it more habitable than its current, unrestored state.
Because camper restoration involves many skills (from metal fabrication to carpentry to upholstery to paint), you need to focus on your strengths and arrange to outsource your weaknesses to skilled professionals for a quality end product.
In one circumstance, you might plan on a museum-piece restoration, where respecting originality and preserving as much as possible is paramount. In that case, cloth-covered wiring and retaining factory split rims are some of the details that are crucial to the camper’s originality. Unfortunately, they’re both often lost, understandably, in favor of safer, more modern alternatives.
In another circumstance, you might plan to bring the unit up to a usable state by replacing the axles and wheels with modern alternatives. Given the choices available, I like to divide restorations into three categories: the Usable Weekender, the Park Model (an off-grid cottage/rental/mother-In-law version), and the Show Camper (a museum/concours renovation).
The Usable Weekender restoration includes addressing all major systems to produce a vintage camper that can be towed to any destination and provide all the comforts expected of a camper.
A Park Model restoration is essentially building a unit that’s dependent on the grid (shore power, city water, and waste-water hook-ups) and not focused on stand-alone systems (12-volt/liquid propane).
A Show Camper restoration carefully retains all original components, materials, and building techniques of the era. And, in some instances, it avoids repainting or upsetting the originality of the unit, only preserving decay-prone materials.
You need to decide what priorities are essential to your goals and plan accordingly.
A Show Camper requires attention to detail and respecting the originality of a vintage camper. But this doesn’t mean you can’t make improvements to safety or usability without compromising the vintage essence of the camper.
Built in a similar manner to Airstream, this Boles Aero can be a less-expensive alternative due to less brand awareness. The downside is less parts availability. The challenge and reward of finding and creating working solutions makes the restoration process gratifying.
Models to Consider
While Airstream is a household name, many manufacturers from the heyday of interstate travel share general construction techniques. This book focuses on the “riveted” style of fabrication that’s favored for its low weight and structural integrity. The process is loosely based on airplane manufacturing and many of the tools are interchangeable.
Silver Streak, Barth, Avion, and Boles Aero, to name a few, all use aluminum ribs riveted to aluminum sheet metal; and, because they’re not branded with the Airstream name, prices can be more reasonable. At least half a dozen manufacturers share this construction method, and the techniques used in this book can be applied to many of them.
The downside to a non-Airstream riveted restoration is that these manufacturers have not received the aftermarket love that Airstream has. You may find it difficult to source some unique components for these trailers. But the challenge and reward of finding and creating working solutions is part of what makes the restoration process enjoyable.
Things to Avoid
When shopping for a project camper, there are some important things to avoid that make the restoration go smoother. For example, most aluminum campers of the 1950s and 1960s have panels with distinct patterning or curves that might be expensive to tool and re-create.
Trying to find a unit with endcaps and ornamental body panels in good shape should be a priority. Pretty much anything can be re-created by a metal fabrication specialist, but the cost to do so can easily blow a small budget. With this in mind, dented or creased panels, which are flat, are easier to repair or replace and can be used in your favor when negotiating a price.
As expected of a 60-year-old camper, there are a couple of red flags on this Flying Cloud worth noting. A dented corner panel might jump out, but it’s the least concerning. The extended coupler with suspect fabrication accompanied by a non-original curbside front window proved to be difficult to properly address but not an impossible task if you are resourceful.
This 1960s Tradewind is rough and dirty, much the same as the 1950 Flying Cloud. This is a much better candidate for a smooth restoration because it retains all the original windows, its panels are in great shape, and the chassis, including the coupler, seems to be much straighter. This unit does, however, have split rims, so an axle replacement and new tires and rims should be planned.
The interior finish of some panels in this Cruisette had army-green finishes, indicating that it was from the stock of surplus aluminum sourced by Wally Byam after World War II. When planning on panel replacement, you need to consider the difference between vintage aluminum and new stock. Current aluminum matrixes do not perfectly match vintage aluminum when polished.
Another thing to consider when assessing a candidate for restoration is replacing old aluminum paneling with new paneling. New aluminum isn’t the same as the original because the elements used in manufacturing (and suppliers) have changed since the production of the camper. If you’re going to replace a large curbside panel, the quality of the polish and finish of the new aluminum will not match that of the original pieces.
Although not a deal breaker for a Usable Weekender, the difference will be noticeable to a trained eye. In the case of post–World War II Airstreams, surplus military aluminum was used extensively and can often be identified by army-green finishes.
Missing emblems are another big hassle. The pot-metal dies are most likely long gone for most vintage campers, and finding the correct ones for your restoration will be difficult. These items define the camper, and while not impossible to reproduce or locate, it will be difficult and time-consuming. Try to find a unit with intact, or at least partially intact, branding (i.e., emblems and decals).
Appliances are another important factor. They do wear out and are often replaced with newer models or scrapped altogether. An original range and fridge or ice chest is important to the restoration process. If you can find a unit with factory-specified appliances, a show-quality or respectful restoration will go smoother. Or, it could dictate what kind of restoration path you’re going to take. If you’ve found an already-replaced or updated fridge and stove, you might go modern and skip the vintage appliances in favor of ease of use. Also, many recreation vehicle appliances are shared across manufacturers, which makes a tasteful, period-correct restoration possible.
A vintage camper with original fixtures and hardware is much more valuable than one that has had its originality lost to a mid-life update or do-it-yourself (DIY) hack. For example, if a potential unit’s original tin lights were scrapped in favor of brittle plastic replacements, you should negotiate the price with the consideration of finding period-correct replacements.
