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JimGolden · 05-16-2006, 08:57 PM

Howdy All,

I've been doing some looking at Streamline and Silver Streak trailers and have to say I really like them. This got me to wondering:

You see these campgrounds that are "Airstream Only." If you rolled in there with a Streamline or Silver Streak, would they let you in or tell you to hit the road? Are they truly Airstream Only, or Silver Only?

My grandpa used to stay at a campground that switched to Airstream Only while he had his owned/leased/whatever-you-call-it site with his 35' Holiday Rambler. They let him keep it there, but he had to pay more than the Airstreamers. He since sold the Rambler and got a '73 25' Airstream. Paid less, but he didn't like the loss of room. Not sure what he's going to do...the '73 is for sale and he's got two motorhomes. He's also got a '58 Traveler that I'm trying to get from him to supplement the Excella.

Anyway, I really like the looks of the Streamline trailers, and was just wondering if they'd let you in to an Airstream Only park or run you off.

Thanks,

Darol Ingalls · 05-16-2006, 09:08 PM

Let's think about this: "Airstream Only". Sounds like pretty plain English to me.

pinkflamingoes · 05-16-2006, 09:14 PM

It couldn't hurt to call and ask, maybe two or three parks, and see what they say. I'd guess they all have different answers. Are there a lot of them?

Ultradog · 05-16-2006, 09:32 PM

I'm betting that they are having to pay their mortgage much as the rest of us do. I'd be surprised to see one quibble over a few Blue letters and turn down a good customer in a Streamline.

Shacksman · 05-16-2006, 10:09 PM

Try Top of Georgia or Mystic Springs and see how far you don't get with that non Airstream or non WBCCI for that matter even with an Airstream.

ZoominC6 · 05-17-2006, 06:18 AM

We're excited about staying with our fellow Airstreamers at Highland Haven Airstream Park in the VA highlands next month. Upon calling to make arrangements, no mention was made of WBCCI membership as a prerequisite for staying with them for a night or a month. Hmmmm. Friends who just purchased a spot at HH will be picking out their spot this weekend so maybe we'll learn more from them about the fine points of membership.

dmac · 05-17-2006, 07:04 AM

There are so few Airstream-only parks that, to me, they would not be a factor in purchasing a trailer. But I much prefer Forest Service and State Park campgrounds over full-hookup trailer parks, so your priorities may vary.

JimGolden · 05-17-2006, 08:08 AM

Well I was just curious. I find it strangely amusing, humorous in fact. It borders on being hoity-toity.

If one does the history, they find that Streamline was created by some guys at Airstream who thought the quality was slipping and so set out to build a better mouse trap. Those guys later on couldn't agree on how beefy to build the frame and Silver Streak was born. I believe Streamline uses two main frame rails (generally beefier than Airstream used) whereas Silver Streak used three.

As well, Wally Bam didn't invent the aluminum semi-monocoque trailer. Hawley Bowlus (a former production manager at an airplane factory) did, and Wally was one of hs salesmen who bought him out when the company was going under.

I own an Airstream, I like it a lot. I've not yet made a side by side comparison to a Streamline or a Silver Streak. Nobody I know has either of the other two. But from everything I've been able to find out about them, they are made at least as well as Airstreams are. Most people say they're made better.

It puts me in mind of the Harley Davidson guys. I've ridden Harleys. Some of them are nice bikes, but there are other brands that are at least as good and some are much better in many regards.

A person posted some pics on here just the other night taken at a storage facility of a bunch of Airstreams. Several of them were actually Streamlines and Silver Streaks.

Anyway, I was just curious if it was Airstream brand specific or Airstream in the generic, as the term "Airstream" is pretty much used like the term "Kleenex" or "Windex" or "Scoth Tape" to describe any riveted aluminum semi-monocoque style trailer.

