A shiny refuge on wheels
Airstream travel trailer was love at first sight
Many of us yearn for a private space where we can relax. Perhaps it's a room full of soft pillows. Or a comfortable chair pushed into an alcove with a good reading lamp.
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The exterior of David Hulbert and Sherry Finneran's restored 1970 Airstream. The awning folds into the top.
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David Hulburt and Sherry Finneran's cherished private space happens to be encased in aluminum.
"There it was, gleaming in the sunlight," Hulburt says, recalling the first time he saw the fully restored 1970 Airstream travel trailer five years ago. "It took our breath away. It was love at first sight."
Although they had never pursued the idea of buying a classic Airstream before, he says, "Our fantasy life surged forward. We just closed our eyes and jumped. We haven't looked back."
Hulburt and Finneran, who practice personal, family, and relationship coaching together, enjoy taking the 26-foot-long Airstream on the road. And why not? It has two rooms; two couches that open to become beds; a bathroom with a shower; a full kitchen; a heater; an air conditioner; and plenty of storage space.
| A short history of Airstream travel trailers
Wallace Merle Byam, Airstream's founder, was a born wanderer. He traveled as a child with his grandfather, who led a mule train. As an adolescent, he worked as a shepherd and lived in a two-wheeled donkey cart.
In the 1920s, Byam sold plans for travel trailers in which its users could stand upright – a revolutionary development. He also sold trailer kits and built fully assembled models in his backyard. His goal was to create a trailer that moved like a stream of air.
Airstream Trailer Co. released the Clipper on Jan. 17, 1936. It was a vessel ripe for the Deco age. Its riveted aluminum body was sleek and curvy, and its aerodynamic form was boldly contemporary. Among a variety of amenities, it offered air conditioning via dry ice. It sold for $1,200.
After a break during World War II, Airstream swung back into business as vacationing Americans hit the road again.
Byam died in 1962. Five years later, Beatrice Foods bought Airstream Trailer Co.
In the 1970s, the company introduced its first motor home. Like the company's travel trailers, it sported a riveted aluminum body. In 1979, Thor Industries bought the company.
In the 1980s, Airstream produced the Land Yacht motor home, which featured laminated fiberglass construction. |
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When you're in it, the Airstream feels a bit like being on a boat, where every nook and cranny has a purpose. |
"Between April and October each year, we have gone to the beach, the mountains, various campgrounds, a couple of family reunions, Airstream rallies, and a number of annual music festivals," Finneran says. "So far, we have taken trips ranging from one weekend to two weeks in length."
During the coldest months, Hulburt and Finneran drain the Airstream's water tanks and winterize it. While it spends the winter months on a 10-acre lot the couple own in Hanover County, they visit it on Friday or Saturday nights, at least every two or three weeks. A half-acre of the lot is cleared; the rest is heavily wooded.
While there, Hulburt and Finneran like to sit outside by a fire and listen to the local public radio station.
"I did not know how important being outside was to me until I began spending evenings sitting by the fire in front of the Airstream," Hulburt says. "I feel as if I have found a connection to something I didn't even know I was missing. Now I can't imagine living without it."
Buying a refuge wasn't a conscious decision, Hulburt says, but the concept of a refuge has always appealed to them.
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Sherry Fenneran and David Hulbert love getting away from it all in their vintage trailer. See those smiles? |
"We have always celebrated the concept of 'refuge,' but, in the past, we did this by going away to a number of different 'getaway' places over the years," he says. "The Airstream has provided our first 'fixed refuge.' It is wonderful. Unlike going to a hotel or a beach house, when we get to this refuge, our stuff is already there. We aren't guests; we are home."
This spring, Hulburt and Finneran plan to build a more permanent fire circle on the Hanover property. And while they're in no hurry to make dramatic changes, in time the lot will sport a more permanent residence, and it probably won't be encased in aluminum.
"One day, we expect to build a house on our land, but the Airstream will always have a home here," Finneran says. "And in the meantime, we love having a refuge that we can visit or take with us wherever we want to go."
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