By Phil Evans – Managing Director of KissMyAirstream – Airstream Hire
Part 1 in a series of blogs about My Airstream.
They’re retro, iconic, a masterpiece of design and the ultimate in cool. They’re Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and the first moon walk. They’re Inspiring and exciting. They’re perfectly formed shiny aluminum space ships – loved by everyone – They’ve stood the test of time… Phil Evans 2007 KissMyAirstream
It has been 16 years since I bought my first Airstream. I still own her, shes a part of the family. She is a 1963 Tradewind. I didn’t intend to buy an Airstream, in fact I didn’t even know what an Airstream was. Yes, I had seen them in magazines – I remember the photo taken from that moon landing, I remember the crew sat with smiling faces, as they were transported to their place of quarantine. I never dream’t that I would own one..
I went over to look at her for the first time in Winchester. So there I was transfixed, adoring the rounded body for the first time. How cool was that.. Cool was the word.. I couldn’t believe that she would be My Airstream..
This was also the first time that I met Sarah-Jane. Sarah-Jane was a pioneer – she would buy Airstreams in the USA and ship them over and sell them in the UK. At that time she was one of the few people that you could buy an Airstream from in the UK at that time. There wasn’t anything that Sarah-Jane did not know about Airstreams, and still doesn’t. She told us the history. I will tell you the same over this series of blogs.
I remember the excitement when I saw My Airstream for the first time. I could not quite believe that I was there, and that I could be the owner of this masterpiece in engineering. The body was amazing – she was 43 years old at that time. A few love bumps, but looking great. Next step was to give her the love she had been missing – she was in need of a makeover.. Although, keeping her glory in tact was so important.
The inside was tired looking and in desperate need of that make-over. We sat down and talked it through with Sarah-Jane. Sarah-Jane suggested that we should redesign the inside to our liking. We set about this task and made some alterations. We revamped the damaged interior and acquired new fabrics to reupholster her. She was rewired and new gas hoses fitted. We also had a new “A” frame fitted so that she was legal for the UK roads. We could hardly wait whilst the work was being done. We went to pick her up 2 months later. This was very exciting and a day I will always remember. I then had my first experience of towing the Airstream, and witnessing the great excitement she stirred from the other cars on the M3. We passed cars – people stared at us with awe – they smiled, they took photos, we felt like celebrities as we drove the 60 miles home.
When we got her home and I needed to learn – fast – how to reverse and manoeuvre a 24′ Trailer. We had built a cover for it but the angles were very tight to position her into her new abode. Luckily we have very little passing traffic so I was not causing congestion whilst I quickly got used to the angles, so i could comfortably backup her into her new home.
This is where she has sat the last 16 years, when we havent got her out somewhere. Serving both as an incredible monument of pure artistic excellence as well as a spare room when we have visitors. I get a thrill, even now, each time I pull up to my house and see her there, waiting patiently for the next adventure. Shes 58 years old now and still looks great – I believe that the majority of Airstreams that were manufactured are still around – unlike other caravans that have rotted away – the sturdy construction and intelligent use of materials has ensured that Airstreams dont rot – the ones taken out of action have generally been ones involved in an accident. She will be with us for many years to come.
I would like to detail our adventures, over the years, in this blog – feel free to subscribe if you are interested in finding out what we have done since we first owned her all those years ago.