Personally I treat campers pretty much like I do bikes. There are several really good ones out there and I like many of them.

vajeep · 05-17-2006, 09:58 AM

We did just join Highland Haven Airstream Park.
http://www.vahighlandhaven.org/

Check out the website if you want more information. As far as WBCCI, there is no mention of that in our rules and regulations.
As far as RVs :
"Any RV, other than Airstreams used by guests or relatives of a member, will be permitted in the park as long as the stockholder is present and space is available. Applicable rates apply. No other brand of RV's will be refused one night's parking, however non-Airstreams will be requested to find another campground the next day."
Sounds sort of like a buddy rally, I can invite others as long as I am there and any other RV can spend the night just to check out the place.

Abe

Chaplain Kent · 05-17-2006, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimGolden

Well I was just curious. I find it strangely amusing, humorous in fact. It borders on being hoity-toity.

.

We stayed at the Top of Georgia Airstream park recently and found them to be anything but "hoity- toity." The people were very friendly. No one complained about our dog who walks with me everywhere I go and sometimes even off of the leash. The facilities were top notch and you could not beat the price. It was fun walking through the park and seeing all of the Airstreams. Although we do have our red numbers on Chummy they did not ask for proof of membership in WBCCI. When we arrived they were more concerned we got into a spot of our liking and that we knew we were welcome. After a few days we did leave in favor of a state park only because of our love of camp fire cooking and long hiking trails.
Top of Georgia is high on my list of friendly satisfying campgrounds. If you are pulling or driving an Airstream and are anywhere in their area plan to stop for a spell, you will not be disappointed.

herrgirdner · 05-17-2006, 10:32 AM

My wife and I spent last Friday night at Highland Haven. This is a beautiful campground and the description on their web site is true. No hype. We felt welcome, and certainly plan to drop by in the future. The nearby town of Floyd is well worth a visit as it is much like the small towns used to be before Sam Walton destroyed them.

JimGolden · 05-17-2006, 12:32 PM

I'm going to have to check out Highland Heaven. It does sound nice, and I'm not that far away.

Hope I didn't offend anybody, but I've even ridden a Goldwing to a bike rally (99% H-D)...I just parked WAYYYYY out back

I saw in this book I have where there's a couple of all silver ralleys. The guy who wrote the book took a lot of pics there. It was predominantly Airstream, but they had a few of the other brands too. It was cool to see them all. Someday I'd like to attend one. Like I said, I've never even seen a real Streamline or Silver Streak. Actually, I don't see that many Airstreams on the road...mainly just white boxes

2airishuman · 05-17-2006, 12:49 PM

hi jim and others

some of the parks are wbcci and/or airstream exclusive while others have relaxed the rules to allow sobs....

there is nothing hotty totty about this....
many of these 'land yachts harbors' are cooperatively owned and governed by the memberships....
some folks buy lots exactly because of the rules/limits about who or what will be next door.

these are homeowners assoications or private clubs with rules that reflect this....
wbbci membership might be the main issue and IT IS one of the perks of membership.

since traveling with an airstream is somewhat uncommon.....
camping in a general and public campground means the airstream owner sticks out.....
leading to questions, comments and judgements by others.....
this is ok sometimes, other times the comments aren't proper or welcome.

sometimes i just wanna camp.
after 25 years in an a/s i don't spend every waking moment thinking about the trailer.....so visiting a land yacht harbor is comforting....finally we can just blend into the masses.

i've thought about a '5th wheel cover' to mask the air.....
but i do still like looking at it...always and on every trip.

the best way to enjoy any of the vintage silver tubes from days past
is to go to the tincan tourist rallies or other vintage functions....
all of the variety and well cared for units.....are amazing.

cheers
2air'

ViewRVs · 05-17-2006, 04:00 PM

Top of Georgia is Airstream/WBCCI ONLY.

Mystic Springs just requires an Airstream. WBCCI is not required but you will hear a pitch. Nice place. Mystic does allow non-Airstreams traveling with a fellow Airstreamer in a caravan (last time ai checked).

