;Airstream History - Update - Dec 97

[Don Reasons]

November, 1997

Hello, RVers...

For over twenty years I have been interested in Airstream travel
trailers. After being a "non-traveling" citizen for around 15 years,
I have decided to reawaken my interest in RVing and Airstreams. In
1995, I began to search for information on the history of the company
and the trailers by writing Airstream President Larry Huttle with
many questions about the Airstream Company. He responded with a very
polite letter and a one-page information sheet on the Airstream.
Because of the great detail of my questions, the short information
sheet only touched on the things I wanted to find out. When I called
the company to get some more information, no one to whom I spoke knew
very much about the history of the product or the company. So, I went
"on-line" to the world-wide-web and began to ask questions. There
were so many people who were willing to share information about
Airstreams.

The following is gathered from many different Airstream owners. I
will continue to add to this as I receive new information. Most of
this was in their original words with only slight editing. I have
filled in the gaps and tried to make it more readable. Thanks to all
who contributed invaluable information. Thanks especially to Jetboy
(his internet name), an expert of vintage cars, vintage trains and
vintage Airstreams. And a special thanks goes to Rutherford (Bud)
Cooper, master historian of Airstream.

Enjoy!!!

Most of my writing concerns Airstream from the 1960s and later. To
just touch on the beginning, Wally Byam began building trailers in his
back yard in the 1930s. Around 1935, he became associated with
William Hawley Bowlus who was a pioneer in airplane design and builder
of "TheSpirit of '76." Bowlus was building a trailer of stressed
alluminum. He wanted Wally Byam for his sales and marketing
expertise. Due to some financial troubles, Bowlus declared
bankruptcy. As a friend, Byam offered to buy some of the Bowlus
equipment and re- employ a few of the Bowlus workers. It was a good,
friendly relationship between the two.

In November, 1996, I received some information from Raul Blacksten who
is the Vintage Sailplane Association Archivist. He mentioned that
Wally Byam had worked for Bowlus-Teller Mfg...."selling the Bowlus
"Road Chief" and "Papoose" trailers. When Bowlus-Teller went belly
up, Byam asked Hawley Bowlus if he minded if he, Byam, kept on.
Bowlus said he neither minded, nor was there anything he could do
about it."

"The result was that the 1936 Airstream looks very much like the 1935
Bowlus "Road Chief." The major exterior difference is that the Bowlus
door is over the tongue and the Airstream door is on the side." (This
was because of the frame design. The first thing Byam did was to
redesign the frame so that the door COULD be moved to the side!)

Over the next twenty years, the silver Airstream was constantly
refined and gained a reputation as the best on the road. These early
Airstream models had names which corresponded to the size. During
the 1950s, the Airstream design evolved into a standard bodystyle
which was consistant until the late 1960s. The next major
bodystyle change was in '68 for the 1969 model year. That body lasted
until the '94 models. Here are the names and sizes from the mid
1960s. There were always slight deviations from year to year.

When I first began writing this paper, Dan Dureiko gave me a very
complete list of corresponding names and sizes. Published in the
current issue of the Vintage Airstream Club Newsletter was an almost
identical list from Bud Cooper. Below I have simply combined the two
lists.

From the '40s and '50s...

Torpedo Junior 13'
Silver Cloud 15'
Torpedo 15'
Cruisette 15'
Wee Wind 16'
Bubble 16'
Pacer 17'
Wanderer 18'
Caravel 18'
Flying Cloud 21'
Globtrotter 22'
Safari 22'
Caravanner 22'
Caravanner 23'
Tradewind 24'
Overlander 26'
Ambassador 28'

From the 1960s to 1968...

Bambi 14'
Bambi 16'
Pacer 16'
Bambi II 17'
Caravelle 17'
Globetrotter 19'
Globetrotter 20'
Safari 22'
Tradewind 24'
Overlander 26'
Ambassador 28'
Sovereign 30'

Beginning 1969 model year (new bodystyle)

Caravel 18
Globetrotter 21'
Safari 23'
Tradewind 25'
Overlander 27'
Ambassador 29'
Sovreign 31'
Excella 500 31'

Since 1964 Airstream has not made a production coach smaller than 17'
with 21' being the most recent small size. During 1985-90 the
smallest coach made was the 25'.

