How We found Ourselves in Possession of an old Airstream......

We sold our home in Napa CA in August of 1999, decided to take a big flying leap, and travel the USA.  Although we thought of buying a trailer or motor home before the the trip, our time was taken up with the details of selling a house and storing possessions.  We took a  7 month tour of the country in our bare to the walls un-insulated Dodge Tradesman work van.

Along the way we purchased a book - Free things to do in the USA.  It mentioned an interesting tour of the Airstream factory.  At the time I knew little of Airstream other than its reputation for quality and its neat aircraft-like appearance.  When we went through Ohio we took the tour. . . and so were planted the seeds of thought of owning an Airstream.

When we finished our trip and returned to Napa, the rental market was very tight. We found it would be a month until the house we chose to rent would be ready - so our trip continued and we went to Shirley's folks to "visit" for a few weeks.

One day Arlen was trimming his beard and was using a newspaper to catch the trimmings.  It happened to be the classifieds of the local weekly paper. He saw a notice for a local farm estate auction. There was every sort of farm equipment imaginable . . . and then there was a mention of a 1964 19' Airstream trailer. . . too bad we missed a chance to check  that trailer out - no wait - that's tomorrow!

To make a long story short, we came home with a 19' 1964 Globe Trotter.  

I think that anyone who buys an old classic trailer should pay their dues, and the story often goes like this:  fall in love with the first one you find, put hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into it, find out what a really good trailer is, sell the hopeless example you have invested everything in (usually at a considerable loss), and THEN go buy that exceptional example that you really want and rightfully deserve.  
It is a lesson usually hard learned:  Spend a little more time looking for a nice candidate and be willing to spend a little more money up front, and you will spend a LOT less time and money on your restoration.

Well, I think we beat the odds with our find.  This was an exceptionally nice example to start with - far better than what fate should have normally allowed a couple of trailer novices.   There was no floor rot, the aluminum exterior was very clean, the interior was completely original, and there was no peeling Zolotone. All the systems even worked (though the trailer had not been used in years). You know, just what you would expect to find - wouldn't you???

The Globetrotter had spent most of its life in dry eastern Oregon in in a barn - used by a wheat farmer with a heart condition as a place to rest during the day.  After he passed away it was moved outside. It sustained some water damage to the interior, as much of the original caulking  above the windows had dried and cracked.  The damage was some delamination of the cabinet veneer  and floor tile peeling up. Of course, after 36 years the foam and upholstery were due for replacement.

Getting it home was the first challenge.  The tires looked to be of similar vintage as the trailer and the wheels were the original split rims.  It had a strange looking (to me) electrical connector which I trashed (the original Bargman - stupid me) while connecting up one brake light in a freezing drizzle.  I just cranked up that little front wheel - and it was long gone when we got home.  We pulled it (on a cool damp morning) about 50 miles on those old tires since we had to remove it from the auction site.  We stored it at my folks place  until we could get new tires and wheels to bring it home to Napa on.

We expected to do some work to the interior and polish the exterior. So far we have been right about what needs to be done, but doing it has taken us far more effort and time than we originally thought it would. We have a lot of respect for the effort it must take to undertake a full restoration requiring major work to the structure, replacing rotted floor, replacing and reworking dented and corroded skins, rebuilding plumbing and electrical systems, rebuilding windows and frames,  and everything else a typical well used or neglected trailer might need to have done.  We have a 1947 Luscombe Airplane which is bare aluminum.  We are fairly knowledgeable as to how aluminum deteriorates from exposure, and we know how lucky we were to start with a trailer with skin in such nice condition.  The outside is very nice with no significant dents.  About 90% of the original clear coat was intact, and we planned to remove it and do some polishing.  I feel very fortunate that we were able to start with such a nice example.

Boy howdy, do it shine!

Special things need special names - how about "Puff"?