Dust In The Wind
On a walking tour of Christopher Moore's property in Willits, California, we passed close to one of his creations from years past. It had never occurred to me to investigate this beast, although I had known about it for some time. Being on permanent assignment for this website, I suddenly realized that I had found something great!
This modified 1946 Chevrolet Flatbed truck has been sitting here on Christopher's property for the last few decades, used as guest quarters now and then, and kept up enough to keep it from leaking and rotting away. When I asked him what he called it, he chuckled and replied "Wooden Winnebago", but I could tell that his answer was not something he was totally comfortable with, as it uses a term that is not quite "duty-free".
He had crafted the tiny wooden three-bedroom house-on-a-truck back in 1974-75. Note the nice homey touches, like the private, albeit small, bedrooms, the stained glass windows, the fold-out rear deck, and the central heating system. A kitchen with plenty of storage space to work occupies the rear, and artistic touches throughout give the little rolling cabin a warm touch of character. The longest trip it has taken, however, was from San Luis Obispo to Willits!
While it hasn't moved so much as an inch in many years, this truck could very likely be made to move with very little work, most of that being to the superstructure of the cabin itself. Mr. Moore had rebuilt the engine as part of the project, and not driven much at all after that! The steering box was broken because of the king pins being excrutiatingly tight, and they had to be pressed out at the local machine shop with something like 50-75 tons! The resulting BANG! when they released was something to remember. Chris welded the steering shaft back onto the worm gear, and put it all back together. He tells me that the truck and engine must have no more than 500-1000 miles on it at most, which was surprising to me after all the work he must have put into it.
A part of me wants to see this amazing piece of art restored and put back on the road, while my practical side agrees with Christopher that he should continue to consider donating it to the local museum, where people could continue to be amazed and inspired by his work. I wonder what it was like to live and travel in this beast? Imagination will have to suffice...
- Gene Cornelius
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