1972 Globe Trotter

This 1972 Globe Trotter came to us as a rescue — by local lore it had been traded for a gun, given up on, and then given away. It is the shortest Airstream model made: 1971 was the final year of the 19‑ft Caravel, and the title of shortest Airstream passed to the Globe Trotter for 1972. The floors are rotten front and back, so the project is a full floor replacement and, in time, a complete rebuild.

Bringing it home

The Globe Trotter made it home without much trouble in March — right at 49 years, nearly to the day, from its original purchase in March 1972.

Reading the bones

Before changing anything, the goal was to understand how the factory built the trailer. The Globe Trotter came with a notable set of original documentation: the data/trim tag, the Land Yacht trim badges, the original owner identification card, the Registration of Ownership, the owner’s manual, and the Thermasan paperwork.

Inside, the Globe Trotter feels noticeably more spacious than the smaller Caravel, with appreciably more headroom — an ideal size for two and comfortable for four.

A roof over its head

The project paused for a couple of years before it really began. In the meantime, the groundwork was laid: a level pad was dug out and a pole barn put up — built heavy enough to lift a shell and get the work out of the weather. After inspections, doors, and gravel, the barn passed final inspection; the center of the pad was then excavated and foam and PEX laid for a radiant floor before the slab was poured. The Globe Trotter now has a permanent, dry, indoor workspace.

Deconstruction

With the trailer under cover, the interior came out. The previous owner was not a riveter — screws turned up throughout where rivets had once been. The galley has been removed and may not be reused; its tambour is beyond saving. Teardown stopped at the closets and bathroom door, which are in good condition and will be kept. The removed interior is bagged and stored for reinstallation.

Next up: lifting the shell, removing the tanks, frame prep, and the floor. A set of stair-tread stands was built for stacking and supporting the shells, replacing axle work on jackstands.

Teardown continued, and the interior walls are now out. The small angled closet wall may not be reinstalled. If the rebuild goes all the way, the sink will move to the curb side and out of the shower, as on the 1966–68 Caravel. The water heater is also out; the floor beneath it isn’t rotten — it’s simply gone.

Stripping it down

With the interior out, the exterior teardown began. The Carefree awning came off, followed by the exterior trim. The battery door is being removed: it intrudes about a foot into the awning’s space — shortening the awning — and breaks the rub-rail line; it will be patched with a bucked-in repair and the batteries relocated inside. The front TV antenna is also off, another patch location. The street-side Land Yacht emblem had been installed with steel screws. The frozen propane hold-down was freed with a MAPP torch, Kroil, and a pair of 10-inch pipes for leverage. Pulling the expired Missouri plate revealed an older Alaska tag underneath.

The back end

With the exterior coming apart, attention turned to the rear of the trailer. It holds a decent grey-water tank, though how the shower drain connects to it isn’t yet clear. The black tank’s drain valve sits outside the frame — possibly factory — alongside a grey add-on tank on the right and a 3-inch frame extension that may also be factory. The black tank was removed and thrown out, and the foul rear floor material was hauled off, with a little more to come. The grey tank is nearly free of the frame. The Univolt was also pulled — considerably heavier than expected.