1964 Airstream Bambi II
Recently driving home from a day trip to the beach, I spotted a vintage Airstream Bambi in the front lot of an RV dealership. Instinctively, I turned the Jeep around to take a look at it. It had no for sale signs. It was polished and reminded me how much I like vintage Airstreams. I jotted down the name and number of the RV dealership and later e-mailed the owner to ask about the Bambi. It indeed was not for sale, but he knew of one that was. It needed frame repair and restoration, but the owner was interested in moving it to a new owner who knew the trailers well. It turned out to be a 1964 Bambi II. The Bambi II replaced the 1961-1963 16' Bambi as a one-year-only model. They are 17' long, and fully self-contained. This particular example was dirty and indeed had frame rot where the tongue protruded from the body. The interior was musty from being closed for 20 years. That's right-after being purchased by its second owners and taking a cross-country trip to California and a few short trips that summer, this trailer sat in a South Jersey back yard for twenty years. It had not even been registered since 1984.
I thought it strange from the original pictures the owner sent me that this particular trailer had only a "Bambi" script instead of a "Bambi II" script. I thought perhaps the "II" had broken off, or it was modified. Upon close inspection, I determined that the "Bambi" script was unbroken and this raised the question of why it was used instead of a Bambi II script. The trailer's serial number might answer that question. The last four digits are 0002, significant in that this particular Bambi II was literally the second of its model type off the Jackson Centre, Ohio plant line in very late 1963 or very early 1964! It is as close to an actual 1963 Bambi as one can get without actually owning one!
This piece of intriguing information in mind, I sealed the deal with the owner and the trailer was ours! The original owner's manual, bill of sale, and the title came in the mail shortly, but I would have to wait a few weeks to work out the logistics of retrieving the actual trailer. Getting it home proved an adventure requiring the rental of a deck-over equipment trailer (Airstream wheel tracks are too wide for a common car trailer) and borrowing Dad's one ton Ford van with electric brakes. While trying to retrieve it, Dad's van got stuck in the mud and a neighbor had to pull the whole rig out with a farm tractor. Harold (the neighbor) also helped us to load the Airstream onto the equipment trailer. We could not have done it without him!
Now the classic Airstream is sitting in the driveway and I work on it when I have the time to get the frame exposed, the interior cleaned up, and basically get to know it better. Lynn already has the new interior colors, fabric, and dishware picked out and a full restoration is in order. We plan to take our time with it and enjoy the little Scotty in the meantime.
I never thought I would own one silver trailer...now the Airstream makes two! A collage of the interior fabric, dishware, and countertop colors are shown below. The predominately orange and aqua color scheme is inspired by the classic boomerang Formica and the Airstream logo also found on the Tervis Tumblers we will use for our drinking vessels within the Airstream.
Click here to see more pictures of our Bambi II.
I thought it strange from the original pictures the owner sent me that this particular trailer had only a "Bambi" script instead of a "Bambi II" script. I thought perhaps the "II" had broken off, or it was modified. Upon close inspection, I determined that the "Bambi" script was unbroken and this raised the question of why it was used instead of a Bambi II script. The trailer's serial number might answer that question. The last four digits are 0002, significant in that this particular Bambi II was literally the second of its model type off the Jackson Centre, Ohio plant line in very late 1963 or very early 1964! It is as close to an actual 1963 Bambi as one can get without actually owning one!
This piece of intriguing information in mind, I sealed the deal with the owner and the trailer was ours! The original owner's manual, bill of sale, and the title came in the mail shortly, but I would have to wait a few weeks to work out the logistics of retrieving the actual trailer. Getting it home proved an adventure requiring the rental of a deck-over equipment trailer (Airstream wheel tracks are too wide for a common car trailer) and borrowing Dad's one ton Ford van with electric brakes. While trying to retrieve it, Dad's van got stuck in the mud and a neighbor had to pull the whole rig out with a farm tractor. Harold (the neighbor) also helped us to load the Airstream onto the equipment trailer. We could not have done it without him!
Now the classic Airstream is sitting in the driveway and I work on it when I have the time to get the frame exposed, the interior cleaned up, and basically get to know it better. Lynn already has the new interior colors, fabric, and dishware picked out and a full restoration is in order. We plan to take our time with it and enjoy the little Scotty in the meantime.
I never thought I would own one silver trailer...now the Airstream makes two! A collage of the interior fabric, dishware, and countertop colors are shown below. The predominately orange and aqua color scheme is inspired by the classic boomerang Formica and the Airstream logo also found on the Tervis Tumblers we will use for our drinking vessels within the Airstream.
Click here to see more pictures of our Bambi II.