Just got ours.....(pics)

[GP1152]

Originally Posted by niralouise

Hi,
What did you do with your 16'? I could have sold mine 2 or 3 times just sitting in my driveway! What made you switch? The dual battery and separate holding tanks? I've found advantages and disadvantages in both sizes.
I'm glad, and surprised, you got good service from Bay Area Airstream. They were really unresponsive to me in the service department. You guys should know about Vinnie at Vinnie's Northbay Airstream Repair in Novato. He's great. Look him up on facebook.
Love your pics. Keep posting.
Nira

We traded it in. We had gotten a pretty good deal on it and got pretty much what we paid for it in trade. The new 19 is a 2013. we got a pretty good discount on it so it was a no brainier for us since we knew we would eventually want to get the next size up. The 19 is probably the biggest we would want to go since a lot of the state parks don't allow anything over 20'

What made us switch?
First I want to say that I loved the 16'. There was nothing "wrong" with it. We just knew that eventually we'd want to get the next size up and had this opportunity come up. More than anything it was the chance to get equal money on our trade and buy something we knew we'd eventually get anyway. Other than that, a few of the perks are:
- holding tanks: having separate tanks has its advantages, but honestly the combined tank of the 16' was more a hassle in its small capacity than anything else (we mostly dry-camp).
- The dual batteries is definitely nice to have
- Higher propane capacity
- Inverter - nice to be able to use outlets while on battery
- Space - the extra 3 feet might not seem like much but it really gives you more room for 2 people to move around
- Overall finish - LED lights, doors, cabinet finish
- Oven/microwave
- Bigger fridge, closet
- Bathroom - having a separate shower/toilet is probably one of the biggest differences. The other shower worked, but having to dry it out after a shower was a bit of a pita. Having 2 sinks is nice too.
- 19 Already has all the upgrades we were going to do to our 16 (Rock guards, bumper, Aluminum LP tank covers, door with window, etc.)
- Two POWER fantastic fans with rain sensors
- Gas AND electric water heater (nice when you're plugged in and don't have to waste LP gas.

There are other things but that's what comes to mind right now.


Bay Area Airstream: they're a new shop and have admittedly had some growing pains, but honestly everyone there has been great. I'm as picky as they come and they've done all the work I've needed and did an awesome job. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. Ken, their service manager is very responsive, even texting me with info when I needed it. Ben, one of the techs, did all the welding work needed to move my LP tanks back. He came up with a way to make everything look factory and remain functional (leaving me access to the batteries and such). Again, they're good people and do good work. I'll post soon on the work they did and you'll see what I mean.

[TRC]

You gonna hate me for saying this but you should have gotten the 20ft. When we bought our first one we got the 19ft. My wife shortly after hated the bathroom next to the bed, no counter space & too small. A couple months later they came out with the 20ft. After we saw it, it was perfect, we upgraded. Bed in front, more kitchen space with a huge bathroom. Just the extra foot & half made all the difference in the world.

I'm sure you will be happy with the 19, I'm just kidding around. One thing I stopped doing though was checking out the new models, it will save me money & being contempt with what I have

[time2play]

We bought a new 28' on March 30th, and traded up to a 30' on July 30th.
Four months! I thought that was some kind of record.

I love our 30' Classic.

By the way, love your photos!

[Condoluminum]

You guys are candidates for the "Too Much Fun Club" and should sign up right away.. Picture of bikes in back hooked up look great.. Glad it worked out.. I don't want to cause more problems, but most state parks have 25' limit, not 20'...

Glad to hear about improved service relations at new shop.. They did get negative references here, and logged and responded with apologies and promises to do better. For a lot of shops doing good work is 75% of the requirement, but communicating with customers and making them feel good about the work is the other critical 25%...

[GP1152]

Originally Posted by Condoluminum

You guys are candidates for the "Too Much Fun Club" and should sign up right away.. Picture of bikes in back hooked up look great.. Glad it worked out.. I don't want to cause more problems, but most state parks have 25' limit, not 20'...

You're correct, with a few exceptions. Here's the list of the actual allowable lengths:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/rvlength/

The 19' for us works great. It's easy to tow and gives us plenty of room for just the two of us. We like the layout as well.
One of the considerations also, for us, is the hitch weight. Our truck is a basically a desert race truck and due to its suspension only has a max hitch weight capacity of 500 lbs. I added rear suspension airbags to be able to tow the trailer AND the bikes. I also added a weight distribution hitch to boost the allowable tongue weight. So far we've towed everything with absolutely no issues. I know something like the 20 flying cloud has a pretty low hitch weight, but between the 2, we preferred the 19. To each his own, right?

[aftermath]

I think I counted 4 parks at 20 or under. That isn't too many when you think about the entire state.

For every foot you move up there will be more and more limitations on places you can camp. I have seen some sites that don't have restrictions but when I got there, it wasn't going to work for my 25. Smaller is better in a lot of cases. I could take my tent trailer anywhere, and I often did!

[GP1152]

Originally Posted by aftermath

I think I counted 4 parks at 20 or under. That isn't too many when you think about the entire state.

For every foot you move up there will be more and more limitations on places you can camp. I have seen some sites that don't have restrictions but when I got there, it wasn't going to work for my 25. Smaller is better in a lot of cases. I could take my tent trailer anywhere, and I often did!