The International Package included small options and water filter.
The Caravelle name came back for a couple of years in the early '80's
on a small 21-23" Airstream.

An Airstreamer added,

"I believe that the Excella 500 package was an upgrade from the
Excella package in later 70's model years. The first upgrade packages
were just only available on 31' models and were called Excella's.
They were distinguished by having a solid blue band about 6" wide
painted the entire length of the trailer. The non-Excella model
Airstreams had one or two blue stripes painted along the sides. The
Excella 500 package was a real luxury package with things like built
in central vacs and special clocks, if memory serves!"

The name/size relationship ended around '82 or '83, when all sizes
could be had in several series, Sovreign, Excella, and Limited. Also,
sizes and names etc were not consistant and changed every few years.
First year for 34' Triple axle size was 1983.

Let's talk about the problems with the rear bath. One Airstreamer
said this,

"We own a '77 31' Airstream, and my research says about 25% of models
made around that time were rear bath models. Unfortunately, in the
70's two things happened: Airstream attempted to redesign the body /
frame for lighter weight and better mileage, and also, AIrstream was
purchased by Beatrice Foods. Our '77 model is typical of rear bath
models of that vintage in that there has been significant frame warp
around the wheels, which, if left untreated, will cause the body to
warp and bulge badly. We had the frame reinforced and had the
rear end tied back to the frame where it had separated. This is a
fairly common job on rear bath models at Airstream dealers, and it
cost us about $1700 to restore our Airstream in this way."

He added,

"I would suspect that Airstream saw what was happening after only a
few years and discontinued the rear bath models due to frame
problems."

Charlie Burk is an Airstream-trained RV technician. He added this
about the drooping tail and adding black water tanks to an older
Airstream,

"...When Airstream added the grey tank in 1973 they didn't take it
into consideration either and had problems with "tail droop". Keeping
the tanks forward is a good idea, Airstream figured it out in the
early '70's. The original idea for rear bath was to offset the weight
of the front mounted water tank. A principle goal way back when
was to balance the load and reduce tongue weight. Thus the brag you
could tow an Airstream with a bicycle. (And you could) Centering the
fresh water tanks over the wheel wells sounds good. You might consider
plumbing them with a common feed line at the bottom so you can use a
single input to fill, a single output to the pump and a low point
drain."

The rear bath came back again around '89 or '90 in the 30 ft. for two
years. Not many were made.

The smaller Airstreams made in the 80's (23',25',and 27') were all
rear bath models. The approximate Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for them
was 5800 to 6200 lbs.

Most of the weight in the newer models is from the Oak cabinets and
corian countertops. When people stopped using cars and went to
suburbans and club wagons, why worry about weight? They are about
1,000lbs heavier after '84 or so.

Here is some information about the Argosy line of trailers and
motorhomes. Charlie Burk said,

"Argosy began possibly around '71 thru late '70s early 80's. The
Argosy motorhome started in 1975 and production stopped in 1979. They
were built in a separate facility in Versailles, OH. In 1979 there
were three models of motorhomes built. The Argosy, a painted Airstream
(truly an Argosy with Airstream logos and different paint scheme) and
the first silver bullet Airstream motorhome."

The Argosy trailers were also built at the Versailles, Ohio plant.
Charlie continued,

"You could not actually strip and Argosy and find an Airstream. The
Argosy motorhome (and the '79 painted Airstream) were built
differently. The upper rear segment was a one piece steel segement.
True Airstream motorhomes used 5 aluminum segments instead. The
motorhome and trailer underwent a significant structural design change
in mid 1982. It is not readily apparent except in the trailer lower
segments."

The Argosy trailers have the one-piece steel segment in the front
instead of the 5 aluminum segments. The Argosy trailers also had
slightly different interior appointments, supposedly not as "nice."
Personally, I liked them both, Argosy and Airstream.

