Airstream Over the Eichlers

"Life is good," as the Airstream travel trailer slogan goes, and East Bay Eichler owners Kevin and Jeri Wasniewski can't agree more these days.

The ambitious couple, who live in Concord's Rancho Del Diablo, recently extended their own good lives after hauling a 'silver bullet' trailer over their rooftop and into their backyard, bringing Kevin's aging parents back home to live on their property.

The happily-ever-after story began after Covid hit, when the Wasniewski family's young son rarely got to visit with his grandparents, who were then living in Ohio. Maybe, just maybe, Kevin and Jeri thought, the whole family could be reunited by living together under one Concord Eichler roof.

When the Wasniewskis realized they would need to expand their home in order to make room for such a move, they faced a host of challenging circumstances. A series of thoughtful solutions—including a move across the country, re-tooling their 1963 Eichler, and adopting an Airstream trailer—saved the day.

This is where "life is not easy," another piece of the Airstream slogan, came into the picture. Kevin's parents, who are now in their late 70s, had been living in a large, two-story home south of Youngstown, Ohio. Five years ago, Kevin's dad had to go on dialysis, a process he continues to do nightly.

"Going up and down the steps was taking a lot out of him," recalls Kevin, an architectural designer. "So, my brother and I suggested that my parents sell their home, a house they had built in 1993 when my father worked for General Motors."

The Airstream component brought it all together, Kevin points out. "My wife and I have always loved Airstreams, and staying at Autocamp in Guerneville solidified our passion. As we saw my dad's health decline, we felt helpless not to be able to visit and help my parents during the shutdown."

That's when the couple decided they would give their master suite to the parents, and move into the second bedroom, which had been Kevin's office.

They researched building a stand-alone office but that wasn't in the cards. It wasn't until a developer friend asked if they'd ever thought about moving an Airstream into their backyard as an office that the idea took hold.

"When you factor in the cost of a vintage Airstream, plus craning it over," Kevin says, "it's a fraction of the cost of building new."