Man In The Maze

by Rich Luhr, Editor of Airstream Life magazine

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You are here: Home / Airstream / Are you ready for a vintage project?

Apr 22 2015

Are you ready for a vintage project?

I got a call today from a good friend who is considering whether to plunge into an Airstream project. He’s got an older Airstream Classic 310 motorhome, which is one of the early models with an aluminum body. Those old Classics are basically an Airstream trailers mounted on a bread truck chassis, and the only major difference is the length.

Last night I met another friend at a doughnut shop to talk about a possible 1965 Airstream Safari project. Very different from the motorhome, but the basic issues were the same. Both of my friends wanted to get my opinion on the projects, and some insight as to whether the Airstreams were worth the effort.

After these conversations I began to think about all the times I’ve been asked by people about their vintage projects. Since starting the magazine in 2004, and working on a couple of my own vintage projects, I’ve probably seen several hundred vintage trailer restorations, refurbishments, and customizations. I have no idea how many we’ve published in Airstream Life but certainly dozens.

Vintage Airstream projects are always happening. Some never stop, and many never are finished. There’s always someone who wants to decide whether it makes sense to tackle a project, and I guess that’s why it’s common that I get asked about it regularly.

Vintage Airstream
Vintage Airstream at Region 1 WBCCI rally, Connecticut

I’ve come to realize that it’s not the trailer or motorhome you start with that really matters. Certainly you can make your life a lot easier if you start with something that’s not a total wreck, but the real determinant of a successful restoration is the person who takes on the challenge.

Not only do you need to have (or acquire) some skills and knowledge, but you also need to have a commitment to the project. A full restoration takes a lot of time. Sure, you can do a shabby job in 100 hours, but I’m not talking about those sorts of “eBay restorations” where someone makes over a vintage trailer cosmetically for quick re-sale (hint: look for a quickie polish job that looks swirly in bright sun, black-and-white checked floor, and Coca-Cola memorabilia) or ignores serious structural problems, or dumps a bunch of household cabinetry and appliances into it (thus turning a lightweight travel trailer into an unbalanced and crippled condo on wheels).

A more sensitive and attentive vintage restoration or customization (the difference being whether you try to match the original intent or modernize it) will go deep into the Airstream and take hundreds of hours, at least. How deep?  As deep as it takes. Typically this means gutting the interior (saving re-usable interior appliances and woodwork), dealing with frame rust and floor rot, and replacing lots of parts that won’t be noticed by the average person but which really matter.

I’m talking about parts like under-floor insulation, wiring, and plumbing. You work on these things because you don’t plan to flip the end product for a quick buck. You work on these things because you want to end up with something that respects the intent of the original Airstream: light weight, structurally strong, travel-worthy on any road and in all weather, and efficient with resources (water, propane, electricity). That’s how the Airstreams were designed, and it pains me to see vintage “restorations” which eviscerate that intent.

Caravel aluminum replacement

Of course, there’s no law that says you have to keep an Airstream true to its original design. Many cool and creative new uses have been found for old Airstreams, and I respect that because it’s a great example of adaptive re-use. Unlike just about every “white box” travel trailer or motorhome made in the last sixty years, Airstreams have an amazing capacity to be re-used as pop-up stores, promotional trailers, coffee shops and cafés, toy haulers, meeting rooms, and art. Make an Airstream into anything you want, but if you are going to make it back into a travel trailer, at least be sure it’s a good one.

Sometimes people go a little crazy on their restorations. I have seen friends lavish so much attention on every detail that they’ve spent 2,000 hours or more, working night after night in their garage to produce a museum-perfect restoration. Others I know have spent well over $200,000 on a personalized vintage Airstream.  I’m not sure there’s anything wrong with that. Like concours-quality automotive restorations, those Airstreams are inspirational. Here’s to the crazy ones; we need them to show us the ultimate standard, even if we aren’t going to achieve that level ourselves.

Gail Buck vintage Airstream
Gail Buck and her vintage Airstream

To the friends I spoke with this week, I gave the same basic advice: don’t look so much at the trailer you’re starting with. Look at yourself. Guaranteed: the project will take more money and more time than you expected, and you will definitely “invest” more money than the outcome is worth on the open market. Those things don’t matter.

Vintage Airstream at VTJ 08What really matters is whether a vintage restoration is how you want to spend your time and money. If you just want a trailer to go camping, there are easier and quicker routes. A full-blown vintage restoration is not a practical thing, it’s a commitment to the point almost of being a lifestyle. If you sell the project after you’ve started, you will lose money. Do it not because it makes any sense, but rather because you really want to do it.

