The end of Airstreaming as we know it?

[mweels]

I think a trailer exchange could help reduce travel costs.

Person A has a air stream and a number of local campgrounds. They list this information on a trailer exchange. Person B reserves Person A's trailer and campsight. Person A drives their trailer locally and greets Person B (who came on train) and they camp for a period of time. Person A gets a number of points for this. Person A goes and uses his points with other people.

Could be interesting and efficent if used with trains.

[henw]

Originally Posted by mweels

I think a trailer exchange could help reduce travel costs.

Person A has a air stream and a number of local campgrounds. They list this information on a trailer exchange. Person B reserves Person A's trailer and campsight. Person A drives their trailer locally and greets Person B (who came on train) and they camp for a period of time. Person A gets a number of points for this. Person A goes and uses his points with other people.

Novel idea. But, we already have motels. Nice thing about a TT is you don't worry about the wear/tear and mess others make.
Tom

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by henw

Novel idea. But, we already have motels. Nice thing about a TT is you don't worry about the wear/tear and mess others make.
Tom

Best thing about a TT is that you aren't sharing a bed with other folks that may not have the same hygiene habits as you do and may not change the sheets and mattress pad after they, uh, share affections.

I watched the first episode of "Sleep On It" on HGTV the other night and the couple that "tried out the house" slept in the master bed and they showed the couple in bed the next morning with their dog in bed with them. It looked as if the dog slept on the pillow with the wife...not in my bed!

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

Best thing about a TT is that you aren't sharing a bed with other folks that may not have the same hygiene habits as you do and may not change the sheets and mattress pad after they, uh, share affections.

I watched the first episode of "Sleep On It" on HGTV the other night and the couple that "tried out the house" slept in the master bed and they showed the couple in bed the next morning with their dog in bed with them. It looked as if the dog slept on the pillow with the wife...not in my bed!

We agree. We would prefer no one else using our Airstream, and we would not care to use anyone else's Airstream. We would as soon stay in a motel as use someone else's TT.

[Aria]

I appreciate reading all the comments and concerns. Remember your future is still in your power. The past cannot be changed.

Plan to live and enjoy life...

[Minnie's Mate]

I recently read an article by the Forbes Auto editor that opined that the "big 3" would be shifting their focus from the full sized SUV's that have been their bread-and-butter, i.e. their big profit centers, for the past decade to the cross-over SUV's that are now flooding the market. My opinion is that they are just puffed up station wagons. Anyway, the article also stated the opinion that the "big 3" would continue to make the work horse vehicles, i.e. trucks and full sized SUV's, for those commercial customers who need them and would continue to make the creature comfort laden versions for the private sector that needs them for purposes such as our own, but they would cut back on production and focus more on the eco friendly offerings in their marketing.

I guess from the article I read, I am comfortable that we will always have adequate tow vehicles available...if we can afford to operated them.

[DFord79]

Trailer exchange ...heck NO! The reason everyone owns an A/S is independence to DO IT YOUR WAY. I would never stay in someone elses Airstream. I would only own an A/S because it would be MINE. Same with most other RV'ers. Independence is the reason. I am quiet sure there will be Trucks big enough to pull an A/S or anything else for that matter. But will there be an RV industry that the common man can afford. Will that Truck of the future be even availible to the common man?

[safari57]

Originally Posted by mweels

I think a trailer exchange could help reduce travel costs.

Person A has a air stream and a number of local campgrounds. They list this information on a trailer exchange. Person B reserves Person A's trailer and campsight. Person A drives their trailer locally and greets Person B (who came on train) and they camp for a period of time. Person A gets a number of points for this. Person A goes and uses his points with other people.

Could be interesting and efficent if used with trains.

IMHO, I suspect this could happen, in particular with the big box SOB's . If you look now the vast number of people who fly in to an area and rent an RV to sightsee has grown year after year and it's not much of a leap to carry it to the level you suggest.

I believe the people who typically own Airstreams and other higher end rigs would be less willing to do this. It's my experience that we seem to be much more focused on pernsonalizing our mobile living spaces and are far more attached to them. They are close to being our aluminum pets.

Barry

[mweels]

I think everyone forgot the context in which I posted the trailer exchange.

I was under the assumption that our world digressed to a point where traveling by truck and trailer was no longer a option based on supply issues.

if this were the case, I think you would see us go back to trains and sail vessles as it is the most effcient mode of transportation. Even more so given these fictitious circumstances.

With that, I bet everyone here would be into it. You might even bring your own sheets.

You could also have a collaborative rating system so people could rate people on the various attributes that would make sense. (how clean, food, etc).

Of course this is all make believe as we have a unlimited amount of fuel and there are no laws of nature to change our current expansion.

It reminds me of the last people on Easter Island.

Must have been weird cutting down the last tree for a fire and maybe a boat to catch fish.

*Imagine* having to park the Air Stream.

In the above context I hope you find the idea workable. Until then, stay the hell out of my Airstream!

[Minnie's Mate]

Imaginary or real scenario, I wouldn't be interested in sharing my Airstream either! I'd just go back to hotels. At least there are maids to clean up after us and change the sheets between guest.

[REDNAX]

Diesel 22+ mpg at 68 mph, all Interstate is no brag with a 2004 Dodge CTD, it's fact. From my records or those of hundreds of others. Nor is the 15 mpg towing.

I bought mine used, under market value, and my depreciation is negligible with zero finance costs. At 130,000 miles I am one-third the way through the life of the drivetrain. Repairs, maintenance, etc are easily handled with regular service.

Diesel is about $3.40 locally, and 87-octane is $2.80.

In 10,000 miles of highway only driving, that diesel is $200 cheaper in fuel than the gas truck it replaced. The disparity in city/town solo driving is even greater (11 mpg vs. 17 mpg).