One Airstream feature over the years has been tambour doors on
cabinets. They were lightweight and looked good. Charlie had this
info about them,

"The tambour doors were used extensively by Airstream starting in
1970. They are still used in small applications today. From 70-73 the
tambour used was paper backed with a 3/8" strip face. Starting in 74
the tambour was canvas backed and had 1/2" wide strip face."

Also in the late seventies, all the company operations were moved to
Jackson Center, Ohio and the complete Argosy line and name were
dropped. The Airstream motorhome continued to be made in the classic
silver.

In the seventies, Beatrice Foods had become the owner. Unfortunately,
Beatrice Foods was a FOOD company and NOT a travel trailer company.
With no experience in this industry for guidance, several management
decisions were made which sacrificed the quality of Wally Byam's
legendary trailer. Shoddy construction resulting from new corporate
management nearly finished off the Airstream company in the late
1970s. It is sad when the image of a first-class, hand-built product
like the Airstream trailer can be tarnished by people who have
no clue about the industry or the customers to whom they are producing
this rather specialized product!

Some of the bean-counters at Beatrice foods also knew that they were
out of their element with the Airstream Company. An offer was made
and, around 1980, Airstream was sold to a group of businessmen who
had experience in the RV industry. After adding more RV lines, the
group was organized as THOR Industries, The Home Of Recreational
vehicles, T - H - O - R. Each company remains independent, with its
own president and management organization. This new organization gave
Airstream a needed shot of integrity and set its treasured reputation
was on the road to recovery.

In 1986, Airsream made a squarish, bonded (glued) aluminum trailer,
painted beige and called it an Argosy, They also made a very few 5th
wheels. The Argosy lasted three years. In 1989, they painted it
silver and called it an Airstream Land Yacht. It remained alluminum
until the final year, 1991, when the company tried bonded
fiberglass with less success. Airstreamers still call it a
SQUARESTREAM. It didn't sell well, perhaps for two reasons...at that
time only "classic styled" Airstreams were allowed in the club, and
the once reasonable price continued to escalate to the point where, in
1991, the square Airstream Land Yacht was in the price range of the
classic Airstream. Airstream had two products competing with each
other at the same time! Airstreamers "WERE NOT AMUSED" with the
squarestream.

About one year ago I saw a couple of square Argosys and one square
Airstream Land Yacht and thought they were as nice as any
"non-Airstream" on the market. After doing more research and
re-examining my needs in an RV, I decided to look for an Airstream
Argosy as my first full-timing RV home. After three years of
searching and researching, I found a 1986 Argosy 32' in Memphis,
Tennessee, my old stomping grounds. As of this writing, I have moved
into it and have started my full-timing journey. In the Spring of
1998, I will go "on the road" once again, working, teaching,
performing and traveling around this beautiful country of ours.

Charlie Burk told me, "It was one of the ironies of the 'squarestream'
Argosy's and the later Landyacht that they were a solidly built coach
with few if any inherent problems or surprises. Probably the only
concern would be based on their limited production and the related
scarcity of unique parts." I was told by two dealers that
squarestream Argosy owners rarely trade-in their Argosys. Dealers
cannot get them on the lots. The owners LOVE them. After living in
mine for a couple of months, I now know why. If I ever trade this one
for something else, It would only be a LONG 34' classic widebody
Airstream. As for now, I am content with my Argosy.

Airstream has a new 5th wheel, Integrity by Airstream (kind of like
Cimmeron by Cadillac) it's not REALLY an Airstream. Some Airstreamers
call it a Tupperware trailer.

It seems that Airstreams now comprise only about 2 to 3 percent of the
market. "Thor" gave the word to Airstream management that people
simply wanted more space. Fifth wheels and slid-out models are
becoming the biggest sellers. The Airstream company has been forced
to expand the model line to include "non-classic" type Airstream
models so we purists can continue to enjoy the classic Airstream. The
WBCCI has also changed the rules to include any product produced in
any of the Airstream facilities.

