Bowlus Road Chief


The Bowlus Road Chief is an American luxury travel trailer with a front door, aerodynamic shape and polished aluminum body.
Hawley Bowlus designed and the Road Chief using his knowledge of aircraft construction. Aspects of the design were used on the first Airstream trailers. Bowlus stopped producing the trailers in 1936.
Production of a modernized, enlarged Road Chief resumed in 2013 in Oxnard, California.

History

Founding and early years

The first Bowlus Road Chief was designed and built by Hawley Bowlus in 1934. Bowlus was a designer, aerospace engineer and the builder of the Spirit of St. Louis aircraft. From 1934 to 1936, over eighty Bowlus Road Chiefs were built at Bowlus’ family ranch in San Fernando, California.
In 1936, Wally Byam, who founded Airstream, adopted the Road Chief design for the Airstream Clipper after working for Bowlus as a salesperson.
In November of 1936, Bowlus stopped building travel trailers and did not transfer assets to another party.
Approximately half of the original Bowlus Road Chiefs have survived. In a Scottsdale Gooding & Company auction, a vintage Bowlus Road Chief sold for $187,000.

Modern Era

Bowlus Road Chief was revived by Geneva Long and her family in 2014. 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.
The modern-era company is headquartered in Oxnard, California. Each Road Chief is made with birch wood, 2024 T3 aluminum and stainless steel countertops. The company manufactures several versions of the trailer.

Technology

The Road Chief was the first travel trailer to use lithium iron phosphate batteries. 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. In 2016, Bowlus Road Chief partnered with Bentley for the launch of the Bentley Bentayga during Monterey Car Week.