Like today’s truck ads, those made in the 1960s and 1970s were all about preaching toughness, strength, and the veritable indestructibility of the vehicle being promoted. In this case we are talking about the cool 1970 International Travelall. What’s neat about the “pitch” in this ad is that the narrator never refers to it as a truck, instead it is a “wagon”. The Travelall was based on the D-Series pickup trucks but perhaps in the 1970s the company wanted this vehicle to appeal to buyers who would have been turned off with the idea of the big rig being too “truckish”. The talk of interior room and stuff certainly strikes at a car buyer as opposed to a truck buyer but the demonstration of the Travelall’s strength is real hook here.

Starting on what looks to be the El Mirage dry lake, guys in lab coats hook a travel trailer to the “wagon” they then hook a pop up camper trailer to the travel trailer, and a boat to the back of the pop up camper. All this to illustrate the “10,000lb towing capacity” of the Travelall. It is all well and good to pull that stuff across a dead flat lake bed but then the shot cuts to the lab coated guys pulling the whole wagon train up a mountain. That’s pretty sweet and great imagery to put on television.

The Travelall was restyled in 1969 to modernize its looks. Gone were the rounded and chubby looking fenders of the previous generation (which looked like it was prepetually 1959 still) and in were the cut and crisp lines of the pickups and Scouts. Engines ranged from the barely ever chosen 232ci inline six to the beefy 392 International gas V8 which was rated at between 240-250hp. The 392 is a tug boat torque style engine which was extremely heavy but literally unkillable. Forged internals and a block that could have been dropped out of planes as a weapon of war, it wasn’t doing to win drag races but it was going to run until the vehicle it was in literally evaporated around it. Automatic and stick shift transmissions were available.

We’ll take ours with a 392 (which we’d promptly stick a single turbo on) and a four speed stick. Tons of of room for the kids, lots of room for the stuff, and enough power to pull trailers, campers, and boats at the same time? DO WANT.

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THIS COOL AD FOR THE 1970 INTERNATIONAL TRAVELALL –