I think many have forgotton that the origional intent of Wally Byam
was NOT to have an exclusive group of Airstream owners! He only
wanted to get people our of their living rooms and ON THE ROAD in
their trailers. His first caravans were NOT limited to Airstreams but
were open to all! The only reason he eventually limited them to the
Airstreams was because they were SO popular.

For the 1996 model year, all Airstreams became widebodys, adding 6
inchs to the width. There are still a few quality standard problems
but, I understand they are being rectified.

After WWII, Airstream production boomed and sales went up and up. As
the years passed, the tastes of the classic Airstream market changed
and so did the product. Now, the children of the WWII crowd, the baby
boomers, are looking for a lighterweight Airstream, like the earlier
ones which could be pulled by a Ford or Chevy, an Airstream which does
not need a $35,000 Surburban for towing and does not cost the price of
a small house. That is why many others like me are opting for the
older Airstream products.

Early on, Wally Byam realized that people were buying travel trailers
and letting them set in the front yard. In 1951, he gathered a group
of people together for the first of many "caravans." From this little
beginning grew the "Wally Byam Caravan Club International," the
largest owners group in RV history. Open to everyone at first, the
caravans were so popular that Wally eventually had to limit the
participation to Airstream owners. The Wally Byam Caravan Club was
charted in 1956. The club led tours to Canada, Central America and
Cuba. In 1959, Wally Byam led a group of 41 Airstreams from "Capetown
To Cairo." On this trip, he began writing the book, "Trailer Travel -
Here And Abroad," his scond book about the RV lifestyle. Byam was 63
and in good health but, in the final months of the African caravan,
his eyesight began to fail him.

Back in the United States, he went to see an opthamologist, who sent
him to a neurologist. The diagnosis was a brain tumor. He underwent
several unsuccessful opperations and then was confined to a hospital
bed in his Los Angeles home. In July 22, 1962, Mr. Trailer, the man
who once said "life begins at sixty," died at the age of sixty-five.
The club kept growing over the years and is still leading caravans
mostly around North America and Central America.

Airstream is now producing a 25' lightweight classic trailer that can
be towed by a car or SUV. It is called the Airstream Safari. It is
of the same classic design with "regular RV windows" and lighter
weight cabinets and materials on the inside. It is about 25% to
"one-third" less weight and in cost. After seeing the Safari, I
thought it looked pretty good. The interior has a very clean,
uncluttered look about it, not the heavy look of the current
classic Airstreams. If you go back about 15 to 20 years, BEFORE
somebody in charge decided to replace Wally Buym's idea of light
materials for towing ease with all that heavy hardwood, the Safari
had strongly resembles to the Airstreams of the early 70s, especially
the smaller Caravell models. A few weeks ago, mu local Dallas
dealer had a Caravell from the early 70s and this one looked very much
like it as far as the interior went. The dealer in Dallas is selling
at several per month.

There is company gossip of returning the Bambi name on a smaller
Safari, less than 20 feet in length. I have also heard that Airstream
may replace the current 25' Airstream with the Safari. Consider this,
the Safari looks good and sells for THOUSANDS of $$$ less than the
Airstream 25'. SUV owners will go crazy for it!

Let's hope this entirely new generation finds the same thrill in
Airstreaming as their parents did. Let's hope they continue to keep
Wally Byam's dream alive.

End of my sermon!!!

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Now for the book and video information...

If you are really interested in the early history of RVing in general
and Airstreams, I urge you to become a member of the Vintage Airstream
Club. You can be assiciated with it without owning an Airstream. Bud
Cooper has been writing an excellent ongoing series about the history
of Airstream. You should also write for the back issues of the
newsletter to read the entire story.

Annual dues are a bargin at $10. For membership application:

Ed Stanley, Membership Chairman
18940 Marine View Drive SW
Seattle, WA 98166

(Tell him Don Reasons sent you.)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have discovered these books and videos of interest.

SILVER PALACE

*** This video documentary was produced a couple of years ago. You
can use this URL, e-mail address or phone number to order.

