If Airstreams could talk, you’d probably hear some great stories from the first days of this 1965 Airstream Globetrotter. The wonderful thing about fellow ‘streamers and vintage RVer’s is their willingness to offer help and advice.
By Dena Marean
Dubbed “The Banana Boat,” one can only imagine the many Mai Tai’s, Daquiris and umbrella drinks that might have been sipped in its proximity. Found on Craigslist, like most vintage Airstreams, this trailer wasn’t in great shape, but now it is being given new life by a devoted restorer, who, from what she told us, is doing an enormous amount of research.
Dena Marean invited us up to Mill Creek, just north of Seattle, to see her 20 ft. Airstream in process of being fully restored. She has a wonderful story of how she came to love ‘streaming, but I’m sure she’ll tell it when she begins writing about it in her own way. Suffice it to say, she spent many days in a campground wishing she had better cover, and a more comfortable way of camping in our weather challenged Northwestern climate.
In October, 2014 Dena embarked on an amazing adventure piecing each part of the trailer back together from scratch. She trailered her new investment from Gold Bar, Oregon to Mill Creek. When we saw it, the hull was lifted in the air on some homemade lifts and was undergoing panel replacement and window repair. The chassis underwent a full rust abatement program of sandblasting, frame welding and being newly painted.
Dena has amazing friends who are letting her use their large barn and workshop to help her restore her dream. She hopes to have the hull completely restored by March and is now working with a designer to begin thinking up a cool interior. Dena is partial to the Ralph Lauren look from the ‘90s – a sort of classic Americana meets great outdoors.
Meanwhile, she plans a solar power set up with LED lighting, a composting toilet, outdoor shower, and a pony keg tap in keeping with the trailer’s history of fun. She also plans to restore the original shine to the Airstream’s hull by spending hours polishing away years of neglect.
It is amazing to see all of the things she’s thought of already, and, like remodeling a home, there are so many choices to make and people to talk to. The wonderful thing about fellow ‘streamers and vintage RVer’s is their willingness to offer help and advice in the friendliest possible ways.
In June, Dena plans to find a tow vehicle, pack up her Harley-Davidson, paddleboard, and windsurfing gear, and head out on the road. She also plans to attend vintage trailer rallies across the country. She hopes her first stop is the Roslyn, WA, Vintage Trailer Rally, where the TV show “Northern Exposure” was filmed.
With each step being completed in the renewal process, Dena is closer to her dream of life on the road.
This article was originally published in issue 19 of the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine.
