Airstream announces:

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by chuck

I bet the market research shows that people who can afford this kind of trailer, and have kids, don't want to travel this way. They'll just fly to Disney, thankyou. They have the $$$...but not the time to hook up and meander across the country. The destination is more important than the journey.

With all due modesty and humbly speaking, you have just described my family. We live in an affluent metro-Atlanta suburb and my wife drives a full-sized SUV (gas prices be dammed) and we live on a water front lot on a small lake. We have two sons, ages 6 & 9 and a cocker spaniel (named Sulley after James P. Sullivan of Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc.). We also have annual passes to Walt Disney World that cost us $1573 plus taxes to renew this past June (that's after a renewal discount for all four). We will drive down to Disney World six times before those annual passes expire to spend our kid's school breaks at "the World" and have additional trips planned after we renew again in June. My signature line isn't a joke. Of those six trips, only three will be staying in the Airstream. The other three will be week long trips in Disney Deluxe hotels (two at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Christmas week at the Swan Hotel). Now I didn't write all of this just to brag. Those who know me know that's not my style. The reason is to point out that even those with the $$$, as you put it, also feel that there is more to vacations than 4 star hotels and character breakfast.

We purchased our Airstream in May and have eight 2-4 day trips under our belt in 5 different states already (yes, two were 4 day weekends at Ft. Wilderness at WDW). Our boys love camping in the Airstream, my wife loves the relaxation of getting away from the 'burbs, and I enjoy spending time with my family. Oh yeah, the dog loves camping, too!

Now I know we are not the typical Airstream buyer, but look at how many families on this forum have purchased 25' FB's, 25' SS's, and those who have purchased older and vintage Airstreams and customized them for "family" camping. How many threads are there requesting information about bunk bed models and adding bunk beds to Airstreams? I will be the first to admit that the upper bunk in our 30' Safari Bunk would be tight for a teenager but I just think there is a whole market sector that Airstream is missing out on because they aren't tapping into the family sector of family camping. The thing I have seen over and over this summer is families in SOB's at Ft. Wilderness and state parks and private camp grounds with their kids and pets enjoying the great outdoors rather than being cooped up in a hotel room. They enjoy smoores and bar-b-ques instead of table service and fast food.

The market for Airstreams has been hot the past few years because people of all ages are returning to camping as a wholesome vacation activity and they want something that is more stylish and more individualistic than a white box on wheels. I can understand the demise of the Class A Airstream...the prices have just escalated out of the reach of most people and they look so much like every other Class A. You can get the same look for less than half the money. But the Airstream travel trailer is unlike anything else on the market today. That's why the market has pushed production to the point of cranking them out too fast to control quality. I think the Base Camp is taking too long to get into the hands of buyers and will ultimately loose its excitement. It doesn't appeal to me, but then I'm not into toy hauling or camping without my own bathroom.

Maybe the young bucks that take over Airstream's management will take this into consideration.

[Chuck]

I'm not saying that families such as yours don't exist; just not in very large numbers...or large enough to make Airstream change their tune. Those families in the white boxes...do you think they were in the SOBs because thats all there is? or because thats what they can afford?
I think most of the kid-mods you see on the forum are applied to retrofitting vintage units. ("vintage"=euphamism for "cheap, smelly old trailer" ). Airstream isn't going to make money by making trailers that will be attractive so some young family 20 years from now on the used market. They make money by selling new ones, and the vast majority of the people who want/can afford new ones are "di/nks". (double income/no kids).

[A-Merry-Can]

we'll see how they do over seas. i know they just launched the safari, i think it is in the UK. they're only offering one, though. there's a place on teh isle of wight you can stay in old airstreams for about $200 a nite... with no bathroom! by european standards, the airstreams are extra roomy... and there's a niche of peeps over there who love americana.

i still think focusing on a high end product that's innovative and classy is a hit (aka apple computer), and add vintage americana name recognition (HD), it SHOULD be a recipe for success. i know i'll never buy another brand of trailer.

jp

[Poprivet]

Originally Posted by moosetags

I think that Airstream should concentrate on their historic base product, curved aluminum travel trailers.

