Restored Vintage Campers – 1953 Airfloat Navigator
Restored vintage campers and travel trailers are all the rage!
This 1953 Airfloat Navigator has everything a vintage camper should have: unique design, real wood interior, fantastic floor plan, and smart storage all built with materials that will last a lifetime, or three.
It has everything you need to take an epic trip across the country or across the yard.
Related: Another great camper renovation: Affordable DIY Vintage Camper Renovation: Adopting Shana the Shasta
Restored Vintage Campers – 1953 Airfloat Navigator Exterior
Oh, those porthole windows….they can make a poor girl swoon!
Airfloat Trailer Coach Company History
The Airfloat Trailer Coach Company brand was born in Los Angeles, CA. in 1930. It’s founder was a man named Omar Suttles. If you recall, the first true mass-produced hard-bodied travel trailer had only began production a few years earlier so the Airfloat is one of the forefathers of American camper and travel trailer design.
From the beginning, Suttles used a masonite material for the exterior of his Airfloat trailers but that changed in 1947 when the trailers were fashioned with aluminum siding. Aluminum had been tested thoroughly and proved to be a smart siding material – it was lightweight, easy to find, and more cost efficient than other materials.
The Airfloat Trailer Coach Company lasted for more than 25 years, building some of the most iconic trailers in American history. Mr. Suttles retired in 1957 and with his retirement came the end of the Airfloat. You can still find Airfloats today but they are rare and when you can find one that’s in this good a condition it should be celebrated and applauded.
Restored Vintage Campers – 1953 Airfloat Navigator Interior
There’s something about an all-wood interior in restored vintage campers. It’s gives the trailer a style that can best be described as classy and warm.
Mahogany was the most commonly used paneling in trailers and campers.
This trailer is only 20′ in length but it packs a lot of features in those twenty feet!
A complete kitchen setup with stove, refrigerator, sink, and pantry is expertly designed into the space. The design is careful to allow those awesome porthole windows to be on display at every turn.
Both the dinette and the living room gaucho can be transformed into beds.
Oh, those windows!
Airfloats are some of the best restored vintage camper examples because of their unique design. They served their purpose well in American history. If you are a fan of the classic movie stars you probably remember seeing the image below with James Dean:
Great American classics!
Restored Vintage Camper Goes for $16,500 on Ebay
The bidding is closed and this Airfloat has been sold. You can still read more about the trailer and its restoration here. I simply shared it because it is such a great example of an American classic camper.
Thanks so much for reading Mobile and Manufactured Home Living!
So cool!
Hi Cynthia!
I love Spartans! I joke that I would give my only child up for one…..lol (just a joke though – I kinda like my kid sometimes…lol)
I lived in a 1953 Spartanette. I sold it to pay for my first child to be born. Wish I could get it back.