A few days before I left town, I was waiting to get new tires put on near downtown LA when I saw what looked like, to me, a 1930's style travel trailer across the street in a lot owned by the tire company. I’ve always loved, and have even owned a few vintage American cars, in addition to collecting Streamline Modérne and Machine Age style furniture and furnishings for nearly 30 years, and, ironically, as part of my black & white work, I'd been also shooting vintage travel trailers I'd seen from time to time. So, the more I sat there looking at that old girl the more I wanted to take an even better look at her. She was entirely grafitti painted and even had bars attached to her windows and doors, but, remember....this is downtown LA, probably the last place one would expect to find something like this and besides, those bars are probably what kept her interior in restorable condition and somewhat complete. In addition, there were hardly any dings or dents in her aluminum skin that I could see....so I ended up buying her.

Since I knew nothing about vintage travel trailers, later that day I decided to search the Web and much to my surprise I discovered an amazing amount of activity, including a few collector's sites, a company that did really beautiful restoration work and even one that rented them as props to film production companies.

The following day, during the long drive up-state, I felt like a rubber-necked tourist at a nudist camp. My head was constantly swinging back and forth from side to side straining to see if I could find anything else....and sure enough, I found a ‘57 Airstream Overlander/Cruiser 26 ft. and I’ve been on a roll ever since. A few days later, up north, I found another great trophy....a coral & white, 1953 Viking 17 ft. with a gorgeous, original, birch interior.....and which I've since regretted selling. A month or so later I found a 1950 Westcraft Yosemite model, 32 ft., <1950 Westcraft Yosemite>, also with a near perfect original birch interior, which I'll be trading a recent (free) aquisition for...an 1958 Travel-Ease 31'.

UPDATE - 8/2002

As you can see, this vintage travel trailer bug has bitten me hard. The '50 Westcraft , as well as, a 1949 Airfloat Landyacht 28' I picked up recently, which has a horribly oxidized skin, but an amazingly original interior in quite good condition....(including the original ironing board in it's own tiny "ironing board" cupboard!)....are going into the Birchwood Beauties Collection, as well as, my latest discovery, a 1949 Palace Royal 20'** which is currently being used for storage in central California....that is, until I can find a '46, or '47 with the softer rear end. Rounding out the collection.... when I find the right ones....will be a '51 or '52 Spartan Imperial Mansion 36 footer, as well as, a '51 or '52 Royal Spartanette 35 ft.*, a late thirties Hollywood Nomad, a 1937 Kanueel (the only year they made them), a 1947 Streamlite Shoreland Cruiser Town & Country, a 1947 Great Western, a 1948 Aeroflite Falcon 20 ft.,***, and a '47, '48 or '49 Duo Terra Cruiser/Monarch 29 ft., or Empress 33 ft. <1949 Duo Monarch 29 ft.>. Duo was distributed by Mid-States Trailer Sales out of Chicago, however, they were manufactured by Duo Corporation in Union City, Indiana. In 1948 Duo dropped the Terra Cruiser model name, and started using the name Monarch when Terra Cruiser became a brand unto itself, manufactured by the Terra Cruiser Company of Cassopolis, MI, and which was also a completely different trailer than the Duo Company's Terra Cruiser. In 1949 Duo offered the same trailer, as well as a 33 footer of the same design called the Empress. By 1952 it had grown even more, to 42 ft. 9", and the company was simply calling it the Duo. Yet, other than the addition of larger windows along the sides....a common trend in the early fifties....the trailer basically looked nearly identical to the first '47 Terra Cruiser model.)

UPDATE -12/2002:

UPDATE - 9/2003 My

This summer I discovered one of my best finds yet! A 1957, thirty-five foot, Airfloat tandem with gold anozided skin!!!! <1957 Airfloat 35' Flagship> It's incredible, in extremely good restorable shape....even though some of the interior wood is painted....and will also be going into the Birchwood Beauties Collection. I'd seen photos of John Agnew's 30 footer just like it, <funkyjunkfarms.com>, but never realized that the entire area behind the back door....is the bathroom. In addition to being the largest bathroom I've ever seen in a vintage trailer, it also has a step up to the commode, as well as a huge, deep, "coral colored" bathtub. The original Dixie stove is still there, and it's also coral colored, but the firdge is gone. (1/2004....ironically, the other day I walked into a local antique store and found the coolest, "coral colored" 1950s Coldspot refridgerator, and of course, bought it on the spot!) Also, collector friends of mind, Ron & Kristine Gale, happened to pick up another gold anodized Airfloat the other day....a 1956, 30 ft. Landyacht with the same skin and interior as my '57, however, it's in beautiful, nearly perfect shape....and basically usuable as is. You can see it here: <1956 Airlfloat 30 ft. Landyacht>.

Anway, after reading all of this you're probably wondering where on earth I'm going to keep all my new "oversized" treasures. Well, that occurred to me too, so I began thinking why not see what happens if I open a vintage travel trailer restoration shop. That way there'll be someplace to keep the trailers that will be going into the collection, as well as, work on them too....and in addition provide restoration services to other vintage "Trailer Heads". So, one year later....I did just that. Now, I get to share my passion for bringing these wonderful old girls back to what they looked like when they were first created.

btw: You may be wondering why I chose the Spartan Royal Mansion illustration for my vintage trailer home page.Well, it's because J.Paul Getty Jr.'s Spartan Trailer-Coach Co. embraced the same ideal combination of quality and style that Birchwood Beauties aims for in every area of restoration work we take on. Spartan Trailer Coaches have, not only, very imaginative Streamline Style aluminum exteriors, but their gorgeous birch interiors continue with the rounded-corners that are the hallmark of the Streamline Style, and are as classically beautiful today as they were when they were designed. In addition, aluminum was also used for the structural framing under the skin to both strengthen the frame and to eliminate frame rot from water leakage ...knowledge gained from WWII airplane construction technology. Here at Birchwood Beauties Vintage Trailer Coach Co. we strive for that same kind of quality, and in fact, have even found ways to put some of the other wood framed, or "stick built" coaches back together "better" than when they were new.

Also, I've been asked why I'm concentrating on restoring trailer coaches from 1930-1967. The answer to that is, that even though there were a number of individuals and companies experimenting with, as well as actually producing what could commanly referred to as a travel trailer before 1929, most of these coaches were either one-off designs or custom built for a specific client or company. It was Arthur Sherman's Covered Wagon company, of Mt. Clements, Michigan, who is credited by most historians as the first company to take orders for and manufactur an off -the-shelf trailer which he himself had designed, and was eventually also the first to use the assembly line to mass produce a travel trailer. However, about the same time, in Los Angeles, Omar Suttles was also taking orders for a port-hole windowed trailer he'd designed and that he would eventually call the Airfloat Trailer Coach. Therefore, the beginning of travel trailer production in America seems to fall in and about the year 1930. In addition, 1967 is when Airstream stopped putting quality wood in the interior of their trailers. (Other than the first Clippers, Airsteams never had full wood interiors....even though it was used a lot in their cabinets, closets and separating walls.)
Here at Birchwood Beauties we specialize in that wonderful “real wood” period, which, by the way, compliments both a coach with highly polished aluminum skin, as well as anything that's painted in period colors. And if you’ve ever spent any time in a vintage travel trailer with an all wood interior.... particularly the “honey colored” birch type....and especially at night with nothing but the interior lights reflecting off all that beautiful wood, well...there's really no comparison. It not only feels more “homey”, but can be very romantic as well. In fact, according to the Aetna Plywood and Veneer company, Birch was voted the "Best Liked" wood by the public attending the 1949 Trailer Coach Manufacturer's Association Show in Chicago. Woods displayed included Birch, Lauan, Figured Red Gum, Virola, Aetna's new Brushed Fir, Plytex, Douglas Fir and Gum. The public was shown a cross section of a full size trailer with these various woods installed in large size panels and over 31% made Birch their first choice.

FYI: A lot of people have asked about WHERE TO FIND BIRCH PLYWOOD to restore their own trailers, so, I thought I'd share that information with everyone else right here: Birch comes in three "flavors", so to speak, and it's all from the same tree. Red birch is the heartwood and white birch is the sap wood....which is nearest the bark. In between is what's called "natural" birch and this is the stuff you want to use, in 1/8", finished one side. The reason for using natural birch, is, for one thing, you'll never get that warm, honey colored finish from varnishing white birch; and two, even though you will with red birch, it's almost three times as expensive as natual birch. However, you may have to special order natural birch from a better lumber yard, depending where your located, but, make sure that the salesman knows the difference, because some inexperienced people think white and natural birch are the same. We also use Spar Marine grade Varnish with the high gloss, interior finish, as opposed to Polyurathane, which is easier to work with, however, it'll leave a cloudy, plastic look to the finish.

