What Makes an Airstream Better than Other Campers?
I wrote the answer below on Quora and it got quite a lot of traffic, so I figured I’d reiterate it here.
What makes an airstream camper worth more than other campers?
Something like 70% of all Airstreams ever made (since about 100 years ago) are still on the road. That is a startling statistic when you account for how many campers have been destroyed in automotive accidents.
Unlike nearly every other trailer on the market, Airstreams can be renovated. This is HUGE (and a major reason why they stay on the road for so long…).
Most RV trailers are made (I’m generalizing) in three steps: 1) build a flat platform 2) put the furniture on the platform 3) nail the outside of the trailer to the back of the furniture. (This is what makes a standard RV essentially impossible to renovate well.)
In contrast, Airstream shells are completed and sealed before anything goes inside… and that means EVERYTHING inside an Airstream came in through the door… so it can all be removed through the door too! This means an Airstream can be emptied completely and redesigned/renovated, and that means they are useful longer.
WINDOWS WINDOWS WINDOWS. A standard RV trailer is a lot like a closed box with almost no exterior windows (honestly this baffles me about regular trailers.). Get in an Airstream and you will be blown away by how much light there is and how many windows there are. You can see a fair amount of interior views of my airstream via my Journeyman YouTube channel.
This open and airy feeling is only possible because of the way the trailer is constructed, but it results in being able to have a much smaller trailer that doesn’t feel claustrophobic at all.
When towing, I can see all the way through my trailer to the cars behind. I don’t think there’s any other RV that affords that kind of visibility. (I do have a backup camera too..)
Airstreams are very well made: the materials used in the Airstream are durable in and of themselves, but the actual construction method is also incredibly stable and durable. A regular RV takes about 40 hours to make… but an Airstream has over 300 person-hours of work in it.
They are made to move!
The design of the trailer is aerodynamic, which lowers fuel costs significantly.
Airstreams sit lower than other RVs, and with this lower center of gravity they hold the road better and handle better in emergency situations. (This also means they are easier to enter and exit, with fewer steps to climb at the entry door.)
Airstream axle and suspension components are different than a standard RV… so they get a smoother ride that keeps both the trailer and its contents from getting beaten up too much. (One time my son left an open glass of orange juice on a shelf of our RV refrigerator during one trip, and not a drop spilled during our 6 hours of driving.)
The tanks in an Airstream are between the wheels (not above them) further lowering the trailer’s center of gravity and improving handling. Many Airstream owners purposely travel with a full tank of water because it glues the trailer to the road—you can feel it.
Lots of other innovations that are hard to describe:
The use of space inside an Airstream is SO efficient. That’s a result of the company making basically the same design for a hundred years—these years of iteration mean it’s as optimized as it can get! We travel for a month at a stretch as a family of four (two teens) in a 180 square foot trailer.
Ducted airconditioning. Hard to describe how great this is, but the AC in my trailer is super super quiet—and there is no AC unit hanging down from the ceiling; the ceiling is flat and smooth.
Smooth surfaces: easy to clean. The interior of my trailer is all aluminum, the counters are corian, the walls are formica, the seats are leather, and the floor is linoleum. There are no moldings or other edges to catch dirt and debris. These surfaces can be sprayed and wiped clean very easily, which is a hidden benefit of the design. (The downside? All these hard surfaces make the stereo sound terrible.)
Because the trailer is hyper efficient, quiet and streamlined, it encourages you to live simply. There is no place for a huge television in the trailer. There is no space for a blender. It seems odd, but even though it’s one of the “fanciest” trailers out there, it is also one that really gets you closest to the real experience of camping and brings you closest to the things you drove out to see.
No slide outs. First, that means no leaks. But to me this is a feature that simplifies camping. We don’t arrive in a place and wonder if we should put out the slides: no matter where we are, the trailer is “ready” inside. We can always access everything in the trailer, even when in the middle of a long day’s driving.
The small size of the trailer means you can tuck into places where other RVs dare not tread.
I mentioned the windows above and how they prevent you from feeling claustrophobic, but they also really bring you close to nature. In my trailer (see image below) the dinette is at the rear by the door, and we have five enormous windows surrounding our table. Feels like we’re outside all the time.
My Airstream is just 9 foot 6 inches tall, so I can take the prettiest side roads without really worrying about overhangs. I don’t even use an RV specific GPS… because it’s so incredibly rare to come across any overpass that’s too low for us.
We camp in lots of places where the sites are designed for tents only. That’s just not possible with other trailers. Add solar and you are basically in paradise wherever you park. (See photos below.)
Community. Airstreams are relatively rare, and you will find that Airstream owners share a kinship that’s kinda hard to describe.
Since many decades of Airstreams share the same basic design, there’s lots of collective wisdom out there, and you can find nearly all of it on Airstream Trailer & Motorhome Owners Community or on the Airstream Addicts Facebook Group.
Airstream owners are a helpful group all around, and there is even a formal club (best if you are retired) that plans trips and rallies.
If you’re towing an Airstream, you’re bringing a little joy to the world: there is just something about them that people love. People wave to us. They ask us to take pictures. Once we found an entire busload of Japanese tourists in our driveway just gawking at our trailer (it’s true!). I’m not one who believes that the things you buy make you cool, but the Airstream could be an exception to the rule.