Miles A. Fawcett * mi...@iapps.com * http://www.dolphin.org/maf/
Interactive Applications Group, Inc. (iapps) * tel 202.739.9792

Dolphin Communications Inc.
1763 R Street NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009

I believe the price is $19.95 plus $4.95 shipping and handling.

Miles Fawcett produced Silver Palace mostly about the members of the
WBCCI and why they are loyal to Airstreams. It is a wonderful video
and includes clips from older Airstream production videos along with
black&white footage from a 1964 rally, complete with the reigning
"Airstream Queen" (?) and a parade down mainstreet.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The new "AIRSTREAM Production Video"

*** Airstream has a new "production and features" video which has been
advertised in Trailer Life and other places. The video sells for
$10.00 from the company and is very interesting if you are an
Airstream nut. It goes into detail about the various procedures
involved in creating an Airstream, including the water-leak test from
INSIDE the unfinished trailer.

"The AIRSTREAM Book"

*** Also available is a book entitled "Airstream" which the company
has for $10.00 plus shipping. The late actor, Robert Cummings (Love
That Bob) was an Airstreamer and gives the forward to this marvelous
book. It is FULL of vintage pictures including Wally Byam at various
locations around the world. My favorite parts of the book are
the FULL-COLOR, ORIGINAL promotional photos from the 60s featuring
Airstreams pulled by the autos, all of which were brand new when the
beautiful photos were taken. Imagine a Chevy Nova pulling an
Airstream.

The Airstream video and book can be ordered directly from the company.

Airstream
419 West Pike Street
Jackson Center, Ohio 45334

Airstream Company phone number...937-596-6111

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The following is something I have not ordered or viewed. It is a film
from a Canadian production company and looks interesting.

"THE CARAVANERS"

1978, 27 min 42 sec

Description -
The three hundred Airstream trailers that are prowling the highways of
British Columbia represent a new breed of nomad. Too active to just
sit at home, but too cautious to strike out on their own, these
retired couples have signed up for an organized caravan tour sponsored
by the company that manufactures the trailers. Few surprises
are in store for the group, but then they're never alone, and they
don't have to worry about the day's route or entertainment.

You can purchase a tape of THE CARAVANERS (Title Code C 0178 008) by
simply sending us a check for $39.95 plus $5 for shipping and
handling. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery because this title is
not in active distribution, but available.

You can send your check to

National Film Board of Canada
1251 Avenue of the Americas
16th Floor
New York, NY 10020

If you decide to look for these books or videos, please tell them that
Don Reasons sent you. I selfishly want the Airstream company and the
producers of these products to know who is also giving them this free
promotion.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have a few specific questions which no one has yet been able to
answer:

1. What happened to the company when Wally Byam passed away? Who ran
it? Who was the legal owner for that time?

2. What about the Beatrice Foods connection? When did they buy
Airstream and from whom? When and how did they actually change the
trailers? What were the years of Beatrice Foods ownership?

3. I am trying to find films or videos from older WBCCI rallys and
caravans, preferably 1950s or 1960s. Also older production videos.
Please help!

Please write or e-mail if you can answer my questions. I hope you
enjoyed this visit down Memory Lane.

Don Reasons

6102 E. Mockingbird Ln.
Suite 222
Dallas, Texas 75214

E-mail address: cal...@airmail.net

_)_)_)
_)_)_) Don Reasons
_)_)_) Gal. 2:20
_)_)_)
_)_)_)
_)_)_) E-mail me at ----> cal...@airmail.net
_)_)
_) Please visit ----> http://www.petloss.com/rainbowb.htm

Remembering Shadow
July 1984 - November 13, 1997

A Tribute To The Sweetest,
Most Perfect Dog In Heaven

I explained to St. Peter
I'd rather stay here.
Right by the pearly gate.
I won't be a nuisance,
I won't even bark,
I'll be very patient and wait.
I'll be here, chewing a celestial bone,
No matter how long you may be.
I'd miss you so much, if I went in alone,
It wouldn't be heaven for me.

-unknown