The key issue for towing in cars of the day was not horsepower, but rather torque and the displacement of the engine. It also appears that many of these were used primarily as homes in one place, which would allow the dealer to deliver it with a one ton pickup or similar vehicle. Plus, with aluminium construction, not that heavy.

Considering most cars of that time had 90 to 120 horse power, how would you get up even a moderate grade? Seems not very practical as a 'travel trailer'.

I spotted one just like this parked behind a business just 3 miles from my house today - what are the odds!

Changing a flat tire must have been challenging.

My new wife and I spent the winter of 1957/1958 at Chanute AFB, IL as I was going through aircraft maintenance school. An enterprising Master Sergeant had parked two of these trailers in his back yard in nearby Rantoul Il and rented them to us student mechanics. Rent was $65.00 per month and it cost $1.25 to fill each of those propane tanks on the front hitch. Oil at 9 cents per gallon was used for heat.

Our total Air Force income was $150.00 per month, including my wife's allotment. There was not much money left over each month, but we were happy and have many fond memories from the experience.

You can take it, say, for a vacation to Mount Whitney.

The source for these trailers, as well as the aluminum siding and cookware that flooded the post war market, can be seen in this video. (Warning: risque Nose Art shown):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TJk1jqzjYU

I lived in a 1952 Spartan 27-foot Tandem for six months after a move to Cincinnati, the winter of 2009-10. It was parked inside a garage, fully unrestored and in reasonably okay shape. I was instructed by the owner not to do "improvements" that couldn't be undone later. It had two bunks in the back on opposite sides. A sheet of plywood could set across these to support a queen-sized mattress. The bathroom was strange: a drain in the dead center of the floor, showerhead built into the ceiling. Closing it up, everything was sprayed including the toilet. (I showered at a nearby friend's apt. instead.) Ended up moving out & up, and trailer today is sitting in another garage in mothballs. It's an odd memory of something so recent.

An ad from the Bilings, MT dealer. Interesting "regular" and "sale" prices (as compared with Dave's handy spreadsheet):

The Spartanette seems to have been a budget model, and although the name was diminutive, the trailer itself was anything but: the immense Imperial Spartanette was almost 40 feet long. (The Royal Spartanette in the photo had a body length of 32 feet 10 inches and listed for $4943 in 1952.) The senior model was called the Spartan Imperial Mansion (as noted below, something of a contradiction in terms). J. Paul Getty had something to do with the company. Click to enlarge.

Seems a bit contradictory, like Jumbo Shrimp.

the side of that trailer is off a Consolidated B-24.

Not exactly an Airstream, is it?

I know Ry Cooder is somewhere in the area.