Airstream Dreams Come True
Guest post by Patrick Ross, @louellaairstream
“Are we crazy? It’s gutted and gross and a mess. We don’t know how to fix any of this.” Turns out…yes, we are crazy. My wife Amber and I purchased our beloved Lou Ella 9 months ago and she was a complete disaster. Lou Ella is a 1965 28’ Airstream Ambassador that was rescued off a ski mountain in the Northern panhandle of Idaho. Lou Ella had spent the last 15 years as a guest quarters for temporary ski instructors. My colleague, Nathan also shared a dream of owning an Airstream and found her on Facebook Marketplace. Long story and lots of work later, he was able to get the trailer off the mountain and into his driveway. Nathan wasted no time and in a matter of days gutted the whole first half of Lou Ella. While he was looking for restoration parts on Craigslist, he found a newer larger model Airstream that he wanted more and ultimately ended up buying that trailer as well. He now had 2 Airstreams and no room. He called me the same day and asked me if we wanted to buy an Airstream. Amber and I never imagined we would own our “dream trailer,” but here was opportunity knocking. We decided we would just stop by to take a look.
““If you feel drawn to this adventure, then go for it, create new memories and don’t look back!””
I have loved Airstream trailers since I was a young child. That “silver bullet” shape and the shiny aluminum exterior always caught my eye on road trips. I would daydream about traveling the open road and exploring the beautiful US with my family in our Airstream. Fast-forward 20 years later and here we are, on our way to look at Lou Ella. There is just something about these old trailers that makes them special and so easy to fall in love with. Maybe it’s the design, shape, colors or the history and the story of owners past. I found myself thinking about the music, movies and historical events that were happening in 1965. I wondered where the first family that owned Lou Ella took her and the miles she had traveled. We knew when we pulled up and saw her gleaming exterior she was going to be ours.
The trailer was rough. There were soft spots, missing flooring, water damage, and even a huge repaired dent/rip in the aluminum, where a tree had fallen on her. Nathan had removed the end cap exposing the electrical wiring and old insulation. We instantly felt overwhelmed. There was so much to do and neither of us had the skills or knowledge to begin to know how to repair or restore this mess. The burden of restoration began to sink in and second thoughts bubbled up as we finished the tour. Overall she had good bones and the major systems like the propane gas and electrical systems were working and in good shape. We had a tough and conflicting decision to make. This was more money than we had ever spent on a thing other than our home and it wasn’t even functional! Were we crazy? We left that afternoon excited, curious and apprehensive about committing to a huge project with no experience.
We toiled over the decision for 2 weeks. I mean we struggled hard. I poured over articles, websites and blogs learning as much as I possibly could about what we would be taking on. I talked to friends and family to see if they would be willing to help if we did this thing. Amber started picking out colors and design elements to personalize the trailer and make her uniquely ours. We were beginning to fall in love as we planned and considered the challenge ahead of us. It was so incredibly hard, but we decided to wait because of the financial burden and restoration unknowns. We felt sick, sad and like we were passing on an opportunity of a lifetime. It was 6 months later that we finally felt better about taking on the project and thankfully, Lou Ella was still available. I will never forget that sunny March afternoon where we went to the bank, grabbed the cash and drove to pick up our “new” old trailer. We were elated and in disbelief as we finally realized our dream and bought our Vintage Airstream.
““Restoring a trailer isn’t for everyone, but let me tell you, the experience has been incredible.””
We have owned Lou Ella for 9 months and you wouldn’t recognize her from where she started. We are not quite finished with her, but we are close! The following months after our purchase were filled with blood, sweat, tears and swear words. This project has been hard, but the reward as we complete a project or learn a new skill outweighs the challenge tenfold. I am a Sales Manager and my wife is a Speech and Language Pathologist…neither of us knew more than how to hang a picture or spackle a hole in the wall. We have fabricated a new endcap, replaced flooring, repaired soft spots, wired in a furnace, installed cabinets and built a dinette. Friends and family poured out love and support as we asked for help. None of this would have been possible without a community to support us. There are so many blogs, Instagram accounts, YouTube pages and websites full of tutorials that you can easily find what you needs.
We wanted to write this article for all of you who are looking for a project, considering taking on a new challenge or just plain curious about the process. Restoring a trailer isn’t for everyone, but let me tell you the experience has been incredible. There is so much pride and satisfaction in learning new skills and completing projects that nearly killed you. Don’t let the unknown scare you away and if you take on the challenge don’t listen to the neg-heads and nay sayers. If you feel drawn to this adventure, then go for it, create new memories and don’t look back!
