Airstream Fiberglass TT
Airstream Nest Caravan Markiemark:C
Forum Discussion
Reminds me of the late 1950s Lotus Elite, which use a fiberglass monocoque structure (with some steel reinforcement for a roll cage) to which the chassis parts were bolted. The primary market was the low displacement classes in GT road racing, but they did need to sell some to road customers as well. Things tended to break away from the plastic structure, or the structure itself would fracture, as real world use on badly maintained roads introduced stresses well beyond the those discovered by static testing.
The original Elite was replaced by the Elan, which put a box-girder backbone under the fiberglass body. That one held together better.
At the asking price, I don't think I'd want to be one of the road testers of a radical engineering experiment. I have enough towing capacity that I can handle an egg-trailer sitting atop a steel frame, which can still weigh under 2000 pounds at this size. Buying one of these is going to be like buying one of the first Tesla models, it needs to be backed up by a great warranty program. I'm surprised that Airstream would stick their necks out to produce something this extraordinary, but it will probably require Airstream branding to find a market at the asking price.
The original Elite was replaced by the Elan, which put a box-girder backbone under the fiberglass body. That one held together better.
At the asking price, I don't think I'd want to be one of the road testers of a radical engineering experiment. I have enough towing capacity that I can handle an egg-trailer sitting atop a steel frame, which can still weigh under 2000 pounds at this size. Buying one of these is going to be like buying one of the first Tesla models, it needs to be backed up by a great warranty program. I'm surprised that Airstream would stick their necks out to produce something this extraordinary, but it will probably require Airstream branding to find a market at the asking price.
