Tom Hanks has put his personal Airstream up for auction. The polished-aluminium travel trailer, a 1992 Model 34 Limited Excella, has accompanied the double Oscar winner to film sets across the United States since he bought it, in 1993.
"I got it in the days when movies moved slower. I had spent too much time in regular trailers with ugly decor and horribly uncomfortable furniture, so I decided to buy a brand-new Airstream shell with an interior made to my own request," Hanks tells Bonhams Magazine, which is published by the auction house handling the sale.
“I didn’t want anything built-in other than the kitchen and bathroom, so it had only a desk and cupboard in the back, a futon platform on the floor, and room for a small table and chairs. I wanted a regular sofa, too, so I had one made with removable legs so it would get through the door.”
As well as using it as a private refuge during Los Angeles productions, Hanks brought the Airstream with him from the United States’ Pacific Northwest, for Sleepless in Seattle, to South Carolina, for Forrest Gump, with stops in Philadelphia, for the film also called Philadelphia, and New York City, for Sully, among other locations. Its windows include clapperboard stickers identifying 18 films it was used on, from Sleepless in Seattle, in 1993, to The Circle, in 2017.
The 10m (35ft) trailer, which features air conditioning – including one air conditioners autographed by Hanks – a water heater, window blinds and a roll-up patio awning, will include all furniture and accessories, including dishes, glasses, several espresso makers, and a teak table and chairs.
"You haven't lived well until you survive a movie-stopping thunderstorm in an Airstream while on location in Carolina," Hanks says. "But, more than anything, an Airstream is gorgeous and cosy, which is why everyone who visited mine went away wanting one."
Bonhams is auctioning the trailer on August 13th, 2021.
