Numbers and Names

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Boxite

As a WBBC Member we chose a number which was assigned/allowed as it was not being used by anyone else.

But we never applied the Big Red Number to our Airstream. Why?

Because the Original Purpose of the numbers on Airstreams was so that owners could recognize one another on the road, at rallies, and while participating in Caravans one could call another by Number on the C.B. radio. These days of cell-phones makes that obsolete.

The Problem with the Big Red Numbers is…. once applied…the sun will “imprint” the numbers and make it nearly impossible to not have their “shadow” forever imprinted where the numbers once resided. This can be an ugly mark and injure the re-sale value of the AS.

Why in hell anyone want those ugly numbers on their trailer these days is a puzzle to me. YMMV

CB radios have certainly given way to cell phones, but the BRNs have not lost their usefulness one bit. We've used them to make contact with other club members while on the road. It takes about one minute to get the full contact information for other members by looking up their BRN, including a phone number to call them on. Great way to make new friends.

The BRNs still serve their original purpose of being able to recognize other members at rallies and caravans as well. Not surprisingly, all Airstreams start to look identical when you get 40 or 50 parked side by side in a county fairground for a local rally, and the BRNs serve perfectly as the address for each trailer and are a great help finding someone.

And please keep in mind that 'ugly' is in the eye of the beholder. We like the look of our numbers and feel that they are visually a throwback to another era in Airstream life. If you don't like them, fine, don't get them. But there's no need to start being critical of others who are proud to display them on their trailer.

[overlander64]

Greetings Richard! I agree with you wholeheartedly!!

Originally Posted by richard5933

CB radios have certainly given way to cell phones, but the BRNs have not lost their usefulness one bit. We've used them to make contact with other club members while on the road. It takes about one minute to get the full contact information for other members by looking up their BRN, including a phone number to call them on. Great way to make new friends.

The BRNs still serve their original purpose of being able to recognize other members at rallies and caravans as well. Not surprisingly, all Airstreams start to look identical when you get 40 or 50 parked side by side in a county fairground for a local rally, and the BRNs serve perfectly as the address for each trailer and are a great help finding someone.

And please keep in mind that 'ugly' is in the eye of the beholder. We like the look of our numbers and feel that they are visually a throwback to another era in Airstream life. If you don't like them, fine, don't get them. But there's no need to start being critical of others who are proud to display them on their trailer.

I can still remember learning about those big numbers on the front and back of trailers when I was five some fifty-eight plus years ago. Friends of my family had purchased their second Airstream, a new 1964 Airstream and were visiting our family farm when I was five years old. They were stopping by on their way home from stopping in Virginia to have one of my uncles, a professional sign painter, paint the numbers on their trailer. That sparked my interest in Airstreams, and my mother often said she didn't think that I was going to give up until I owned an Airstream. Those Big Red Numbers are proudly displayed on both my Airstream and Argosy, and were among the first things that I did after purchasing each trailer. When I was looking for a pre-owned Airstream in 1995, it was a plus to me if it displayed those Big Red Numbers as it said to me that it belonged to someone who had used, enjoyed, and likely lovingly cared for the trailer.

I didn't learn the full value of the Big Red Numbers until I attended my first International Rally in 1998 and participated in my first Caravan in 1999. At a large Rally like the International, those Big Red Numbers are an important part of your emergency address should First Responders need to find your Airstream in an emergency, while also making it easier for friends you make at the Rally as well as long time friends to find your Airstream. When traveling on a Caravan, those Big Red Numbers provide a means of keeping participants spaced apart with adequate following distances on two-lane roads -- the general instruction being if you can identify the number on the Airstream ahead of you, you are too close.

I still enjoy looking up the Big Red Numbers in my membership book as we travel when I am fortunate enough to be the passenger. When traveling to and from a rally or caravan, I also carry a portable CB radio as well as a handheld family band radio that can still be useful for communication when on the road. If I remember correctly, we have the option of having our phone numbers published in the membership directory which for many could serve a similar purpose to the CB Radio since so many have their smart phones tethered to their tow vehicle's infotainment systems.

This is my year to install new numbers on both of my trailers as the old numbers are a bit weather worn having been in use for a decade.

[Thiss]

An Airstream just doesn’t look right without the BRNs. Didn’t flinch a bit putting them on my brand new unit. Didn’t give two squints about the ghost numbers on my vintage unit. I really appreciated being able to learn my 71 Overlander’s history from the Ghosting. How it belonged to a history teacher from Minnesota and how they later became club leadership and got a smaller number.

Buy the Airstream, join the club, drink the Kool Aid and slap those numbers on.

[Minno]

The BRN's are great conversation starters with non-AS campers all the time. We've been asked what they mean any number of times with the funniest theory being they are numbers put on for "rental units". We just laugh, explain, and say we don't know any AS owners who would rent their AS out! We proudly display our number, which was also my parent's number (we were lucky to get it).

If you don't want them, don't get them. We like ours....


Kay

[215Airhaus]

I love the BRN. We don't have it on the rig, but we have a display piece that we deploy when we settle in to our new homesites. Huge advantage when networking on the road.

[TR Anderson]

Originally Posted by richard5933

.....please keep in mind that 'ugly' is in the eye of the beholder. We like the look of our numbers and feel that they are visually a throwback to another era in Airstream life. If you don't like them, fine, don't get them. But there's no need to start being critical of others who are proud to display them on their trailer.

You got that right, Richard. Seven years ago, I bought an old, very used 1972 25' Trade Wind with the 5 digit numbers all but worn off. When I polished the old girl, I was careful to NOT eliminate them. I had found out from Overlander64 (?) that it was originally owned by "Bob and Irene" from Michigan, who took it to Florida a few times, once out west, and a couple years up in Cadillac, Michigan over a couple decades of use. With a little research, I found that Irene had passed away and Bob moved back to his hometown. He sold the Airstream and passed away not long after. I think I may have purchased it from the second owner, long after.

But I'm leaving the numbers on it, front and back, as a memorial to Bob and Irene and a tribute to their love of an Airstream and a long life together on the road.

[Bearstream01]

Originally Posted by TR Anderson

But I'm leaving the numbers on it, front and back, as a memorial to Bob and Irene and a tribute to their love of an Airstream and a long life together on the road.

Awwwww, thats so sweet!

[moosetags]

We have had three Airstreams over the years. They have all been named Lucy. We have also always mounted the Big Red numbers. Without those number, it's just not an Airstream.


Brian

[redthies]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Without those number, it's just not an Airstream.

Nope,I just checked my registration, and it’s STILL an Airstream even without the numbers…

That said, I am trying to find the history on the ghost numbers on my ‘63 and if they are available, I’ll ask for them.