This is a 1964 Airstream Globetrotter that benefits from a refurbishment by South Jersey RV of Newfield, New Jersey that was completed back in the 2000s, as well as more recent restoration work completed in 2016.
This Airstream has a bathroom with a toilet and hot shower, a well-appointed kitchenette, and sleeping space for up to four – making it a good and surprisingly compact home-on-wheels.
Here we see a young Wally Byam pictured top, with his wife Marion pictured below. It would be Marion’s preference for not sleeping in a tent that set the ball rolling, and resulted in the creation of Airstream. Images courtesy of Airstream.
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.
Here we see Wally Byam tending to the stove, with Marion on the far left. The identity of the other two people in the picture are lost to history, but that’s an early Airstream Torpedo model in the background. Image courtesy of Airstream.
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 Globetrotter
The Globetrotter name is one of the oldest model families in the Airstream catalog, and in some respects its origins are closely intertwined with Wally Byam’s international ambitions for the company.
In 1948, Byam and his friend Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. (the journalist, author, and great-great-grandson of the railroad magnate) painted the words “Globe Trotters” on the side of a 22 foot Airstream Liner and set off on a European tour. Byam’s goal was to road-test the trailer across the continent, identifying weaknesses and maybe picking up some design inspiration from European manufacturers. That journey became a fundamental turning point for the company. Images courtesy of Airstream.
In 1948, Byam and his friend Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. (the journalist, author, and great-great-grandson of the railroad magnate) painted the words “Globe Trotters” on the side of a 22 foot Airstream Liner and set off on a European tour. Byam’s goal was to road-test the trailer across the continent, identifying weaknesses and maybe picking up some design inspiration from European manufacturers. That journey became a fundamental turning point for the company.
The trip inspired Airstream to launch the “Globetrotter” as its own distinct model line, first offered in the late 1940s as a 22 foot self-contained travel trailer marketed as one that could go anywhere a car could while still providing full living facilities.
By 1954, the Globetrotter name was being applied to the 18 foot series that became one of Airstream’s most popular models, built at both the California and Jackson Center, Ohio, factories. These were fully self-contained units with a proper bathroom, shower, holding tanks, and lighting. Through the 1950s, Byam used Globe Trotter trailers on his famous international caravans, and the model series received further updates in the 1960s.
The Globetrotter name was eventually retired and lay dormant for decades before Airstream revived it in 2018 as a European-inspired, style-focused travel trailer intended to sit near the top of the lineup. The modern Globetrotter is built entirely in Jackson Center, and its interior draws on the European influences that defined Byam’s original vision for the series.
The current 2026 Globetrotter is offered in three floor plans (the 25FB, 27FB, and 30RB) with each available in queen-bed or twin-bed configurations. Lengths range from 26 feet to nearly 31 feet, and sleeping capacity reaches up to six.
The 1964 Airstream Globetrotter Shown Here
This 1964 Airstream Globetrotter is a 20 foot single-axle travel trailer that has passed through two rounds of professional work since its original production. The first was a refurbishment carried out by South Jersey RV of Newfield, New Jersey, during the 2000s, which included repairs and reinforcement of the wood floors, updated bathroom plumbing with replacement lines, fittings, and fixtures, and general reconditioning of the interior.
This 1964 Airstream Globetrotter is a 20 foot single-axle travel trailer that has passed through two rounds of professional work since its original production.
The current owner purchased the trailer in 2014, and in 2016 commissioned further bodywork from Vintage Base Camp Airstream Restorations of Crestwood, Kentucky, where replacement aluminum exterior panels were installed and additional repairs were made to the riveted aluminum body.
The seller notes that the trailer has seen approximately 500 miles of use under their ownership.
This Airstream has a single entry side door, dual Zip Dee side awnings, two covered propane tanks mounted at the tongue, a manual tongue jack with hitch lock, and a spare wheel. The 15 inch steel wheels wear polished hubcaps and are shod with Goodyear Marathon and Carlstar radial tires. Braking is handled by electrically operated twin-shoe drum brakes.
Inside, the reconditioned interior has white-painted walls and a floor plan that accommodates a rear bathroom, a kitchen/galley, and two sleeping areas.
The galley is equipped with a Dometic refrigerator and an Amana oven with a three-burner range, along with wood cabinets. Two blue cloth sofas serve as seating and convert into beds. Additional amenities include 12-volt electrical outlets, lighting fixtures, a mirror, and an LG air conditioner.
The current owner purchased the trailer in 2014, and in 2016 commissioned further bodywork from Vintage Base Camp Airstream Restorations of Crestwood, Kentucky, where replacement aluminum exterior panels were installed and additional repairs were made to the riveted aluminum body.
The rear bathroom was updated during the 2000s refurbishment and includes a shower, a sink, and a toilet. It also has a 6-gallon water heater.
This Airstream Globetrotter is now being offered for sale out of Jasper, Tennessee with refurbishment records and a clean Tennessee title in the owner’s name. 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 + Airstream
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.
