This is an Airstream Trade Wind “Land Yacht” from 1962, it measures in at 24′ long and features a discretely upgraded and fully self-contained interior.
The Trade Wind series of Airstream travel trailers made their debut in 1959, it was developed as a trailer that would land right in the “sweet spot” for size, with a length of 24′ meaning it wasn’t too short and wasn’t too long, with an interior that contained all the essentials for life on the road.
Despite its more compact size, this 24 foot long Airstream Trade Wind has a fully equipped interior with a kitchenette, dinette, double bed, a toilet with a shower, and air-conditioning.
Airstream trailers are famously made from gleaming aluminum panels which are largely immune to corrosion. Early Airstreams were made from Masonite, a type of fiberboard made from wood, but after Hawley Bowlus debuted the all-aluminum Bowlus Road Chief travel trailer in 1934, the direction of Airstream would be forever changed.
Airstream founder Wally Byam had already been building trailers since the 1920s, first for his own use and then for others. He switched to aluminum construction in the mid-1930s, using the same aircraft inspired engineering and design principles as the Bowlus Road Chief, but using his own styling.
Over the decades that followed, Airstreams would become a common sight on American roads. Some Airstreams were used for troop accommodations during WWII but it would be during the post-WWII boom time that the travel trailers would become an American vacationers mainstay.
NASA famously used a number of Airstreams for astronaut transport and quarantine accommodation after missions, including the Apollo 11 mission which saw humans walk on the moon for the first time.
Other Airstreams would be bought ands customized by A-list actors, mostly for use as their personal trailers on movie and TV show sets, we featured Tom Hanks’ Airstream just recently.
Though many years have passed, Airstream still uses the same fundamental materials today that they did all those years ago – aluminum skins and ribs for the upper body, with a ladder frame steel chassis underneath.
The 1962 Airstream Trade Wind Land Yacht Shown Here
As noted in the introduction, this is a 1962 Airstream Trade Wind Land Yacht measuring in at 24 feet long, sitting on dual axles, and offering a fully self-contained interior.
Inside you’ll find all the major modern conveniences, including a kitchenette, dinette set lounge area, a bathroom with a toilet and shower, air conditioning, and a rear bedroom with a double bed.
The kitchenette has woodgrain countertop, a stainless-steel sink with running water, a two-burner Force 10 propane range, and a Norcold refrigerator. It also has drawers, under-counter cabinets, an overhead open shelf, and an exhaust vent.
The front dinette is also a lounge area, and it can be converted into a an additional double bed by lowering the table down and moving some cushions.
The front lounge area doubles as a dinette set and the table can be folding down to make an additional double bed when required.
This Airstream is now being offered for sale out of Newbury Park, California on Bring a Trailer with a clean California title. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.