Stolen!

[wherestwink!]

From Philadelphia:

WHERE'S THE TWINK?
Sometime in February 2007, my beloved 1975 Airstream Argosy camper disappeared. It was earned the name of "Twink" because of its keen resemblance to a Twinkie. The Twink has taken me many places, from mountains to desserts to beaches to cities and every wacky red-neck town in between.

WHERE'S THE TWINK BEEN?
Last year I kind of lost my marbles from working too hard. I had a successful marketing company in Philly, but I really needed to get away. While some people choose a nice vacation, I decided to blow all of my money on a vintage 1975 Airstream Argosy camper, trade in my Jetta for a Ford F150 and hit the road for a few months. My trip was also featured in the local paper, Philly Weekly.

WHERE'S THE TWINK NOW?
I don't know, so I need your help! Imagine the horror when I drove by to check on the TWINK in the parking lot where I had parked it all year and... it wasn't there!!! "No sweat," I thought, "it must have been towed." But when the police had no records of any towing or abandoned vehicle reports, the terrible truth hit me. My Twink had been stolen.

I am DEVASTATED. The TWINK means so much to me, has taken me so many places and I had pictured traveling with it for years to come. I had dreamed of making the TWINK into a career somehow - pitching some book ideas, maybe trying to get a show, a sponsorship perhaps... And now it's gone. Someone has to know something. Please help me find the TWINK!

TWINK Description:

• 24’ 1975 Airstream Argosy Camper Trailer
• Beige Exterior with Orange Trim & Brown Bumper
• Large ARGOSY Logo Over Back Window
• Pimp 70’s Interior with Olive Green Countertops & “Airplane” Overhead Compartments
• Kitchen & Diner Booth that Converts into a Bed, Bedroom with Dresser, Bathroom with Shower
• Cushions are light green with pastel yellow & green stripes on some sides.
• Some Camping & Kitchen Supplies in the Cabinets
• 70’s Vintage Playboy Magazines in the Magazine Rack (essential for any road trip!)
  

Identifying Features:

• Rusty step for the front door, one side of the step sometimes broken
• Broken shelf in the bathroom closet
• Couch off of the tracks when you try to convert it into a bed
• The pantry closet in the kitchen won’t stay closed
  

Wax in the kitchen sink from melted candles

I reaching out to the airstream community for any help/advice there is to offer!!

Thank you!

Rachel

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[safari57]

What a crappy thing to happen. Can you tell me what might stand out if I'm driving down the road and see one at a traffic light - something that will quickly tell us it's yours without having to go to significant lengths to take a closer look. Also, who and how do we contact if we see it? The local police? It could be anywhere in the country so we may need the police contact and file # as well as the contact person.

There's a couple on Vancouver Island who had their 52 chev coupe and attached 57 Shasta stolen off their driveway three weeks ago. They will stand out a bit more than your Argosy. But sadly this stuff apparently happens a lot more than we think. RV's are easy prey.

I'm sure you will find that anyone on the forum who reads this will be keeping an eye out for your baby.

Barry

[Janet H]

Hi and welcome to the forums. Have you contacted the police, your insurance company, etc? How about the owner of the parking lot?

Check e-bay and craigslist.

Do you have the VIN? Pictures?

So sorry to hear about this - an Argosy is hard to hide, we'll keep our eyes peeled.

[Condoluminum]

Rachel-

Sorry to hear of your loss, but yours is not the first to be stolen.. Even Christopher Deen, the designer of the International CCD interiors for Airstream, had his stolen almost 2 years ago...

Here are some ideas you can consider..

1. Post license and portion of serial number here, plus a photo or two to help others identify the unit more exactly...
2. Patiently watch the online sales listings and newspaper ads to see if thief not very smart, and tries to make quick sale.. Those would be classifieds here, auctions at Ebay or Yahoo, craigslist classifieds, and several others, like rvtraderonline.com and rvonline.com.. There are lots, but it might pay off..
3. Make sure all local police agencies are notified, including neighboring states.
4. Consider charter of helicopter or small aircraft at smalll airport for aerial tour of local countryside (would cost a couple hundred $$) with a friend or two and some binoculars.. You'd be surprised to discover how much territory you could cover in a couple hours and how easy a large tan twinky would be to spot from the air at an altitude of a few thousand feet, if someone had decided to store it in the country or away from a highway.

Good luck...

[Pschoerrn]

Rachel,

what a terrible loss!! What would be helping the Community to help you is the VIN and maybe some pictures. Be sure that everybody here will have an open eye!! Have a look on ebay or local newspapers, maybe it will show up there... Good luck in finding your baby!!

Stefanie and Bjoern

[AYRSTRM2]

Originally Posted by wherestwink!

