Design

The United States Patent Office issued patent number 148,701 to Frederick C. Hoffman for his invention of a “new, original, and ornamental design” for a house trailer. This was the design that became the Aero Flite trailer. Hoffman listed his address as Los Angeles, California and his signature on the patent application appears to read “Frederick Hoffman, Jr.” At the time the patent was applied for, on December 20, 1946, Hoffman had already assigned the design to Aero Lines, of Van Nuys, California. The patent was issued by the US Patent Office on February 17, 1948.

The patent includes five drawings of the trailer.

Figure 1 shows the left side of the trailer with its distinctive roof design, stylish window openings, and shapely wheel opening. Figure 2 shows the right side of the trailer, which is similar to the left, except that it also has an entry door. The entry door in the drawing has an arched top edge. The door knob placement on the door indicates the door would be hinged on the left side, opening from the front of the coach and swinging outward toward the rear of the coach. The door shows a rectangular window and the door is absent any louvers or ornamentation.

Figure 3 shows a top view of the trailer, which is free of roof vents or appliance vents. Figure 4 is a rear view and does not show taillights or a license plate bracket, but shows what appears to be a full-width louvered vent in the rear window header area. Figure 5 shows a front view with a large front window flanked by distinctive front ventilation louvers, a tongue jack and wheel, and a streamlined propane tank cover.

The patent makes reference to page 112 of the 1936 book, Motor Cars by Collins. A review of the Collins book, shown below, depicts a trailer design with ventilation louvers in the sides of the roof area, apparently to encourage side to side cross-ventilation.