This 1968 Chevrolet C20 Longhorn pickup and its Franklin camper may be the perfect home-on-wheels for the modern age. It’s equipped with a flamethrower that shoots out of the nose of the grille-mounted Longhorn skull, and it has matching propane flamethrowers fitted to the exhaust tips.
Inside the Franklin camper on the back you’ll find accommodation for two people, with a toilet, a hot shower, kitchenette, and dining table – everything you need for life on the road.
Fast Facts – A Chevrolet C20 Longhorn Franklin Camper
- Campers like this are becoming increasingly popular due to the surge in popularity of the “Van Life” movement, fueled in equal parts by a desire to travel after two years of Covid and the unattainable cost of housing in many major cities.
- This camper is made up of two parts, a restored 1968 Chevrolet C20 Longhorn pickup and matching a restored 1968 Franklin 11FK6 camper, it’s also been modified with front and rear mounted flamethrowers and a front mounted CO2 sprayer. Because reasons.
- The C20 has been fitted with Firestone Ride-Rite rear air springs to allow the ride height to be modified depending on whether the camper is fitted or not.
- It’s powered by the 396 cubic inch L66 V8 with a towing-specific camshaft, paired with a New Process four-speed manual transmission that sends power to the Dana 60 rear axle.
The Chevrolet C20 “Longhorn” Pickup
The Chevrolet C20 Longhorn was a factory special built from 1968 until 1972 with a frame and bed that were 6 inches longer than stock – with a wheelbase of 133 inches versus the two shorter wheelbase options of 115 inches and 127 inches.
This Longhorn C20 is equipped with both a propane flamethrower and a CO2 blaster that shoot out of the skull’s nostrils. No explanation is given for these unusual additions, but it would certainly make starting and extinguishing campfires much simpler.
The Longhorn was intended for the booming camper market and for the cattle industry in Texas, the longer bed in the back made it ideal for accommodating campers. Engine options included V8s up to 402 cubic inches (6.6 liters) offering plenty of power to get the truck and camper up to highways speeds when needed.
The benefit of this bolt-on campers was the fact that they could be quickly removed when needed, leaving you with a standard pickup truck. Campers with permanently built-in camper sections lack this additional functionality.
The Franklin Coach Company
The Franklin Coach Company was founded in 1945 by Paul Abel, it was one of the earliest camper manufacturers in the United States and the company played a pivotal role in the development of campers and caravans/trailers.
Abel was one of the founders of the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) which established safety standards for the industry. His company remained in business for over 60 years, well into the 2000s.
Inside the Franklin camper there is sleeping accommodation for two, with a dinette table and seats, a kitchenette, and a toilet and shower with hot water.
The Flamethrower Equipped Camper Shown Here
The unusual combination of a Chevrolet C20 Longhorn and a Franklin camper you see here is equipped with triple flamethrowers. No reason is given for this unusual modification but if the past few years has taught us anything, it’s that it’s probably a good idea to have a flamethrower handy because you have no idea what’s coming next.
Both the truck and camper back have been restored to a high level, before and after photographs are included in the listing, and the entire rig is now ready to hit the highways and byways of North America.
Should you need to light a campfire it should be just a matter of placing a pile of wood in front of the longhorn skull mounted to the grill and hitting the red button on the shifter knob. No need to fiddle about with firelighters or kindling.
Power is provided by a 396 cubic inch L66 V8 with a towing-specific camshaft, this is to better cope with the weight of the Franklin camper on the back, and power is sent to the Dana 60 rear axle via a four-speed manual transmission.
If you’d like to read more about this camping rig you can click here to visit the listing on Bring A Trailer. It’s currently being auctioned live with seven days remaining to bit at the time of writing, and the current highest bid is $30,200 USD.
Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer
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