Exactly, and for us (as I mentioned) and the setup we have for towing, the 19 is perfect. Knowing that we'll be able to get in pretty much anywhere is a plus as well.

[Condoluminum]

You seem to be enjoying it too much, so no argument here.. Balance between modest truck able to go off-road plus pair of bikes plus Airstream isn't easy to make work, and when you succeed, just keep smiling and enjoy it.. Does bring back memories of full-timer with long-bed 3/4 ton pickup, with doghouse camper shell and wide ramp for his Harley FatBoy, pulling a 34' Limited trailer and full-timing solo... With portable satellite dish, he had most of life's necessities with him at all times, and was very happy cruising the US and Canada..

[GP1152]

Originally Posted by Condoluminum

You seem to be enjoying it too much, so no argument here.. Balance between modest truck able to go off-road plus pair of bikes plus Airstream isn't easy to make work, and when you succeed, just keep smiling and enjoy it.. Does bring back memories of full-timer with long-bed 3/4 ton pickup, with doghouse camper shell and wide ramp for his Harley FatBoy, pulling a 34' Limited trailer and full-timing solo... With portable satellite dish, he had most of life's necessities with him at all times, and was very happy cruising the US and Canada..

Jeez....talk about a good time!!

[GP1152]

Still on the road. Lots more pics, but here are a few more for now:

[LBcat]

Wow! So envious!

[TRC]

Dude this is what it's all about... Having fun with your lady with the silver bullet in tow. Cant wait to take mine out again. When are you heading back to the north coast? There's some killer sites up north. Checked Westport recently & it was a lot of fun. Here's the view from the camping spot:

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by TRC

Dude this is what it's all about... Having fun with your lady with the silver bullet in tow. Cant wait to take mine out again. When are you heading back to the north coast? There's some killer sites up north. Checked Westport recently & it was a lot of fun. Here's the view from the camping spot:

Hi, nice view.

[norcal bass]

GP1152 -

Your pictures are amazing ... obviously you are a professional. Truly awesome. Thanks for sharing with all of us!

Question on the 19 Int'l ... have you found the toilet proximity to the bed an issue? And what are your thoughts on the toilet area when the door is closed ... very tight. No biggie for you guys? And I thought the refrig was a two way both on the 19 Intl and on the 16 sport. Maybe I am wrong.

Have tracked down your old 16 for sale ... am thinking about getting it, but like the 19 Int'l better for all the same reasons you upgraded.

Thanks.

[skinzy]

Wow. These are such great photos!

[GP1152]

Originally Posted by norcal bass

GP1152 -

Your pictures are amazing ... obviously you are a professional. Truly awesome. Thanks for sharing with all of us!

Question on the 19 Int'l ... have you found the toilet proximity to the bed an issue? And what are your thoughts on the toilet area when the door is closed ... very tight. No biggie for you guys? And I thought the refrig was a two way both on the 19 Intl and on the 16 sport. Maybe I am wrong.

Have tracked down your old 16 for sale ... am thinking about getting it, but like the 19 Int'l better for all the same reasons you upgraded.

Thanks.

Thanks for the compliments. I'm not a professional, but again, thanks.

Ok so as for the 19':
- have not found the proximity to be an issue. If you want more room (and someone isn't laying in the bed, you can leave the door open and close the curtain just in front of the bed.

- The toilet area IS definitely tight, but not a deal breaker for me. I'm 6'0 tall and about 170 lbs and it works for me.

- you're right about the fridge. The 16' is also a 2-way, just smaller of course.

If you buy the one that was ours I can honestly tell you that we turned it in CLEANER than it was delivered to us by the dealer (Toscano). That's no joke. We just got back from our 3 week trip and I think we washed the trailer 4 times during that span.

With that being said, deciding between the two is a matter of what sort of use you're going to give it. there was nothing wrong with the 16'. There were just a few amenities that the 19 comes with that we wanted (previously discussed here). We also felt we could move around each other better in the 19'. It worked out for us to get the 19', but we also would have been happy still with the 16'.

[GP1152]

Originally Posted by TRC

Dude this is what it's all about... Having fun with your lady with the silver bullet in tow. Cant wait to take mine out again. When are you heading back to the north coast? There's some killer sites up north. Checked Westport recently & it was a lot of fun. Here's the view from the camping spot:

Funny you mentioned Westport. We stayed the night there a few days ago. Great site and it was pretty empty except for the northern-most spots.

[norcal bass]

GP -

Thanks for the info on the 16 vs. the 19. The Int'l is just super sweet with the lighting, port windows, dark interior, and all the extra bells & whistles interior & exterior wise. The "cute" factor of the 16 trumps of course according to my wife, but I agree that you can't go wrong with either as long as a small bambi works for what you want.

I found out this morning that some lucky camper purchased your old 16 yesterday. She's back on the road. I did get first look at it; decided to think about it; then it was gone before I could finalize the decision. It was clean ... extremely clean as you said. I totally agree. Although you didn't have it long, you took wonderful care of it. I am going to look at a new one now.

Keep those photos coming on your upcoming trips. By far the best I've seen anywhere on this forum and even on the whole net for that matter. These are airstream website/brochure quality!

[GP1152]

Got out to the Stanislaus National Forest and did some fishing and kayaking. Weather was perfect except for the one day we got some hail and SNOW!!

[GP1152]

Sorry, couldn't go in and make some corrections to the links, so here they are again: