If you’ve read the BangShift.com Motorized Freak column long enough, you knew this was coming at some point. One of the most recognizable vehicles in the history of vehicles, the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, has been traversing the country since the 1930s, spreading the goodness of hot dogs across the land.

The first Weinermobile was conceived and built in 1936. The idea came from Carl Mayer (Oscar’s nephew) to create a vehicle to be used for promotional purposes. This was during the time of the Depression and hot dogs, being a cheap source of food, were popular, and competition between manufacturers of tube steaks was hot. This would be the thing to set Oscar Meyer apart from the crowd, and it did.

A company named “The General Body Company” completed the construction of the earliest models of the vehicle and  little is known about what they were based off of. What is known is that during WWII they did not travel much due to the fact that gasoline was rationed by the government and Weinermobiles were not considered essential to the national security.

Starting in 1952 the Gerstenslager Company of Wooster, Ohio got the job of building the big weenies. These were based on Dodge and Willys Jeep chassis. Obviously they were not the monstrous size that they are today. In 1958, designer Brook Stevens revamped the rolling frankfurter into the design you know today. Stevens was also the designer of the Miller beer logo, some Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and the Excalibur car, among other things.

Since the 1950s, several companies have handled the build job, and the combos have been interesting. Chevy van chassis were the foundation for several years, with custom touches for headlights and tail lights. The last couple have been based off of GMC medium-duty truck chassis and have sported small-block Vortec power.

The trucks have been all over, including for a hot lap around Indy with Al Unser Jr. at the helm back in the mid-1990s. College kids are chosen to drive the vehicle and they have the job for one year until it’s given to the next group of graduating college seniors.

We’re not sure if that’s a cool job or a lame one, but we’d like to take the thing for a spin at least once.