Airstream Scout Prototype

[moosetags]

In the Club? I would sure hope so. These are much more an Airstream than any of the giant cardboard box mohos.

Brian

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by 53flyingcloud

Jim.
Look closer..
what you see is the front end of a "regular" Airstream's tongue bunched up behind the Scout..lol

I cleaned my glasses now it is all in focus.

[Jim Clark]

What are the sides of the unit made of?

I just found the Molded Fiberglass Trailer site a few minutes ago and this is the trailer I want.

[mutcth]

My guess is that the sides of the Scout are made from a structural insulated panel. The T@B's panels are made with aluminium bonded to foam, but they have wood framing - not sure what provides structure in the "all-composite" Scout. Thor has been showing other all-composite trailers recently; an Eco is going into production this year. Guess the technology is being read across the brands...

I do wonder what this would cost. T@Bs push $17k and the new Shastas, with a similar floorplan, are about the same. Put the AS badge on and it seems it would have to break $20k. Bring back Argosy!

[Over59]

Looks like the trend quessing guys are expecting camping to make a come back. Where the trailer is a step up from a tent not a step down from a vacation home at the lake. These are not your line-up in an open field units, I'm seeing tucked away in a nice state park site with some elbow room. That is counter to the WBCCI culture. Image going to a rally in this and parking between a couple monsters. Now image a dozen of these spread through the woods, which image says community to you...

[Jim Clark]

Birds of a feather flock together, as other groups cars, trailers, boats, the buyers of the units will form their own community. Will the community be a subset of WBCCI, Airforums, or a yet undeveloped club or site is not known. Pick any car or item and do a search for a forum or group dedicated to that item and you will always find one. I think it is a misconception that WBCCI has the inside track on forming a strong RV community. Airforums has proven a loose knit of individuals who enjoy each other can put on rallies and events without all the structure and regimentation often seen in some clubs. I hope this unit goes into production and is successful, I will meet and greet the owners of the units and welcome them as a friend as I do anyone parked next to me whether lined up in field or spread out in a wooded camp ground.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

Birds of a feather flock together, as other groups cars, trailers, boats, the buyers of the units will form their own community. Will the community be a subset of WBCCI, Airforums, or a yet undeveloped club or site is not known. Pick any car or item and do a search for a forum or group dedicated to that item and you will always find one. I think it is a misconception that WBCCI has the inside track on forming a strong RV community. Airforums has proven a loose knit of individuals who enjoy each other can put on rallies and events without all the structure and regimentation often seen in some clubs. I hope this unit goes into production and is successful, I will meet and greet the owners of the units and welcome them as a friend as I do anyone parked next to me whether lined up in field or spread out in a wooded camp ground.

Extremely well put, Jim.

Brian

[mouth012006]

Jim, that is so true before getting our Argosy we traveled with a Trail Manor...and we have been parked between 2 "big rigs" and I did not feel anything different at all...we said hello as we passed and good night we packing in for the night rest.....I guess it just goes to with the attitude that you have about yourself and your trailer. I hope that these do well if they are put into production.

[mouth012006]

I so agree with you mutcth bring back the Argosy!!!!!! ours is going on 35 years and still looking really good.

[Hodag]

I saw it in Airstream life and thought, "hey thats pretty neat". I also looked at the R-pod at a recent show, and liked that design. I don't understand why more designers don't use bunks?

We fit a family of 4 in this.

lets just say we spend most of our time outside....

Hopefully it will be replaced in 1-2 years with an vintage Airstream or Argosy.

[Minnie's Mate]

The Scout is a great looking trailer inside and out, but it really doesn't say Airstream, though. The same plan in a Bambi shell would have been a nice plan and a nice unit. But again, price is the big unknown. If it is priced like a Bambi, it might not sell, if it is priced like a T@B, it should be a good seller.

[moosetags]

Minnie's Mate brings up an interesting point. If Airstream could produce the Scout in quantity at a decent price, they would surely sell, even in these hard economic times. The scout could even put Airstream on firm financial ground.

That is exactly what BMW did in the early 50's. BMW could not sell their expensive cars and motorcycles, and had slipped into bankruptcy. They purchased a car design that had been developed and produced by a refrigerator manufacturer in Italy called Iso. BMW began production of a little super economical car called the Isetta. BMW made thousands of these little cars, and they sold like hotcakes. The resultant cash flow got BMW out of their financial problems. They were eventually able to revert to their core business of producing high end cars and motorcycles.

Brian

[Ganaraska]

There should be a place in today's market for a small light easy to tow, high quality trailer.

Whether this is the one to catch the public's eye is another question. There is a whole new generation out there looking for fun in the great outdoors. Hope Airstream finds a way to reach them.

It would be nice if they made it out of polished aluminum.

Then let it bring some new blood into the Airstream groups.

