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F.A.Q.'s
General Notes/ History
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A: Yes, the company is alive and well in Jackson Center
Ohio.
A: Airstream restoration/ownership is a mixed bag. Ranges
from somebody keeping an old trailer patched together for economical living
or traveling, to gutting an Airstream to the shell and using it to create
something totally custom and different, to faithful restorations by people
capturing the ambiance of a bygone era.
A: Since 1932. Only one other
maker, Shasta, has been continuously in business longer. The first
Airstreams
were wood and
canvas kits, the Model 2 and Silver Cloud being the two most noteworthy.
The first all aluminum Airstream was the Clipper in 1936, and was made
until
aluminum
was needed
for WWII support in 1938. Many are still on the road today.
The first post war Airstream was the Liner made in June 1947. The first 2 dozen Liners carry plates that say "Airstream Built by Wallace M. Byam", and in early 1948 moved production from the LA Airport in Van Nuys to its own factory at 1755 No. Main Street, LA, California. Airstream Trailers, Inc. was formally incorporated in California on November 1, 1948. When the corporation was formed, it bought Wally's manufacturing company assets for stock and cash, and also acquired McFaul Brothers exclusive distributorship rights (stock & cash). The five initial directors of the new corporation were Wallace M. Byam, William W. Lampkin, Daniel W. Gage, Arthur R. Costello (who later became President), and Claude McFaul, whose "McFaul Bros Trailer Sales" was responsible for retailing Wally's Airstream trailers at his sales lot. Basically, it "went public" at this time.
A: After
establishing the 1755 North Main Street factory in Los Angeles, Airstream
expanded into east of the Mississippi by opening a plant in Jackson Center,
Ohio in July 1952. Later that year, a second Southern California
plant was opened up in Norwalk at 12804 E. Firestone Blvd. This
later became the Santa Fe Springs plant in 1958 when borders of the two
towns
were
realigned
as Southern California grew. The North Main St. factory was closed
in 1960. The Santa Fe Springs plant was closed to make way for
the I-5 freeway
expansion in 1968 at the end of the model year and after the 15949 Piuma
Ave. Cerritos factory was opened in December 1967. The Cerritos factory
was
shuttered
and all
operations
centered in Jackson Center, Ohio in 1979. It is because
of these many factory overlaps you see different styles of the same model
and within the same model year.
A: Beatrice Foods, in the conglomerate climate of the
late '60's, bought Airstream in July 1969. Much is said about the time
Beatrice owned Airstream, both good and bad. The good include the illustrated
service manuals and similar production documentation they introduced.
They often get the blame for the wider, squarer body style change in 1969,
but Beatrice did not take over the company until after the newly styled
1969's was introduced.
Beatrice engineering did introduce the gray water tanks in 1973 and heavier
interiors without changing the frame to support them, resulting in the
famed "droop". Beatrice design group introduced the vinyl covered
cabinets, shag carpeting and dark wood grain interiors in 1972, but then
that was the trend of the times. Beatrice management discontinued the
smaller trailers in favor of the more profitable longer trailers aimed
at retirees.
Beat up badly, Beatrice sold Airstream to a group of industry executives
operating as Thor Industries in July 1979, who then closed the California
factory, and still own Airstream to this
day.
A: No, and sort of. Curtis
Wright, who moved to LA from Michigan before the war to start a manufacturing
plant, hired Wally Byam. After the war in 1946, they
started production of a new post-war travel trailer
based on Wally's pre-war Airstream Clipper & Sliver Cloud models
at the Van Nuys Airport (LA Metropolitan Airport). After some
months they went their separate ways, forming
the Airstream Co.
and Curtis Wright Travel Trailers. This appears to be why late
'30's Airstreams and 1940's Curtis Wright's look very similar. In
June 1949, three individuals, Kenny
Neptune, Frank Pollito and "Pat" Patterson, who had met
each other while working for Douglas Aircraft, acquired the trailer
business
from Mr. Wright and began producing trailers under the Silver Streak
name in south El Monte California -which it continued into the 1970's
as a
separate company.
A: No relation again. In the 1950's,
Silver Streak partners Kenny Neptune and Frank Polido bought fellow partner "Pat" Patterson
out, and Pat went off on his own to produce the "Streamline"
trailer. One common Streamline model name was the "Duchess",
and they also made a very unique early motor-home. The Streamline Trailer
Company went out of business in early 1974.
A: Yes, Argosy
trailers were made
by Airstream Company starting 1972 in Versailles, OH. near Jackson Center,
and are usually
recognized as "Painted Airstreams". Many features were first
tried out on the Argosy models, and then incorporated into the more traditional
Airstreams if they were a success. A good example is the large front
wrap
windows.
These painted trailers were able to utilize steel end caps and aluminum
panels that were damaged or blemished.
Argosy created a series of diminutive trailers in the '70's called the "Minuet".
There was the 6.0 Metre (20'), the 6.7 Metre (22'), and a 7.4 Metre (24')
Minuet.
The first Airstream Motorhomes were Argosy's made in the mid '70's. Airstream
didn't brand its own motorhome until 1979.
A: No, only Avion ever made a cab
over camper, back in the early 1960's, and is sometimes confused with having
been made by Airstream.
