Airstreamer Culture - Polly Auyeung

The following article was written by a journalist who got to test the Airstream for a roadtrip. He notes that there's something elusive about the trailer that sets it apart from all the rest:

An Airstream is a shiny telegraph from mid-century America, an object that reflects our grandparents' restless, road-hungry energy. [...]

"People will buy an Airstream because it's different, and they think they are different," says Rich Luhr, editor of the enthusiast magazine Airstream Life. "They tend to be more artistic, a lot of teachers, a lot of small-business owners and entrepreneurs. They're more design oriented. They look at a white-box RV and say, 'Ugh, I can't be seen in that.'" [...]

Whatever the ratios, they all look worse when you're talking about an Airstream. The eight-metre rig the company is lending us costs $70,000 U.S.; a white-box travel trailer would go for half that.

Enthusiasts stage ambitious caravans. (Founder Byam himself thought nothing of setting off from Capetown to Cairoon in an African caravan.) They keep track of one another by way of large numbers painted on the trailers so that, whenever they see another Airstream on the road, they can look it up in the official registry.

They overnight in one another's driveways, a custom known as "courtesy parking." They band together in segregated "Airstream-only" RV parks. (Is that even legal?)

"Airstreamers don't consider themselves RVers," says Randy Bowman, an owner from San Diego who rolls up to us on his mountain bike. "They're a breed apart. It's a clique."

Information Sources
1. Neil, Dan. "Elegy for the Airstreamer". Canada.com. November 18, 2008.
http://www.canada.com/life/summer-guide/driving/Elegy+Airstreamer/827971/story.html (accessed January 7, 2010)