This is a 1972 Airstream Land Yacht Ambassador that benefits from a recent refurbishment. This series of Airstreams were among the largest and most luxurious of the era, offering almost all the comforts of home in a gleaming aluminum travel trailer.
The Airstream is one of those uniquely American creations, examples are on display both at the Smithsonian and the Henry Ford Museum, they have been used by NASA for returning astronauts, they’re celebrated as industrial design masterpieces, and perhaps most importantly of all, you can live in one.
This 1972 Airstream Land Yacht Ambassador has been recently refurbished and now presents in move-in-ready condition throughout. The kitchenette has a four burner propane stove top, dual stainless steel sinks with running water, and a fridge/freezer unit from Dometic.
Airstream travel trailers with their distinctive aluminum shells first started appearing on American highways in the mid-1930s. The concept of using aircraft-like construction techniques was pioneered by Hawley Bowlus, an aerospace engineer and the builder of the Spirit of St. Louis aircraft that would complete the first non-stop transatlantic crossing.
Hawley Bowlus designed and built the Bowlus Road Chief with a polished aluminum body, and Wally Byam at Airstream soon followed suit. Bowlus travel trailers would only remain in production for a short while, whereas Airstreams have remained in series production for decades right through to the current day.
The 1972 Airstream “Land Yacht” Ambassador Shown Here
The 1972 Airstream Land Yacht Ambassador you see here is a great example of what Airstream does best, creating homes-on-wheels that are also remarkably Instagram friendly and a darling of the “tiny home” movement.
This Land Yacht Ambassador you see here measures in at 29 feet long, it rides on dual axles, and it has space inside to sleep up to four people. It benefits from a significant recent refurbishing which included updating the bathroom, replacing the plumbing and plumbing fixtures, the countertops, flooring, battery, tires, and wheel bearings, overhauling the brakes, and polishing the exterior.
Inside you’ll find a kitchenette with twin stainless-steel sinks and running water, plenty of counter space,a four-burner cooktop, and a Dometic refrigerator/freezer. The bathroom is fully equipped, with a shower, bathtub, toilet, and sink.
It can sleep up to four, with two sofas that can convert into beds when required. The bathroom in the rear is fully equipped, with a bathtub, sink, toilet, and running hot and cold water.
The front lounge area features a sofa that can convert into a bed, there is also a work area with a slim desk and a stool. Further back you’ll find the kitchenette and the main sofa, this folds down into a double bed when needed. The Airstream also has a roof-mounted air conditioner to help keep things comfortable when the mercury rises (or falls).
It’s now being offered for sale out of Carmel Valley, California at no reserve with a clean California title in the seller’s name on Bring a Trailer. If you’d like to read more about it or place a 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.