I was sitting around the other day thinking of one of my favorite movies “The Long, Long Trailer” starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez. They actually manufactured a model specifically to commemorate the movie.
When the movie was released in 1953 they actually took it to theaters to help launch the film. The camper that was used was a 36 foot long 1953 Redman’s New Moon mobile home. In 1954 they released the “I Love Lucy” model because of the great success of the MGM film release.
‘The Long, Long Trailer’ became MGM’s best grossing comedy up to that point and transformed Redman overnight from a small regional outfit (building one or two trailers a day) into one of the nation’s largest mobile home manufacturers (with five or six factories, producing hundreds each day).
This movie is too funny! The best part in my opinion is when Desi has the nightmare about the trailer brakes, too funny!
Look at those curtains!
History of New Moon Trailers
The company began in 1930, when, with no previous training in the field, Harold and William Redman, along with engineer Al Hathaway, designed and produced the first Redman trailer coach.
In 1937 the group incorporated the business as the Redman Trailer Company and established their first manufacturing plant in an Alma, Michigan, pickle factory. Initially, eight men on two production lines produced four to five trailers weekly. In the 1940s sales increased when the firm developed a significantly longer trailer than others in the industry.
During World War II Redman received government contracts to construct military equipment and housing, ammunition trailers, and hospital units, though the government eventually curtailed trailer home manufacture due to shortages of steel, copper, aluminum, and rubber.
Growth resumed after the war, as Redman and others responded to the housing shortage caused by soldiers returning from war. In 1953, when the company took the name New Moon Homes in response to the success of its New Moon brand units, it also began to advertise nationally in major magazines, replacing the concept of trailers with the new idea of mobile homes.
Hepcats Haven 