We are taking the plunge!

[redeagle313]

Stephen and Miriam,

We have traveled through La Porte on a few occasions. We live in Fort Wayne. However, we are both originally from Wisconsin. So we are Cheeseheads and our girls are Hoosiers. Most of our relatives still live in Wisconsin. The new Airstream should afford us the ability to go back and visit more often. We can take our own lodging with us and not cramp anyone's style.

Paula and Jack,

I hadn't thought of the idea of practicing in a parking lot...good idea. Especially for me who has never towed anything in my life. My husband has had some experience towing a trailer. He used to travel around the country with his Dad racing go karts. They had a 24' trailer that they towed with a GMC van, I believe.

Randi

[davidz71]

Originally Posted by rseagle

Hi Tim,

The Yamaha sounds interesting. I have a Honda EU-3000 with wheels, but they don't lock. The tri-fuel in a nice feature, as is the battery boost on the SEB version. Can the WVA dealer install a remote start for it?
Are you going with a truck cap or hard tonneau on your 2500HD to protect/secure it?

According to some of the sites I have visited, you are supposed to order the remote start when you purchase the Yamaha 3000 SEB so that it can be wired for it. You might check Mayberry's on the web for a good price on the Yamaha.

[Hit'the'road]

Wow! How exciting! I just got my new Chevy 1500HD Quadrasteer and 25' CCD in November. After the initial whooshing of the money being sucked out of you, it's all very fun. I love my CCD and truck.

How did u get blue OH liners? I got the blue streak too but with the orange in the over heads. I like it. The orange provides a nice warm glow with the backlighting. The orange upholstery was a bit too much for me.

Keep us posted when u pick it all up.

[redeagle313]

Ten-four on the money whooshing, we know that part is coming. But we know that we will have invested in an RV that will last and as a GM employee, I get a good price on the truck too.

As far as the blue liners in the cabinets, we asked our salesman to call that factory and see if they would substitute the blue for the orange and the answer came back yes. Yea, it will be black, blue, white and aluminum inside!!!!!!!!!!

[khollister]

Congrats on the new rig. As a recent new owner, the thrill is great. Hope you enjoy yours as much as we are our Safari SE.

Keith

[68 Overlander]

No question you have enough truck...better then too little. You did it right..except...well...maybe...ok, Chevy makes a good truck too. In fact the Duramax rocks!

[sarmimi]

My wife and I are planning on taking the plunge also! Probably with the 22 ft Int'l CCD. We are talking with dealers now and are very excited. Does anyone know what the typical dealer invoice (the price the dealer paid for the AS) is for the CCD? I can find the MSRP from the website, but don't know if the dealer invoice is typically 70% of MSRP, 65%, etc... It would be great to know so that I can offer the dealer a fair profit but not pay more than I'd like to. Any info would be helpful. Thanks and hope to see some of you on the road this summer!

[jcanavera]

While this wasn't an Airstream dealer, a dealer friend of mine used to tell me that when negotiating offer the dealer 25% off of list. According to him the dealer makes a fair profit and you get a good deal.

Fast forward to the current market where Airstreams are hot commodities, all bets are off. My best deal I could negotiate was 18% off list when I bought my 2001 Safari new. I've also come to learn that the lowest cost will not always be the best deal. Especially when you consider the dealer prep, and support of the trailer after you buy it.

Say what you want but dealers know who their customers are and aren't. In my case my dealer provides exceptional service and I know if I really need him, he will back me up all the way.

I'll give you an example. One of the members of our local unit had a stroke while up at the International. Our dealer had his son go up there and drive the trailer and tow vehicle home. When the owner recovered and attempted to reimburse the dealer for his expense, the dealer refused any payment noting that "we are family".

Yea, I could have bettered my deal by a few hundered bucks by going out of state, but that story alone (plus many others) convinced me to do my business with my local dealer.

Now not all dealers are in the calibur, so it may be worth shopping around. Look strongly at the service side when making your decision.

