Airstream Travel Trailer Factory Alcoa Aluminum Shell Construction - How to Guide on How it's Made

Some quick Airstream facts:
•The aluminum-skinned Airstream is based on an airplane fuselage, with rounded corners to help increase gas mileage -- its aerodynamics cuts drag by 20 percent vs. square "white box" trailers.
•It takes about 280 human hours to build the average Airstream.
•Airstream was the first trailer to have a holding tank, the first ladder frame, the first pressurized water system and was the first fully self-contained travel trailer.
•Some innovations were brought directly to Wally, including Frank Sargent's innovative toilet valve that used steam pressure to flush waste into a holding tank. Since 1961, Sargent's Thetford toilets have been used in Airstream models and Thetford is now a major supplier to the RV industry.
•Before leaving the production floor, every Airstream spends 40 minutes under 100 pounds per square inch of water pressure in a special booth to ensure that it's water-tight.
•San Francisco-based Design Within Reach (DWR), a retailer of innovative furnishings and accessories, commissioned longtime Airstream collaborator Chris Deam to develop a holistic model for an Airstream, a tribute to classic modern design. Deam also designed the 2002-2012 International Airstream models.
•By the 75th Anniversary of Airstream in 2006, nearly 60-70 percent of all Airstreams ever built were still rolling down the highways.
•In 2009, Airstream partnered with Victorinox Swiss Army to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the original Swiss Army Knife. A customized Pan America trailer toured the US and touted the arrival of the 19' Victorinox Swiss Army Special Edition Airstream.

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