The Day the Wagon Queen Family Truckster Pulled Into My Driveway

I love my job. A few years ago, Kim and I got a behind-the-scenes tour of a 27-foot-long hot dog on wheels, aka the Wienermobile. This summer, we were able to take a spin in another classic vehicle — an exact replica of the Wagon Queen Family Truckster that Chevy Chase drove in National Lampoon’s Vacation.

It all came about when our friend Adam (a former Wienermobile driver) emailed us to tell us about his new job with HomeAway, a vacation rental website. As part of a national campaign, they bought the Truckster from Gary Schneider, who meticulously fashioned the replica as part of his hobby (check out the construction photos). HomeAway used the vehicle in a Super Bowl commercial and hilarious short film starring Chevy Chase and Bevery D’Angelo. Adam knew we had a reputation for fun, so he wondered if we’d like the Truckster to stop by when it came to town.

Um, yeah!

So the metallic pea-green beauty pulled into our driveway, and we got a chance to talk to John and Stephanie, two adventurous spirits who were tasked with the job of criss-crossing the country in the Truckster, delighting movie fans and raising awareness for HomeAway.com.

We put together a little video of our experience and highlighted some of the sweet details you might remember from the movie:

You can keep abreast of the Truckster’s travels on the official blog, and if you’re interested in winning one of those $5,000 vacations, be sure to submit your photo on their Facebook page. By the way, we didn’t get any compensation from HomeAway, other than an up-close look and free ride!

Like I said, I love my job. I can only hope that my next special ride will be in the Batmobile.

Or the Millennium Falcon.