Zooming along U.S. highways are a number of custom-built "land cruisers" which from the outside look deceptively like ordinary busses. They are actually luxurious yachts on wheels with Honduras-mahogany-paneled walls, picture windows, "ship-to-shore" radio-telephones and comfortable accommodations for eight persons including the driver.
These rear-engine cruisers are the product of a Loudonville, Ohio, company and are built on a standard 29-passenger bus chassis. They contain kitchen, bathroom, sleeping quarters, daytime lounging and workroom and other home conveniences. The cruisers are air-conditioned and prospective buyers are urged to dream up special features which can be installed, like a "dinghy" for a scooter.
On first inspection the cruiser appears to be a three-room yacht. Aside from the driver's cubicle in the front, there are a dinette-lounge, center lounge and kitchen in the rear. By pushing a few buttons, the dinette-lounge and the center lounge become bedrooms at night. Accordion-type doors close the center lounge from the other rooms. The dinette-lounge, which also serves as office or cardroom, has dark-red-leather panels to set off the mahogany walls and chrome moldings. Along one sidewall is a cushioned alcove with a removable table. At night the table is taken out and the cushions pushed together to form a large double bed. Two deep-cushioned chairs in this section also form a single bed and just aft of the driver's seat is another reclining seat.
The dinette-lounge also boasts a snack bar concealed in a chest of drawers containing space for storing refreshments and a built-in Thermos ice-cube container. A telephone hangs in one corner of the room. It can be used for incoming or outgoing calls.
Through a hallway a door opens to a compact bathroom, or shower room, with two-tone walls of tile and a stainless-steel floor with drain. This room has a fold-away railroad type of lavatory operated by a push-button. Appointments range from a mirrored medicine cabinet to a slot for discarding old razor blades. A double-door arrangement permits the room to be made an auxiliary to either the front or center lounge.
The center lounge has two studio couches which convert to double-deck bunks at night. All you do is push a button which starts an electric mechanism to elevate the seat and back sections to form four bunks.
The kitchen at the rear is a sparkling stainless-steel and electric wonder. There are an electric range, an electric hot-water heater, a refrigerator and a thermostatically controlled automatic coffeemaker. There are adequate storage facilities for food and linens. All electricity on the cruiser is provided by a 110-volt generator operated by a four-cylinder gasoline engine. In addition, there is a 12-volt emergency lighting system.
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images and info provided by the Popular Mechanics ARCHIVE from the Zetu Harrys Collection
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