Saab History

The 1967 Saabo – Saab USA Heritage Collection

Posted on 29. Apr, 2009 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Saab USA Heritage Collection

The 1967 Saabo Camping trailer has been recently added to the Saab USA Heritage Collection.

Here are the details received from the current curators of the Saabo at the collection.

• The SAABO was a caravan produced from 1964 to 1968, by Saab.

· The SAABO caravan (camper/trailer) was manufactured in, outside Norrkoping, Sweden. The project was started by the Ljunga plant and at SAAB in Linkoping. Officially they were working on a project called MEFAN that was supposed to produce hovercrafts for the military. Unofficially they made a camper caravan.

· The idea was to get a product to even out the workload at the helicopter department, that at the time mainly assembled helicopters manufactured in France. After making a model in 1:10 scale they received the OK for production. A first prototype was made at Fisksatra boatyard and the pre-production prototypes at Marieholms Bruk.

The first prototypes were made without brakes, but these were soon added. It was important to keep the weight down as the caravan would be used with automobiles with as little as 25 hp (19kW), like the 38 hp (28 kW) two stroke SAAB 96. And the Swedish regulation at the time allowed unrestricted speed with a caravan if the weigh
was low enough.

• Despite the small size the SAABO was designed to accommodate a family of four (five with an extra bunk). The interior consisted of two a dining table, galley and two wardrobes. Liquified petroleum gas was used for cooking, heating and lighting. The design was made with two half shells of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) enclosing an insulation of folded cardboard. The SAABO had large, low set front and rear windows so the driver of the towing vehicle could look right through it in the rear view mirror. At least 438 SAABOs were made.

— Total length: 3.60 metres (141.7 in)
— Width: 1.84 metres (72.4 in)
— Height: 2.10 metres (82.7 in)
- lnner height: 1.80 metres (70.9 in)
- Weight: 230 kg (507 Ib)
- Cost at launch: 4950

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SAAB & IKEA

Posted on 30. Jan, 2007 by Ryan.

Saab Automobile product range: Safe, versatile, practical, unique and progressive.
IKEA product range — Modern, functional, attractive, and progressive.

- Different companies, similiar product philosophies

Here is a photo that was recently provided to me of a Saab 99 that at the time, was the choice Saab model for those trips to IKEA. I was wondering how many of you have made it to IKEA in your Saab and have found that the plat-packed design of many IKEA goods works well with the utility and practicality of the Saab Automobile.

In the discussions I have had, I have heard from people that the 9000 was the best, and I have also heard that the 900 convertible was the best because the top goes down and the sky is the limit. Is there a “best” Saab model for such an arrangement?

In an effort to get your responses, I have provided a poll below for you to choose what Saab model in your opinion, is most suited at being the “best” Saab for an IKEA trip. I look forward to your poll results.

Update: Incredible voter turnout today! I have closed the poll at 150, It looks as though the Saab 9-5 SportCombi is the winner! I will post more on this in the coming days.

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

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Saabo & Toppola – The Details

Posted on 30. Nov, 2006 by Ryan.

I have recently located some detailed drawings / blueprints for your reference that I think you will find extremely interesting.

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Saab Camping – Saabo, Toppola & Tent

Posted on 30. Nov, 2006 by Ryan.

Saab owners and enthusiasts for a number of years have had some interesting options when it came to camping with their beloved Saab automobiles.

One of these items is known as the Saabo, another was the Topolla and of course we have always had the traditional tent.

It was not as clear to me that these options were still widely used today until my return to Sweden last summer during the 2005 Saab Festival in Trollhätten. Although I did not plan ahead to camp during this event, I did manage to visit the campsite when my friend from Iceland showed me around.

I think there could be a possibility that I will ditch the traditional accomodations altogether for an opportunity to camp amongst a great group of Saab owners and enthusiasts from all over the world.

I have provided descriptions and photos I took from the Saab Festival 2005 last summer in Trollhätten, Sweden. Enjoy and please let me know what your thoughts are by posting a comment!

Saabo

The Saabo which is a trailered camper that was available between 1960 and 1968.

The SAABO caravan (camper/travel trailer) was manufactured in Ljunga, outside Norrköping. The project was started by Bo Bjernekull of the Ljunga plant and Birger Lindberg at SAAB in Linköping.

Officially they were working on a project called MEFAN that was supposed to produce hovercrafts for the military.

Unofficially they made a camper caravan. The idea was to get a product to even out the worlkoad at the helicopter department, that at the time mainly assembled helicopters manufactured in France. After making a model in 1:10 scale they received the OK for production. A first prototype was made at Fisksätra boatyard and the pre-production prototypes at Marieholms Bruk. The first prototypes were made without brakes, but these were soon added. It was important to keep the weight down as the caravan would be used with automobiles with as little as 25 hp (19 kW, like the 38 hp (28 kW) two stroke Saab 96.

Despite the small size they were designed to accommodate a family of four (five with an extra bunk). The interior consisted of two sofas, a dining table, galley sink and two wardrobes. Liquified petroleum gas was used for cooking, heating and lighting. The design was made with two half shells of fibreglass enclosing an insulation of folded cardboard.

The SAABO had large, low set front and rear windows so the driver of the towing vehicle could look right through it in the rear view mirror.

At least 438 SAABOs were made.

For more information on the Saabo, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAABO

Toppola

The Toppola on the other hand was a camper shell that began in 1982 originally for the Saab 99 Combi Coupe, then the 900, the Saab 9-3. They state that they are looking for another company to pickup the production, so an entrepreurial spirited business minded Saab Enthusiast has a great opportunity on their hands! Wouldn’t it be nice to see this in other countries as well as Sweden?

Here is the information from Wikpedia: Toppola is a brand of camper shell originally made for the Saab 99 combi coupé. By removing the hatch and putting on the Toppola you could easily convert your car to a campervan in about 15 to 30 minutes. It is also just as easy to lift the top off and reattach the hatch door when you want to use your car as normal again. Even if the unit looks small it features full standing height (2.0 m) and a 170 by 200 cm bed. It could be fitted with a complete kitchen and even a heater for use during winter. The total weight addition is about 115 kg so the unit is very light.

The Toppola was first made for the Saab 99, but later also Saab 900, Saab 9-3 and Ford Sierra and Scorpio.

As of writing (2006) production has stopped and SCANDO is looking for someone to take over production of the Toppola.

For more information on the Toppola, visit their home directly at http://hem.passagen.se/scarlot/toppola/ as well as Wikipedia source of this information below. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toppola

Saab vs. The Tent

Lastly, we have the classic “Saab vs. The Tent” arrangement. As you can see, this is probably the most simplistic method for a good nights sleep in the wilderness. This 9-3 Convertible owner has managed to pitch the tent, but raising the convertible top is another story altogether.

For more information on a capable tent, visit http://www.rei.com or http://www.ems.com

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SAAB Museum – In Denmark

Posted on 09. Nov, 2006 by Ryan.

With the Saab Festival just around the corner next summer, it was hard to think about how wonderful the Saab Museum would be to visit once again. In searching for “Saab Museum”, I came up with some hits including one of our sponsors, but I also came up with another link. This link was to SAAB Enthusiast Vagn Bruncke of Nordborg, Denmark who has his own personal SAAB museum.

Vagn Bruncke’s museum ranges from SAAB’s from 1952 until 1973. I have included his listing of SAAB models and did the best I could to translate the Danish to English.

His fleet is quite impressive! For more information please visit http://www.vagnssaabmuseum.dk/

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