It isn't the price of fuel (Americans balk at $3.30/gal plus) it is

THE AVAILABILITY OF FUEL

as spot shortages are more likely in the near future. That will be the bigger (panic-inducing) problem. Gonna be some nice pickups and trailers available when that happens.

Only dumb bunnies think fuel mileage is the end-all, be-all of vehicle ownership on a monthly note they can afford. In reality, a vehicle with no money owed, low depreciation and a very long service life is cheaper than any "new tech, high mileage" vehicle. And this will be true for years to come. The American fleet takes more than a dozen years to change its composition.

My truck, with all costs considered (based on actual numbers) is cheaper for me to own than a Prius. A Prius can do nothing an airconditioned go-kart cannot. My truck can. For the next 100,000 miles I am miles ahead in dollars and utility.

I specifically bought a 3/4-ton, longbed, 2003 or early 2004 2WD, manual transmission Cummins Turbodiesel for utility and fuel mileage as the Ford and GM offerings do not last as long, nor are they as reliable (all nicety niceness aside). 4WD is useless for an on-road vehicle 99% of the time and exacts a constant $$$ penalty.

The trade-off is that this thing is slow, heavy and cumbersome. It ain't easy to park nor is it "fun" to run errands. And, it rides like a truck. But it's usefulness outweighs the problems.

It isn't the fuel mileage or the note: It is the OVERALL, TOTAL cost of ownership. Buying a new vehicle every five years or at 100,000 miles isn't smart in dollar terms.

Get the vehicle needed, keep it spotless in looks and reliability. Sell it after 250,000 miles or fifteen years. Save enough to pay in cash for the next one.

By the same reasoning, a lightweight, aerodynamic trailer is superior to a heavy box-shaped trailer. Long-lasting, safer to tow, but, geez, doesn't have tons of storage for unneeded junk.

[mrmossyone]

I agree w/ you REDNAK except on money savings for gas w/ Deisel vs.gasser. My Hemi gets 12-12.4 towing and your deisel gets 15.
10,000 divided by 12 is 833.3 gallons at 2.80 that is 2,333.32. 10,000divided by 15 is 666.6 gallons at 3.40 that is 2,266.66. That's a 66.66 dollar savings. I get 12.6 mpg in town and 17..2-17.6 on highway( I put an exhaust and tuner on).

Now I paid 11,000 dollars for my 2004 3/4 4 door Ram w/hemi w/ 11,000 miles on it(I got a good deal). I did a few upgrades so I have 12,000 total investment. Any Ram deisel w/ anywhere near that low mileage was at least 10,000 dollars more. Even if I didn't get such a great deal the deisel is at least 7,000 dollars more. At one million miles on your deisel you will have saved 6,666 dollars in fuel if we only considered towing miles, I'll give you another 50% savings for non-towing city and highway miles which is very, very generous. So you would still have to keep your truck for at least 500,000 miles to equal my value on the Hemi. As far as value goes I think my hemi gasser has you beat.

Granted this decision will be effected by what you tow and where. I had absolutely no need for a deisel as my camper weighs in at about 3400-3500 lbs and most of my towing isn't in the mountains.

As for longevity a gasser can last almost as long as a deisel if well maintained. I sold my last Dodge w/ 318 a few months ago and it still ran great w/ 190,000 miles on it and it was worked hard for many years. It was a 1996 model. My Dad still has his 1997 model gasser that runs good , now he did have the tranny rebuilt at 120,000 miles but besides regular maintenance that was his only investment in it. The rebuild cost him 1700 dollars and he plans on driving the truck for another 10 years.

With the current cost of deisel and the current cost of buying a deisel truck vs. a gasser the gasser is the better value IMHO.

[REDNAX]

"As far as value goes I think my hemi gasser has you beat."

At 15 mpg towing for 5,000 annual miles, at 4.25 gallon (and 19 for all other miles) in a year with 20,000 miles my fuel cost is $4,768.

With the same model, gasoline, at 12/17 and $3.25 gas, the annual fuel cost is: $4,208. An apparent savings of $560 annually.

But if diesel drops back to only 50-cents more per gallon than gasoline, then the difference, annually, is $2.

For business purposes, I can deduct a substantial number of $$ from my annual cost. My actual operating cost is .57 cpm for all miles; after deductions that usually comes to less than 20 cpm. In deductions alone -- if nothing else changes -- I will have deducted more than the purchase price of the truck in not so many years.

I also need the 12,000-lb towing capacity, and 2,500# bed capacity for non-recreational purposes.

And the depreciation on used diesels is much less than the gas models. A ten year old CTD still sells for a nice price compared to a V8-360 powered model.

"Granted this decision will be effected by what you tow and where. I had absolutely no need for a deisel as my camper weighs in at about 3400-3500 lbs and most of my towing isn't in the mountains."

With a trailer as light as yours I would have gone with a car, (like a Charger/300), as Andy T of Can Am RV has outfitted hundreds over the past 40 years. The advantage of an Airstream is that fully-independent suspension, very low COG and great aerodynamics makes it easy to tow than anything else of which I am aware.

A V6 powered car would whup either of our vehicles.

My trailer is suspended on leafs, is taller, wider and heavier than a comparable era A/S. I'd have had to have had a truck as there are no big block cars anymore. So, in another sense, you'd "win" then, too (had I a 26' S/S versus the 34' I own)

Apples and oranges to say one has another, beat

[Not Done]

No regrets about jamming Dinosaur juice through my big engine for a few hundred miles on a camping trip. Still far less poluting than those who "get away" by driving to the airport to fly on a smog spewing plane then driving a rental car.