Until I recently became a vintage trailerite, I didn’t know about Spartan trailers. Being a long-time pilot and vintage aircraft admirer, however, I’ve known about Spartan Executive airplanes for decades. These sleek, highly-polished, propellor-driven aircraft were the Learjets of their day when the Spartan Aircraft Company manufactured them during the late-1930s. During the Second World War, Spartan turned its attention to military aircraft, expanding its workforce and production facilities to help with the war effort, thus pushing the Executive to the sideline.
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By war’s end, the Executive was old technology, so Spartan developed a line of travel trailers to keep their production plants open and workers employed. Utilizing the same monocoque technology used on the Executive, Spartan trailers were manufactured using lightweight aluminum ribs covered by stressed aluminum skins, creating an art deco exterior and cavernous interior. Much too expensive to build and extremely expensive to buy, the company closed its doors in 1962, selling its name to the Spartan School of Aeronautics (later changed to Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, which still trains pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aviation electronics technicians in Tulsa,OK).
To this day, Spartan trailers equal beauty in design, comfort, and quality. Many are showing up at vintage trailer rallies around the country and almost always in pristine condition, such as the 1953 Spartan Imperial Mansion owned by Walter and Gloria Sams of Colbert, GA, a double-ender which won “Fan Favorite” at the Southern Vintage Trailer Friends 2017 Groovy Beach Bash in Jekyll Island, GA. This frame-up restoration also made an appearance at the 2017 Gathering Of The Times Vintage Trailer Rally in Pine Mountain, GA. Although decorated with correct period furnishings and appliances, this Spartan also has modern conveniences smartly hidden out of sight (microwave, flat-screen tv, etc.), making it a true home away from home (…which brings us to the story behind the story).
Before Gloria Sams was born, her parents became first-time home buyers when they purchased a new Spartanette. Soon Gloria was born, followed shortly thereafter by her brother. Because the Spartanette was too small for a family of four, Gloria’s parents traded up for a Spartan Imperial Mansion (…exactly like the one she and Walter restored for their empty-nester years). Gloria lived a happy childhood in her parents’ Imperial Mansion until the age of twelve. In fact, she displays photographs from that childhood in the entranceway of her restored Imperial Mansion (…which is configured to sleep only two people to make it a true empty-nester’s home away from home).
Another gorgeous restoration is the 1954 Spartan Mansion owned by Steve Allen and Doug Bachman of Wilton Manors, FL, which made an appearance at the Tin Can Tourists 11th Annual Unity Settlement Gathering & Show in Estero, FL in November 2017. Steve and Doug owned a trailer park in Florida, which they sold in 2003. In 2002, when one of their tenants got several months behind in rent, the tenant offered them a deal they couldn’t pass up. In exchange for wiping out the $750 debt owed for three months back rent on the lot, plus giving the tenant $500, the tenant signed his trailer over to the men. And that’s how they acquired their Mansion, which only required a partial restoration. The trailer is 90% original. Steve and Doug also own a fully-restored 1954 New Moon similar to the one used in “The Long, Long Trailer” book (by Clinton Twiss) and movie (starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz). If you haven’t already watched this 1954 film, do so soon for a hilarious evening. It features vintage travel trailers and trailer parks in the 1950s.
Not all vintage Spartans are restored. While attending a TCT event recently, a local resident mentioned an abandoned Spartan about two miles away from the campground. After hunting down and investigating the status of the trailer, it turned out to be a 1956 Imperial Mansion park model that had been sitting on the property since the early-1960s and unused for the past two decades. The exterior seemed to be in good condition, but curtains prevented an interior inspection. The trailer was not for sale. Still, it’s nice to dream about finding, restoring, and living in a beauty such as a Spartan!