Free Airstream Parks Listing

HP9K · 05-21-2006, 05:50 AM

I think some parks have changed with time as the population of Airstreamers has declined. Palmetto Cove in SC was A/S only, but last time I was there they were allowing other brands to camp there and they were encouraging rallies from the FMCA and Holiday Rambler groups.

Christmas Airstream Park in Florida allows other brands, as does Land Yacht Harbour in Melbourne, FL - they have allotted 50 of their sites for non-Airstream products.

TCPC in Crossville, TN is A/S only, but they will allow lot owners to have guests park on their lots with other brands.

TheCountess · 05-21-2006, 11:04 AM

Delighted to see your post!! I purchased my '71 Streamline Countess over a year ago.

It had been a long-term goal for me to, one day, own an Airstream. Airstreams danced through my dreams every night, I talked of nothing but of my desire to own an Airstream, I looked at thousands of Airstreams on the net, in the newspaper and at deal lots.

The day had arrived, I had saved and dreamt long enough!! What I discovered, to my disappointment, is that I had missed the boat. The Airstreams that I could afford on my humble savings had been well used and abused and I was in no position to take on a project of that magnitude...my desire was simple: I wanted to nest and camp in my new trailer. One day, while perusing the RV Trader, I saw her!!!

She glimmered, she gleamed, her lines were curvy and soft...she had nary a pock mark in her perfect aluminum skin and she was donning a fresh new awning. My heart stood still. Best of all the price was right, and a little spare change too. Her wonderful being and good nature seemed to have gone largely unoticed by the herds of aluminum lovers, AH HA... my good fortune!! With sweaty palms and heart-a-racing I drove to the nearby mountain town where she lived. As I turned the corner and saw her radiant self sitting in the drive way I knew...with no doubt she would be mine. As I crested the glorious threshold of her well designed entrance and my eyes fell apon the divine spaces within, I was thrilled beyond belief. Very little had been altered of her interior and she was 99% original and functional. She had been well loved and cared for by her 3 previous owners. I discovered that day there were also many things that I truly prefered in her design and function. And, the better I have come to know her the more in love I am.

I have traveled and lived in my Streamline as a workamper. We have been to New Mexico, California, and now Colorado. There have been virtually no surprises, and I whole-heartedly recommend Streamline. The biggest challenge for me has been connecting with other Streamline owners. There don't seem to be a vast number of them out there and there is little to no information to be found about them.

If you purchase a Streamline I hope to hear from you. I'd love to see a forum for us that would provide information and insight into these fabulous tin cans!!

The Countess

JimGolden · 05-23-2006, 07:40 PM

After reading your replies and thinking on this awhile, I think perhaps I had the wrong idea about these parks.

I was formerly under the impression of a sort of "snobbery" by excluding all other brands. But I'm thinking now that maybe many of these parks were set up long ago in the spirit of Wally's caravanning and primarily toward his idea of "land yacht harbors." As such, maybe only the Airstreamers were the only ones doing the serious traveling, and these parks were created by that group to support themselves.

Also a very good point was made about pulling into the X campground in the polished tube among the sea of white corrugated metal and getting grilled by every other guy in the park. I've not yet taken my Airstream camping and so have not experienced this. I could see where that could get to be a drag.

So anyway, I shall concede that I may have been dead wrong about the Airstream-Only parks. When I get mine back on the road, I will definitely have to check out a few.

I still like Streamlines though

!

whacksplat · 05-17-2009, 07:55 AM

When I was in Floyd, VA Camping ( I had a popup at the time) on the return trip home I stopped by Highland Haven, was welcomed with open arms. I stopped by just to look around, seeing as I was in the area. Was even offered a site to spend the night. Didn't take them up on it(had to get home), but did chat with the host for the better part of an hour, talking about Airstreams, and assorted good stuff. Having since upgrade to an AS, should stop by during my travels and tell them I made the jump!
As for Top of Georgia (my unit), I stopped by for a trial run, it's fantastic.

