Research by WBCCI Number?

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by beachhutlife

Hi Joe,

New here and been given this thread because I asked if anyone had any knowledge of our new pride and joy.

I see you're really busy, but when you have time if you could have a look for #6481 for us we'd love to hear about the history/owners.

We think our 1962 Tradewind came from New Jersey. We've owned her for a month now here in the south of England. We have no paperwork at all so any information is great for us.

Look forward to hearing if you can trace anything - when time allows.

Many thanks

Sara

Hi Sara,
#6481 was first assigned in 1962, so that is very appropriate for your '62 Tradewind.

Unfortunately the first Directory I have that lists #6481 is 1966, which reflects membership as of 12/31/1965. Thus I cannot tell you who may have owned your Tradewind between 1962 and 1965.

However, I can tell you that in the 1966-71 Directories, #6471 was assigned to Howard and Wilma James of Charlotte, Michigan. The James' are not listed as having participated on any caravans. They may well have been the original assignees in 1962, but I can't prove or disprove it.

#6481 is then unassigned in 1972-75, before being reassigned in 1976-98 to William and Kathleen Hall, of Sheefield, Alabama, no caravans. #6481 is then unassigned in 1999-2003 before being reassigned to someone from New Jersey in 2004-11 (still members, name and city withheld for privacy reasons).

I guess I am not sure if you are stating that your Tradewind came from New Jersey when you bought it or if you think it came from New Jersey earlier in it's life. I can't tell you if the original owner in 1962 lived in New Jersey or not, but I tend to think of the numbers on the Tradewind are very old, they were originally assigned in 1962. I would tend to guess the James' from Michigan were the original assignees, and likely the original owners of your Tradewind, but it is certainly possible that someone else, possibly from New Jersey, bought your Tradewind and joined the WBCCI in 1962, but then did not renew some time between 1963 and 1965, before the number was reassigned to the James.

On the other hand, if the numbers on your Tradewind look much newer, it might be possible that the current members that are assigned #6481 and that currently live in New Jersey may have sold your trailer at some point after they joined the club.

That's the best I can do. Enjoy your "new to you" Airstream!

[Silver Otter]

Originally Posted by 66Overlander

Hi Greg & Linda,
Keeping consistent with my past practices, I will not research the entire history of WBCCI #1927 since that number is not on an old Airstream you have, but instead is the number recently assigned to you. But I am happy to provide a little background on your number . . .

#1927 was first assigned in 1958. The first directory I have that SHOULD list that number is 1960, but #1927 was already unassgined by then. In my next two Directories, 1966 and 1968, #1927 is assigned to someone with the last name "Bartner" in the numerical listings, but not the alphabetic listings, so they must have been a late renewal those years and I have no further information.

Finally in the 1969 Directory, #1927 has been reassigned to C. Wright McKnight of Milledgeville, GA. C. Wright McKnight is last listed in the 1985 Directory, then in Poughkeepsie, NY with two caravans listed:

[*]78 - Yucatan Winter 1971[*]87 - Western Canada Summer 1972

#1927 was unassigned in 1986 and I did not check any more recently, but I am sure such a low number has been reassigned one or more times between then and the recent reassignment to you.

#1927 is a "cool" number - enjoy it! And here is a big "Welcome to the club!" Definitely try out some WBCCI events to get maximum enjoyment out of your membership. Caravans are a lot of fun if you have the time to try one out.

Thank you, Joe, for giving us some sense of history. We are proud to carry on the traditions. Hope to spot many more members out there. This trip (since Easter day) has resulted in three sightings. We are entering them in to our log.

[CanoeCalm]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

If your trailer has no numbers, the previous owners were either not members of the WBCCI or if they were, they did not put the numbers on the trailer. With out the numbers to work with, there is very little hope of tracing the history of the trailer.

You can contact the office of the WBCCI to see if the number you want is available and have that number assigned when you join.
http://www.wbcci.org/index.cfm?pageSRC=Contact_Us

I have to say Mr. David Greenberg's method (all volunteer) with GMCnet has the correct way of registering. The Airstream SN should be the way to register.
It always stays with the unit.
This would be a (adjective) task to take on with Airstreams at this point in time. Should have been the way to register from inception.
People whom own is important to some...the actual history of the machine is more important to many others.

[L'air 1960]

Hello all,new to thee board.i have a 1960 overlander i saw thee imprint of thee old numbers (#7793) and also thee caravan sticker,just curious if you could find any info on this for me. i do know that there's a piece of sticker left & it looks to say philadephia on it!i also know that it spent some of it's life in new jersey, but other than that not a clue,any help is welcomed, thanks again in advance!

[Jklep65]

This is the card I found in my trailer.

