When money is not an issue, you suddenly find things you simply can’t do without. For one Dr. Hubert Eaton, that thing was luxury transportation in between locations or on business trips that aimed to combine business and pleasure.
Dr. Hubert Eaton was a very savvy businessman, whose name is forever linked to the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemeteries in California, where many celebrities and public figures have found their final resting place. Eaton was also probably painfully aware that, in order to have success, one must project a successful image, much like today’s real estate agents will do when they make sure they buy (or rent) an expensive supercar.
This belief and the desire to experience the best in terms of road travel led to the creation of what is today an iconic motorhome, the 1938 Vagabond. The Vagabond is a very unique rig, made of a custom REO bus and an equally custom Curtiss Aerocar trailer, one of the first luxury fifth-wheelers in history. Vagabond is, in short, the epitome of luxury, though you wouldn’t tell by how little money it sold for in 2017.
The Curtiss Aerocar was a trailer manufactured by Glenn H. Curtiss and the Aerocar Company. Introduced in 1929, it was based on what Curtiss called the “motor bungalow” in 1919. Some 300 units came out of the factories in Michigan and Florida, of which less than a dozen have survived to this day. Of these, only one or two are still functional, and only one is restored to its original glory: that would be the ‘37 model that is on permanent display at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in New York. You can see a walkaround video presentation of it in the video at the bottom of the page.
Photo: Petersen Automotive Museum
The thing about Aerocars was that no unit was similar to another, if only by the fact that the hitch to the vehicle had to be customized according to the towing vehicle. Eaton’s Aerocar is even more unique and, as far as we can tell, only one of two such projects. Vagabond was made on commission, out of a desire to travel between real estate properties without compromise to comfort, and to have a literal office on wheels. Vagabond was also suitable for hunting parties and, if need be, could sleep up to six people, with the driver getting his own berth in the towing vehicle. Eaton would later remove the beds in the trailer and use the space for storage, and use it solely as an office for his board of directors.
The towing vehicle was a ‘38 REO cab-forward hauler, custom-built by Standard Carriage Works of Los Angeles. It was initially powered by a rear-mounted 12-cylinder White truck engine developing 212 hp, which it was replaced after 250,000 miles (402,336 km), in 1953, with a 300 hp Cummins diesel. The Cummins engine continued to work until 1991, which is when Forest Lawn Memorial Park stopped using the rig; in 1998, it donated it to the Petersen Automotive Museum. When the latter auctioned the rig off in 2017, the engine was no longer running.
The hauler offered generous storage space, a bedroom for the driver and a half-bath. The trailer, fixed permanently to the hauler, was a top-of-the-line Aerocar, customized as an office on wheels. It offered seating for eight people in total and, in the original layout, a conference room slash lounge and a separate sleeping area. It also included a full restroom with a shower, a kitchen with full-size refrigerator and sink with cold and hot water, and fancy fittings like cup holders, ashtrays and lights.
The front end of the trailer was actually an observation deck, thanks to a dashboard that included a compass and an odometer, and an intercom unit to communicate with the driver. Clearly, Mr. Eaton loved luxury and being in control. The trailer also had lateral mirrors and windshield wipers, as well as a deluxe cupola that was new to Aerocars and that offered a better view of the road. The Vagabond also had air conditioning and featured wood finishes and blue plush upholstery.
Photo: Petersen Automotive Museum
The Vagabond was massive, both in length and weight: it measured 50 feet (15.2 meters), with a wheelbase of 30 feet (9.1 meters), and weighed a total of 23,000 pounds (10,432 kg). It was supposedly inspired by Brooks Stevens’ Zephyr Land Yacht, which had been delivered just two years prior and, in turn, inspired another Aerocar-based rig, which was delivered to American adventurer and automotive pioneer Augustus Post, with a Chevrolet-based tractor.
In 2017, the Petersen auctioned off Vagabond and it sold for the surprisingly low amount of $137,000. It would emerge again a little over a year later, at the 2018 AACA Fall Meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania, looking better than it had in years, as the second video below shows. A truck mechanic had done repairs on the REO hauler and it was driving again, and the trailer had received some nice touch-ups.
The Aerocar was once marketed as the “boathouse of the highway,” and rightly so. The Vagabond is a prime example of that.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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