Bowlus Road Chief

The Bowlus Road Chief is an American luxury travel trailer with a front door, aerodynamic shape[1] and polished aluminum body.[2]

Hawley Bowlus designed and built the Road Chief using his knowledge of aircraft construction.[3] Aspects of the design were used on the first aluminum-body Airstream[4] trailers, the Airstream Clipper. Bowlus stopped producing the trailers in 1936.

Production of a modernized, enlarged Road Chief resumed in 2013 in Oxnard, California.[5]

History

Founding and early years

The first Bowlus Road Chief was designed and built by Hawley Bowlus in 1934.[6] Bowlus was a designer, aerospace engineer and the builder of the Spirit of St. Louis aircraft.[7] From 1934 to 1936, over eighty Bowlus Road Chiefs were built at Bowlus’ family ranch in San Fernando, California.

In 1936, Wally Byam[8] who founded Airstream[9] adapted the design for the Airstream Clipper after selling Bowlus trailers.[10] [11][12]

In November of 1936, Bowlus stopped building travel trailers and did not transfer assets to another party.[13]

Approximately half of the original Bowlus Road Chiefs have survived.[14] In a Scottsdale Gooding & Company auction, a vintage Bowlus Road Chief sold for $187,000.[11]

Modern Era

Bowlus Road Chief was revived by Geneva Long and her family in 2014.[15] The modern Road Chiefs are longer, wider and taller than the originals and are lightweight. The new Road Chief is described as being the most advanced travel trailer in the world.[16]

The modern-era company is headquartered in Oxnard, California. Each Road Chief is made with birch wood,[17] 2024 T3 aluminum[18] and stainless steel countertops.[1] The company manufactures several versions of the trailer.

Technology

The Road Chief was the first travel trailer to use lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries.[19] A Road Chief can run for up to a week without hookups.

Appearances

A Bowlus Road Chief appeared in the 1935 Hollywood movie Red Salute.[20]

In 2016, Bowlus Road Chief partnered with Bentley[21] for the launch of the Bentley Bentayga during Monterey Car Week.

In 2017, a Bowlus Road Chief appeared in a Squarespace commercial that was part of a Super Bowl Advertising Campaign with Keanu Reeves.[22]

References
  1. Potter, Everett (2018-12-11). "How a 20-Something Revived the Bowlus Road Chief". Forbes.
  2. Neil, Dan (2015-09-16). "The Road Chief Is the Ultimate Camper". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  3. Green, Penelope (2013-02-13). "On the Road Again". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  4. Schwamborn, Dale (2015-04-16). "The Bowlus and the Clipper". Airstream blog. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  5. Barber, Megan (2017-11-14). "'30s-inspired aluminum trailer can go off-grid for a week". Curbed. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  6. Brody, Reuben (2016-08-15). "The Trailer That Inspired the Airstream Is Back, Better Than Ever". InsideHook. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  7. Fogel, Gary (2016-09-07). "William Hawley Bowlus (1954)" (PDF). Unpublished. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  8. https://stanfordmag.org/contents/our-favorite-mobile-device
  9. https://www.airstream.com/heritage/
  10. https://airstreamclub.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/2018%2004%20Historically%20Speaking%20A%20brief%20History%20of%20the%20Airstream%20Company.pdf
  11. Ewing, Mark (2016-01-27). "The Road Chief Rides Again: The Lightweight and Modern Trailer with Vintage Roots". Forbes.
  12. http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/towing/1408-silver-streaks-wally-byam-and-airstream-keep-on-rolling
  13. Brown, Bruce. "Airstream inspiration Road Chief puts an off-grid luxury camper on the road". www.digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  14. Arsenovic, Aleksandra (2013-02-11). "$100,000 Bowlus Road Chief – Sleeker than an Airstream". Extravaganzi. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  15. Barber, Megan (2017-11-14). "'30s-inspired aluminum trailer can go off-grid for a week". Curbed. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  16. Weiss, C.C. (2016-11-11). "Electrified trailer glamps off-grid for days and charges your Tesla, too". New Atlas. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  17. Szondy, David (2013-02-16). "Bowlus Road Chief updates 1930s classic caravan". New Atlas. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  18. Vaughn, Mark (2016-02-13). "The Bowlus Road Chief may be the ultimate travel trailer; here's why". Autoweek.
  19. "Bowlus Road Chief Lithium+, Is The World's First Lithium Powered Travel Trailer". Archived from the original on 2017-03-02.
  20. Barger, Ron (2019-09-30). "Bowlus Road Chief Continues Legacy of Longevity". RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  21. Ewing, Mark (2016-09-01). "Bowlus Road Chief Lithium + Teams With Bentley Bentayga For Monterey Car Week". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  22. "Meet the Super Bowlus, the Ultimate Tailgating Aluminum Trailer". www.themanual.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
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