[Bambi1963]

Hello:
My husband's grandparents, Frank and Barbara Thompson were WBCCI members for many years, I am pretty sure they were #1045. We have their old Bambi and are working to fix it up. They had (possibly several) a bigger trailer that they traveled in and we are interested in knowing if they ever did any of the big rallies or caravans.
Thanks! Anne Anderson

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by MontanaAIR

New to the world of aluminum but have secretly battled the addiction for 8+ years! Picked up my first Airstream about 3+ weeks ago and was directed to your postings as it was mentioned you could provide some history on it.

I have a 1958 Flying Cloud and the original WBCCI number on the trailer is 4821. It is apparent that the trailer traveled a bit as it has an original rally sticker in the front window (going to try to preserve it during the restoration). The Wally Caravan badges have faded but can be seen beneath the WBCCI numbers. Top of the trailer was painted but when removing the paint the numbers are red as expected. Thank you so much for all your invaluable time!

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,
#4821 was first assigned in 1961. The first Directory I have that lists #4821 is 1966. In that Directory, #4821 is assigned to Frank and Genevieve Varnum of Polson, Montana. Most interestingly, they are credited with participating on Caravan 31 - Western Mexico Fall 1962, aligning with the sticker you found on your Flying Cloud and almost assuredly meaning the Varnums were the original assignees for #4821 in 1961. Genevieve is still listed in the 1973 Directory, but not the 1975 Directory (I have no 1974 Directory). Fred is last listed in the 1979 Directory, still in Polson, MT and he is then also credited with a second caravan, 102 - Mexico Guatemala Winter 1975, which he must have participated on without Genevieve. Of course, I cannot prove that Fred still had your '58 Flying Cloud in 1975, but he might have still had it.

#4821 is then unassigned from 1980-86, before being reassigned to Mark Carpenter of Pensacola, FL in 1987-91, no caravans. #4821 is then unassigned in 1992-93, before being reassigned to Ken and Marni Brooks of Prudenville, MI in 1994-96, no caravans. #48231 is then unassigned in 1997-2001, before being reassigned more recently to couples from Oregon and Georgia.

Given that the Varnums were from Montana and you are from Montana, I'd say the Varnums owned your Flying Cloud and the other couples that were later assigned #4821 did not own it.

It's great that your Airstream has documented Mexico caravan history! Enjoy it!

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by Jklep65

Quick question! How possible would it have been that my 1977 never had numbers at all? And if you don't have numbers are there other way of finding what numbers they might have been?? And if u sign up for the numbers cam you pick your own?

Originally Posted by Jklep65

Ok cool thanks!! Sorry one other question even with original owners name?

Originally Posted by Jklep65

This is the card I found in my trailer.

Hi Jklep65,
As others have stated, it is certainly possible that the previous owner(s) of your 1977 Overlander never joined WBCCI. I checked for a Hugh Brooks from State College, PA as shown on the Owners Card you got with your Airstream. I don't have a 1977 Directory, but there is no Hugh Brooks listed in the 1978-85 Directories. I decided to stop looking after that figuring that if he did not join the club in the first 8 years he potentially owned your Overland, he likely never joined it.

Sorry I can't be of more help. Enjoy your Airstream!

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by CanoeCalm

I have to say Mr. David Greenberg's method (all volunteer) with GMCnet has the correct way of registering. The Airstream SN should be the way to register.
It always stays with the unit.
This would be a (adjective) task to take on with Airstreams at this point in time. Should have been the way to register from inception.
People whom own is important to some...the actual history of the machine is more important to many others.

Hi CanoeCalm,
There are shortcomings to all methods. Many members change Airstreams during their period of membership and own multiple Airstreams at the same time (I currently have the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Airstreams I have owned since joining the club). How would you assign numbers in such a case? Would such members get multiple numbers? Would they change numbers when they sold one Airstream and bought another? Overall, I tend to agree with the club that the number should remain with the member, not the Airstream.

If it is true that the membership number should remain with the member, it would be a lot of additional work to record the serial numbers of all Airstreams owned by all members, especially when that can change at any time. I am not ready to sign up for this effort and I expect few others would volunteer. Additionally, I would expect that many members would not want to be required to provide such information to the club.

I guess in the end, this is a social club centered on the concept of owning and using Airstreams. it is not an Airstream preservation and restoration society (although many members, especially VAC intraclub members, do quite a bit of that preservation and restoration). In the end, I think the number of people interested in these prior ownership details are a minority, so it is not a big concern for the club as a whole.

That's my opinion, anyway. Have fun with your Airstream whether you know who used to own it or not!

[berickn]

I purchased mine in 08' 1972 tradewind. My number is 29024...anyone have that number.

