Typically, when fans think of beloved actor Steve McQueen, they picture him behind the wheel of a Bullitt Car chasing down some bad guy, like in the video seen below. What people typically don't think about is the actor behind the wheel of a lumbering camper. However, the actor's old camper is going up for auction by Mecum Auctions on July 26.
The forest green 1952 Chevrolet 3800 series truck, complete with custom aluminum camper and painted grill will join an impressive list of celebrity items up for auction at Mecum's Celebrity Items Auction in Santa Monica this weekend. On the roster are Frank Sinatra's Jaguar XJS, Elvis Presley's 1972 Cadillac Custom Estate Wagon, Dennis Hopper's 1968 Husqvarna 250 T Commando, movie posters, costumes, Indiana Jones' famous whip, John Lennon's sunglasses, Alice Cooper's snake cage, the "Pit Bull" hoverboard from Back to the Future II, a 1944 Captain America Cowl and a knit bikini worn by Jessica Alba.
While all of these items are enough to make Hollywood collectors foam at the mouth, McQueens camper has a bit of sentimental value attached to it.
According to WIRED, the camper was the last of McQueens many cars, trucks and airplanes that he road in before his death. The truck carried both McQueen and Rev. Billy Graham to the airport for a flight to Mexico for what ended up being his final surgery before dying of cancer. He shared the ride with Graham and asked him questions about the afterlife the entire way to Ventura County Airport on November 3, 1980. Four days later McQueen passed away.
McQueen had a fondness for purchasing things cars, bikes and anything else that could get him from point A to point B. His collection included a Porsche 911, Ford GT40, a Chrysler Imperial, Hudson Hornet and Willys Jeep. According to his wife, Barbara Minty McQueen, he snagged the camper on a bit of a whim.
"I remember one time we drove past a migrant farm worker who had this bitchin' old truck, and Steve turned the car around and wrote him a check on the spot," she writes in the listings. "He bought a plane or two that way, too."
