This 1964 Airstream Globetrotter has a lot going for it, namely its extra three feet of interior space yet still remaining in compliance with length requirements for the National Parks. Throw in its relatively low curb weight that makes it suitable for towing behind any rig with a basic factory towing package and you have a home run. Of course, the Globetrotter is not exactly a turnkey project at the moment, and the next owner will have to take it across the finish line before it hits the open road. Find it here on eBay with bidding up to $12,300 and no reserve. The camper is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the auction ends Sunday night.
You have to love these old-school designs, which seemingly created faces at certain angles of the exterior skin. Yes, I’m interpreting the taillights as eyes and the bumper as a mild smile. The Airstream certainly doesn’t gleam from the outside like restored examples do, and the seller notes that while the aluminum panels are free from major damage, it needs a good cleaning. That’s a bit of an understatement, perhaps, but plenty of these pull-behind campers have been restored to their original gleaming finish with a few weekends’ worth of elbow grease. The tires are new and some of the windows have been replaced with plexiglass to keep the insides secure.
And that’s a good thing, as the cabin still looks quite nice despite being this Airstream being an unrestored example. The listing notes the single-axle trailer is partially restored, and it’s hard to see where exactly it’s been refreshed. Aside from the tires and windows, I don’t see much else that’s been updated – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. No, the original 60s style is all the rage right now, and I imagine you could live with most of this with perhaps the exception of updating the carpets. The listing notes that the cabin features a futon-style bed, a front couch (storage underneath), stowable dining table, kitchen sink, four-top stove (untested) and the original refrigerator (untested). Untested is mentioned a lot throughout the listing, so you’ll have to do your own troubleshooting.
That extra three feet of space found in the Globetrotter got you this luxurious bathroom setup in the rear (at least by vintage camper trailer standards) with a shower and toilet, and the spacious kitchen unit found up front. This model apparently looks similar to a Bambi or Bambi II Airstream, but has that extra acreage carved out inside to incorporate these nice-to-have features. The subfloor is said to be solid, but any other evaluations are limited to verifying the plumbing and propane equipment are original to the Airstream and should probably be gone through. The listing mentions the seller has the camper listed locally with a sale price of $17,300, so there’s a chance you may be able to snag it for less in this no-reserve listing.
Airstreams are okay, but they’re nuts. Greedy creeps ruining this too, I mean, it’s not even shiny, an Airstream trademark. I’ve seen some nice Airstreams, with fancy woodwork and all, but this a poor example, for how much? Better be the best darn camping experience for this amount. Camping is, or was suppose to be a inexpensive, family experience,,, for $15g’s, sorry kids, no Carlsbad Caverns on this trip, fact is, the transmission on the minivan just blew, so there will be no vacation at all, but at least we got our $15 thousand dollar vintage camper,,,see how foolish it sounds?
But they are pulling it with a new diesel excursion or suburban now, which will not break down.
No Reserve. The market sets the price. I’m confused why this would be considered greedy. Airstreams look cool but not my bag, but I’ve seen people go Bat S**t crazy over a Porsche shell that would have been better served as a planter. I don’t see this as any different.
Greedy was the wrong word. Apparently, you are correct, and it is I that am horribly out of touch. The least expensive new Airstream “pull-behind”, is the “Basecamp”, starting at ( gulp) $38,400, and looks nothing like this, more like a bloated teardrop. The ones that have the traditional shape, the “Bambi”, starts at $49,900. What, do all you people make a million dollars a year? How many you going to sell at $50g’s? I guess therein lies the answer. Years ago, when everybody could afford one, they sold a bunch. Now, they sell one or two, gotta make up for it somehow.
Can you even tow anything with a mini van?
I towed a 1960 Shasta Airflyte across Canada from PEI to BC and down to California and then on and off Rt66 to Chicago to CT then back to PEI in summer of 2010 with a 2009 Toyota Sienna – no problems ever. Family vacation with wife and kids aged 13,11,and 9
15K is nothing compared to the 250K IKEA Spartan listed here a few days ago..
Who’s greedy? The sellers for running a no reserve auction?
Yes they are, because they had the audacity of having an opening bid of .99 cents.
Steve R
Howard that was the most hysterical post I’ve read here in quite some time!!! I guess you should tell the kids no Christmas either because we can’t afford the tree because are used air stream was so expensive!!! Keep it up Howard I need a good laugh once in a while!!!
Every summer when I was a kid we’d get hauled around the western US in my moms station wagon towing a trailer. It was a good way to see what this country had to offer. Air Streams were always beautiful, you knew they were a cut above everything else in the campground.
I remember watching a documentary on Air Streams at least a dozen years ago about their history and how there were clubs dedicated to them. I knew early trailers have been expensive for a long time but didn’t know it had extended to early-60’s models. It’s a no-reserve auction so I don’t know how anyone can claim the sellers are greedy. Like it or not, the market is speaking. Prices for all forms of RV’s are elevated at the moment and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. That’s a good thing considering it will get people off of airplanes and into ground level transportation where they will get exposed to more of the country than cities and attractions located near airports.
Steve R
Agreed. An airplane doesn’t do this country justice.
