Page 34 - Journal of Antiques and Collectibles Januray 2020
P. 34
by Kary Pardy
Taking the Scenic Route: The Allure of Airstream Trailers
H ave you ever wanted to The Sovereign of the Road (1950s) was a larger
pack everything up and hit
line of Airstream travel trailers—30 feet and
the open road? Embrace a
up—designed for extended travel. Inside, the
minimalist lifestyle and go on an
adventure in the process? With all Sovereign had a dedicated living room space, a
spacious kitchen and closet storage, and a
of the buzz that surrounded the bedroom and bath. The 1950s style was
recent tiny house boom, it is everywhere you looked, from the shag carpets
important to remember that these to the floral benches. Today’s Classic Travel
feelings are not new, and an Trailers carry on the spacious, long-term travel
American company has been mak- appeal that the Sovereign started, with expansive
ing mobile lifestyles stylish for lounge, kitchen, and bathroom space and private
almost a century. Airstreams, the bedrooms. This photo shows a modification for
today’s traveler: air conditioning.
silver bullets of travel trailers, do information: airstream.com photo: airstream classifieds
not come cheaply, but they are
built to last – and several have. With its characteristic unpainted “air- we think of today. It slept four, had electric lights, its own water supply,
craft grade” aluminum body, an anti-rot frame, and a chic, elegant and cost around $1,200, which is equivalent to about $20,000 today.
look, these trailers can take to the roads for 30 or 40 years and more,
becoming an heirloom that can appeal to all generations. Off to a Great Start, But …
Airstream was well-loved and iconic, and its quality and reputation
Aerodynamically Speaking helped it to be the only travel trailer (of 400 or so brands) to survive the
To find out more about this American classic, we’ll have to travel Great Depression. The victory was short-lived, however, because the
back to the 1930s. Airstream founder Wally Byam was born in Oregon demand for aluminum during WWII meant that trailers could only be
and worked for his uncle on a produced to assist the war effort. Wally Byam closed up shop and
sheep farm, where he lived in a joined the team at Curtis Wright Industries, where he manufactured a
donkey-towed wooden wagon Clipper similar to his original. In 1947, Wally left Curtis Wright with
that was equipped with a stove his new manufacturing experience and re-started Airstream with the
and a bed. This sort of compact new Airstream Liner. The business moved forward in an economy eager
living reappeared in his love of for new travel opportunities. Over the years, Airstream added innova-
camping, though his first wife tions like the first-ever hot water heater in a trailer in 1954, and in their
Marion did not share his excite- first motorhome, the Argosy (1974), which quickly took on a design
ment about sleeping in a tent. mimicking their successful trailer.
Wally had a solution, and in In 1931, Wally Byam opened a factory Today, Airstreams are just as popular as ever, though in the trailer
1929 he built a tent enclosure on to produce the Torpedo Car Cruiser, a market they are considered a luxury item, priced at the high end of the
top of a Model T chassis. tear-drop-shaped trailer which he had
Though mobile, his contraption previously been making for friends as
well as selling kits so that others could
was not comfortable, and he build the model themselves. This model,
went back to the drawing board, made of plywood, was advertised for its
replacing the tent with a streamlined design, and a floor plan with
Masonite tear-drop shaped
plenty of “walking space,” a stove, sink,
shelter and adding a stove and icebox, and storage.
ice chest. photo and information: airstream.com
The new trailer was so popular
that Wally decided to get into
the business of making them,
and made it easy for
others to follow his lead. Wally
published a DIY guide in
Popular Mechanics, and then in
1931 set up a small factory, and
in 1936 the “Airstream Clipper” Wally introduced the first riveted alu-
was born. Named because of the minum, semi-monocoque Airstream
aluminum alloy exterior and the known as the Clipper in 1936. The
resemblance to the Spirit of Can’t get enough of the vintage appeal? Airstream, the Silver RV, by Tara Cox
Clipper had more streamlined curves,
Saint Louis, the Clipper is the came out in 2013 and is filled with great photos, history and fun facts, like how
insulated walls, an interior with luxurious
characteristic airstream model wood finishes, and customizable floor more than 65% of all Airstreams are still on the road today.
plans. photo and information: airstream.com
photo: Parade and Airstream Inc.
Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
32
Taking the Scenic Route: The Allure of Airstream Trailers
H ave you ever wanted to The Sovereign of the Road (1950s) was a larger
pack everything up and hit
line of Airstream travel trailers—30 feet and
the open road? Embrace a
up—designed for extended travel. Inside, the
minimalist lifestyle and go on an
adventure in the process? With all Sovereign had a dedicated living room space, a
spacious kitchen and closet storage, and a
of the buzz that surrounded the bedroom and bath. The 1950s style was
recent tiny house boom, it is everywhere you looked, from the shag carpets
important to remember that these to the floral benches. Today’s Classic Travel
feelings are not new, and an Trailers carry on the spacious, long-term travel
American company has been mak- appeal that the Sovereign started, with expansive
ing mobile lifestyles stylish for lounge, kitchen, and bathroom space and private
almost a century. Airstreams, the bedrooms. This photo shows a modification for
today’s traveler: air conditioning.
silver bullets of travel trailers, do information: airstream.com photo: airstream classifieds
not come cheaply, but they are
built to last – and several have. With its characteristic unpainted “air- we think of today. It slept four, had electric lights, its own water supply,
craft grade” aluminum body, an anti-rot frame, and a chic, elegant and cost around $1,200, which is equivalent to about $20,000 today.
look, these trailers can take to the roads for 30 or 40 years and more,
becoming an heirloom that can appeal to all generations. Off to a Great Start, But …
Airstream was well-loved and iconic, and its quality and reputation
Aerodynamically Speaking helped it to be the only travel trailer (of 400 or so brands) to survive the
To find out more about this American classic, we’ll have to travel Great Depression. The victory was short-lived, however, because the
back to the 1930s. Airstream founder Wally Byam was born in Oregon demand for aluminum during WWII meant that trailers could only be
and worked for his uncle on a produced to assist the war effort. Wally Byam closed up shop and
sheep farm, where he lived in a joined the team at Curtis Wright Industries, where he manufactured a
donkey-towed wooden wagon Clipper similar to his original. In 1947, Wally left Curtis Wright with
that was equipped with a stove his new manufacturing experience and re-started Airstream with the
and a bed. This sort of compact new Airstream Liner. The business moved forward in an economy eager
living reappeared in his love of for new travel opportunities. Over the years, Airstream added innova-
camping, though his first wife tions like the first-ever hot water heater in a trailer in 1954, and in their
Marion did not share his excite- first motorhome, the Argosy (1974), which quickly took on a design
ment about sleeping in a tent. mimicking their successful trailer.
Wally had a solution, and in In 1931, Wally Byam opened a factory Today, Airstreams are just as popular as ever, though in the trailer
1929 he built a tent enclosure on to produce the Torpedo Car Cruiser, a market they are considered a luxury item, priced at the high end of the
top of a Model T chassis. tear-drop-shaped trailer which he had
Though mobile, his contraption previously been making for friends as
well as selling kits so that others could
was not comfortable, and he build the model themselves. This model,
went back to the drawing board, made of plywood, was advertised for its
replacing the tent with a streamlined design, and a floor plan with
Masonite tear-drop shaped
plenty of “walking space,” a stove, sink,
shelter and adding a stove and icebox, and storage.
ice chest. photo and information: airstream.com
The new trailer was so popular
that Wally decided to get into
the business of making them,
and made it easy for
others to follow his lead. Wally
published a DIY guide in
Popular Mechanics, and then in
1931 set up a small factory, and
in 1936 the “Airstream Clipper” Wally introduced the first riveted alu-
was born. Named because of the minum, semi-monocoque Airstream
aluminum alloy exterior and the known as the Clipper in 1936. The
resemblance to the Spirit of Can’t get enough of the vintage appeal? Airstream, the Silver RV, by Tara Cox
Clipper had more streamlined curves,
Saint Louis, the Clipper is the came out in 2013 and is filled with great photos, history and fun facts, like how
insulated walls, an interior with luxurious
characteristic airstream model wood finishes, and customizable floor more than 65% of all Airstreams are still on the road today.
plans. photo and information: airstream.com
photo: Parade and Airstream Inc.
Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
32
