All About Restoring Your Airstream

Written by Michaela Jackson

The Airstream travel trailers and RVs are as iconic to American culture as baseball or apple pie. They are immediately recognizable on the road by their sleek, rounded, aluminum design that is unique to Airstream models. Because of their extensive, colorful history, deep American roots, and incredible longevity and workmanship there is a large community of Airstream enthusiasts today. Although there are modern Airstreams produced today, which you can find at their website airstream.com, there are also a huge amount of vintage Airstreams available today that are cheaper and can be restored and customized to fit your individual needs. There are lots of reasons why restoring a vintage Airstream is a great project to undertake, but first you must get a feel for why the Airstream is such an iconic and treasured American vehicle and travel trailer.

The History of Airstream

According to the Airstream’s website about its heritage, the Airstream itself had humble beginnings, and its inventor was no different. Wally Byam, the innovator who created Airstream, lived in a mule-drawn wooden wagon in Baker City during his young life in the late 1890’s to early 1900’s. This wagon included everything they needed to live, including a stove, food and storage and water. Byam was a hard-working man who put himself through Stanford college and graduated in 1921, a fresh young mind coming into the “roaring twenties”. He was an outdoors man who enjoyed camping with his wife. In order to transform their camping experience, he built a tent on the back of a Model T chassis. However, due to drawbacks to this design like its performance in bad weather, he remodeled his idea. He replaced his cloth tent with a “teardrop-shaped permanent shelter – and added a stove and ice chest too”. This inventive new mobile-camp was the beginnings of travel trailers as we know it. As other traveling Americans expressed their admiration for his invention, Byam knew that he could make a business out of his idea.

After Byam wrote and published a do-it-yourself guide to building travel trailers like his own in a popular magazine, people began coming to him wanting him to build their trailers for them. As he started to do so at his home, noise complaints came in from his neighbors about his construction. To appease them while still being able to build trailers, Byam found a building to rent in Culver City, California in 1931, where he proceeded to make it the first Airstream factory.

Soon travel and the life of travelers became mainstream and popular. Over the next few years the demand for travel trailers skyrocketed, but the troubles and economic strife of the Great Depression and World War II caused many trailer manufacturers to go out of business. Airstream is the only company that survived.

1951 saw the first Airstream caravan, led by Byam himself. 63 Airstreamers showed up to travel together, but due to some complications only 14 completed the journey. Throughout the succeeding years Airstream continued to innovate and improve, and the 1958 Airstream International became the first self-contained travel trailer with no need for external hookups. The company is still a fast believer in innovation and a leader in RV’s and travel trailers. With its iconic, sleek look and incredible amenities, the Airstream models are the best in travel faire to this day and offer endless options in customization and restoration opportunities.

Features of Airstream RV’s and Travel Trailers

Airstreams are famous for many reasons, and those reasons are why they last so long even after decades of use.

The first thing everyone notices, and recognizes as classic Airstream, is the “aircraft grade” aluminum alloy body (source) that is fashioned like an airplane – it is sleek, sturdy, beautiful and is hand-riveted to a strong steel frame. This metal is not only breathtaking to see traveling on the road, reflecting its surroundings, but it is also much more durable than other trailers made of lesser low-quality materials. While other brands paint over their wood and plastic trailers, leading to a messy, rotted wreck after a few years, the Airstream is the opposite. This is the trailer for the ambitious traveler, able to withstand years upon years of use, abuse, and all kinds of weather and conditions.

Another important feature of the Airstream model is its shape. They are streamlined and rounded for little resistance and minimal water retention on the roof. Much like airplanes and bullets, this design is made for traveling through air smoothly and with the least amount of resistance.

These two components are what makes them live so long. These trailers have been known to outlive their owners and become heirlooms, passeddown through generations because of their durability and quality. When looking up vintage Airstreams for sale, there are quality trailers that date all the way back to the 1950’s. This is an incredibly long lifetime when compared to cheaper competitors.

Because there are so many vintage Airstreams on the market today, many people who buy or inherit one want to renovate, restore, and make their trailer their own. Since it is cheaper to buy a vintage Airstream trailer or RV and customize it, many people go with this option. When working with Airstreams the sky is the limit, so it is important to know your restoration options and where to get the best upgrades.

Airstream Restoration and Renovation Options

One option for Airstream restoration, and probably the cheaper option, is an easy remodel. This option includes repainting walls and cabinets, installing new flooring, ensuring the seal is tight on the exterior, and installing LED lighting to ensure optimum power usage. This can also include redecorating and giving the outside a good wax and shine. In no time your Airstream will be updated and ready for the road. This option is the best for if you are itching to finish your Airstream project and get traveling as soon as possible. This is also the best option if your Airstream only need minimal clean up and restoration.

The other option for Airstream restoration is a full restoration. This means everything is stripped from the interior, any rotted or damaged subfloors are uprooted and replaced, any water leaks are sealed, wiring and plumbing is checked and updated, new air and power systems are installed, the wheels and the axles are replaced, the interior is redesigned and new interior and exterior LED lights are installed. This is the best option if you buy a very, very old Airstream who has seen a lot of wear and tear and might be a little worn down and in need of some love. This is also the best option if the interior is simply too dated, and you would like to fully redesign, renovate and customize your trailer. If customization and upgrading is your main goal, you may need a full restoration to achieve this.

Now that you know what your options are for restoration of vintage Airstreams, you need to know the must-have for any Airstream project… LED lights.

OZ-USA: What LED Lights Can Do for You

LED lights are one of the most important upgrades you can give your Airstream. Not only is it a cheap, easy upgrade, but LED lights provide many other benefits. OZ-USA is a United States-based company that offers the most affordable and high-quality LED lights and accessories for projects just like yours, and any future projects you might have related to your Airstream or other vehicles and travel trailers.

With their easy-installation LED lights, you will not only be saving money but also will be saving power in your Airstream. Original incandescent bulbs are often dim and cast an inadequate light, yet they also use up much more power than LED lights. An LED light will give you a powerful, bright, crisp light that cuts through darkness on the road at night or illuminates the inside of your trailer for optimum visibility but less power usage. LED lights are the lights of modern day, and incandescent bulbs are a thing of the past that only serves to cost you more money.

In terms of efficiency, LED lights put incandescent bulbs to shame. If you want to extend your Airstream’s battery life for minimum price, OZ-USA is the one-stop shop for your lights. They offer high end LED lights that are so easy to install you will be surprised, and you can find LED lights for all of your needs, both inside and outside your Airstream for amazing prices.

Not only do they offer premium quality LED lights for a fraction of competitors’ prices, they offer other accessories for your Airstream as well such as solar panels and socket power outlets. With quick shipping from their California warehouse, your Airstream will be primed and ready to hit the road in no time.

For more information about OZ-USA, their products, and dealer inquiries, visit their website at oz-usa.com or contact their support team at ask@ozgpowersports.com. You can also call them at 619-618-0444 with questions or concerns.