Airstream 18ft International 2019 Review

It’s been almost seven years since the iconic American-built Airstream caravans were officially launched down under.

As the sole Australian dealer, Batemans Bay, NSW outfit A & A Industries had limited success selling three versions of the polished aluminium ‘travel trailers’, priced from around $90,000 to $135,000, before Jayco took over Australian distribution in early-2018.

After a false start with the funky little Base 13 camper, Jayco launched a more traditional, two-model line-up at this year’s Victorian Caravan Supershow.

On display was the $139,990, single axle Airstream 18ft International (reviewed here), with the larger and better equipped 22ft International tandem axle model to follow later this year, priced around $170,000.

Both Airstream touring vans are aimed at couples (although they can accommodate up to four people), and feature a rear ensuite with separate shower and toilet, plus kitchen galley and dinette/lounge.

However, the 18 footer gets a cosy front bedroom with transverse double bed, while the 22ft version gets a more accessible island double bed located closer to the bathroom.

The locally-compliant Airstreams are available from four Jayco dealers – Perth’s Caravanland, Jayco Adelaide, Page Bros in Melbourne and Jayco Newcastle in NSW – and Jayco says it will consider introducing other Airstream models.

Airstream with an Aussie accent

So what’s different about the latest ‘Jayco’ Airstreams?

While still painstakingly hand-built at Airstream’s Ohio factory, they’re more ‘Australian’ than before, thanks to a number of familiar fittings and appliances supplied to the American manufacturer by Jayco.

Gone are less desirable ‘Americanisms’ like the powered jack and black water tank, replaced with AL-KO’s ubiquitous wind-up jockey wheel (and 50mm ball coupling) and a Dometic power-flush toilet with removable cassette.

Other items you might otherwise find on an Australian-built Jayco include a Thetford or Dometic cooktop, fridge, and air-conditioner and BMPro electricals including battery and water monitor, not to mention a roof-top solar panel, gas bayonet and external hot/cold shower.

The latest International Airstreams are also built at the factory with a single door on the ‘correct’ side rather than one on both sides as was the case with some of the earlier Australian-delivered Airstreams.

Riveting reading

However, potential buyers will be pleased to know that the Aussie versions are otherwise identical in design and construction to the 1200 or so 'silver bullets' that roll out of the Ohio factory each year.

That includes the shiny, aircraft-grade aluminum panels that can take the best part of 280 ‘man’ hours and 3000 rivets to attach to the sturdy steel frame, bolstered by thick fibreglass batt insulation and finished with a durable clear coat protection.

And the retro design touches like the porthole-style glass windows with old-school latches and pull-down internal blinds, protruding tail-light surrounds, heavily tinted panoramic ‘windscreen’ and curved stone shields.

Another trademark Airstream feature is the lockable drawbar bin containing the two 9kg gas bottles, although the rubber straps that hold the lid in place are difficult to access.

The straps holding the heavily tinted front window cover above are much easier, allowing the top-hinged, strut-assisted cover to lift up and provide some extra ventilation. The curved front window covers on either side are fixed, as are the curved stone guards providing lower body protection either side of the gas compartment.

More Airstream eye-candy can be found in the ‘Zip Dee patio awning’, which should operate like any Dometic roll-out awning, although the 18ft International misses out on the steel rear bumper with hidden storage  compartment that comes standard with the 22ft model.

Other noticeable omissions on the 18ft Airstream are an external drop down picnic table and awning light – something fitted as standard on a $50,000 Aussie van!

Limited storage

The Airstream's curvy design also restricts external storage options. Instead of having a large 'tunnel boot' opening at the front, like many square-edged Aussie caravans, access to the Airstream's otherwise decent lower body storage space is limited by a small locker door on the onside.

While you could probably squeeze some small camp chairs and a folding table into the immediate space near the door, being able to retrieve other objects pushed into the rest of the available space towards the front of the van might be a problem.

The 18ft International review van was also fitted with a Furrion wireless reversing camera, along with a Dometic rooftop air-con and 120W roof-top solar panel to charge the 120Ah AGM battery. A Winegard TV antenna also comes standard, although a TV is optional.

There's no drawbar tap but the external hot cold/shower hatch is located towards the front on the offside, along with a 240V inlet, tank and mains water connectjons, and a ‘cable TV’ hook-up.

The 18ft Airstream rides quite low on 15in wheels and Dextar rubber torsion beam suspension, with gal-protected fresh and grey water tanks and the underslung spare tyre, further cutting into ground clearance. So even if you don’t care about getting those shiny panels dusty,  underbody damage will be an issue if you venture too far off the blacktop.

The upside of the low-slung, aerodynamic design was a very stable towing platform behind our 3000kg-tow rated Holden Trailblazer, at speeds up to 100km/h.

More eye candy inside

The Art Deco delights continue as you enter via a very solid, fuselage-style curved door – there's no screen or window opening for ventilation with the door shut, but a sturdy catch on the body holds the door open when the flies aren't around.

Once inside, the ensuite is directly to your right, with an unusual but effective, solid side-hinged door for privacy. Also unusual is the ceramic toilet positioned right next to the fibreglass shower cubicle, with a benchtop and vanity that curves around the rear and side walls.

The corner vanity featured a recessed stainless bowl sink and some open and closed storage, but the only reflection apart from the shiny walls is provided by a small wall-mounted pull-out make-up mirror.

Another potential issue in the ensuite is a lack of ventilation. The two porthole windows with single pull-down blind are fixed, so unless you open the door the only way to extract steam during long showers is a 12V fan hatch directly above the toilet (there's another roof hatch but it's on the other side of the ensuite door).

The Airstream’s curved interior walls and roofline present other 'form over function' issues in the ensuite, including restricted headroom for taller people as you move towards the back of the shower.

Built for lounging

There's not much to complain about the 18ft International's inviting central living area, which incorporates a six-person U-shaped lounge/dinette on the onside, with family-sized kitchen galley directly opposite.

The club-style lounge in the review van was covered in soft black leatherette upholstery, which is good for hiding stains but in our opinion doesn’t add to the Airstream ambience quite as much as the lighter beige option.

The lounge converts to another (185cm x 95cm) double bed for guests, by dropping down the adjustable tabletop and using the cushion backrests to fill in the base.

Cosy bedroom

Australian caravanners used to walk-around island queen beds might find the Airstream's front bedroom a little squishy, but you couldn't say it's not cosy or inviting with the supplied daybed cushions and panoramic window arrangement that can be shut off from the outside world with a combination of thick cotton draw-curtain and matching privacy curtain.

The 195cm x 135cm double bed isn't particularly wide but it's long enough for taller types to stretch out on the comfy innerspring mattress.

As well as the privacy curtain that's pulled across and secured on one side with push buttons, there's a Perspex divider to help separate the dinette and bedroom areas. Although the poorly cut example in our review van with its unsightly ragged edge running along the curved wall side was not befitting of a $140,000 caravan!

Plenty of bench space

There's more than enough space for food prep in the 18ft Airstream with a long kitchen benchtop, fitted with a two-burner gas cooktop at one end and a small sink with flick mixer tap at the other. However, if it was our van we’d prefer to sacrifice some of the bench space for a bigger sink with drainer and larger three or four burner cooker.

The microwave and oven/grille are located conveniently under the benchtop, but there’s no rangehood to take care of cooking smells and the only kitchen window for ventilation is located a metre or so from the cooking appliances.

The 18ft Airstream is fitted with a European-style slimline 141 litre fridge instead of one of the larger 180-190 litre fridges  found in many similar-size Aussie vans – presumably to free up storage space alongside, where a good-size floor to ceiling cupboard/wardrobe is fitted.

There are a few decent storage options in and around the kitchen, including drawers and cupboards below the sink and some stylish overhead cabinets featuring sliding smokey doors, screw-type catches and warm yellow mood lighting.

The other big internal storage space is under the bed, which featured four large plastic tubs for clothes or other items. However, some other storage spots like the space under the dinette that you have to get down on your hands and knees to reach, are less easy to access.

More bespoke touches

While the Corian-look laminate benchtops, rich timber-style furniture fascias and textured floor coverings are other points of difference, the decor and furnishings in the 18ft International are not as ‘fashionable’ as some other Airstreams we’ve seen.

The ‘handcrafted by Airstream’ mantra also extends to some sharp edging when you run your hand along the riveted interior wall surface, although some will argue that's all part of the Airstream's character!

Where the Airstream trumps many Aussie vans is in the level of climate control, with heating and cooling covered by roof-top air-conditioning as well as gas ducted heating distributed through three internal vents.

Also punctuating the curvy roofline are two small Dometic roof-mounted vents, and a fixed skylight near the bedroom that has a retractable blind to block out the light but only a thin, smokey vinyl covering that served to amplify the sound of rain on the rooftop during our photo-shoot.

There’s a good number of 240V sockets throughout the van (but only one USB socket near the Fusion stereo) and sufficient LED downlights, along with two reading lights in the bedroom (but none around the dinette).

Summing up

Airstreams are a bit like that other American icon, Harley-Davidson -- you buy them more with your heart than your head. After all, you can buy any number of similar size and equipped Aussie caravans for around half the price of the 18ft International.

At $140,000-plus for the latest Jayco-tweaked versions, they should remain rare and exclusive down under, which is exactly what attracts owners to them in the first place!

AIRSTREAM 18FT INTERNATIONAL 2019

Travel length: 7023mm (23ft 4in)
Body length: 5695mm (18ft 8in)
Exterior width: 2217mm (7ft 4in)
Interior width: 2128mm (7ft 2in)
Height interior (excl. air-con): 1990mm (6ft 6in)
Height exterior: 2820mm incl. air con (9ft 4in)
Berths: Up to four
Tare: 1805kg
ATM: 2300kg
Ball weight (Tare): 214kg
Chassis: Steel galvanized
Body: Steel frame, riveted aluminium panels
Suspension: Dexter beam
Brakes: 12in electric
Wheels/tyres: alloy, 225/70R15 LT
Fresh water: 80 litres
Grey water: 96 litres
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Cooktop: Smev two-burner gas, Thetford Duplex oven/grille
Fridge: 141L Thetord N3141 three-way fridge/freezer
Battery: 120Ah AGM
Solar: 120W roof-top (plus external solar hook-up)
Microwave: LG
TV: Optional (Winegard antenna fitted)
Radio: Fusion radio/CD/DVD with four speakers
Hot water: Suburban gas/electric
Ducted air heater: Suburban gas/electric
Air-con: Dometic Harrier
Shower: Separate fibreglass cubicle
Toilet: Dometic ceramic
Price: $139,990 (plus on-road costs)
Supplied by: Jayco Australia, Dandenong, Victoria
Airstream dealers: Jayco Page Bros, Seaford, Victoria; Jayco Caravanland, Beckenham, Western Australia; Jayco Adelaide, Edwardstown, South Australia; Jayco Newcastle, Heatherbrae, NSW
More info: Airstream Australia