Barbara Jean the Vintage Airstream

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Homage to a Gypsy-Hearted Mom

I’ve always felt happy in small spaces. When I was a child, my parents moved to a farmhouse in the Texas Panhandle that was surrounded by hundreds of acres of wheat fields. The landscape was expansive, and somewhat surreal. Instead of choosing a regular bedroom, I chose to make my room the pantry. It was maybe 6 by 9 feet, and I slept on a shelf. It was cozy and I slept like a baby in there. On the other shelves I kept my few belongings which included some toys, models that I was building, and my clothes. Like most places, we didn’t live there long, but that is one of the experiences that left a lasting impression upon me.

We moved so often that I started to dream about owning a home on wheels. I think my mother also wanted such a home, as we spent so much time on the road as we moved across the country. In all, I would attend fourteen different schools by the time I was in my Senior Year of High School. My mother Barbara Jean just could not stay in one place for very long. I too wanted the freedom to travel anywhere, anytime, but have the secure feeling of always being able to return to my own home. Nearly forty years later I decided to make that dream a reality.

So I did a lot of research, including watching accident videos of recreational vehicles. I realized that many trailers and RV’s are poorly constructed and the owner’s safety was not the top priority. I initially thought of a school bus conversion, but I decided that the bus was out because you could not have the flexibility of traveling to areas where parking is tight. This is where the travel trailer seemed to make sense, and there was only one travel trailer that stood out among all others... the Airstream.

After months of research and searching, I decided to purchase a twin axle 1968 Overlander Land Yacht. This model was the highest culmination of Wally Byam’s original design concepts before the company made major changes. It has a more narrow body than the newer models and is only 26 feet in length, making it really easy to tow and to park. The body was in good shape, and initially the interior also looked good. But I learned that there was some floor rot, and that the 50 year old trailer needed new plumbing, new wiring, new insulation, new axles, and new wheels.

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