Airstream Trailers

The Airstream trailer is one of those objects that transcends time. Other than details like window shape and tire size, it is difficult to tell if one is from the 1930s, the 1990s or sometime in the future. When Wally Byam made the first one, back in 1936, it must've looked like a prop for a Buck Rogers movie - a gleaming teardrop of silver. It made the automobiles of its day look terribly old-fashioned with their straight lines, separate fenders and bluff grills.

Byam was not attempting to style his new trailer to look futuristic, he was merely being logical. Aluminum was being exploited for its low weight and high strength by the aircraft industry, and wind tunnel testing was enabling planes to drastically reduce their aerodynamic drag. By following these principles, the Airstream was stronger and stiffer than any of its rivals, and was so light that its shell could be picked up by two men. It must've been a revelation to travel with. The interiors were as luxurious as most apartments of the time.

               

NASA has used Airstreams as quarantine units for returning astronauts. JFK used one as a mobile command center. Lyndon Johnson's daughter took one on an extended tour of the US. The rich have used them around the globe as vacation homes on wheels. It would be difficult not to feel superior to the outside world while snug inside the hermetic space capsule that is the Airstream.