As a kid, we did a lot of camping too. Airstreams were always at the other end of the campground, usually with pristine views, while families like us, in their lowly Shasta or Friendship, were relegated to the “overflow” lot. You, then, should agree, this goes against the very fabric of what camping was intended for. Families, like ours, that didn’t have a lot of money, could enjoy the outdoors on a budget. Today, it’s not just the camper, it’s the cost of camping goods ( our Walmart rakes it in with a combine) permits, of which there are many, and excludes the very people that SHOULD be able to enjoy this. By the time they’re done with this, and RV stuff costs a fortune, it will be out of reach of most families. And it may not be the seller that’s greedy, although, I’m sure they knew full well it would go for a lot, it’s the people who buys this stuff. Too bad you’re poor,( for whatever reason) WE’RE going camping,,,and it’s the children who miss out. Won’t someone think of the children? Families don’t buy $50,000 campers, sorry.
What you describe doesn’t sound like anything I encountered. Overflow lots were for people that got there late in the evening after the regular campsites were full. I never heard, nor saw any that were segregated by the cost of your trailer. As a kid I was unaware of the class differences you describe. I guess I’m lucky my parents brought us up to react to people based on how they treated you in person and not on superficial assumptions such as the car you drive or camper you slept in.
Steve R
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a world of racism around me, and I saw it. I don’t mean to derail the post, but if certain campgrounds knew our religion, especially in the south, I GUARANTEE, we wouldn’t have been allowed to stay. One reason we didn’t have religious symbols hanging from the roof. It’s just how it was in the 60’s. People with Airstreams, with their special numbers indicating they are one of the “group”, usually traveled in large numbers, taking over most of the good spots. They had Cadillacs pulling their shiny campers, while my old man had a used police Suburban pulling a faded Shasta. You just didn’t “go over there” by the Airstream group. We still had fun, but from my view, there was a definite difference, plus having an old man that ragged on them for being “special” didn’t help a young boy’s attitude either.
The mopar of campers. I think air stream crowd smokes the same weed as the mopar guys do.
My dads friend had exactly the same as this one.first of all it was used as a camper then left for dead as a chicken 🐔 coup,then my friends dad used it for storage until he died.it was rotting out nothing but a shell on wheels.my buddy found a buyer from Pennsylvania he came to pick it up for twelve hundred dollars 💵 unbelievable!
I really think I want one of these, but am too cheap to pay the price. It would be magnificent polished.
The ad mentions the floors are in good condition, this is very important, because in building these, once the steel frame was set up, they installed a plywood floor over the frame, then built the entire body on top of that, including all the interior pieces. When the plywood rots out, the entire aluminum body has to be lifted off, after the interior has been gutted.
My friend traveled across the USA pre Covid… what surprised me was the cost of overnight stays. Man you could buy a lot of reasonably priced hotel rooms and still drive across the country.
Doesn’t anyone do tent camping anymore? The best times I ever had camping was truly “camping”. In a tent. Cooking over a fire. Walking down a trail to the outhouse. And kids would come from their motor homes and rolling houses of all sizes and makes to have breakfast with us, sitting on a log and dodging the smoke from the cooking bacon, eggs and pancakes. I’ll bet that’s a memory that’s as pleasant as any they garnered in their RV.
My hubby and I camped with our three girls in the 70s. Then came our son came and our third daughter we sent to a special school because she was diagnosed with autism. No one knew too much about that in those days. We continued to camp with our son while he was growing up, but when our daughter came home to live permently after 9 years, to keep her safe, we bought a 1964 Airstream Globe trotter and redid it. It is still mostly original and basically in good shape, but it has not been used in many years. Our life got really complicated and then last year, after 48 years, my hubby passed away. I have tried to talk myself into selling it, but I just can part with it. We you fall in love with someone or something it’s forever. So my kids with just have to deal with what they consider a relic after I die.
Nicki,
Perhaps you can take this opportunity to teach your children about what that trailer meant to their dad and you, and how deeply involved in their life that camper was. Give them [especially your son] the opportunity to continue making the trailer a part of the family’s legacy. This may provide a great way for your daughter to keep feeling connected.
I don’ think the new Airstream Bambi is overpriced at $49K. A poorly constructed Jayco Hummingbird (same length – 16′) is $25K. The Airstream will last easily 4X as long as the Jayco, plus is a much nicer trailer to sleep in (doesn’t make your eyes and throat burn with formaldehyde glue fumes). Factor in the amount of things to constantly fix in a cheap trailer (your time + frustration), and the Airstream is a bargain.
Unfortunately, most people can only see the initial price so they are suckered into buying junk. Don’t get me wrong, $49K is not chump change, but an Airstream holds it’s value (this 50 year old coach is already $12K+).
Lots of people get angry about other people’s tastes. Someone could have saved up for decades to get a nice trailer, being frugal to achieve that goal. You just never know. Others can spend $50K over a decade or so on cigarettes, beer, soda, and lottery tickets.
I bought a cheap trailer in 1999, it was worthless by 2005! If I’d have spent twice as much on an Airstream I might still have it.
Now I just save up my Hilton honors points. Sorry for the long post, kids.