I'm addicted.

[Mollysdad]

I've become addicted to this forum.
Since I'm downsizing from a MH to an Airstream, it started as a good way to learn things from others. Then I tried to contribute, if I thought I might have something to add. Maybe too much sometimes, but I digress.
I see daily posts like "I have a leak", "I hate my tires", "I need a new truck", "My floor needs replacing", My wiring just blew up". Quite frankly, I'm starting to get cold feet.
Surely, not everyone spends their waking moments fixing problems, so I guess I need to know some of you actually use your trailers trouble free.
Why would I buy a RV that's riddled with holes when there's nice fiberglass boxes that aren't (and are a LOT less expensive)?
Answer, None of those appeal to me.

[FCStreamer]

Hanging out on the forums is like hanging out at a hospital. If you walk into a hospital and ask "any sick people in here?", you are bound to get a disproportionate number of positive answers.

Forums for the most part are a place for like minded people to connect, but a lot of them come to get answers to their problems. This is not representative of the community as a whole. I assure you, there are a lot of happy campers with no issues that simply do not feel the need to come here and post "hey, nothing wrong here!"

Enjoy your Airstream!

[NoResults]

Although I have had very few problems, I have found my reading the forums some very useful ideas as to items to check prior to each trip.

How to properly take care of batteries (ie upgrade the charger) saved me $300.00 to upgrade vs taking to the dealer. Adding a useful battery monitor. Again an easy do it yourself upgrade that gives me useful information.

This is just an example of how I use the forum. Dave

[McDave]

To be honest with you, I don't think I've ever been on a trip where I didn't have to fix something. I've never really looked on that as a reason not to go on trips, just that something(s) big or small is going to break and is going to need to be fixed. I've become pretty handy at fixing things, or making do until I get home when I couldn't, and my only regret is that I would like to go on more trips than I have time for!

[SeaLevel]

We've only got ~70 nights under our belt at this point, but only once did we have a problem that affected us much, and that was when our power jack failed on the 4th night. I was able to work around it manually, which wasn't fun at the time, but it didn't ruin our trip. Otherwise it's all been fun. I still tinker around with things sometimes, making little improvements here and there, but that's just part of the fun as far as I'm concerned.

[DMP54]

Answer, None of those appeal to me.[/QUOTE]

You answered your own question

[J-K Georgia]

We are newbies, trailer picked up Sept 30, 2016, since then, about 4000 miles towing and 8 different campgrounds. One night of boondocking.
Yes we have had a few problems, but our dealer has been great to work with. No second guessing just getting the job done.
Not a chance of wanting to be rid of our Airstream. We enjoy it, we enjoy the community and the associated events.
I have had two previous travel trailers, each had their own personality and problems, one of which should have been on prozac, but we enjoyed it anyway.
Should there be improvements in quality control, definitely. But it is one of the things that the community can help with by working with and communicating to the Mother ship. JMHO.

Happy Trails,

john

[cirrusdriver]

I had the same misgivings when I bought our Pendleton last year. My concerns became so acute that I just bought a Bambi 16 to go along with it. Forums can be great but people use it like urgent care at the hospital. Every single nit gets picked here. Just go for it and have fun. Life is short.

[riowerks]

Don't forget that there are a bunch of us on the forums who are working with 30+ year old trailers. How many other brands have a bunch of nutcases toiling away (I say that lovingly ) on 50 year old trailers? You're getting the whole shebang here.

[Al and Missy]

@Mollysdad: Have you spent as much time on the other forums as you have here? They have all the same appliance problems, roof leaks, floor rot, and frame rot and shell delamination to boot. We spent about 4 months going from white box forum to white box forum before coming here. It was here that we discovered that we actually could tow a 2001 Safari 25 with our 2006 F-150 and still be within specifications. I had been looking at the newer trailers which are 1000# heavier (according to specifications).

People are always tinkering and improving. I changed my dump fitting because it wasn't compatible with my hoses I kept from our 25. I changed my skylights because I wanted to, not because they needed it at the moment. The dealer assured me that the trailer had been de-winterized when I picked it up; it hadn't. We drove it home on a three day-two night trip with little or no hot water. I spent a week or more chasing ghosts before someone pointed out that the valve I thought was the bypass valve wasn't. That's not an Airstream problem but I wrote a lot of posts on here trying to get my hot water working.

I read way more than I post. I think I have only posted about three or four threads about things going well. With over 17,000 miles and 112 nights on board, you'd think I could find more positive things to post about. It's not that they didn't happen, I just didn't take the time to post. It's a priority thing, I guess.

Long way of saying - do your due diligence when you buy so you know what you are getting, and then get out and enjoy it.

Al

[SteveSueMac]

You might be interested in this thread. Happy camping!

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f483...ms-157089.html

[Gearheart]

My Argosy 24 is a '73. When I got her, 3 years ago, she had been parked in a field for 15 years. Plumbing leaked due to neglect, back end of floor was rotten but serviceable. I fixed it last spring, Black tank was cracked. I now have a nature's head composting toilet. there were some cracked compression nuts that were leaking propane. All of them were replaced. It is now back in service and if my son wants it after I'm done travelling, he will have no grief with it. He will have to replace the axles again in about 25 years. There is no SOB out there that can boast that kind of longevity.

[n2916s]

So, there we were, 2004 and both of us about to retire early. After much searching found a 1986 31' Sovereign for a good price but 375 miles away. Bought it, came home, bought a Nissan Titan to tow it and...

12 years and 70000 plus miles later we are some happy campers. Yep, changed out the water heater and rebuilt the fridge. Two sets of brake shoes, new seals on all the windows and so on.

Although often tempted to upgrade to newer, shinier, we still have Fairley the Sovereign.

[cabinetmaker]

Picked up our 2017 26U week before Christmas. Just completed our 3rd trip. Happy to say we have not experience any problems. Everything works and we have been out in bad weather and had no leaks.

This is our 5th Airstream...we had beginning problems with one prior to the 26U but everything was corrected by dealer in short order. It was in perfect shape when we sold it.

We have friends with one of those box trailers you mentioned...it seems to go back to the dealer after every trip. It's not a cheap brand either.

Airstreams aren't all perfect but they are way better than the box trailers. You are correct that the initial cost of a Airstream is more but you will get a larger percentage of that back if you ever sell compared to a box trailer...and your travels will be much more enjoyable!

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by FCStreamer

Hanging out on the forums is like hanging out at a hospital. If you walk into a hospital and ask "any sick people in here?", you are bound to get a disproportionate number of positive answers.
. . .

Well said. Airstream ownership is the result of a binary choice in life:

1. Own an Airstream;

or

2. Do not own an Airstream.


We have chosen #1, including all the various pluses and minuses. Happily . . .


Movin' on down the road . . . !

[truxpin]

Remember, most people will originally search out forumns as a means to research and get answers to problems they are having with their perspective rig. Then as they become more familiar with a certain forumn, will interact on a more positive note.
It's true you see many posts that can be a bit discouraging, especially if your still on the fence about an Airstream purchase. Just remember, there are lots of us out here that aren't having catastrophic failures and couldn't be happier.
My wife & I are both still fulltime in our careers AND fulltime in our '34 Limited, as such, we dont give the running gear on our rig as much use as we'd like. We do however, give fulltime use to everything else. Cabinets, doors, windows, refridg/freezer, heating/air, plumbing systems, etc....
Overall, I'm amazed these thing hold up to daily use. I'm sure they aren't really designed for it !