An Airstream Motorhome is like a Cadillac or Lincoln pick-up truck. It Looks out of place, and is demeaning to the iconic symbol of the company.

My 17 year old Classic MOHO fits right in the Airstream theme and I don't feel out of place with Airstream tag alongs. What I wish for is a new Classic MOHO equipted with modern Diesel engine and a compatable transmission.

[str8strm]

An Airstream Motorhome is like a Cadillac or Lincoln pick-up truck. It Looks out of place, and is demeaning to the iconic symbol of the company.[/quote]

OUCH! That one really hurts. We dumped our SOB motorhome about 3 weeks after we walked through a 1985 345 Airstream MOHO. It was love at first sight. Not only will be never own any other brand, we will never own any other coach (unless I can have two AS). We have spent many hours lovingly bringing her to a point where we, and those who tour her, appreciate the uniqueness and beauty. The amenities and quality that AS put into the early coaches make it a joy everytime we go out. The generator, ice machine, built in blender, and hydraulic levelers don't make us feel any less like campers. They just make life a little easier. When we are at campsites without our AS friends, it is inevitable that other campers come over and ask about the coach. We have given many a tour to SOBers. At our last rally (NOR CAL) we were the one MOHO with 28 trailers, and I'm happy to say they didn't make us feel out of place. If we ever meet at a rally Moose, drop by for a beer or a hit from our favorite margarita ball. You'll find out we and our coach are really just like the rest of the AS crowd.

[TIMEMACHINE]

Originally Posted by str8strm

At our last rally (NOR CAL) we were the one MOHO with 28 trailers, and I'm happy to say they didn't make us feel out of place. )

str8strm- It was no accident that when we arrived at the NOR CAL rally and scouted the terrain for a space that we stopped first at your MOHO to ask "who's in charge?". Your Airstream MOHO just looked like it had authority. The MOHOs are kinda like big brothers to us. You absolutely fit in with the TTs, its all about family pride.

John

[str8strm]

Thank you John. I'm sure that if Moosetags met us he would love us too, and our big ol' 8-wheeled beast.

[Fyrzowt]

Moosetags,
I had the pleasure of meeting Ron of Str8strm. I was out by my vehicle at the NorCal rally, standing there by myself (Getting a GPS reading) when he walked all the way across the campground to see why "this guy is standing all alone". We had a nice visit on a variety of topics. Nice guy! I know you weren't running Ron down, at least not directly, but where does anyone get off saying that the product they happened to buy is superior to another made by the same company? I'm a trailer guy myself, but what would give me the right to look down my nose at a MoHo?? (And indirectly, the owner of it)
If I mis-understood something, I'll apologize in advance. But if that's what you meant to say, you are way off base.

[sos10]

For me, as a designer from Europe, the legacy, history and original Airstream design represents what I like most about America(na). And for me there is no doubt about it that Airstream should remain as faithful as possible to their origins to be successful. But this also means they have to re-invent themselves and get rid of the unnecessary.

I never understood the other lines of Airstream products... they're probably fine products but don't feel Airstream at all... if they would offer a RV that actually feels and looks like an Airstream, I'm pretty sure they would be much more successful in that field.

My biggest Airstream complaint is not the built quality.. I bought a 2007 16' Bambi CCD and the quality is fine (although there are some incredible badly thought out details.. like the impossible position of some of the stabilizer jacks)... but I have a problem with the weight.

In my opinion, an Airstream should be as lightweight as possible...and although Airstream claims they are light, they are not.

By using more innovative materials inside you can achieve just that without loosing quality or solidity.. actually improving the built quality and maybe, in the end, also building with lower costs.

As an example; instead of using the current thick old style wood-pulp panels for basically everything inside.. they could use the 2 to 3 times thinner, lighter, but actually stronger (against impact and rot, because more compressed) version that can carry the same amount of weight and has the same structural strength.
Besides saving in weight, it would also make the whole interior feel lighter and airy, and save space.. especially in a Bambi.. a few inches here and there are noticeable.

Another improvement I made myself is the use of LED lights instead of (almost all) halogen spots inside. The amount of energy you save is noticeable, especially when boondocking and you probably will never have to worry about those lights for the rest of your (Airstream's) life. And with a little color correcting lens, you wont notice the difference.

