Hollywood stars spend a lot of time living in trailers while on film locations, and while most actors view a trailer as just a trailer, Tom Hanks wanted something a little more.
Hanks’ choice since 1992 has been a 33-foot Airstream trailer specially outfitted with a homey décor of his own design, and in which he stayed during the making of more than a dozen films, starting with Forrest Gump.
Before he obtained his Airstream, Hanks said, “I had spent too much time in regular trailers with ugly decor and horribly uncomfortable furniture.”
But now he’s moving on, and the 1992 Airstream, along with the heavy-duty Ford pickup used to tow it, will be offered during the Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction held August 13 in Carmel, California, during Monterey Car Week.
The Airstream is offered with the furnishings that Hanks ordered, and features the actor’s autograph prominently displayed inside. The Airstream’s estimated value is $150,000 to $200,000.
The 2010 Ford F-450 Super Duty pickup, estimated at $70,000 to $100,000, will be sold separately. And no, Hanks did not drive the truck towing the trailer, which was not permitted because of studio insurance restrictions.
Two other vehicles belonging to the beloved actor will be auctioned by Bonhams as well, a customized 1980 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, estimated at $75,000 to $125,000, and his 2015 Tesla Model S P85D, estimated at $70,000 to $100,000.
The Airstream has covered several thousand miles across the United States, from the sets of Forrest Gump in South Carolina to Angels and Demons in Culver City, California, and Hanks had high praise for the mobile living space he owned for nearly three decades.
“An Airstream is gorgeous and cozy, which is why everyone who visited mine went away wanting one,” Hanks said in a Bonhams news release. “I shan’t forget night shoots on Gump and The Green Mile with the windows open and the cool air coming in.
“Or the time Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton and I watched a Buster Keaton documentary on the TV – before running through the Forest Lawn cemetery in our Apollo 13 costumes to pay homage at his grave.”
The trailer also provided necessary shelter when needed, Hanks added: “You haven’t lived well until you survive a movie-stopping thunderstorm in an Airstream while on location in Carolina.”
Hanks said he is parting with his Airstream because of how Hollywood location work has changed, negating the need for a semi-permanent home on wheels.
“Movies move faster now,” he said, so that he “doesn’t have as much time during set-ups.
“I got it in the days when movies moved slower.”
Hanks’ Airstream will be auctioned among the docket of collector cars and trucks offered during Bonhams’ annual sale at the Quail Lodge and Golf Club, adjacent to where The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering car show is held. For more information, visit the Bonhams website.