.... Imagine the horror when I drove by to check on the TWINK in the parking lot where I had parked it all year and... it wasn't there!!! "No sweat," I thought, "it must have been towed." But when the police had no records of any towing or abandoned vehicle reports, the terrible truth hit me. My Twink had been stolen....
Rachel

Parking lot or paid for storage facility? I'm a little confused by this. Storage facilities have locked access, or was this a municipal or private parking lot?

Also, post a picture. Many coaches have that little nick or dent where it's recognizable from others.

[Janet H]

Why don't you place an ad in our classifieds section - use the "trailers wanted" section. Trailer dealers cruise that area and it might help raise visibility.

[wherestwink!]

Thank you all so much for this great advice. Some more details:

The police report #: 07-04-009435
Title Number Begins with 6303
Plate #: XCB9560

Some of the beige paint has chipped off of the front, top rounded part of the Argosy. The silver shows through, almost like freckles.

Unfortunately, I live in a city and there are not many options for storing a camper. The parking lot was a public parking lot, non-administered. It's kind of a loop-hole, but all of the football tailgaters park their camper there in the off season, usually without problem. I think my camper just stood out because most of the other trailers weren't in the best condition. So it wasn't any kind of "official" storage space, and it was kind of the best we could do for storage in the area.

I'm new to this forum so I'm still trying to figure out how to post photos, but here is a link to my website, which has the whole story:
Rachel’s Guide » Where’s the TWINK? My Airstream was Stolen!

Thanks for your support. Only Airstream owners can truly undertand how sad this feels.

[Janet H]

To add pics:

Click on reply and scroll down to bottom of text box.
Click "go advanced" add text to message window and then scroll down.
Click "Manage attachments" A separate window will pop up.
Click "browse" Then select the file to be uploaded. Be sure that the photo is appropriately sized. 1024 x 1024 pixels (or smaller) and no more than 300 K. You may select several photos to upload at the same time by repeating the last step.
Click "Upload" After pics have loaded close the pop-up window
Click "submit reply" to mount the text of your message - photos will automatically appear in post.

[wherestwink!]

Another identifiable "dink": There are a few dinks on the front of the camper towards the side with the door. The person who owned it before me tried to paint over them, but the paint wasn't exactly the same color of beige. So there are a few painted-over dents visible.

Also, I made too sharp of an L-Shape one time between my camper & truck, so I made a small dent in the front of the camper where my back bumper would have fit.

My license plate was in the back window inside of the screen. I never bolted it where the actual license plate is supposed to go.

There was no air conditioner unit on top, just the 2 vents...

[flyfshr]

How horrible!! Keep on top of searching for it through all of the great ideas listed above. Maybe do a Google seach for 'argosy for sale' and see what you come up with. If its on the 'net, you'll find it. I'll certainly keep an eye open.

Brad
FF

[wherestwink!]

Please call 215.888.8885 with Info

[Silvertwinkie]

I'll keep my eyes open.....sorry to hear it's been taken.

[wherestwink!]

Vehicle Identification Number: xxxxx1022

[wherestwink!]

[Janet H]

Are the orange inserts (rubrail and beltline) replaced with new vinyl or painted into the track? They are unusually orange for an argosy this age....

[Minnie's Mate]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I know you must be heart broken.

[wherestwink!]

The beltlines are vinyl (I think), but definitely not painted. They would sometimes start to slide out of place, making a little loop sticking out from the camper. They are orange. The bumper was brown.

[wherestwink!]

So the two major identifiers would be the paint marks (front, bottowm, door side) & the "freckles" above the Argosy logo where the paint started to chip away. (front, top)

[Fyrzowt]

Originally Posted by wherestwink!

Thank you all so much for this great advice. Some more details:

The police report #: 07-04-009435
Title Number Begins with 6303
Plate #: XCB9560

Some of the beige paint has chipped off of the front, top rounded part of the Argosy. The silver shows through, almost like freckles.

Unfortunately, I live in a city and there are not many options for storing a camper. The parking lot was a public parking lot, non-administered. It's kind of a loop-hole, but all of the football tailgaters park their camper there in the off season, usually without problem. I think my camper just stood out because most of the other trailers weren't in the best condition. So it wasn't any kind of "official" storage space, and it was kind of the best we could do for storage in the area.

I'm new to this forum so I'm still trying to figure out how to post photos, but here is a link to my website, which has the whole story:
Rachel’s Guide » Where’s the TWINK? My Airstream was Stolen!

Thanks for your support. Only Airstream owners can truly undertand how sad this feels.

One other question - Which police dept was the report filed with? Philly?

What a loss, I'm sorry.
I'm a long ways away, but who knows. Distance may be a logical choice for who-ever took it, and California or the like, may fetch a higher price if they try to sell it.

Heads up if you live in an area of the country that fetches a high price for these. (And any area of the country!)

We're all hoping for the best,
Dave