Airstream,
RV Camping
& Travel Tips

If you’re interested in owning this rare Airstream trailer—the 2008 16ft limited edition “Design Within Reach” decor model—you have an advantage as a ‘Streaming reader: just scroll backward and you can see everywhere she’s been towed, turning heads along the way.

The longer I live in Bend, the more surprised I am to discover that Central Oregon is a hotbed of RV notables—including, now, the Nest Caravan. President and designer Robert Johans let me peek behind his fence and inside one of his innovative trailers, rolled out just eight months ago.

According to the RV professionals present at an Oregon Unit Airstream rally, 300,000 accidents occur annually due to backing up. It was subtly implied that a woman was likely behind the wheel each time.

Simmer down, trailer chicks: stereotypes don’t grow in a vacuum, and that’s why a Women’s Towing Session is on the program again at Alumafandango. I have the honor of presenting as well; at “Tow It Alone”, we’ll share concerns, adventures, and tips for women who seek to set aside their fears and experience the thrills and benefits of learning to Airstream solo.

You’re fully recovered from Blue Monday—the most depressing day of the year—only to be thrust deep into Sad January. (Is that a thing? Let’s call it a thing.)

At this time of year those of us up north are either A) preparing to tow south to Alumafiesta or Alumaflamingo, or B) miserably regarding our winterized Airstreams out in the driveway, glumly counting the days until spring. But after learning more about winter towing, I propose option C): beat the post-holiday doldrums by fleeing to, not from, the cold and snow.

Just in time for the holidays! A one-of-a-kind gift for you and your trailering friends.

R&B Events really knows how to throw an Airstream rally. Or educational seminar. Or festival. Or whatever that nonstop party was last week at Seven Feathers RV resort/casino/convention center in Canyonville, Oregon.

To expedite this post, please imagine I’m writing the the usual glowing review (food/excellent, entertainment/fabulous, activities/fun, etc. Insert your own superlatives). Dare I say that my Great Destinations seminar and Airstream Cookie Decorating workshop were highlights?

I accompanied BFF Patty on the shakedown cruise of her cuddly new T@B trailer at Paulina Lake, an easy 35-mile drive from our homes in SE Bend.

Not quite an Airstream (but not a white box nor hillbilly tent trailer either), the new T@Bs look to me like a next-best alternative for those, like Patty, with a Subaru Outback and a spouse on a budget who’s suspicious of used Type B motorhome engines. (If pressed, Patty will tell you that if she won the lottery, her preference would be to forego towing forever and purchase the Interstate.)

In the meantime, the T@B is an enormous step up from sleeping in a tent.

The fine folks of George Sutton RV towed three spanking new Airstream trailers to a recent WBCCI rally for us to paw over.

When we bought our little DWR lo these many years ago, the sales process was a simple matter: we pointed to its photo on the cover of the Design Within Reach catalog and exclaimed “we’ll take it!” I wasn’t aware of the usual drill when purchasing a new Airstream: options abound, Chinese menu style, and many features are customizable.

I was also unaware how intimately involved local dealerships are with Airstream production and innovation.

Jackson Center, Ohio: population 1365—where Wally Byam found the vacant paper factory in 1952 that would house his Airstream production center. Today, workers in JC continue to crank out the aluminum beauties at the only plant that builds new Airstreams and delivers them by flatbed to dealers across the country.

‘Streamers, plan a pilgrimage to the factory at your earliest convenience. (New buyer tip: order from a dealer, obtain the production number of your unit, and scurry to Jackson Center where you’re welcome to watch [and photograph] your very own Airstream being built step by step on the line during its nine day assembly process.)

“I have something to show you.”

Ralph wouldn’t tell me what to expect when I arrived at the house. He sat me on the deck, put a gin and tonic in my hand, and said, “close your eyes.”

I opened them to see the cover of the Spring 2007 Design Within Reach catalog, with the sublime Christopher Deam Airstream on the cover.

“In 2000, Airstream’s motto, ‘Make only improvements, not changes,’ was shaken by architect-designer Chris Deam who gutted a vintage trailer to create a booth for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair,” states the DWR online catalog.