Steve McQueen’s camper goes to auction Friday in Santa Monica

It’s easy to visualize Steve McQueen atop a motorcycle in “The Great Escape” or cruising in a convertible, but the legendary actor in a camper? Why not?

McQueen’s 1952 Forest Green Chevrolet 3800 series pickup truck with custom camper hits the auction block Friday at the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport.

McQueen owned upwards of 60 rare vehicles throughout his life, according to the auction listing provided by Mecum, and the Chevrolet 3800 series “is a one-ton long-bed pickup truck and is much sought after by customizers, hot rodders and old truck collectors.”

McQueen first got the Chevrolet in 1978.

His wife, Barbara Minty McQueen, told Mecum that “Steve’s collection of cars and motorcycles cluttered the private driveway that serviced a row of homes near the beach, but that didn’t stop him from buying whatever he wanted.”

According to the listing, “this truck’s significance takes on greater historical importance as it was the last vehicle to transport McQueen from his Santa Paula home to the Ventura County Airport on Nov. 3, 1980.”

“From there he would be whisked to El Paso, Texas, for his final cancer surgery in Juarez, Mexico. Accompanying McQueen in the camper was the Reverend Bill Graham,” the listing said.

Mick Way, who said he is in charge of the celebrity items for the weekend’s auction, estimates the camper will sell for between $125,000 and $150,000.

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Twitter: @aribloomekatz | Facebookari.bloomekatz@latimes.com