This is a 2020 Airstream 30RB Classic that’s seen very little use, after it was bought new it was placed in storage and as a result it’s very well preserved. It’s now being offered for sale in almost as-new condition out of Windsor, California.
The spec sheet of this home-on-wheels is impressive, it has a fully equipped kitchenette and dinette area, a full bathroom with a hot shower, a power-adjustable queen-sized bed, and even power-operated footrests and reclining seatbacks on the sofa.
The spec sheet of this home-on-wheels is impressive, it has a fully equipped kitchenette and dinette area, a full bathroom with a hot shower, a power-adjustable queen-sized bed, and even power-operated footrests and reclining seatbacks on the sofa.
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.
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 interior is fitted with patterned vinyl flooring, cognac maple cabinetry throughout, and macadamia ultraleather upholstery. It has panoramic windows and Vista View skylight windows to fill the cabin with natural light, and it has pull-down privacy shades, LED lighting, and a Fusion sound system.
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 2020 Airstream 30RB Classic Shown Here
This is a 2020 Airstream 30RB Classic that was bought new by its current owner in 2020 – but it’s spent its life in storage ever since, and thus remains in almost as-new condition.
The aluminum-bodied travel trailer measures in at 31 feet long and it rides on a tandem-axle setup rated at 10,000 lbs GVWR, with electrically actuated drum brakes and 16 inch alloy wheels shod with 225/75 Michelin Agilis CrossClimate tires.
This is a 2020 Airstream 30RB Classic that’s seen very little use, as after it was bought new it was placed in storage. It’s now being offered for sale in almost as-new condition out of Windsor, California.
Power-operated stabilizer jacks and an electric hitch jack are fitted, and dual propane cylinders are housed in an enclosure on the tongue. The trailer’s internal energy fit out includes dual house batteries, a 270-watt solar setup, and connections for a 50-amp electrical input.
The interior is fitted with patterned vinyl flooring, cognac maple cabinetry throughout, and macadamia ultraleather upholstery. It has panoramic windows and Vista View skylight windows to fill the cabin with natural light, and it has pull-down privacy shades, LED lighting, and a Fusion sound system.
Climate control is handled by ducted Dometic air conditioners with heat pumps and an Alde hydronic heating system. Interestingly, the forward lounge sofa has power-operated footrests and reclining seatbacks, not a feature you’re likely to find on any of Airstream’s vintage offerings.
The galley (kitchenette) is equipped with a Dometic oven, a dual-fuel Dometic refrigerator and freezer, a three-burner propane range with an exhaust hood, and a Contoure convection microwave oven. It has Corian countertops, a stainless-steel sink with a pull-out faucet and water purifier, a slide-out pantry, and residential-style power outlets.
The booth-style dinette area is upholstered in matching macadamia ultraleather and it has a power-telescoping table that lowers to create an sleeping surface when required, with a 32 inch TV and house system controls all mounted nearby.
The rear bedroom has a power-adjustable queen bed with built-in nightstands, a cedar-lined wardrobe, a 22-inch LG TV, and panoramic windows with privacy shades. The bathroom has a shower with a heated floor, a toilet, a sink with nickel fixtures, and a medicine cabinet. The holding tank capacity includes 54 gallons of fresh water, 37 gallons of gray water, and 39 gallons of black water.
Power-operated stabilizer jacks and an electric hitch jack are fitted, and dual propane cylinders are housed in an enclosure on the tongue. The trailer’s internal energy fit out includes dual house batteries, a 270-watt solar setup, and connections for a 50-amp electrical input.
This Airstream’s exterior features include a power-operated Zip Dee porch awning with matching window awnings, a rearview camera, a rear equipment locker, a folding boarding step, and LED lighting. The sale includes a copy of the original window sticker showing an MSRP of $157,734, a pair of Airstream-branded folding chairs, and a clean California title in the seller’s name.
It’s now being offered for sale out of Windsor, California on Bring a Trailer, and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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.