Even though the basis of this site is to showcase vintage travel trailers in all forms, it’s also about promoting our services. In fact, you can examine the "BIRCHWOOD BEAUTIES VINTAGE TRAVEL TRAILER RESTORATION PROCEDURES" table, as well as the “BIRCHWOOD BEAUTIES PHILOSOPHY OF BUSINESS PRACTICES", which explains exactly what you’ll get when you choose Birchwood Beauties Vintage Trailer Coach Co. to restore your vintage travel trailer. In addition, by clicking on the <RESTORATIONS> link, you can see samples of the work we've already completed.

Moving on to the <INVENTORY> pages you can take a look at the current inventory of vintage travel trailers available for restoration....or....for sale "as is"....if you'd like to do the work yourself.

Clicking the <PICTURES> link will eventually take you to The Birchwood Beauties Gallery of Vintage Trailer Images of actual restored and original trailers...including both those in excellent condition, as well as, those forgotten ladies rotting away in farmer's fields. Eventually, I'll be showcasing a photographic survey of Vince Martinico's, Auburn Trailer Collection.... probably the best and most amazing collection of vintage travel trailers this side of the Mississippi....possibly, in the world. In the future, this page will also feature <TRAILER ART>, including samples of some of my own photographic art of your favorite subject that you can hang on your walls...or even your trailer’s walls.

<HISTORY> This page will feature not only lots of stuff you may not know about vintage trailers, but also copies of original ads, as well as, names and addresses of many former travel coach manufacturers mostly gleaned from original vintage trailerite magazines like Trailer Topics and Trailer Travel. You'll be surprised on how much cool information you'll discover about old travel trailers and how they were built, etc

Then, of course, we'll have LINKS to every other vintage travel trailer site you can imagine...and even some you haven't....and of course, please use the <CONTACT US> link when you would like to discuss the purchase or restoration of a vintage trailer- coach, or for anything else you think is important.

So, if you share my passion for vintage travel trailers....and if you’re visiting this site you probably do....I hope you like what your seeing, and hearing, and that you’ll keep checking back often. Also, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any suggestions, ideas, anecdotes, congrats or complaints. Anyway, here we go....hope you enjoy the trip and please pass it along.....the Birchwood Beauties Vintage Trailer-Coach Company is up and running....and at your service.

Best Regards,
Scott Lockwood

UPDATE -12/2002:

Last month I finally went back down to LA and picked up my Glider and, incredibly, I happened to find another one for sale in the newspaper when I was there. It's a 1948 Model 10, and it's 19.5 ft.<1948 Glider>. Not only does it still have it's original Third (tongue) Wheel, <'48 Glider Third Wheel>, but it has very rare MASONITE skin, which is still 95% intact. This vintage trailer had been sitting covered and unused in an old man's back yard since 1954 and the interior is completely original, but there's some water damage in both the birchwood interior, and the skin itself, because the cover eventually got some rips and tears in it and leaked. However, I think I'm going to leave this coach in the condition it's in and put it into the collection so people can see exactly why there aren't very many masonite skinned trailers still around.

UPDATE - 1/2003

This month I ended up being the focus of an feature editorial in the Tulsa World newspaper, Tulsa, Oklahoma, while trying to assist the Yahoo Spartan Trailer Coaches club....<Yahoo Spartan Trailercoaches Club> ....of which I'm a member, with the suggestion of attempting to locate and talk to former workers from the Spartan Aircraft (Trailer Coach) Company.....who had their headquaters and plant in Tulsa during the period the collectible Spartans were produced......to find out if any of these people could answer some questions those of us who were restoring their own Spartan Trailer-Coaches had. I suggested that we write the local Tulsa newspaper to see if they would publish a notice in regard to our interests. I didn't plan it that way, however, I was the one who composed and sent the letter, and after I sent them the photo of all the vintage trailers lined up behind my former shop....<The Birchwood Beauties Vintage Trailer Court>....they ended up focusing on me, instead of the club as a whole. They even sent a AP photographer, named Noah Berger, out to my shop, who shot some very cool photos. Overall the article was really great, even though they said I'd already restored a Spartan, which I hadn't, as of yet. However, now I'm the one who gets to interview these workers, not only to gather as much immediate information as possible, but also find out who might be available for further....questioning, so to speak. (This is actually been a lot of fun, and very eye opening and I will, not only be sharing this information with the members of the club, but I'll also be posting it here in my HISTORY pages in the future). Anyway, if you would like to take a look at the article you can download it here....<Tulsa World Article>. It should then show up on your desktop as a clickable Internet Explorer page.

