1960s Airstream Front Window Guard Reborn

In 1967, Airstream started offering a new rock guard made of a transparent plastic called Butyrate (derived from cellulose). In 1968 it became a standard feature.



From the 1968 Airstream brochure:

"Front window guard of tough transparent Butyrate. Protects window from flying rock and gravel yet maintains visibility straight through the trailer's rear window. Used as an awning, the window guard allows full light to enter yet diffuses direct rays of the sun."

They were a great design. The only problem was the Butyrate. It turned out to be crap and the transparency degraded. Today, the few originals that are left are somewhat translucent, but not transparent. The original goal of "visibility straight through the trailer's rear window" is lost.

I decided it was time to resurrect the original window guard. I borrowed an original from one of Colin Hyde. I sent the yellowed and cracked original off to our thermoformer and had him create a form based on the original. We knocked a few out in Lexan and sourced out all the hardware and trim. I hired Colin to assemble them and we're offering them on our site. I don't know if they'll be popular or not, but I think they're pretty cool.