Regards,

Jack

[sarmimi]

Thanks Jack for the response. That info will be helpful with the negotiations. Now my wife and I find ourselves in a quandry. We plan to take the CCD on a 6 + month trip from California to Colorodo, then up the Rockies through Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and onto the Canadian Rockies through Banff and Jasper, then back west again to Whistler BC, Vancouver, and finally down the coast through WA and OR back to CA. Our fear is that the 22 ft CCD will not be big enough for a trip this long, nor have enough storage capacity. We actually LOVE the floorplan and spaciousness of the 28 ft CCD and would prefer to buy that model. Sigh....but we have a VW V8 Toureg as our tow vehicle, and given its wheelbase, can only tow a 22fter or less. So, our issue is, do we go with the 28 fter so we don't have to upgrade later on, but then need to buy an adequate sized tow vehicle, or do we just take the 22fter on a 6+ mo journey and use our current Toureg (maybe buy a roof rack for it to carry extra luggage)? We have a number of friends who want to stay with us on our journey, so we are concerned that at times the 22 fter may be crowded. We plan to start our trip in late April/early May. My wife also had back surgery so we need a comfy ride for the tow vehicle, which the Toureg definitely has, so if we had to upgrade to a large tow vehicle, a recommendation on a comfy ride for up to 5 people would be great. One of the reasons we are making the trip is to look for property with a small home on it to make our permanent residence. We are getting out of the rat race and are finally persuing our dream of living near the mountains with a slower pace of life. We will build our dream home on the property, and use the AS as our temp home while we build, then as our "guest house" once it is built, plus for any other trips we plan to take if we want to snowbird. Any opinions or info greatly appreciated! This forum is great!

[rseagle]

Hi,

The VW Toureg and 22' CCD are a great combination. XRAY has this rig and it works well for him, his wife & dogs in the Rockies. There shouldn't be a problem pulling the CCD on your trip. While there is about 1400# of storage capacity, and the Toureg also has some capacity, I don't know what you'll be interested in taking with you that will load out these vehicles. We've learned to travel light with our 22' CCD with 4 people (2 adults and 2 kids).
If you're concerned about storage, additional interior space for friends, a bigger bed (especially since your wife had back surgery), then the 28' CCD would be better. A larger and more powerful tow vehicle would be in order. I would recommend a 3/4 ton pick-up truck (a diesel would be nice) with a truck cap. This will give you a large volume of space to put oversize (generator, chairs, Jerry cans, etc.) or messy (grill, sewer tote tanks, etc.) items.
The best thing is to go to a dealer/s that has both floor plans and go through them. Check everything out, go through scenarios (rainy days, entertainment, additional people, sleeping arrangements,etc.) to see which works better. Only you and your wife will be able to decide what is right for you.

Best,

[redeagle313]

We started out at an RV show two years ago, left that show liking the Airstream TT's, but then we started looking at all sorts of SOB Moho's, then after a year + of looking, we came back full circle to Airstream. We started looking at floor plans that would suit our family of four. We wanted to buy a trailer we would keep long term, so after looking at 22's, then 25SS, and really looking at privacy issues with four people in the trailer, we chose the 28'. For us, with a 1/2 ton Suburban, it meant upgrading the TV. So we are going for a Chevrolet diesel pickup. Isn't the Tourag available with a V10 turbo diesel?

As far as pricing goes, our local dealer would not go beyond a 15% discount, and they were non-responsive and had a take it or leave it attitude. Dealers about a 120 miles out were from 16 to 18% off as a max. We ended up at about 18% off, with no fees for dealer prep or pdi to be added, and the dealer will install our hitch and brake controller. We are comfortable with our deal. We know that SOB's routinely can be had for 25% to 28% off, but we are talking about the Airstream International CCD, which is the hottest model in the Airstream lineup.

I have seen bigger discounts advertised, but they were on Classics, which probably carry a higher dealer margin. There are some left over '04's out there, when you factor in the lower base price (annual and sometimes semi-annual increases) can be had for 20% off the current retail.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by redeagle313

I have seen bigger discounts advertised, but they were on Classics, which probably carry a higher dealer margin. There are some left over '04's out there, when you factor in the lower base price (annual and sometimes semi-annual increases) can be had for 20% off the current retail.

Like anything in life there is always someone somewhere cheaper. I got 18% when I bought my Safari and my dealer did note to me that if I had gone with a Classic, there would have been a larger discount available due to the Classics bigger margin. Be happy with what you got. It's probably a fair deal.