UPDATE - 3/2005

It's been over a year since my last update here, and you may have noticed also, that, unfortunately, I haven't been able to work on finishing any more pages of my Web site either, as planned. The reason is, I've been completely overwhelmed with the business of running a restoration shop and virtually all of my time has been dedicated to that, plus, finding new shop space where it's not 90 degrees, and usually above, day and night for six months out of the year.....like our former location in Vacaville. Unfortunately, 3000 to 5000 sq. ft. buildings in the bay area are almost non-existant, but, after finding two in Vallejo last year, but after having neither work out, I finally found a really great building in the city of Richmond, which is near Berkeley, across the bay from San Francisco. We now have 4000 sq. ft. of shop space, including seven roll-up doors across the front of the building that open out into 8000+ sq. ft. of paved and fenced storage space. This means that, not only does each trailer we're working get it's own individual bay, but there's plenty of room to park other stuff out front too. Plus, there's another 4000 sq. ft. of unpaved space behind the building where I can store 8-10 more trailers. In addition, I've moved my office into a huge, 45 ft.,1955 Duo Silver Star park model that's parked at one end of my building. So, now I've get to have all the trailers around me all the time.....as well as my tools and my shop.....it's never too hot, or too cold, because I'm near the ocean, and I can walk to the water and gaze across the bay at the City. Or, when I finally finish restoring my '50 Westcraft Yosemite....which I'll get back to when I'm finished putting the Silver Star in order.....I can take off for the weekend anytime things get to hectic. It's perfect!

But, for the most part, I've been too way too busy to spend much time looking for trailers too, other than when I deliver or pick up something. So, even though I've located a lot of what I've been searching for, and some things I didn't even know I wanted, I'm still looking for a few hard to find rarities, such as a '47 Palace Majestic Liner 20' (sometimes mistakenly referred to as a Palace Royal, however, the Royale didn't come out until 1949 and had a more rectangular shape). I'd also like to find a late thirties Hollywood Nomad, a 1937 Kanueel, a 1947 Streamlite Shoreland Cruiser Town & Country, a 1947-'48 Great Western and, of course, both a late '30s Curtis Aerocar Landyacht and a Bowlus-Teller, either a Road Chief or Papoose...it doesn't really matter.

UPDATE - 10/2007

Ok, now it's been even longer since I've had a chance to update this page, however, there are a few new and very special aquistions to the Birchwood Beauties Collection, as well as other news that I decided needed to be shared.

First off, the restoration business is still keeping pretty much tied to the shop, we're so busy, and things seemed to have picked up even more this year as more and more people discover how cool vintage travel trailers are. In fact, it seems that the classic car and hot rod people are really starting to tune in to them finally too, as I'm getting more and more calls from people who want a vintage trailer to go with their vintage ride. That's great, I say, the more the merrier. So, welcome all you fellow car people, because....I'm one of you!

One of the main reasons I'm writing this now, though, is because of a few new trailers that've come into the B.B. collection during the last few years. First off, I was very excited when I was lucky enough to run across a 1936 Pierce Arrow Travelodge 16' Model B. <1936 Pierce Arrow Travelodge> Unfortunately, it's gutted...as most of these trailers that've been found seem to be....which, amazes me i.e., they had one of the most beautiful interiors of anybody, plus they only made somewhere between 400 and 450 of them. However, I bought this one from a woman who's husband found it being used as a chicken coup...ugh....but, knew what it was, after seeing one in the Harrahs Automotive Museum in Reno. After finding the trailer, he went back and convinced the director of that museum to let him crawl around inside the one they had so that he could measure everything and make drawings of the interior to help him in the restoration of his. Unfortunately, he passed away before he could get to it, but his wife still has the drawings, which I'll get when I pick up the trailer in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of weird compound corners, though, I've never seen anything like the way the builder of this unknown brand, late '30s, 34 ft. streamliner that I found near Lake Isabella did them.....<1930s streamliner 34'>. It's like a patchwork quilt, and almost looks homemade, however, the rest of the coach, especially the interior, looks very "store bought". I've never seen anything remotely close to this coach in any of my very extensive research. However, after the Streamline Style became so popular, when it was introduced in about 1933, that there was lots of experimentation going on with both manufactuers, as wells as do-it-your-selfers, and I've seen quite a few pretty "out there" shapes by both. So, who knows. But, hopefully I can find something that'll tell me who made after I get it back to the shop and start cleaning her out.

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