Ranch in Brooksville, Florida, marking 100 years of the Tin Can Tourists and a century of rolling history. For nearly a week, polished aluminum and painted classics lined the campground in a celebration that felt equal parts rally, reunion, and history lesson.

The festivities included vintage auto races, restoration and insurance seminars, nightly entertainment, catered meals, and a crowd-favorite open house paired with a classic car cruise-in. A standout moment was a presentation on early motor camping, followed by a visit to the original 1919 founding site in Ybor City, where period vehicles and early tent trailers brought the pioneering days of auto camping vividly back to life.

The celebration also marked the retirement of longtime director Forrest Bone, honored for two decades of leadership, and concluded — fittingly — with cake and camaraderie.

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