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by L'air 1960

Hello all,new to thee board.i have a 1960 overlander i saw thee imprint of thee old numbers (#7793) and also thee caravan sticker,just curious if you could find any info on this for me. i do know that there's a piece of sticker left & it looks to say philadephia on it!i also know that it spent some of it's life in new jersey, but other than that not a clue,any help is welcomed, thanks again in advance!

It's been a while since I answered one, so here goes . . .

#7793 was first assigned in 1962. The first two WBCCI Membership Directories I have the list #7793 are 1966 and 1968. In both, #7793 is assigned to someone with the last name "Lukken" in the numerical entries, but there is no Lukken listed in the alphabetic listings. This likely happened because the Lukkens renewed too late to be listed both years, but it leaves me unable to tell you even where they lived. I have no way of knowing if the Lukkens were the original assignees back in 1962.

#7793 is then unassigned in 1969, before being reassigned in 1970 to Louis and Berndadine Thomas of Fayettevile, NC. The Thomas' are last listed in 1976, no caravans.

I have no 1977 Directory, but #7793 is unassigned in 1978 before being reassgined in 1979 to Douglas and Phylis Parker of Ukiah, CA. The Parkers are last listed in 2001 in Redding, CA. They are listed for the following caravans:

• 158 - Eastern Canada Summer 1985
• 205 - Baja Adventure 1992

#7793 has been unassigned since then. I have no way of knowing whether the Lukkens, the Thomas', or the Parkers may have owned your 1960 Overlander. The best chance of proof would be finding one of their names on some paperwork you may have received with the trailer.

In any case, enjoy your Overlander!

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by Bambi1963

Hello:
My husband's grandparents, Frank and Barbara Thompson were WBCCI members for many years, I am pretty sure they were #1045. We have their old Bambi and are working to fix it up. They had (possibly several) a bigger trailer that they traveled in and we are interested in knowing if they ever did any of the big rallies or caravans.
Thanks! Anne Anderson

Hi Anne, I'll do one more tonight . . .

It's great that you have your grandparents Airstream!

#1045 was first assigned in 1957. That number is unassigned in my 1960 Membership Directory. In my next Directory, 1966, #1045 is indeed assigned to Frank and Barbara Thompson of Normal, Illinois. Frank and Barbara are still listed in 1979, still in Normal, Il. They are listed for one caravan: 83 - Mexico Fall 1971. #1045 is again listed for "Thompson" in the numerical listings in 1980, but not in the alphabetic listings (late renew?).

#1045 is then unassigned in 1981 before being reassigned to someone from West Virginia in 1982. I didn't check after that.

As for your grandparents, I have no way of knowing when they may have owned your '63 Bambi and when they may have owned other Airstreams (if any). It does sort of seem likely that they may have bought the Bambi new in 1963 and then joined the club somewhere between 1963 and 1965 (the 1966 Directory lists membership as of 12/31/1965).

I also cannot prove what Airstream they took on the 1971 Mexican Caravan, but it might be nice to assume it was yours!

Have fun with your Bambi!

[alclad]

maybe you can find these: 8157 and maybe 1913. (the second 1 in 1913 is my best guess)

found these ghosts on our 61 bambi.

if you could with this, many thanks

don & karen

[Darkspeed]

16202 as well please!

Thank you!

[61Bambi]

i just bought a 1959 Flying Cloud wih the faded number 198 on the front end cap, nothing on the rear. The trailer has a South Carolina dealer's chrome logo (Skyway Travelers' Rest, S.C.) riveted next to its door. On the inside, there is a small metal plaque from the 1964 WBCCI Internatinal Rally in Princeton, N.J. I bought the trailer in S.C., so I think it probably spent most of its life there. Would anyone know who the original owners were, or any history of the trailer?

[bennyg]

I have a 1973 Safari with #11900. I was just hoping to get some info. Thanks, Ben

[higgy116]

I have been wondering about the history of my numbers, 10424 was on my Airstream when I rescued it form a slow death, they where available so I kept the same numbers when I joined but I have been wondering if there was any way to find out the history of the numbers. Anyone have any ideas?

[bennyg]

Originally Posted by bennyg

I have a 1973 Safari with #11900. I was just hoping to get some info. Thanks, Ben

i even purchased the 1976 wbcci yearbook in hopes of finding anything. no luck! it was the bicentennial rally in Louisville, KY yearbook right across the river from me.

[HiHoAgRV]

Here's an odd one...does anyne know when/where/why my '63 has these small numbers on both ends?

No showdows at all of WBCCI numbers.

[Dave Park]

I am currently working on a 1956 Sovereign of The Road, 30 footer, serial number 05081, which carries the WBCCI numbers 3295. The plate shows it was last registered in California in 1981, but it was recovered from Washington State.

Any history anyone can shed light on?