WBCCI Number Location On Interstate EXCT

[rcbeattie]

Greetings! I am a fairly new member of the WBCCI. I have a 2014.5 Interstate EXT and am wondering if there is any direction on where to display the Red WBCCI numbers on the Interstate? Thank you for your help!

Bob Beattie
Beaverton, OR

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by rcbeattie

Greetings! I am a fairly new member of the WBCCI. I have a 2014.5 Interstate EXT and am wondering if there is any direction on where to display the Red WBCCI numbers on the Interstate? Thank you for your help!

WBCCI provides needlessly precise directions for every Airstream except an Interstate.

I went to my local FastSigns and had magnetic signs made up for front and rear. I put the front one centered on the hood and the rear one on the driver's side rear door below the windows. But only for rallies. I take them off the rest of the time and store them inside the van. Keeps the signs from fading in the sun.

Besides, originally I kept the signs on all the time, but above the windshield and rear windows, but people kept asking me where I rented my van, because they thought the numbers were fleet numbers.

Most other Interstate owners I know in WBCCI use clear or white plastic signs for their numbers and place them behind the windshield at rallies. That's fine if you only use interior windshield covers since the sign can go between the windshield and the cover. But since I (usually) use an exterior windshield cover while camping that method wouldn't work for me.

[Jbray333]

Originally Posted by rcbeattie

Greetings! I am a fairly new member of the WBCCI. I have a 2014.5 Interstate EXT and am wondering if there is any direction on where to display the Red WBCCI numbers on the Interstate? Thank you for your help!

Bob Beattie
Beaverton, OR

We went to an office store and bought 4" red vinyl numbers and put them on the driver's side rear window (bottom left). Stuck the local club decal above it. It has the benefit of also looking like a fleet passenger vehicle when we boondock on occasion. For the front, we placed the numbers provided by WBCCI on a white folding foam core board. When not displayed we keep it folded beside the microwave. Hope this helps.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

WBCCI provides needlessly precise directions for every Airstream except an Interstate.
...

No kidding. I was unable to locate a single internet photograph showing WBCCI numbers on an Interstate. I'm sure they exist somewhere, but I had no luck.

Our situation is a bit different than that of many people, because we bought into an Airstream community rather than being owners who might attend the occasional rally (in fact at this point I don't foresee us attending any rallies at all). I don't want to have to keep shuffling number signs in and out of windows or whatever, as we transit the community - I want a number solution that doesn't require me to fire any extra neurons. So I decided that we would try a direct approach of approximating what the trailer people do with their numbers.

IMO, for the T1N series of Interstates, there really only is one front and back location choice respectively for the numbers: below the logo on the forehead, and above the windows on the rear doors. Nothing else makes sense to me IF the goal is trailer emulation.

I did not use WBCCI's supplied stickers. Instead, I bought 6-inch Helvetica Bold magnetic numbers in burgundy (not red) from the company known as Magnatag. I took these photos below as the sun was rising, so the front photo really does look like that garish scarlet color (I hate it) that the club routinely uses. Our actual shade is best represented by the back photo - it is quite close to the garnet stripe on our Interstate, thus gives a more cohesive look to the rig.

The forehead of the Interstate is the most dangerous place to work on the entire vehicle - it's more dangerous than being on the roof, because there's nothing to hold, and nowhere to tie off a ladder. As you can see here, I got these things positioned by placing one ladder on each side and going up and down them repeatedly. I have trouble imagining how anyone could get stickers well-positioned in this location on a first try. It's not just a matter of the awkwardness of working on the forehead and the weird working angles that are required - Airstream used a proportional font for their logo, but did not correspondingly space it properly, such that the logo itself is not centered on the van's forehead. The result is that, if one were to then center the WBCCI numbers, it would look wonky (instead of looking Wally). The best way to address that type of discrepancy is to iterate with an artistic eye and see what subjective solution looks best. That would be difficult with stickers, even if they were initially dry-fit.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

... but people kept asking me where I rented my van, because they thought the numbers were fleet numbers....

That was one of my newbie questions... I too thought those were fleet numbers when I first saw them.

Let me see if I can get the VIN number from the dealer and start filling in my papers for membership while I wait..

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by wachuko

... I too thought those were fleet numbers when I first saw them.
....

...which is of course my secondary motivation for doing a good job of ours, for investing in magnets instead of temporary signage just when needed. Some of the folks WITH Airstreams don't get it... and most of the rest of the world understands even less. They assume it's a fleet numbering system. And with our continuing boondocking aspirations, that's a good thing, so I'm inclined to leave them on our rig.

[FlStrmr]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

...which is of course my secondary motivation for doing a good job of ours, for investing in magnets instead of temporary signage just when needed. Some of the folks WITH Airstreams don't get it... and most of the rest of the world understands even less. They assume it's a fleet numbering system. And with our continuing boondocking aspirations, that's a good thing, so I'm inclined to leave them on our rig.

I guess I'm missing something here...why do you WANT to look like a fleet vehicle and what advantage is there for it when you're boondocking?

[LB_3]

I’m curious to hear this answer as well. The numbers look ugly to me and that isn’t advantageous in any circumstance.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

They assume it's a fleet numbering system. And with our continuing boondocking aspirations, that's a good thing, so I'm inclined to leave them on our rig.

Originally Posted by LB_3

I’m curious to hear this answer as well. The numbers look ugly to me and that isn’t advantageous in any circumstance.

I'm confused. Aren't you guys related? And talking about the very same 2006 Interstate? I would have thought you'd talk to each other before putting the numbers on.

My guess about the "fleet numbering" thing is that it's a theft/break-in deterrent, because a fleet owner is less likely to have nice stuff inside, and more likely to have high-priced legal representation, than a mere RV owner.

In any event, if the van ever is stolen, that makes recovery more likely, because the police report can say, "With red number XXXX above the windshield and rear windows" in the vehicle description section.

[LB_3]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

I'm confused. Aren't you guys related? And talking about the very same 2006 Interstate? I would have thought you'd talk to each other before putting the numbers on.

My guess about the "fleet numbering" thing is that it's a theft/break-in deterrent, because a fleet owner is less likely to have nice stuff inside, and more likely to have high-priced legal representation, than a mere RV owner.

In any event, if the van ever is stolen, that makes recovery more likely, because the police report can say, "With red number XXXX above the windshield and rear windows" in the vehicle description section.

We’re sitting 3 feet from each other. I could ask her thoughts regarding boondocking but that would ruin the surprise and doesn’t really fit with our current conversation. I do however like the color much better than what came in our membership package.

[InterBlog]

I never said they were attractive. And just because it’s a Friday night, I’ll humor y’all and take the bait: anything that makes it look less like an RV is good for boondocking, because it lessens the chances that someone will end up in my face asking questions.

I really mean something closer to stealthing, but the van purists tend to get upset when I stretch the scope of that word, so to keep the peace, I often say boondocking. Seriously, on some forums they will flip their s*** if anyone dares to suggest that stealthing can be accomplished with anything short of a James Bond cast-off.