[moosetags]

SOS10 - I most wholeheartedly agree, especially in the area of lighter weight materials. I also think that the LED technology that is now available just begs to be included in an Airstream. If the company were not asleep at the switch, there would already LED lighting in all Airstreams. They should also be offering an LED conversion kit as an aftermarket item.

[RedSHED]

Thoughts:
If the trailer production is backlogged several months, then they certainly appear to be doing something right.
We travel with a couple of young kids and while we're not in our 20's, we tend toward the young end of the demographic. The foldout bed in front works well enough for us - and having the kids in back works pretty well too.

If they really are sold out six months in advance, maybe they're doing a lot of things right. Certainly the CCD interiors are as distinctive as the exteriors, but many of the others have a "me too" look.
Fake woods, fake looking plastics. Fake looking fake stuff. Ick.

But to make it more family friendly, the previous poster is spot on. Weight. Why on earth a 31' trailer weighed 6-7000 pounds in the mid 80's but weighs what, 9000 now? Our previous tow vehicle was an Expedition. We'd have been fine with a 6000 lb 25' trailer. But AS didn't make one. Not because they couldn't.

Even with the tube-shape, bunk beds are possible. Our last trailer had sleeping space for six but living space for two. Our AS has living & sleeping space for 4, and that's probaby for the best.

Quality is a whole 'nother discussion. Broken down into Body Integrity, driveline, plumbing, and components...
My guess is that most of the beefing has to do with components, not suspensions or leaking shells (although I'd expect one or two of those as well). The components are mostly industry standard types, and no worse - or better- than brand x, y or z's.
Issues we had with our SOB, nails backing out, stuff just falling off, etc. don't seem to be too much of an issue with our AS. Maybe the newer ones aren't as good? I don't know. We did the factory tour this summer and I was reasonably impressed.

[sos10]

Another interesting material for interior design Airstream should look into is Alucobond, it's not a new material, mostly for architectural use (cladding), but nowadays it's more and more used for furniture too, since it's very light, thin, strong and beautiful! I have a freestanding wardrobe made out of this material.

It's made of 2 layers of 0.02' Aluminum with a fire retardant or polyethylene core that can be from 3 to 6 mm thickness. Finish in any color.

I think it would be an ideal material.. Aluminum.. so in the Airstream tradition and it's an American product, from Benton kentucky... for the purists here!

Mmmh.. maybe I should look into converting my Bambi's interior..

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Blu_Hwy_Lady

Too bad Airstream doesn't sell "kit" trailers that can be customized on the inside. Buy the beautiful, distinctive Airstream shell and put the inside together the way you want. It would eliminate the quality issues that seem to be plaguing Airstream and give people the opportunity to create something that works for them and doesn't look like every other interior.

Airstream many years ago had a very serious problem when they sold "shell only" trailers.

What someone may create is an open door for huge liability against Airstream.

Since they had "no" control over someones creation, they could not assure themselves of a reasonable design that handled correctly when towed.

Understandably then, if you want just a shell, the answer was and is "NO."

CNN recently found that out. CNN also found out that the Airstream factory, is no longer interested in creating a "custom" coach, not even for them.

CNN then understood why the factory sent them to us, for those changes. Having visited our facility, CNN quickly observed that your either in the customizing business, or your not. They recognized us as a company that could get "the job done" to their satisfaction.

That 34 foot Airstream trailer, traveled the country prior to Novembers elections.

They have other plans in the mill for similair uses for that trailer in the future.

Customizing work is far removed from standard production and changes in production efforts, at least for Airstream.

Altering the weight and balance, is not a guessing game. Unfortunately, at least in the past, far to much individual effort has been placed on the appearance of their design, and almost total neglect of the weight and balance requirements.

"EXTREME" caution must be exercised when designing the interior,for that matter, of any travel trailer.

A loss of control accident can be very deadly.

Andy

[sos10]

I agree that keeping the Airstream balanced is VERY important, but regarding the weight... making it heavier could become dangerous, but I see no danger in making it lighter.