Meet our 1977 Airstream Argosy Trailer (+ Help Us Name It!)
After years of talking and months of looking, we finally found an old camp trailer to call our own! Meet our 1977 Airstream Arosy Minuet. Scroll down for photos and please, please help us name this cutie at the end of the post!
This trailer was made in 1977 and we’re the fifth owners (we found it on Craigslist). If you’re wondering about the painted exterior, it’s the Argosy line of Airstream. Apparently back in the 70’s, Airstream wanted to offer a less-expensive trailer so started turning out the painted variety in 1977. A painted aluminum exterior allowed them to use lower-grade aluminum and imperfect sheets (think scratches or dents). As much as I love the silver exterior of classic Airstreams, there’s something really fun and unique about the painted ones!
So why this trailer? We liked that it was only 20’-long but still sleeps 4 (or 5 if you have small people 😉). A lot of the systems have been updated (plumbing, electrical, batteries, roof, etc) but the interior is pretty original, which is great because we don’t want to gut a trailer right now (maybe some day). We also like the Airsteream brand. They’ve been around since the 1930’s, have a lot of character, and 65% of the Airstreams ever built are still on the road today. That statistic reassures us of their quality, resale value, and longevity.
Enough of the details, let’s take a look inside!
The cabinets, fridge, stove, and hood vent (yes there’s a hood vent!) are all original. The countertops were replaced at some point along with the sink, faucet, and floors (the original aluminum is still under the laminate).
Believe it or not, there’s a full bathroom in here - well technically a 1.75 bath. There’s a accordion style door for privacy and a shower next to the toilet. It’s definitely tight, but it’s so nice to have a bathroom when you’re camping out in the middle of nowhere that it feels luxurious!
We took the trailer out camping last weekend and had our first sleepover in here. There are two full beds which worked really well for us. The table comes out and the benches slide down to create one (we laid the 3 kids on it cross-wise and they each had plenty of room), and the couch pulls out to create the second.
Help us name our trailer!
Naming trailers is an Airstream tradition and we’d love your help! First question: is it okay to rename a trailer? This one was dubbed ‘Acoustic’ by the original owner, and while it’s lovely, we wanted to give it a name with more meaning to us. Something representative of all the adventures we’re going to have and memories we’re going to make in here. So far we’ve come up with three options, which are below. We’d love to hear your favorite and please (please!) share any other suggestions you have in the comments!
‘Vida’ (‘Vida’ is Spanish for ‘life’ and a word I got tattooed on myself after Garrett and I trekked through Central America)
‘Landlady’ (after the profession that allows us to take adventures)
‘Orton Annie’ (in memory of my grandparents who left us the money to buy the Ravenna House, whose proceeds we used to purchase this trailer)
Eeek we’re excited!