Across much of the western world there is a revival happening and it is showing no signs of slowing down. Throughout Canada, USA, Great Britain, much of Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand people are finding, restoring, showing and using vintage and classic caravans. There are online forums being created in all of these countries and clubs are also being formed.

The Wizard of Oz family painted on the interior of the door

Some of the most iconic vintage models, internationally, are old American caravans from the 1950s that sported the same panache as many 1950s American cars. The most famous of these is the Airstream, which became a legendary brand in the States.

The Airstream on show at the 2019 Repco Beach Hop

Airstream, still in operation today, was officially founded in 1931 by a lawyer called Wally Byam who started building travel trailers at home as a hobby during the late 1920s. Airstream was the only company out of 400 travel trailer (caravan) manufacturers to survive the great depression. The Airstream Clipper, produced in 1936, was the first model to feature the beginnings of the now recognisable Airstream shape. The idea for that shape came from the famous ‘Clipper’ flying boats, and was deliberately designed to lessen wind resistance when towing.

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