Soon to take delivery on 2005 BH - caveats?

[RossFam05BH]

Hi all,

We're due to take delivery of a 2005 30' Safari LS BH in a week or so *bouncing with excitement* - but we're newbies to the trailer world. We'd like to ask you more experienced Airstreamers whether you have any advice for the walkthrough at the dealer - are there any things that we ought to take particular notice of in the inspection? Anything that you guys have later thought to yourselves, "I wish I'd noticed that before I towed it off the lot"?? Any tricks of operation of the systems?

Thanks in advance!

Paul and Miriam

[Minnie's Mate]

This is the unit that we plan on buying. We like the bunk arrangement and "master cabin" but would have preferred the classic level but not the classic price tag. It will fit our family very well with two young boys. We, too, are newbies and would like to hear from the forum on this one.

[jimmickle]

Make sure that the dealer shows you how everything works, by making it work. Then do it yourself to reinforce what you learned. This includes dumping both the black and wash water tanks, all appliances, air conditioning, furnace, refrigerator, stove & oven, and leveling and stablizing the trailer. Make very sure that you open and close the awning. It can be quite a trick if you haven't done it before.
If the dealer is going to install a Reese hitch or similar, go to www.reeseprod.com and download instructions on hitch adjustment to be sure that he does it right. Then disconnect and connect so you know how to do it easily.
Have him check the wheel bearings for adequate grease. There have been some people here who have burned bearings because they wern't properly lubed at the axle manufacturer.

[Towdaddy]

Originally Posted by RossFam05BH

Hi all,

We're due to take delivery of a 2005 30' Safari LS BH in a week or so *bouncing with excitement* - but we're newbies to the trailer world. We'd like to ask you more experienced Airstreamers whether you have any advice for the walkthrough at the dealer - are there any things that we ought to take particular notice of in the inspection? Anything that you guys have later thought to yourselves, "I wish I'd noticed that before I towed it off the lot"?? Any tricks of operation of the systems?

Thanks in advance!

Paul and Miriam

We picked up our 30' BH back in June and camped all summer in it. Love the unit. Build quality is very good in my opinion. We have a few small items to be repaired under warranty but they are so minor that we have waited until now to take the unit back into the dealer.

Caveats - The top bunk is tight and will be fine for kids but a large adult (over 6') will not fit well. Bottom bunk is larger in regards to headroom. The 18 gal. black tank is too small for rustic camping for more than 2-3 days with 4 people. Of course, it is no problem for full hookup campgrounds. If you camp where there is no sewer hookup, buy a blue tank. I have a 25 gal three wheel version that works well.

The one thing we would really like is the dinette on a slider to increase the room in the front of the trailer.

All in all, we are very happy with our BH and would purchase it again.

Regards,

Jeff

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by Towdaddy

The one thing we would really like is the dinette on a slider to increase the room in the front of the trailer.

All in all, we are very happy with our BH and would purchase it again.

Regards,

Jeff

Did you get the two swival chairs or the sofa? We are planning on ordering a BH unit with the sofa and amarillo interior plus LS package. It looks like that would have a white "leather" sofa. Would prefer a tan or light brown to go with the interior color scheme we plan on ordering.

[Towdaddy]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

Did you get the two swival chairs or the sofa? We are planning on ordering a BH unit with the sofa and amarillo interior plus LS package. It looks like that would have a white "leather" sofa. Would prefer a tan or light brown to go with the interior color scheme we plan on ordering.

We got the sofa. It is light tan. The swivel chairs would not have worked for us.

Jeff

[RossFam05BH]

We've got the trailer, and have had a chance to take a couple of short trips in it. All stays were at full hookup campgrounds, so we can't comment on issues with tank capacities, but we've been very pleased with the unit.

We got the model with the sofa rather than the swivel chairs, and are very happy with that decision. The sofa is quite comfortable, and we don't have to worry about the chairs sliding around and banging into things on the road. There is also a large storage compartment under the sofa, which is a plus.

The four of us (two adults plus two boys, ages 7.5 and 5) fit just fine - the bunk beds are great for the boys. The upper bunk would definitely be tight for a big adult (not much headroom), but since none of us fit that category, it's great for our purposes. We don't mind the lack of a slideout - it's big enough for us, and we would worry about compromising the integrity of the shell.

Minuses - we have a few minor issues with trim. The laminate edges on the particle board partitions tend to peel off. We've noticed this on the door leading to the master bedroom, and also on the steps leading to the top bunk. Also the linoleum around the toilet is coming up on the edge. However, all of these should be easily fixable with a bit of the proper adhesive. The only "major" change that we're contemplating involved the dinette table - the edges are awfully sharp, with those 90 degree angles. We plan to fix this by building a replacement table top - Paul builds custom furniture for a living, so this won't be a problem. We're going to put a nice radiused edge on a solid white oak table top, and can simply transfer the mounting hardware, so it should be an easy project, and go well with the interior.

Additional pluses - we got the LS model, and really like the heat pump (works great!), and the electric hitch jack. We haven't had the necessity yet of using the super duper black tank flush system, but anticipate that working well, too.

Paul and Miriam

[Minnie's Mate]

I'm glad you are enjoying your new coach. We will order our unit next fall when my currently 4 year old starts kindergarden and we loose the day care expense. We will then have a 5 year old and an 8 year old so I'm glad to hear that the unit is a great fit for your family.

I'll pay attention to the areas you mention for adhesive integrety. Also glad to hear the sofa is comfortable; that is the option we plan on, too. All in all, we think the BH is probably the most family friendly unit in the Airstream lineup. At least in terms of our criteria.