The number one thing that has come to represent the Airstream brand over the decades is quality, and that quality starts in Jackson Center, Ohio with the craftsmen and women that build the product with care and attention to detail and an obsessive focus on quality and perfection. They take their job seriously, they take their responsibility to the brand seriously, and they take their responsibility to the customer seriously, and that drives their actions every day.
It begins with aluminum – a key piece of what make Airstreams different from anything else. An average of 1,200 sq. ft. of treated aluminum is used on every trailer, bent and cut to shape.
Then come the rivets – an average of 3,000 are used to build each trailer, attached in a coordinated dance by two riveters: one outside and one inside the trailer. When all the pieces are riveted and sealed together, it creates a lightweight self-supporting structure, much like an airplane fuselage.
We build the entire structure and then attach it to the chassis as one piece. Only then do we start building the interior, which all has to fit through the front door. We're the only ones to build our trailers this way because any other way would compromise the integrity of the structure, the aerodynamics, the low center of gravity, and the overall longevity of the trailer.
All together, it takes around 350 to build an Airstream trailer. To put that in context, it takes about 50 hours to build a typical white box travel trailer. So ours aren't the fastest way or the easiest way, but it's always the right way. That kind of dedication is where quality really starts and ends, and that's a big part of the reason our trailers are still on the road long after the typical 15-year lifespan of a recreational vehicle.
An Airstream Travel Trailer is passed down from generation to generation. It's a thing of beauty and has been an icon on the road for more than 80 years. Each time we start the process of building a new Airstream Travel Trailer, we know we're creating more than just a beautiful piece of industrial art.
We're creating a way of life – a vehicle to fulfill the wanderlust that lives inside of us, a way to see the world and find our place in it – and that's a responsibility we don't take lightly.
Want even deeper detail into the process that goes into building an Airstream and keeping it on the road for decades? Download our A Lifetime of Adventure Guide and learn about the quality that goes into each and every one of our travel trailers.
This article is one part of a video series about Airstream Travel Trailers. To read additional entries and watch more videos, click one of these links:
Part 01: Beautiful Models, Inside and Out
Part 02: 350 Hours of Craftsmanship, Decades of Experience
Part 03: Quality Materials to Last a Lifetime
Part 04: Daily Adventures, Nightly Comforts
Part 05: The Luxury of Home Everywhere You Go
Part 06: Decades of Innovation
Part 07: A Place for Everything You Need
Part 08: Starting Out with the Bambi
Part 10: Easy to Tow, Easy to Drive
Part 12: A Floorplan for Every Need
Part 13: Creating Quality to Last Generations — Currently Reading
