This is an Airstream 19CB Tommy Bahama that was built new in 2018, it originally retailed for $89,000, and came with Caribbean-style cabinetry, OceanAir wood blinds, luxury woven flooring, and a bunch of other tropical design cues.
As a modern Airstream travel trailer, this model also came factory-fitted with air-conditioning, a heater, a kitchen and bar, a smart TV, LED lighting, power stabilizer jacks, and a fully equipped bathroom with a hot shower, toilet, and sink.
This is an Airstream 19CB Tommy Bahama that was built new in 2018, it originally retailed for $89,000, and came with Caribbean-style cabinetry, OceanAir wood blinds, luxury woven flooring, and a bunch of other tropical design cues.
History Speedrun: Airstream
Airstream was founded by Wally Byam in Baker City, Oregon in 1931. After graduating from Stanford in 1921, Byam worked in advertising, journalism, and publishing in Los Angeles before turning his attention to travel trailer design. It was to be a decision that would forever change the travel trailer industry, and it still reverberates today, almost a century later.
In 1929 Byam built his first travel trailer, it was a simple tent-like structure on a Model T Ford chassis – he created it because of his wife Marion’s dislike of sleeping on the ground in a tent. Demand from neighbors and fellow campers led Byam to open a small trailer factory in Culver City, California, in 1931, this marked the formal beginning of Airstream, though by this time Byam had already been hard at work building travel trailers for around three years out of his own house and yard.
Byam’s early production models, including the teardrop-shaped Torpedo, attracted a rapidly growing customer base. By the mid-1930s, around 400 travel trailer manufacturers had entered was an increasingly crowded market. On January the 17th, 1936, Byam introduced the Airstream Clipper, the company’s first riveted aluminum travel trailer, and a sign of things to come.
The Clipper’s design was drawn from the aerodynamic forms of contemporary aircraft, including the Pan Am Clipper flying boats, as well as the pioneering Bowlus Road Chief, a streamlined aluminum trailer designed by Hawley Bowlus, who had worked on the Spirit of St. Louis. Byam saw the Road Chief as a foundation to improve upon, and the resulting Clipper established the streamlined “silver bullet” silhouette that would define the Airstream brand going forward.
When the United States entered World War II, aluminum became a restricted material and the government prohibited recreational trailer production to focus America’s industrial output on the war effort. Airstream closed its doors, and Byam took positions at Lockheed and Curtis Wright Industries, where he picked up invaluable experience in aircraft manufacturing and aluminum fabrication.
After the war ended, Byam briefly produced trailers under the Curtis Wright name before leaving in 1947 to restart Airstream production with the Airstream Liner. Airstream Trailers, Inc. was formally incorporated in California on November the 1st, 1948.
It’s based on Airstream’s compact 19 foot Bambi-class single-axle platform and was finished throughout with Caribbean-inspired styling cues unique to the edition, including matte-finish wood cabinetry, OceanAir wood blinds, floral accents, stitched leather cabinet handles, and woven flooring.
The postwar boom years brought rapid growth as Americans discovered the joy of the open road, and cross-country road trips became a popular mainstream vacation option. In 1951, Byam organized the first Airstream Caravan, leading a convoy of trailers from Texas to Nicaragua.
The following year in 1952, Airstream outgrew its California facility, and Byam found a factory in Jackson Center, Ohio – which remains the company’s headquarters and primary production facility to this day. Through the 1950s, Byam led caravans across Europe, Canada, and Africa, continually upgrading his trailer designs based on real-world experience and customer feedback.
Wally Byam died on July the 22nd, 1962 at the age of 66 from a brain tumor. Leadership passed to Art Costello and Andy Charles, who carried on his vision for the company. In 1967, Airstream was bought out by Beatrice Foods.
In 1969, a converted Airstream served as the Mobile Quarantine Facility used to house the Apollo 11 astronauts after splashdown, as a result the already well-known company truly became a household name.
The 1970s were a difficult time for the company, but in 1980 the firm was bought by THOR Industries, Inc. who returned it to profitability within a year. Airstream has remained in continuous production ever since, with all travel trailers still built by hand in Jackson Center.
The Airstream 19CB Tommy Bahama Shown Here
This is a 2018 Airstream 19CB Tommy Bahama, it’s a limited-run special edition built as a collaboration between Airstream and Tommy Bahama, originally carrying an MSRP of $89,000 USD.
It’s based on Airstream’s compact 19 foot Bambi-class single-axle platform and was finished throughout with Caribbean-inspired styling cues unique to the edition, including matte-finish wood cabinetry, OceanAir wood blinds, floral accents, stitched leather cabinet handles, and woven flooring. Special Edition badging and window graphics all help to distinguish it from the standard Airstream model it’s based on.
The interior is built around entertaining, with a fitted bar area, stemware storage, a dedicated wine rack, an ice maker, and a set of branded glassware. The galley uses Cuisinart stainless steel appliances. Climate control is handled by a 13,500 BTU air conditioner and a 16,000 BTU heater, and the audio-visual package consists of a Polk audio system with XM radio, a smart TV, and a DVD player.
The interior is built around entertaining, with a fitted bar area, stemware storage, a dedicated wine rack, an ice maker, and a set of branded glassware. The galley uses Cuisinart stainless steel appliances.
Mechanical and chassis equipment includes 15 inch aluminum wheels shod with Goodyear tires, LED exterior and interior lighting, a rear camera, power stabilizer jacks, and a power awning. The trailer is also pre-wired to accept Airstream’s optional solar panel package, allowing for off-grid charging.
It’s now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in late July and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Mecum
Articles that Ben Branch 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.
