I know of another Safari 30 bunkhouse that will be coming on the market in the next 2-3 months. It's a rear twin model with couch, in Midnight Sun, and in excellent condition.
I predict good (not outrageous) selling prices for these used units. Airstream only made a few dozen of this special two-bedroom floorplan, and it seems very unlikely they'll ever make it again. For families, it's a great way to go!
It will be interesting to see how these units sell in the future. With only 78 units made, they should be able to retain their value quite well. I had ours in for service this spring (the front panel crack was repaired) and when I picked it up the sales manager told me that he had two customers who were interested in purchasing my Bunkhouse.
The strong value of our Bunkhouses is great only if we plan on selling. I for one have no interest in parting from my unit anytime soon. Once the children are off to college and beyond, the floor plan would still work nicely for a couple.
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2005 30 Bunkhouse
2005 Chevrolet Suburban 2500, 8.1L 4.10 rear axle
Honda 2000 Air #99 WBCCI #8895 (Grandpa's number from the 1960's)
Just wanted to say I've put our bunkhouse on the market 'cuz we've had some changes in our family that may see our 2nd Airstream parked much more than we ever anticipated. We got our first A/S back in '85 (25' side bath-brand new) and used the heck out of it...even lived in it for a year w/ 5 kids...when it was totalled in CO four years ago we felt like we'd been orphaned...until we found your thread and our own Bunkhouse!...so we felt like we'd put a "fleece out there " and it may seem a little high priced but you can't negotiate up if you get an offer the first day you ad it and SafariSS was right ...they don't make 'em anymore..although I'll never know why..anyways although I haven't contributed alot to the column I sure enjoy reading it and have learned a bunch...including just having my Dometic refrigerator mod put in because someone in our group alerted me to it...Thanks...and who knows? if we don't get a decent offer we may be pulling it around years from now...Lord knows...
p.s. for those of you (mostly the wives) that are trying to figure out how we had 5 kids back in the 80's and have 5 kids today..we had 7 kids that span 18 years youngest is now 12 ...Thanks again for all your contributions ..Don
captdaddy, I'd love to see you get your asking price. It would be neat indeed if the Safari 30 held its value that well. That would certainly be an affirmation that the unique floorplan is something special -- which of course, all us owners already know!
Like Rick Gillis, we don't expect to sell ours anytime in the foreseeable future. It's just too darned useful, and as long as we are going on extended trips, I can't see any other floorplan that would work as well for us.
It seems my storage compartment cracks were a mistake? I checked it closer this past weekend while camping in central Florida and couldn't find them. I may just not be looking in the right place. I kind of had hoped they were there since I had reported them before the warranty ran out and arranged to have them repaired. Now, if they do show up in the future it looks like the repair will be at my expense. Personally, since virtually all of the 30' Safaris have this problem, I shouldn't have to pay for it if they do show up.
The link on the Dometic recall isn't working so I haven't been able to research that issue to see if I need to take it in for that. After the week long trip the week of the 4th I'll be bringing her home and can take her back to the selling dealer if I need to.
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2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
We have 4 girls, and the bunkhouse is the bomb, coming up on our 2 year anniversary. It would be funny if the one floorplan that was a dealer lot queen (most units sat for a year) ended up being valuable.
What a great layout, great storage and lightwieght gvw.
Howdy, all! Have been following this thread closely since it began. Hubby and I (and 4 sons) have been in the market for a BH model for almost a year now. Too bad we were not in a position to purchase one new. We thought we found one; however, about the time that we could swing the purchase that unit sold. Since then, have seen 2 units up for sale w/ pricey tags. Although we are very motivated buyers, and are willing to pay a fair price, we can't justify an overinflated $$ purchase. Still interested, still looking......
Rich, keep us posted on the unit coming up for sale, please. Thanks!
__________________ "Train a boy in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not swerve from it." --Proverbs 22:6.
"A fairly bright boy is far more intelligent and far better company than the average adult." --John B. Haldane
I strongly recommend that everyone with a recalled Dometic refrigerator get the recall kit installed as soon as possible. We could have had a fire resulting from this failure, which would have been catastrophic.
