In February 2022, the company unveiled a concept all-electric Airstream with the ability to recharge in multiple ways from electric outlets at campgrounds to regenerative braking. Trailer sizes of 2020 range between 16 and 33 ft (4.9 and 10.1 m). Airstream produces several models-Basecamp, Bambi, Caravel, Flying Cloud, International, and Classic. The Westfalia was discontinued in 2006.Īirstream, still based in Jackson Center, is a division of Thor, Inc. In 2004, Airstream introduced the Westfalia and Interstate, built on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis. Production ceased after the 1999 model year. Starting in 1989, Airstream built Class B motorhomes based on the Ford Econoline chassis and the Dodge B-series van chassis. It was designed to transport family, flowers and the deceased from the funeral home to the cemetery. In 1981, Airstream's Commercial Vehicle Division marketed a Class A motorhome as a funeral coach. One bus model, the Skydeck, featured interior stairs leading to a deck on the roof. Airstream discontinued manufacture of Class A motorhomes in 2006. The aluminum motorhomes were followed by more traditional-looking fiberglass models in the 1990s. They began as painted 20 and 24 ft (6.1 and 7.3 m) models, and were followed in 1979 by the first examples of the Classic model motorhome, with an unpainted aluminum body much like the trailers.Īirstream-badged Class A motorhomes began as 24 and 28 ft (7.3 and 8.5 m) models in 1979, and in the 1980s and 1990s, models ranging from 25 and 37 ft (7.6 and 11.3 m) were marketed. In 1974, Airstream began manufacturing a Class A motorhome, badged "Argosy". 1979 saw the last Airstreams to be manufactured in California. In July 1952, a new facility in Jackson Center, Ohio, was established. Byam's company went back into production in 1948. When World War II ended, the economy boomed, and people's attention once again turned towards leisure travel. ĭuring World War II, travel became a luxury most could not afford and non-military industries faced an acute aluminum shortage. Of more than 400 travel trailer builders operating in 1936, Airstream was the sole survivor of the Depression. Sold for $1,200 it was able to house four people, had electric lights and a water supply. Named the Clipper, after the first trans-Atlantic flying boat. In 1936, the first Airstream was introduced. It was the first of the now familiar sausage-shaped, silver aluminum Airstream trailers. The design cut down on wind resistance and thus improved fuel efficiency. In 1936, Byam introduced the "Airstream Clipper", which was essentially a rebadged 1935 Bowlus Road Chief, with the door relocated from the front to the side. Byam published a magazine selling "how-to" kits to customers wishing to build their own trailers. The company was created by Wally Byam who began building trailers out of Masonite in his backyard in Los Angeles during the late 1920s. A modern Airstream, 2016 Flying Cloud 23D travel trailer shown with tow vehicle, GMC Sierra
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |