1954 Silver Streak Clipper
This unique vintage trailer is a 1954 Silver Streak Clipper. In 1953, Silver Streak Trailer Co. released a new 25-foot Clipper that replaced the Model 7’s alien-eye windows with a combination of fixed and operable rectangular windows. The new windows were glass instead of plexiglass and provided increased cross ventilation. In 1954, the company offered 22-ft and 25-ft models with fixed/operable windows, alongside the original alien-eye version. Company literature seems to indicate that the company discontinued the Model 7 in 1955.
Like the Model 7, the new trailers were park models, some with bathrooms. Their pipe frames were all-steel construction. They had a taller and more upright shell and prouder end cones than the Model 7, making for a roomier interior. This particular style of vintage trailer was produced for only two to three years. By 1956, Silver Streak had changed the profile of its trailers entirely, abandoning the compact bullet shape for the roomier, boxier style that would reign for decades.
To borrow a phrase I once heard at a vintage trailer rally, “this one’s my forever trailer.” While I’m a huge fan of the alien eye Clipper– it’s what hooked me on vintage trailers in the first place– over time I’ve developed a real affection for the ’53-’55 models. Their fixed/operable end windows give them more of an “iron giant” look and are far easier to repair and maintain than alien eye windows.
As luck would have it, an angel in Arizona contacted me, offering to re-home her 22-ft ’54 Clipper, S/N 1023-1. She remembered her grandfather purchasing it when she was a little girl. This vintage trailer had been in her family ever since, sitting at a lake spot where it had been used as a fixed cabin for decades. It’s a “barn find” as these things go but will still need a full down-to-the-studs restoration. Renovation slated for summer 2023.
