Rocinante is the truck author John Steinbeck drove across the
United States in 1960. He recounts the journey in Travels with
Charley, a bestseller that initially sold more volumes than any
of Steinbeck's other books and won the 1963 Paperback-of-the-Year
Award. Steinbeck chose a truck because it is mobile yet self-contained,
and it “is a respectable and respected working instrument.”
The truck Steinbeck commissioned was a new model with a V6 engine,
an automatic transmission, and an oversized generator. The camper
was provided by the Wolverine Camper Company of Glaswin, Michigan.
Steinbeck called the truck Rocinante, after Quixote's horse because
his friends called his trip quixotic. Shirley Fisher of McIntosh
and Otis painted the name in early Spanish script on the camper's
side. When the hurricane that initially postponed Steinbeck trip
wore away the letters, she repainted it.
 Steinbeck
mentions Rocinante occasionally but affectionately in his book,
calling her “a beautiful thing, powerful and lithe,” almost as
easy to handle as a passenger car. There were a few mishaps along
the way. Having equipped the camper with about “four times too
much of everything,” two tires gave out on a lonely road in Oregon,
and Steinbeck had to replace the overloaded loaded springs in
California.
However, Steinbeck maintained that Rocinante was not “mean” or
“ugly-natured” like some cars he'd owned. Indeed, because of her
“purring motor and perfect performance,” “because of her ready
goodness,” he treated “her like the honest bookkeeper, the faithful
wife,” and except for meticulous routine maintenance, he ignored
her.
After Steinbeck's trek, Rocinante was put up for sale in New York
where she was purchased by Mr. William Plate for light work on
Maiden Point Farm on the Maryland coast. In the late sixties,
the truck just missed playing a major role in the NBC production
of Travels with Charley. Instead, GMC and Wolverine Camper provided
a newer, younger truck for the part.
In February of 1990, the Plates generously offered to donate Rocinante
to the National Steinbeck Center. The truck was shipped to Salinas
and has been in storage. Rocinante was lovingly restored to its
original glory by Gene Cochetti and on April 1, 1998, Rocinante
was moved into its new home in the Main Exhibit Gallery of the
Center. Click here to see photos of this historic day.
A number of Salinas business persons have assisted in moving,
preserving, storing and displaying this historic vehicle. Thanks
are due to Mark Scarr, Scarr Moving and Storage; Gene Cochetti,
Body Shop by Gene Cochetti; Sam Eastman Monterey County Petroleum;
Lamar Brothers Tire Service; Louie Garcia, Salinas Valley Public
Warehouse at Firestone Business Park; Carl and Shirley Hansen.
A very special thanks goes to Leo Piper of Harvest Buick Pontiac-GMC
Trucks, Inc.
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Rocinante