Jack

[sarmimi]

Yes, the VW Toureg comes in a V10 diesel. However, our issue is not towing power of the Toureg, but the length of its wheelbase (112.4 inches), which is the same on the V8 and the V10. According to the RV Consumer Group (www.rv.org), for a 112 inch wheelbase, we should tow no more than a 20 foot trailer, but since the airstream is 20% more aerodynamic than the standard trailer, and I plan to use a Hensley hitch or equivalent, we should be able to tow a 22 ftr safely. A 28 ftr would produce way to much sway that could not be controlled by the short wheelbase of the Toureg. Sighh...

Thanks for all the info. My wife and I have decided that since we REALLY, REALLY love the floorplan and space of the 28 ftr, we are just going to bite the bullet and buy a used Suburban with adequate wheelbase and towing capacity to tow the 28 CCD for our trip. I was thinking about getting a Suburban anyway since we have one Golden Retriever who runs field trials, and will have two more next fall, and I need a larger truck for fly fishing gear, climbing gear, etc. (hey, that line of thought worked in convincing my wife! ha!), why not get it now instead of later...

Cheers. - Mike

[Big Dee]

Mike,

As Jack says, dealers are very important. I imagine the "dealers" that you are refering to are Manteca and Toscano. I just have to throw out there that Toscano is the best dealer in California. Stay away from Manteca as I have heard of multiple stories of bad experiences. Toscano will give you a good price, treat you right, and has a great service department. Ask for Glen, tell him Dan sent you, and that you are a member of this forum. I guarantee you will be happy.

[sarmimi]

Yes, I've talked to and toured the inventory at Manteca RV but was not impressed by them. Their service department looked like they were operating out of a someone's backyard. I was going to give Toscano a visit since the Better Business Bureau showed they had no complaints at all. But even better that I can get a referral to a specific salesperson from this forum. Thanks!

BTW, East Bay RV in Pacheco (near Concord/Walnut Creek) just started carrying AS this week. I've been talking to them but the BBB has no report on them since they seem to be a newcomer, so I will definitely check out Toscano down in Los Banos.

- Mike

[rluhr]

Originally Posted by sarmimi

According to the RV Consumer Group (www.rv.org), for a 112 inch wheelbase, we should tow no more than a 20 foot trailer

Seems like an overly simplistic rule of thumb. Is that with or without a properly adjusted weight distributing hitch with sway control?

I have a feel many people on this forum violate the RV Consumer Group guidelines and have no trouble. I know I do.

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by rluhr

I have a feel many people on this forum violate the RV Consumer Group guidelines and have no trouble. I know I do.

RV Consumer Group? As far as I know, it's just one guy. Not a very big or well funded 'group'. The 'research' is a basically a bunch of consumer surveys.

[Tin Hut]

We love our 28' CCD. Many of them have a squeek in the floor between the dinette & sink. Our dealer dropped the belly pan and fixed it for us with AS approval. We've had some other issues & the dealer - Happy Camper- in Ft. Worth has given us good service. Enjoy!

[sarmimi]

Woo hoo! My wife and I just spent a sh*@load of money on a 2005 28 ft CCD Int'l. Our dealer was a new Airstream dealer located near Concord, CA (http://www.EastBayRV.com). Since our VW Toureg had insufficient towing capacity, we ended up spending an even bigger sh*@load of money on a new TV, a 2005 Ford Excursion Limited with a 6.0L powerstroke turbo diesel engine and a 3.73 rear axle. So much for leaving an inheritance for the kids!

We'll be on the road the first week of May 2005, with a tentative intinerary of the following locales:

SF to Yosemite
to Hwy 395 down to Las Vegas
to the Grand Canyon
to Zion Nat'l Park
To Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park
to Arches Nat'l Park
to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos
To Denver and Boulder, CO
to Jackson Hole, WY
to Bozeman and Missoula, MT
to Lake Louise, Banff & Jasper, Canada
to Whistler-Blackombe, Canada
to Vancouver, BC
to Seattle, WA
down the coast of Oregon
back to SF.

Whew! We estimate about a 4-6 mo road trip.

We can't wait!

See you all on the road and thanks for all the advice so far!

- Mike & Angela (and our dog Kenzie)