--- title: "Shasta Trailer Repair | Airflyte Wings and Retro Bodies" description: "Shasta Airflyte, Oasis and Revere repair. The wings, birch panels and painted aluminum on a 1961 Shasta all get rebuilt here." focus_keyword: "shasta vintage trailer repair rancho santa margarita" canonical: https://ocrv.me/brands/shasta/ kind: brand updated: 2026-07-29 source: OCRV Center --- # Shasta Repair: Vintage Canned Ham Bodies and Modern Reissues > Shasta covers two eras: **vintage canned ham trailers** with wood frames and painted aluminum, and **modern Forest River reissues**. The old ones are carpentry, the new ones are conventional. ## Can a vintage Shasta trailer still be restored? Yes, and it is carpentry as much as bodywork. A vintage Shasta is wood framed with painted aluminum siding, so restoration means replacing rotted framing and floor structure. Rancho Santa Margarita owners bring these to our Yorba Linda shop for that work rather than to a general body shop. - Vintage bodies are wood framed with painted aluminum skin - The signature wings are reproduced by aftermarket suppliers - Birch interior paneling is sourced as lumber, not as parts - Modern Airflyte and Oasis units source through Forest River ### Key facts | Item | Value | | --- | --- | | Vintage construction | Wood frame, painted aluminum siding, birch interior | | Wings | Reproduced by specialist suppliers | | Body rate | $210 per hour (Framing, siding, floor and refinish work) | | Original trim | Salvage market only | | Estimate | $150 (Credited in full against an authorized repair) | Shasta is the trailer most people picture when they think of a vintage camper: a small canned ham body with chrome wings on the rear flanks. The company started in California in the 1940s, and Southern California still holds a large share of the survivors, which is why we see more of them than a shop in the Midwest would. There is also a modern Shasta, carried by Forest River, including an Airflyte reissue that borrows the styling. Those are conventional trailers with conventional parts support. The vintage units are restoration work, and the two share nothing but a name. ## Wood framing under painted aluminum A vintage Shasta is built the way a house is built, at small scale: wood studs and rafters, a plywood floor on a steel frame, insulation between the members, and painted aluminum sheet fastened over the outside. There is no laminate, no bond line and no composite anything. That construction is easy to repair and easy to destroy. It repairs well because framing members are simple lumber and siding is sheet metal. It destroys quietly because water gets past aged sealant and rots the frame behind an aluminum skin that still looks presentable. Almost every vintage Shasta that comes through our door needs framing work somewhere. ## The wings, and where they come from now The rear wings are the reason people buy these trailers, and they are reproduced by specialist aftermarket suppliers rather than by any manufacturer. Reproduction quality varies. Mounting is the part that matters: the wings fasten through the skin into framing, and that penetration is a water path if it is not sealed correctly. When we fit wings, the mounting points get backing in sound framing and proper sealing, because a wing screwed into rotted wood tears out and takes a piece of the skin with it. Where the original wings are salvageable we polish and remount rather than replace, since original brightwork is worth keeping. ## Siding and paint on a sixty year old trailer Painted aluminum siding is available in stock profiles, but not in original Shasta colors, and matching a two tone scheme from 1961 means matching to what is left on the trailer rather than to a chart. We spray out cards against the original paint in daylight and adjust until the new section disappears next to it. Where an owner wants a full restoration, spraying the entire body in a period correct two tone is often better value than blending several patches. It also lets us address every fastener line and seam properly, which is where these trailers leak. We price both approaches. ## Birch panels and period interiors Vintage Shasta interiors used thin birch plywood panels, dinette bases and overhead cabinets built from the same material. None of that is a parts order. It is lumber, patterns and joinery, and reproducing a curved overhead cabinet in matching birch is cabinet shop work rather than trailer repair. We do it because there is no alternative and because it is the difference between a restored trailer and a gutted one with modern paneling. Owners who want the period look get patterns taken off the original pieces before anything is removed, which is the step that cannot be recovered later. ## Modern Shasta units are a different job The current Airflyte, Oasis, Revere and Phoenix trailers are Forest River products with conventional construction: laminated or framed walls, a membrane roof, contemporary appliances and normal parts support. They repair like any modern towable, and the divisional sourcing note that applies to Forest River applies here too. The reissued Airflyte wears retro styling on a modern body, so a repair has to respect the styling elements while using current methods underneath. That is a straightforward job and a very different one from restoring an original. ## Rates, expectations and our standing Framing, siding, floor and refinish work bills at $210 per hour. Cabinet reproduction bills at the same rate. Appliance and electrical work is $260. A written estimate is $150 and is credited in full when the repair is authorized. Restoration work is quoted in phases so an owner can spread it. OCRV Center is an independent shop with no relationship to Forest River or the historic Shasta company. All work is performed in shop at Yorba Linda. Vintage trailers are stored inside while a job is open, because leaving an opened wood framed body outdoors undoes the work. ## Questions and answers ### Where do replacement Shasta wings come from? Specialist aftermarket suppliers reproduce them, since no manufacturer makes them. Quality varies, and mounting matters more than the part. Wings fasten through the skin into framing, so we add backing in sound wood and seal properly. A wing screwed into rotted framing tears out and takes skin with it. ### How much framing rot is too much on a vintage Shasta? There is no fixed limit, only a cost curve. Replacing a few studs and a section of floor is routine. A body where the frame is soft along multiple walls and the floor has failed at the wheel wells becomes a full rebuild, and we quote it that way rather than as a repair. ### Can you match a 1961 Shasta two tone paint scheme? To the trailer, yes. We match against what is left on the body rather than against any chart, using spray out cards checked in daylight. On a full restoration, repainting the whole body in a period correct scheme is often better value than blending several separate patches. ### Are original birch interior panels available? No, they are lumber and joinery rather than a parts order. We take patterns off the original pieces before removing them, then reproduce panels and cabinets in matching birch. That pattern step cannot be recovered afterwards, which is why nothing comes out until it has been recorded. ### Is the modern Airflyte built like the original? No. The reissue wears retro styling on contemporary construction, with a membrane roof and modern parts support through Forest River. It repairs like any current towable. The styling elements need care during a repair, but the methods underneath are entirely modern. --- Source: [OCRV Center](https://ocrv.me/brands/shasta/). Last verified 2026-07-29.