Airstream Campsite with Quonset Hut Clubhouse Coming to Joshua Tree

The outdoor hotel company AutoCamp is bringing an Airstream campsite to Southern California.

The 25-acre property is just outside of Joshua Tree National Park and will include 47 custom Airstream campers, four accessible suites, and four X suites. According to TimeOut, all units will have HVAC systems for all-season stays, while premium suites will have an outdoor shower.

A clubhouse designed with two SteelMaster Quonset huts serves as the focal point of the site and will feature a general store, outdoor bar and mobile kitchen, a hot tub and pool, and a shaded patio and fire pit.

SteelMaster’s Senior Design Specialist, William Swafford, says one of the main reasons AutoCamp chose a Quonset hut for their project was because of its aesthetics.

“I think the concept of the campsite using silver Airstream campers and our arches being silver played well into the design,” William said. “We lend ourselves to the AutoCamp concept.”

The clubhouse will incorporate a wooden pergola and a wood slat wall into the arch system. It will also have side openings.

“The biggest challenge for us, engineering-wise, was connecting their system and what they were trying to do with the pergola and wooden slat wall into the steel building,” William said. “The arch is a standard Q arch, so it’s technically not custom. But you’re adding the complexities of adding their material into our material.”

William collaborated with many others to make the glamping site’s design come to life.

“There was a lot of coordination on the design side once we got the first set of drawings out,” he said. “We had a conference call with the owner, architect, contractor, and their engineer to discuss the project.”

In addition to his years of experience in designing custom steel structures, William says working on previous projects near Joshua Tree was an advantage.

“I definitely recommend to clients that are in the Joshua Tree area to take a look to see our projects in that area, especially the building I designed for The Lighthouse Dispensary in Coachella. It’s a retail business, so you can walk right in and check things out,” he said.

The arches have been delivered to the site, and William says AutoCamp plans to collaborate with SteelMaster on additional glamping sites in the future.

“I’m super excited to see how it turns out,” he said. “We have to get this site done first and from there we’ll see the changes and tweaks we’ll need to make to make future projects even better.”

Bookings for AutoCamp’s glamping site will open to the public in April; however, if you sign up for a membership, you can receive a room credit toward your first stay and first access to book your stay.