And, I should mention, because you really want to be seen in it.  Let’s face it, a big part of the reward for spending countless nights and weekends painstakingly re-building and installing parts is the praise and admiration the vintage rig  generates once it is on the road.  People love to see cool vintage trailers and motorhomes. You’ll get invited to be in vintage shows, and random people in campgrounds and parking lots will ask for tours. A really good restoration makes you a celebrity—or to be entirely accurate, it makes you the manager for a celebrity.

Likewise, if you really need the finished product because your life-long dream is to operate a mobile coffee shop or kettle corn popper or pop-up store, you might have good motivation to do a good job and actually finish it.

But don’t look solely to the reward. You have to enjoy the process. If you see the project as a chance to learn new skills, demonstrate your chops as a woodworker/ plumber/ electrician/ interior designer/ upholsterer/ polisher/ metalworker (and all those skills do usually come in to play at some point), or just have an excuse to buy lots of new tools and set up a cool workshop, you’ve probably got a good motivation to tackle and finish a vintage Airstream project.

Having done a couple of projects, I feel I’ve learned a lot that I could apply to another vintage trailer. The third one, I’m certain, would be much easier. Once in a while the temptation arises, but I’ve been able to quash it on the grounds that I don’t have the working space or the time to devote. (The fact that I have absolutely no need for a third Airstream in my life hardly enters into it. As I said, you do these things for no practical reason.) Someday perhaps I will have that free time and working space, and then I’ll have to fight hard against the Siren call of aluminum.

In the meantime, I wish my friends well as they consider their projects. If they take the plunge, I hope they commit to the fullest because that’s how they’ll get the best result. And I’ll be happy to pitch in when I can or provide long-distance advice. If you can’t do a project yourself, it’s almost as gratifying to see someone else do a good job on one.  We’ll have more projects in future issues of Airstream Life magazine, too.

Written by RichLuhr · Categorized: Airstream, Musings, Renovation

Comments

  1. Tom M says

    April 22, 2015 at 11:29 am

    Fantastic advice! From personal experience, I learned that vintage wasn’t really right for me, even with having a very good shop do most of the work. Overall, I would have been happier (and maybe even financially ahead) buying a new 20′ Safari SE rather than restoring the Argosy. I’d MUCH rather spend my weekends camping, and weeknights doing other things, than working on the trailer.

    But despite knowing all of that, it doesn’t stop me from daydreaming about restoring a mid-80s Avion…

  2. Gail Buck says

    April 22, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    What a great blog post! I find it interesting that it appeared on my Facebook page today: the day after a friend was asking my advice on purchasing a vintage trailer, and about a month after I neglected to renew my subscription to Airstream Life Magazine.

    Over ten years ago, I was looking at an old Airstream for sale in Vermont. My family was going to do a one time trip to Canada for three weeks. Being a camping family, but never having slept inside a trailer, I thought “this might be wonderful for us”: We would still be camping, but without all the hassles of packing and unpacking every day.

    A friend sent me an article from the Addison Free Press, a small local Vermont paper. It featured a picture of Rich Luhr with his vintage Airstream with the David Winick “Home Sweet Home” on the front door. I mustered my courage, emailed Rich at his new magazine, and asked his advice on the trailer that I was considering purchasing.

    He responded immediately, and offered to come down to check it out. He and Eleanor must have spent at least two hours with me, going over the systems, poking hokes in the floors, checking out the axels, etc. I took copious notes. Needless to say, though I was in love with the trailer, it had issues. With Rich’s figures and my figures, I approached the owners, and they refused my offer.

    The bug had bit, though. I scoured the internet, made a checklist, from Rich and Eleanor’s teachings, and began the hunt!

    I ended up buying the 1967 overlander that is in the picture in this article: “Two Ton Tillie”.

    It has been a labor of love, and way over the top, cost-wise. I now have a 1953 17′ clipper which I totally restored myself; Gloria (Glorified Tent).

    I thank you Rich, for leading me down the road. I have spent countless hours helping friends, arriving with my flashlight and screwdriver, to check out their possible “dream” trailers.

    I will have to re-think my Airstream Life subscription. I have looked forward to their arrival for ten years. I had been concerned though, that you had forgotten your initial love; the vintage trailer. I realize from this blogpost, that you have not.

    I keep hoping you might bring back the “Vintage Trailer Jam”, which were the most amazing shows of them all! If you ever do, I am on board, and willing to help in any way!!

    Gail Buck

  3. Murray DeArmond says

    April 26, 2015 at 11:59 pm

    We live in Tucson. Our son has a 1959 flying cloud sleeps two stored at our house until August. My question is, is there someone here in Tucson who can replace the floor for starters, besides dealers.

    • RichLuhr says

      April 27, 2015 at 12:59 am

      Nobody I’d recommend, sorry. Typically you’ve got to travel a distance to find a competent vintage trailer restorer. There are several in southern California.

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