L.L. Bean Outfits Bootmobile for Nationwide Tour In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean, a hunting enthusiast who had grown dissatisfied with the standard leather hunting boot of the time, designed a model with a rubber sole and shell stitched to a leather upper. The Maine Hunting Shoe was the first product to be sold by L.L. Bean, the clothing company he founded in Freeport, Me. To promote its centennial, L.L. Bean commissioned the Bootmobile, a 20-foot-long, 13-foot-high vehicle that is scheduled to travel throughout the country this year, and perhaps beyond. "We have it, so why not?" said Carolyn Beem, an L.L. Bean spokeswoman, on Wednesday afternoon. Ms. Beem was standing next to the Bootmobile, a replica of the Bean Boot and about seven feet shorter than the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. The Bootmobile was stationed on a corner in Times Square where, for two hours, a public relations team from L.L. Bean, dressed in blue winter jackets, distributed hand warmers and spoke to passers-by. "People have been taking photographs and sharing their Bean Boot stories," said Ms. Beem, who smiled broadly despite the cold temperatures. Boot stories? The "Oh, I remember my first pair of Bean Boots" stories," she said. Built to scale by Echo Artz, a specialty fabrication shop in Kissimmee, Fla., the Bootmobile, which would register at the L.L. Bean factory store as a size 747, is essentially a Ford F-250 Super Duty truck with a fiberglass boot molded on top. "It has a turbodiesel, and it has a ton of power," said Ian Bechtel, who was in charge of driving the Bootmobile from Freeport to Times Square. It has a ton of towing capacity. Actually, with 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque, the F-250 is rated to tow up to four tons. When the public event was over, Mr. Bechtel agreed to step the Bootmobile into traffic for a quick spin around Times Square. The interior, which is entered through the heel, is a disappointingly straightforward affair. Though the back half of the vehicle is a veritable jungle gym of steel structural tubing, the cabin has not been altered. Behind the wheel, it would be easy to forget that this was a rolling boot. "Well, it's tall," Mr. Bechtel said, indicating the special truck-based navigation system on the dashboard that only plots routes that the boot's collar can clear. And it's wide. It takes up white line to white line. Even so, Mr. Bechtel didn't have much difficulty negotiating the pre-rush-hour traffic. "It's a lot easier to drive in New York City than people think," he said. The traffic is so slow. His traffic assessment didn't extend to street vendors. Mr. Bechtel brought the Bootmobile back to its slot next to the Nasdaq building on West 43rd Street, only to find the adjacent sidewalk already occupied by three food carts. The Bootmobile was not long for New York, anyway. It would be returning to Maine for its official introduction to employees this week, Ms. Beem said. Afterward, it would begin its tour, though destinations and route were still being planned.