STAGE 1: Deciding which Airstream you want

Your choice of Airstream is a necessarily subjective thing. Everyone is different, with an individual set of needs and tastes. Let me be clear though, to the average man or woman on the street, they all look very similar. They are all lovely silver colored wingless aircraft sliding silently down the highway. But once you get into it, you come to realise that there are some very important styling and appointment differences between them all.

The two main things to figure out are:
- Model, and
- Year.

...I guess you need to have an idea of your budget too, but if you have made it past the post on budget then your choice of model won't be too severely curtailed.

Some people need no help deciding which trailer they want and have already fallen head over heels in love with one or another.  For the rest of us though, this can be a more measured and deliberate process.

So, let's break it down...

The Year
I think this is a largely heart-driven decision. Some people just absolutely love the stylings of the 50s or 60s trailers, others (us included) like the look of the 70s ones.

My theory is that it has a lot to do with your age. It depends which era you grew up in, when you were just starting to form your tastes and appreciation of visual style. Buying an Airstream is an exercise in nostalgia for many people, they are remembering a more carefree time when they were younger and their life was simpler.

Having said all that, there are 20-year old kids these days buying 1960s cars because they love the aesthetic so maybe it just depends on your tastes. The best thing to do is look at some and see what takes your fancy.

By far the best way determine which year model you might prefer is to take a look at the Photo Archive at Vintage Airstream.com.

Website: www.vintageairstream.com/archives/index.html

When you land on the site, scroll down and you will see a blue coloured table with years and models. Simply click to see the photographs.

Here are some style notes broken down across the various years to help structure your viewing...

1950s

Style Notes...

- Lots of scolloped aluminium panels in the front and rear end caps - 13 I think.

- The "whale tail", a kind of straight sloped rear end that almost looks like it kicks at the bottom.

- A simple pair of round tail lights.

- Squarish windows with narrow frames.

- A real wood interior.

These shots are all the same model of trailer (a 1956 Fyling Cloud 22 foot)

1960s

Style notes...

- Fewer panels in the end caps.

- To my eye, it seems the tail has less of a kick to it. Still straight though.

- Sometimes a single pair of tail lights or sometimes, two lights on either side.

- Windows still squarish and with narrow frames.

- Still a real wood interior although a darker kind of wood.

These shots are all the same model (a 1965 Safari 22 foot)

1970s

OK, it changed quite a bit in 1969 and then through the 1970s.  There were a lot of cost cutting measures (particularly with the interiors) and a lot of styling amendments - I think for the better, though it seems I'm swimming against the tide here.

Style notes...

- A small number of panels at the end caps.

- The tail and front have a lot more shape to them. They are no longer straight, rather they exhibit a distinct transition at the now very noticeable "waist-line".

- More taillights! Up to '74 there were three round ones on each side. After '75 there are 4 square ones. This was a major deciding factor in our purchase.

- Windows much more rounded with a kind of spaceship porthole feel to them. Larger riveted frames accentuate the styling.

- Awful wood veneer interiors, but the overhead cabinets (up to 1974) have a really nice aircraft overhead locker feel to them.

    1970 Caravaner 25 foot model showing the round framed windows (a Caravaner feature was it's many windows)

    A 1973 Safari 23 foot showing 3 segment taillights and pronounced waist-line

A 1977 Tradewind 25 foot exhibiting the 4 segment tail lights

    A 1976 Tradewind 25 foot with the wood veneer and airline style overhead lockers

So that's years and styling, the next aspect is size.

Length
From the mid 40s (I think) Airstream started to standardise the model names and sizes.  In other words, in any given year, a Safari was always one size and a Tradewind was always another size.  Having said that, these sizes increased over the years so that (for example) all the way up to and through the '60s a Safari was always 22 foot and a Tradewind was 24 foot.  then in the '70s they grew a little to 23 foot and 25 foot respectively.

The length of trailer really depends on your particular needs and what you plan to use the trailer for.  If you plan to take it camping with a family of 4, you might need something larger but if it just going to sit in the garden as a sanctuary or office, you might be able to get away with something a little smaller.

There are a few other things to consider when thinking about size:
1. It is easier to tow a smaller trailer.
2. Smaller trailers seem to be commanding higher prices (22 footers are disproportionately more expensive).
3. You may not be able to fit a larger trailer on your place. We are actually worried that the 25 foot Tradewind won't squeeze down our windy dirt driveway.
4. The larger it is, the more expensive it is to import (shippers charge by cubic meter).
5. Larger trailers will take more money and time to strip, polish and renovate.

So, that's it.  Hopefully you now have a better idea of what you are looking at - what sets one model apart from another.  The rest it up to you.  Choosing an Airstream that meets your notion of what looks awesome is a very personal thing.

Good luck.  Let me know if you have any questions.
Matt.