Process
How’s an Airstream built? For those who have toured our Jackson Center factory in person, it’s an incredible process to witness. A team of specialists assembles each trailer, through a tried and true process that’s been refined and perfected over decades.
The end result is a trailer with every rivet in place, every window sealed tight, every interior feature with a perfect fit and finish. More than 100,000 of these modern marvels have graced roads worldwide.
The Shell
The classic Airstream trailer shell is built from five main parts: two side sheets, the front and rear ends, and the roof. They’re all attached to a European specification galvanised chassis. End shell segments are stretch-formed, trimmed, and punched for assembly.
Airstream windows and doors are custom-built. The doors seal as tight as a bank vault, and unlike many trailers, the windows can open to a near full 90 degrees to let in a fresh spring breeze.
Once the exterior shell is complete and bolted to the chassis, the entire unit spends 25 minutes in a testing station. It’s sprayed with up to 12,500 gallons of high-pressure water (which is recycled, of course). That way, we’re certain when that trailer takes to the road, it’s fully leak-proof.
Warm and Cosy
Before being hand-riveted from the inside with aluminium panels, the shell is insulated with EcoBatt® insulation, made primarily from sand and recycled glass. EcoBatt insulation is certified to the tightest indoor air quality certification in the industry, Greenguard for Children and Schools, and is certified to meet CHPS Low-Emitting Materials criteria section 01350. It also meets or exceeds all applicable industry performance specifications and standards.
One Way Only
Every interior component is brought in through the trailer’s door. That way, upgrades, service, and renovations can be made easily, without compromising the exterior shell. It’s one of the many reasons vintage Airstreams are so immensely popular.
All furniture and cabinetry is handcrafted on-site, made the same way as high-quality residential cabinets and furniture: with wooden dowels and solid wood assemblies. We never use particle board or thin, flimsy panels, and you’ll never hear the rat-a-tat-tat of staple guns on our factory floor.
From there, the plumbing, bathroom and bedroom are installed before moving onto the kitchen. Every Airstream features residential grade appliances, comfortable dinettes, pantries with convenient storage, storage areas for pots and pans, brushed or stainless taps, and stainless steel sinks.
Testing and Inspection
Once construction is complete, before any Airstream leaves the factory, our Quality Control team performs a series of detailed tests, looking at the overall cosmetics of the trailer, making sure all systems are working properly, and testing all interior and exterior parts.
Other tests include pressure checking the LP gas system, filling the drain system and checking it for leaks, pressurizing the fresh water system, testing the electrical outlets, and then heating the furnace and cooling the refrigerator.
Then, and only then, will we finally move on to cleaning and buffing those gleaming silver exteriors our travel trailers are known for.