New Member Interview with DJ Watson

Can you tell us about how you got into the vintage trailer hobby?

We are accidental airstreamers.  During 2020 like so many we decided that the safest way to travel would be with our own kitchen and bathroom.  We started looking and were all over the board – from a 5th wheel to a trailer. Somewhere along the searchwe determined that we wanted twin beds so as not to have to climb over each other, but that configuration is rare.  One day we were zooming with a friend in Florida who has restored 2 airstreams and he suggested we look at them or Argosys.  I remember saying that seemed way to “fancy” for us and asked him how I would even find one and he said just look at local marketplace sites. We hung up and 10 minutes later we found a 1967 Overlander on Facebook in Kentucky – about a 3-hour drive from us.  I texted my friend and said “Something like this?”  and his response was: “If you don’t buy that one – I will. It looks like a good deal”.  With his guidance we took a look to inspect it and on July 29, 2020 we took “Lucy” home to Tennessee.  She was in camping shape – all we did was paint a bit and clean. 

At some time during this juncture and lots of YouTube videos later we determined we needed to join WBCCI and that led to the Vintage AS Club.  Our first event, remember no rallies were happening during Covid- was a Caravan down the Natchez Parkway with our local Music City AS Club ending in the Region 6 Rally in Vidalia Louisiana, March of 2021. There we were told that we MUST join the vintage club and park with them at INternational. The rest…as they say…is history.

What type of trailers have you owned and what do you have now? What is your dream vintage trailer?

Lucy is a 1967 Overlander International Airstream and is our first trailer.  My dream would be to also own a 1963 (my birth year) but we really only have room for one and time for one so I think that will remain a dream.

What do you tow with?

Currently a 2017 GMC Sierra SLT

Do you attend rallies and what do you like the most about attending a rally?

We love rallies and have been to several with WBCCI and also with other vintage clubs.  Through that we have made great new friends. Although we also like to get out on our own, a good mix of solo camping with rallies and caravans makes for a great year.  We love the camaraderie of a shared hobby, the unbelievable knowledge that is available (we have learned so much ) and the fact that when others plan a destination we see something new we may have not seen before.  And caravaning gives us the confidence to tackle something we may be reluctant to do on our own, going to Alaska is on our bucket list.

Why did you decide to join the Tin Can Tourists?

Our friends Perry and Linda Tilghman have talked about it for years but we have just never been able to join an event until now.  Both of us serve on the Vintage Airstream Club board, and when we heard about the Rally at the Hall of Fame Museum we happily signed up.  That will be our first event – we were hoping to be at the winter rally in Florida next week but we have had to have an extensive repair done on Lucy and won’t have her back in time to get there.

What are your camping plans for this year?

Aside from the Hall of Fame event in August, we are signed up for several rallies with the Music City AS Club, a vintage rally in Tennessee, and the AIrstream International Rally in Rock Springs Wyoming which will take us from TN to WY and back through Colorado – home – adding 9 new states to our map.  We will be on the road for a month or more and can combine that with visiting family in Nebraska, Iowa and Colorado – so that will be fun. Later in the year we are eying Route 66 – or at least parts of it.

You can follow Lucy the Airstream #Lucy67 at

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