Thanks for the reminder, mine is affected and the BH is a early 05. Unfortunately we are going cross country right now. I hope she hangs in there til we get back...
We are also midcountry and will be unable to attend to the fridge recall. Were you able to see fatigue cracks in any of the tubing? The question I have is how does the potential leak of refrigerant start a fire? I just learning about this, and haven't had time to do any research. BTW, we are in Salina, KS. Happy trails SafariSS.
Bye,
Paul
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2005 30' Bunkhouse "Nedapedalua" 2003 GMC 2500HD Duramax/Allison CC LB
WBCCI #5182
AIR # 6050
I have no idea how the fridge leaking what is basically ammonia causes a fire. Is ammonia flammable? I know with another RV we had when the ammonia let go the smell ran us out of the trailer.
Have a good trip, we are in Alamosa Colorado heading to Wyoming next....
I had my fridge done at a dealership in San Antonio that handles Dometic products...most larger RV places will have plenty of these kits in stock for your Airstream...when I called about mine they just said come on in and they'd do it right then....have your serial number and model number handy and it'll go pretty quick....it took a whole hour and a half and half that's waiti ng to get in and out...be safe and get 'er done....
Well, while trying to get out to the Colorado Boondock Rally on National Forest land we tore the plumbing out from under the Bunkhouse. We traversed about 78 miles of dirt forest roads climbing to almost 11,200 feet when one side dropped into a little hole, when I looked out the window of the Suburban, all I saw was a 3" stream of blue water! Luckily I had just dumped it in anticipation of boondocking for three days so only clean water was in there!
Amazingly the pipe going to the grey water tank was spared. I just cruised back into Alamosa to find some pvc so that I can at least have a black water tank. We still have 2.5 weeks left on our trip!!
I will upload some pics later. I can also attest to the ridgidity of the frame on the BH. I had to turn around on a knarly forest road, backing the trailer up an incline, hard to describe. When it was all over I got it turned around but I had it sitting on the bumper draggers and hitch only, the wheels were suspended about 2"!! What is really crazy is the plumbing made it past that, but fell to the rutted hole!
SafariSS, sorry to hear about the damage. Hopefully the black tank valve repair will be easy.
I would be very interested if you could take a close look at the row of rivets under the front storage compartment door, and report on their condition. One theory holds that stress on the rear scrapers will transfer to the front, and break those rivets. This may appear as loose rivets, missing heads, or black circles around the heads (which is caused by loose rivets rubbing). Also, note if you have cracks in the aluminum near the lower corners of the front compartment door, and if those cracks have gotten longer.
If you notice a lot of those rivets breaking since you had it sitting on the scrapers, it may lend credence to the theory that broken rivets up front and the cracking aluminum are the result of scraping by us owners, rather than a design flaw. If those rivets on your trailer are good now and don't fail in the next few hundred miles, that may refute the theory.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RossFam05BH
We are also midcountry and will be unable to attend to the fridge recall. Were you able to see fatigue cracks in any of the tubing? The question I have is how does the potential leak of refrigerant start a fire?
The area that cracks is near the heating element, which is hidden by the chimney. I could not see anything abnormal until the obvious dribble of yellow coolant when it suddenly cracked. Note that the recall doesn't prevent the cracking, it only contains the leak to prevent a fire.
"In order to have a fire, at a minimum, all of the following conditions must exist:
1. The refrigerator must be on and normally operating;
2. The boiler tube must develop a throughway fatigue crack within a specific size range;
3. There must be a release of the cooling solution at a rate which will allow the accumulation of the cooling solution at a concentration and temperature within its range of flammability; and
4. There must be ignition source present
If any of these conditions are not present, a release of the cooling solution will not result in a fire. A boiler fatigue crack with a loss of cooling solution without ignition would result in a non-operational refrigerator and does not present a fire safety issue."
According to Dometic, they've tested and statistically proven that 99.9% of refrigerators in the recall will not have a fire. Still, that's a lot better chance than getting struck by lightning or winning the lottery. So everyone needs to get the kit.
The irony for us is that our replacement refrigerator is also affected by the recall, so we still have to get the kit installed too!
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Personally, since virtually all of the 30' Safaris have this problem, I shouldn't have to pay for it if they do show up.
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