2021 is officially the 90th year of the historic Airstream brand, and much has changed in the near century of the storied travel trailer manufacturer. Airstream’s own Live Riveted blog recaps 10 Interesting Facts about Airstream’s history here in an article well worth a read. Here are some highlights of our own of the changing image of Airstreams throughout the years.
One of the earliest known Airstream photographs of a 1930’s era model.
This 1940’s Airstream more closely resembles the aluminum models the brand is known for, and was praised early on for how lightweight it was. Professional cyclist Alfred Letourneur perhaps publicized this quality the best, famously towing the travel trailer with his bicycle, in an infamous image that still appears on Airstream merchandise today.
In 1955, this Airstream travel trailer was driven through 60,000 of “the roughest North American terrain” before being parked 10,500 feet from the test site of an atomic bomb explosion deep in the desert of Nevada. After the bomb detonated, the Airstream stood in the same spot, virtually damage free, while other nearby vehicles suffered significantly.
Airstreams continued being battle tested into the 1960’s, when President John F. Kennedy used one as a mobile office during weapons testing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Other Airstreams were also brought along on the trip as mobile health units, which is why the photographed unit is labelled “hospital”.
Airstream’s patriotic image only grew after its public involvement with atomic bombs and missile missions. The brand was quickly selected to participate in America’s space missions as a place to quarantine astronauts returning with possibly unknown space pathogens.
A twist in the brand’s image was the result of economic downturn and gas shortages in the 1980’s, as Airstream created the Funeral Coach to transport family, flowers, and casket.
Airstream’s brief stray from aluminum into expensive fiberglass travel trailers resulted in the Airstream Nest, manufactured and promoted from 2018-2020 with little acknowledgement from Airstream as to why the subdivision was discontinued.
What’s next for Airstream? Nobody can say for sure, but as the iconic travel trailers are more popular than ever before, the smallest–and least expensive–model has exploded in popularity.
Could the Airstream Basecamp be the next picture of Aluminum Americana? Only time will tell.
If you’re interested in purchasing an Airstream, Pete’s RV Center has you covered. Check out our Airstream of Vermont News Page for more updates and pictures of the world’s most iconic RVs.
