![\"Airstreams1989.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/tour.airstreamlife.com\/weblog\/Airstreams1989.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nNeither of those inventions worked out for long. The fifth wheel was nicely appointed inside but flopped as a product for Airstream and was gone in about two years. The “squarestreams” lasted a little longer but were the subject of ridicule by traditional aluminum trailer owners.<\/p>\n
But they persisted as odd little pieces of Airstream history, and many are still on the road today. Although they don’t fit the image of Airstream as perceived by many people, they are legitimate products produced by the company and thus relatives of all other Airstreams ever made. With time, people have come to see them as funky vintage units, even desirable.<\/p>\n
I am reminded of a line uttered by the bad guy in one of the Indiana Jones movies: “See this watch? Worthless … but bury it in the sand for a thousand years, and it becomes priceless. Men will kill for it …” It is sort of like that with old trailers. After a few decades, the most common products will become vintage, fascinating, retro, nostalgic — and valuable.<\/p>\n
The catch is simple: they have to survive long enough. This is where Airstreams have had a huge advantage. The riveted aluminum shells tended to hang in there longer than other styles of manufacture, and Airstream had the advantage of volume as well. So many were made over the decades that inevitably quite a few survived despite leaks, hailstorms, accidents, and neglect.<\/p>\n