A: The late 1940's were lightweight
trailers utilizing a single pipe-frame support down the center of the
undercarriage, which
was also the tongue hitch. The body shape followed the deco looking aerodynamic
style of the '30's & '40's, pointed ends front and back with a single
large oval window in the ends. There was one taillight in the back - smack
in the center as allowed on trailers back then. Interior layouts were
almost always custom built to the buyers taste, and usually lacked bathrooms
as we now them now. There were no hook-ups then, and the tank, fixture
and pump technology just wasn't there yet. Ice Boxes were standard, as
were wobble type hand-operated water pumps. Electrical system consisted
of a few 120v outlets. The stoves were the Coleman portable stove of the
era, just attached to the cabinets. Furnishings were of high quality galvanized
steel, solid wood and wood veneers made by furniture companies. All the
appliances were centered over the axle for support. Interior paint was
either a pastel "tender green" or "desert sand". Windows
were lever operated, and the door included the unique for time "door
within a door" screen door.
The early 1950's brought the wider square ladder-frame
and A-shaped tongue hitch riding on leaf spring axles. The body shape
became little more squarish
thanks to flat front & rear windows. Skin panel end segments
were 13 pie shaped wedges riveted together to form the curve. Brakes
were
electric,
operated by a lever in the tow vehicle. Later in the decade hydraulic
brakes were offered that tapped into the vehicle brake system, eliminating
the need for the hand lever on the steering column. Cranks replaced notched
levers in 1955, and gas refrigerators arrived about the same time.
Interior
finish became the Zolatone textured finish until the 1970's. The color
mix changed over the years to reflect the "in" colors
of the time. Interior cabinetry became more mass produced wood veneers,
first
with squeeze-type latches, later with phenolic cam type. Countertops
and
bath surfaces were painted tempered hardboard. The electrical system
was all 120 volt with an occasional 12 volt light operated by the
tow vehicle
battery. Primary illumination was from a LP gas fired lamp. Apartment
style ranges were introduced. Water systems consisted of galvanized
water tanks that were pressurized by a hand pump, gas station air,
or later,
an onboard Grover or Coleman air-compressor. Copper and then bronze
waste tanks started
appearing, making the trailer more self-contained. Showers were often
just galvanized steel or painted hardboard, usually with the toilet
in the middle (wet lav). In 1958, Airstream introduced 3
option levels for all its trailers: " Standard" - 120 volt AC appliances;
"Land Yacht"
- self contained + 12v battery; "International" - self-contained
+ upgraded. Better forming techniques allowed the change from
13 panels
to 7 compound curve panels about 1958. The Princess brand of
RV stove replaced
the larger apartment ranges and Bowen
gas
fired hot
water heaters
replacing the 120v under cabinet units. The decade ended in 1959
with the introduction of a new style extruded aluminum window.
The 1960's brought about a new style axle in 1961, the rubber cored "Dura-torque".
Skin panels changed once again in 1964 with 5 broader panel segments.
The early '60's also saw the introduction of the 12volt electrical
system,
powered from either an onboard battery or 110v external power. This
introduced the 12 volt Marine type light fixture, the 12v water pump
and plastic
water tanks, and the Uni-Volt converter. Cabinets finish options
changed from lacquered birch to oiled wood (mahogany & walnut) and lacquered
oak, the countertops to Formica laminate, and
interior
endcaps were made of one piece fiberglass. Brakes changed back
to electric. The decade ended with a big body style change in 1969,
with each model growing
in
length by one foots and
getting wider by 4 inches in a squared off shape.
The 1970's trailers mirrored the times. In addition to the bigger, wider
form introduced in 1969, the trailers followed the style of the era
again, this time with dark vinyl wood grained cabinets, shag carpeting,
plastic
tambour doors and avocado green appliances and countertops. Vista-View
windows made their debut, as did solid state "Airstream Control
Centers" in
the front overhead. This was the era of the Beatrice Foods owning
the Airstream company. Microwaves appeared, as did vinyl covered
walls in
place of the Zolatone. The shorter Caravel was dropped and the loaded
Excella 500 was introduced as Airstream aimed its marketing at the
affluent retirees. The seventies were stable in that the model offerings
and appearance were the same from year to year, offering the same
look and options.
A:
1. Peruse this website from front to back,
especially the pages in the Restoration Resource section.
2. Read or print the old catalogs and Airstream information found in
the VAC Online Library.
3. Subscribe to the free e-mail Vintage
Airstream discussion list. Join
the AirstreamForums.com discussion
site.
4. Check out what others have done on the Related
Links page.
5. Check out the books available in the Recommended
Reading section.
6. Attend a rally and ask questions and check out the vintage trailers.
If you don't have an Airstream, attend the weekend Open House that
occurs at each vintage rally.
7. Subscribe to the the full-color Airstream magazine "Airstream
Life" .
A: Get copies of:
"The
RV Handbook",
a very informative book on general RV systems management and "how
things work" by Bill Estes.
"RV Maintenance and
Repair" by Bob Livingston
"Managing 12 Volts"
by Harold Barre
Check out phred
Tinseth's RV "poop sheets"
A: Check out the Thor
Airstream website.
A: To some degree. The Airstream
is modified by removing all the components, inner skin and floor leaving
only the shell and frame, and then rebuilt with allergen-free materials.
A stock Airstream is no different from any other form of trailer or dwelling.
A: The California plant was
subject to the strict California Division of Housing mobile home regulations
and could not vary their standard model floor plans during these years.
California could upgrade the furnishings and systems to International
trim but could not vary the approved CDH layouts.
A: Contrary to what
a lot of people assume, Airstream never magically on
September, the beginning of the new model year, threw
out the leftover older style parts, and started in with
the new systems or features. Plus they had to have in
service testing and prototype installs too. Instead
they worked them in across models and option packages
over time. as the old parts were used up. Since
California and Ohio factories had their own parts inventory,
they never really coincided east to west either. Messes
with our concepts of putting things into nice neat and
tidy packages and classifications, but sure does explain
a lot of the variability what you will see.
