Instructions

1. Start your search for vintage travel trailer identification on the Internet. If you use the search term “vintage travel trailer” on Google, you will receive over two million hits. A travel trailer is considered vintage if it is over 25 years old. Join a community of vintage travel trailer aficionados, such as Vintage Trailer Crazy. This site has amazing photographs of vintage trailers.

   

2. Identify a vintage Airstream by its iconic silver body. Airstream trailers are the most desirable and available vintage trailers, and parts are easier to obtain. The company’s website has extensive information on models of vintage trailers, consumer forums and service information. Airstream has been in production since 1932 and are considered by many people as the elite trailer. Many vintage Airstreams are still on the road today.

   

3. Identify vintage teardrop trailers by their distinctive shape. Teardrop trailers have been in production since the 1930s. Many of these trailers were made from kits or plans. They are compact and perfect for camping or short-term use, for one or two people. Because many teardrop trailers were handmade, it may be difficult to establish a date of origin. Benroy was a manufacturer of teardrop trailers in the 1950s.

   

4. Identify certain models of 1950s and 1960s vintage Shasta travel trailers by the wings on the upper rear of the trailer. Shasta trailers were in production from 1941 and were used to house member of the United States armed forces. Shasta was purchased by Coachman in 1976.

   

5. Talk to vintage trailer owners. Vintage trailer enthusiasts love to help other people in their search and forums are plentiful. There are many brands of the “canned ham” type of vintage travel trailer. They are identifiable by the rounded shape of an old-style can of ham. Crown, Oasis and the rare Hanson Love Bug are vintage trailers in this category. Look for a manufacturer’s plaque on vintage trailers. The Love Bug plaque features a heart pierced by an arrow.