This is a fantastic community! I am so excited to have all of this collective wisdom at my fingertips =)
I'd like to clarify - I would want to completely gut any Airstream that I buy, regardless of the condition, down to sanding the old adhesive off the walls. This is due to my serious chemical sensitivities. Mold and the formaldehyde in plywood/pressboard are a big problem. Here is an example of one person with MCS, and their renovation job:
MCS Airstream
You can see that their purpose was not to 'restore' an airstream to its perfect vintage glory, as cool as that may be. Every decision is made with the health of the materials as the foremost consideration.
I would guess that many of you are probably AS owners for fun, I would be an AS owner out of necessity - I have a need for toxin and mold free, safe, temporary/portable home. That said, I could have fun with it too =)
As for cheep not being worth it, I can see the logic there. I could see that in most situations, finding out that you have to replace half the flooring, and the bathroom walls, half the appliances, and redo the wiring or whatnot because it was more damaged than you expect would be a drag, and you would wish that you had paid more for one that was in better condition. We're ripping all that out anyway. I am curious if there is frequently damage to the exterior skin, frame, etc on the cheapest Airstreams that would be expensive (compared to buying a more expensive one and replacing the entire interior)
I totally agree that livability for a family of 4 is the most important consideration. I am still curious to know whether there is much of a difference in the cost of towing 20 and 30 foot models. To save our sanity I think we will go with the largest we can find =)
Thanks for the advice =)