[Ganaraska]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

What are the sides of the unit made of?

I just found the Molded Fiberglass Trailer site a few minutes ago and this is the trailer I want.

Attachment 75495

Attachment 75496

That's a Holiday House Geographic from 1960. Holiday House trailers were made in Oregon by the brothers who started the Fruit of the Month Club. They made boxy aluminum trailers of somewhat radical design then tried to make the fibreglass one in the picture. It never reached series production. At least 1 survives. Here is a complete history and restoration article.


Page 1

[silverbeauty]

I like the look of the unit- for SOB. It is cute and very 50's, which is an era I enjoy very much.
I have a heart for all vintage trailers, not just Airstreams, but have to say I like Airstream for the aerodynamic body, the timeless bullet shape that has survived longer on the market than any other design or brand of trailer. I personally don't like messing with something that isn't broken, or messing with established brand recognition. But who am I to say what will work and what won't? There are probably many people that would like to see something different??
Something affordable in a new trailer would be fitting for the economic forcast...maybe in the traditional shape for the exterior?

[mutcth]

Melissa, I know what you mean. I'm very fond of the rounded, aerodynamic signature AS shape as well. But I personally wouldn't turn down the Scout - it's cute and distinctive. (I'd ditch the whitewalls myself.)

I wonder what it would take to get an Airstream (Safari) Sport down into the low-$20ks, MSRP-wise. I know that AS made a big deal that that trailer was optimized for lightweight and low price, but list prices north of $30k and a 17' weight equal to that of the wide-body (and posher) 16' Bambi make me wonder how optimized that was. (I also have troubles with the 17's floorplan - if I only get one bed area, make it a big one, not 42" wide.)

Kevin (overlander64), do you have any idea what the price difference was between an Argosy and a concurrent Airstream of similar length?

I wonder what you'd get if you took a Sport 17', put in this floorplan, made the windows the full-opening arcylic windows on the Scout (and my T@B), and put in a non-wood floor....

[Gene]

We definitely differ on what style we like if it isn't a traditional Airstream aluminum bullet. The question may be not what we like, since a lot of us already have 'em, but what others want.

There's the problem of cheapening your brand. Packard was a luxury brand until they came out with a cheaper version after WW II. The company failed. That's the classic example, though it may not be true. A lot of car companies disappeared at the same time as the Big 3 increased their market domination. Toyota and Honda have produced every thing from low priced to luxury vehicles and all they do is increase market share (doesn't everyone know Accords and Lexus are fancy Hondas and Toyotas?).

The Big 3 solved that problem with multiple brands. Airstream's latest approach has been multiple trim lines. I don't know much about the Argosy, but my impression was there wasn't agreement within the company about just what the Argosy was supposed to do as a short and long range goal, so it couldn't last unless management had a clear goal. When a company has competing goals for a product launch, and doesn't resolve that, usually the brand doesn't last.

To have an entry level brand and to also capitalize on what has made Airstream an icon is no easy task. Simply putting "Scout, made by Airstream" doesn't get you very far. The Argosy used the shape, but not the bare aluminum. The shape helped catch people's eye. Right now, price is a big part of it of any new product.

Maybe selling something like the European version would be the answer. The design is more like the CCD, there are some things that are better than the US version, the size is narrow (around 7.5') and weight a lot less. A problem is the cost. It is far more than US prices if I understand the pricing which appears to be in £. Check them out at Airstream Europe (Google to get exact address). If they sold these here as they are, they would hardly be an entry unit. But they know how to build smaller trailer and could use the European version as something of a template. I think they have to keep the shape and maybe shiny aluminum with something different on the exterior as far as design. Ask a 30 year old what they like for exterior design, not me.

Gene

[mandolindave]

Here's the thing....what you and I want are not always what is good for the manufacturers profitability. Airstream might not want to compete with Airstream. Airstream might not want to diversify and maybe increase their overhead.
For us, I think that the Scout would be much easier and cheaper to repair and modify?
Yes, Mister Airstream, while you are at it, bring back the Argosy.
AND.....what about an empty Scout, that you finish and customize
yourself ( a kit ? )
IMHO, I think that the Scout is keeping with Airstream history and
bloodline, by hinting at the Holiday ( much like the Basecamp was reminicent of the early Airstream prototypes.)

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by Ganaraska

That's a Holiday House Geographic from 1960. Holiday House trailers were made in Oregon by the brothers who started the Fruit of the Month Club. They made boxy aluminum trailers of somewhat radical design then tried to make the fibreglass one in the picture. It never reached series production. At least 1 survives. Here is a complete history and restoration article.


Page 1

Thanks for the great read. The article talks about 5 units and part of the design by a rocket scientist. Talk about pricey.

[Minnie's Mate]

You know, I think the thing I like the most about this trailer is the kitchen sink faucet.