Meet Willa, the Winter host of Top of Georgia

Interviewed Willa for my blog. How could you get nicer than her? definitely helped us out a lot on our first trip of the season.
Buddy rallies allow for non AS campers as well, was told about that.

PeeWee · 05-17-2009, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimGolden

Well I was just curious. I find it strangely amusing, humorous in fact. It borders on being hoity-toity.

If one does the history, they find that Streamline was created by some guys at Airstream who thought the quality was slipping and so set out to build a better mouse trap. Those guys later on couldn't agree on how beefy to build the frame and Silver Streak was born. I believe Streamline uses two main frame rails (generally beefier than Airstream used) whereas Silver Streak used three.

As well, Wally Bam didn't invent the aluminum semi-monocoque trailer. Hawley Bowlus (a former production manager at an airplane factory) did, and Wally was one of hs salesmen who bought him out when the company was going under.

I own an Airstream, I like it a lot. I've not yet made a side by side comparison to a Streamline or a Silver Streak. Nobody I know has either of the other two. But from everything I've been able to find out about them, they are made at least as well as Airstreams are. Most people say they're made better.

It puts me in mind of the Harley Davidson guys. I've ridden Harleys. Some of them are nice bikes, but there are other brands that are at least as good and some are much better in many regards.

A person posted some pics on here just the other night taken at a storage facility of a bunch of Airstreams. Several of them were actually Streamlines and Silver Streaks.

Anyway, I was just curious if it was Airstream brand specific or Airstream in the generic, as the term "Airstream" is pretty much used like the term "Kleenex" or "Windex" or "Scoth Tape" to describe any riveted aluminum semi-monocoque style trailer.

Personally I treat campers pretty much like I do bikes. There are several really good ones out there and I like many of them.

To Whom it May Concern

Wally Byam founded Airstream in 1932. He saw that Bowlus had problems and took over the Bowlus product. He redesigned it and made it his own. The Silver Streak was born when Wally separated himself from Curtis-Wright in 1946-47. Wally brought back Airstream. Streamline if I'm not mistaken was a take off from the Silver Streak branch, not Airstream.

Whatever, the aircraft constructed trailers have a place in history, and pride in ownership.

The hoity-toity reference is rather poor. You need to understand that in 1955 Airstream owners, not Airstream, wanted to form a Club for Airstream owners only. Good Sam's club came later, and if you wish, is open to all makes.

Like anyone starting a copycat product, you may try to make it better, different, and competitive with the mother-product.

Avion was made from taking an Airstream apart, rivet-by-rivet, cabinet-by-cabinet. Also they tried to pass their product off, at the beginning, as the same as Airstream.

At their first public viewing at Notre Dame, they used Airstream literature. Their product they were showing was an exact duplicate of the Airstream.

History is interesting when we talk about Airstream. I don't believe that any Airstream history buff dismisses that Wally didn't originate the aircraft construction methods used by Bowlus. They take pride in the man that was able to do this in the middle of the depression. That is very noteworthy.

The difference between Bowlus and Byam, is sucess.

The difference between Airstream, Streamline, Silver Streak, and Avion is Airstream is still in production.

Just a few thoughts.

ZoominC6 · 05-18-2009, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whacksplat

When I was in Floyd, VA Camping ( I had a popup at the time) on the return trip home I stopped by Highland Haven, was welcomed with open arms. I stopped by just to look around, seeing as I was in the area. Was even offered a site to spend the night. Didn't take them up on it(had to get home), but did chat with the host for the better part of an hour, talking about Airstreams, and assorted good stuff. Having since upgrade to an AS, should stop by during my travels and tell them I made the jump!
As for Top of Georgia (my unit), I stopped by for a trial run, it's fantastic.

Meet Willa, the Winter host of Top of Georgia

Interviewed Willa for my blog. How could you get nicer than her? definitely helped us out a lot on our first trip of the season.
Buddy rallies allow for non AS campers as well, was told about that.

Congrats on your puchase! We'll be looking forward to your return visit to Highland Haven and hope that you'll enjoy yourself and all the good company up on our mountain.