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The Thompson “Raise the Roof Four-Sleeper and Diner Cabin Sedan” looks like a cross between an armored car and limousine. Walter J. Thompson, an inventor and watchmaker who resided in Ontario, California, created the vehicle. From the mid-1920s to the early ’30s, Thompson fabricated four boxy house cars, each of which were mounted on flatbed truck chassis. At the same time he was building his squarish house cars, he was also designing a more streamlined house car. In 1934, after six years of planning and one year of tinkering, his one-of-a-kind creation was finally roadworthy. The chassis of the house car is a 1933 Studebaker with an 11 foot, 6 inch wheelbase. Interior features include a stove, refrigerator, sink, and sleeping accommodations for four. Without a doubt the most interesting feature of the Thompson house car is the patented telescoping roof that raises by an ingenious series of gears. The Thompson was featured in the November 27, 1937, issue of the British magazine Motor, where it was described as a “caravan car.” It then made an appearance in the December 13, 1937, issue of Life magazine. The Thompson is one of the shining gems in the Vince Martinico Auburn Trailer Collection.