[VAC] Re: serial #'s

[RJ & Krista <radiodial@xxxxxxxx>]

Hope this'll help you sleep.

18 D 0136 is a 1959 18 foot Traveler, made in California.  The reason
that there is no roof line vents is that the furnace is under the floor
and the refer vents out the side.  The typical floor plan is just as you
describe, but there should a dinette in the front. 

They were made in 1958-1959 with 40XX and 18 D 0XXX s/n's.

If I ever come across one, Krista has given me approval to buy it - she
likes the size & layout (full time bed & a dinette)  It is a lot like
the modern Bambi's.  They are really, uh, "crowded" though, as opposed
to our '60's 17' Caravel that is very spacious with its front & side
sofa beds which is great for entertaining & traveling I guess....

Similar trailers that they are confused with are:

• The 1954-1959 18' Globetrotter (both plants), bed across the back, no
bathroom. OH had O-20XX to O-22XX serial numbers, CA had 32XX s/n's. 
Many hundreds of these were made.

• The 1959(?)-1960 18' Caravel (OH),  bed streetside, bath curbside and
18 Y XXX s/n's (Y=9 for 1959, 0 for 1960).

• Thrown in there is the 1954 18'  "Wanderer" with its rare rear twin
beds, made in Ohio (s/n O-2600).  Records show that maybe only one of
these were built.

The reason that I went into such great detail is that this is one of the
gray areas of the Airstream model listings.  All these 18 foot trailers
were all built on the same platform and were without any model
nameplates.  What I'm hoping is that someone on this list of 300, who
has one of these 18 footers, will contact me with any additional
information they have relating to years, serial #'s, layouts or
published material.

Happy Holidays all,
RJ
VintageAirstream.com