For over 93 years, Airstream has been the go-to camper manufacturer for countless RV enthusiasts. The brand’s iconic aluminum trailers are recognizable by generations of people. The sensation started with a stylish teardrop considered to be the ‘holy grail’ of Airstreams today. But you can buy the next closest thing. This riveted aluminum camper is a scaled-down replica of the first Airstreams and built for modern camping. Even better is its extremely affordable price.
Airstream has a devoted following that other brands could only wish they had. Enthusiasts cherish their Airstream trailers and join massive clubs of folks who live by the mantra of “Live Riveted.” As such, vintage Airstreams, especially original ones, come attached to shockingly expensive price tags. That’s if you can even find the one you really want.
The Airstream holy grail is the Torpedo, Wally Byam’s first production trailer. This trailer was put into production 93 years ago and finding a survivor is significantly harder than almost all of the holy grail cars we write about. I’ve found exactly zero for sale, few archived ads, and I can’t even tell you what people pay for them. However, I can tell you that really rare vintage ‘Streams list for over six figures.
So, buying this replica is the next best thing and its price is about a tenth of what you’d pay for the real deal.
The Holy Grail Of Airstream
Airstream has a decorated history of producing campers that have stolen the hearts of RV enthusiasts the world over. However, for many people, the best Airstreams ever built were the very first.
Airstream founder Wally Byam wasn’t always a builder of camper trailers. Byam spent his younger years living in a covered wagon pulled by donkeys. He graduated from Stanford University in 1921 and went into a career in advertising and journalism. At first, Byam’s empire was one that owned several magazines. Back then, he met his wife, Marion, and the pair went camping.
Byam’s shift to campers would come after Marion’s dissatisfaction with sleeping in tents. Look, I get it, I often hate tents as well, Marion! Byam knew that a happy wife leads to a happy life, so he worked to improve their camping arrangements. In 1929, Byam built his first camper, which was little more than a Ford Model T chassis with a tent on top of it. That got the Byams off of the ground, but it still wasn’t good enough. The couple found the tent far too difficult to deploy and while they were no longer on the ground, the tent did nothing to stop adverse weather conditions from spoiling the time away from home.
Byam then went back to the drawing board. He had a good idea with a sleeping apparatus on a chassis, but he needed to design something that didn’t need to be set up and provided protection from the weather. Byam’s new design was a teardrop shape, a design element that was beginning to take off back then. But his teardrop would have everything you needed for a weekend away from home including an ice chest, a stove, and a place to lay your head.
The first-ever trailer of this design was built for Wally and Marion, but people fell in love with the build everywhere the couple took it. Further, some people, including the Byam’s neighbors, commissioned Wally to build them trailers of their own. This was the roots of what would become the Airstream brand. In 1931, Byam opened a factory in Culver City, California where production began in earnest. The Airstream Torpedo was born.
As demand took off, Byam expanded his business from just building trailers to selling blueprints so that consumers could build their own Airstream Torpedo. DIY builders would provide their own materials and add personal touches using the blueprints as a guide. Airstream highlights one Norman W. Holman as one of those customers, who built his Torpedo while he was a medical student.
Keep in mind that these trailers came before the iconic aluminum silver bullet trailers that Airstream is known for today. The Airstream archives note that Byam made his early trailers out of plywood and masonite. Aluminum monocoque construction would come just a few years later.
Basically, these early trailers were from before Airstream became a household name. The Airstream Torpedo, which was also sold as the Torpedo Car Cruiser and the Car Cruiser, were sold through the 1930s. They would not make a return to production with the rest of Airstream after World War II.
This Torpedo Replica
That leaves us with the trailer we see here today. The seller says the trailer was built based on those original Torpedo plans. However, just like those Torpedo blueprint customers of so many decades ago, the builder added their own personal touch. This appears to be true as I found the original build documentation over at Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers by user Irmo Atomics.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the Irmo Atomics pretty much nailed the original Torpedo shape, but they decided to scale it down to create a super lightweight teardrop. The build thread by Irmo Atomics shows that the trailer body’s structure is made out of wood. This wood structure appears to be pretty thick and Irmo Atomics added insulation to the walls, floor, and ceiling before giving the trailer ThermoPly structural sheeting. Irmo Atomics then added an exterior body of riveted aluminum to the structure.
The exterior looks well executed with large circular windows, vintage-style ventilation windows, and even a vintage-style serial number plate. That number plate shows when this trailer was finished in 2012. The body is placed on top of the frame for what used to be a Jayco pop-up trailer. The Jayco’s bumper was chopped off and added to the frame for extra support and the whole frame was cleaned up before being repainted. Adding to the vintage look are two metal cases on the tongue, but the tie-down arrangement does break the look a little.
One of the changes the builder made to the original Torpedo design comes in the form of the kitchen. An original Torpedo has its kitchen inside of the trailer, while this smaller example has the kitchen moved to a rear hatch. Apparently, this was done because rear hatch kitchens are a popular teardrop trend today.
The kitchen area back here looks pretty nice, with a beautiful green color with wooden countertops. There’s a sink back there and it has nice detail in the form of a metal ring that matches the trailer’s exterior. Irmo Atomics’ original build included a refrigerator, a heater, and a stove, but it looks like those items were removed.
The big white box seen in the middle is a small air-conditioner unit. What you’re looking at there is the hot side of the air-conditioner. While I’m not sure how effective this unit would be with that hatch closed, it is a clever way to give the trailer air-conditioning without ruining the vintage look.
Opening one of the side doors shows you why the kitchen was moved to the rear. The original Torpedo was large enough to stand in, but this loose replica is scaled down to a small teardrop size. There isn’t enough room to stand up in here, but you do get a big bed, plenty of shelving, and even a television.
One of the quirks with this build is its electrical system. Look at the pictures and you’ll find multiple power strips. These lead back to a 20-Amp main breaker with two 15-Amp circuits and a GFCI outlet located in the kitchen hatch. Finally, a thick shore power cable leads to a campsite plug.
A Modern Take On The Original
As I said earlier, Irmo Atomics built this trailer based on original blueprints, but put in their final touches. So, this isn’t even close to an exact replica of a Torpedo, but it is about as close as you’re going to get to the real deal.
I wouldn’t be upset about that because it looks like Irmo Atomics did a bang-up job at making a cool trailer. The trailer is said to weigh just 1,000 pounds, and it’s super cozy with that air conditioner and its electric heater. In some ways, this loosely based replica has some tricks up its sleeve that you won’t find in an original. This is a trailer you could tow with a tiny car!
Also tiny, at least compared to a real Airstream, is the price. This unit, which is located in Dickson, Tennessee, is just $12,950. That’s cheaper than many new teardrops and much cheaper than some of the off-road trailers out there that are just glorified utility trailers with tents on top.
Plus, it looks close enough to an original Airstream that you’re bound to get a lot of attention. So, I say good job Irmo Atomics. This trailer may not be an exact replica, but it’s just too neat to pass up. I’d love to see this beauty at a campsite near me one day.
(Images: Facebook Seller, unless otherwise noted.)
