What Bumper Was Stock On an '06 Bambi Int'l CCD 19'?

[jambie]

We're buying such an AS from an RV dealer in Nevada, and the P/O has done some mods that reduced the value enough for us to afford it. One mod was to modify the rear bumper to add a bike rack and a storage compartment. Now, I've not seen this trailer yet, and have only seen pics of other '06 CCD's, but they all seem to have a silver aluminum bumper. The bumper on the one we're buying appears to be all black...the selling dealer says it's original, so I'm not sure if the silver was an option or not. Also, can a factory aluminum bumper be refitted?

Thanks in advance for your patience and resposes, and expect a lot more questions...

Cheers,
Tom

[tpi]

I think we'll need pictures to determine what kind of modifications were made to bumper area, and what would be needed to put it back to a stock condition.

I am not aware of any airstream bumpers painted black. It could be the stock bumper painted or another bumper. Again pics would tell a lot.

A concern I would have is the storage compartment. What kind of weight do you think was carried in it? Do you think the modifications themselves added a lot of weight? There have been discussions about weight hung off the back of the trailer and potential negative effects from it.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by jambie

We're buying such an AS from an RV dealer in Nevada, and the P/O has done some mods that reduced the value enough for us to afford it. One mod was to modify the rear bumper to add a bike rack and a storage compartment. Now, I've not seen this trailer yet, and have only seen pics of other '06 CCD's, but they all seem to have a silver aluminum bumper. The bumper on the one we're buying appears to be all black...the selling dealer says it's original, so I'm not sure if the silver was an option or not. Also, can a factory aluminum bumper be refitted?

Thanks in advance for your patience and resposes, and expect a lot more questions...

Cheers,
Tom

Tom,

I had your exact trailer for 5 years and the dealer is 'full if it!!'. The OEM stock bumper WAS an aluminum one that had a grey painted storage area between the rear edge of the bumper and the trailer where you could store sewer hoses and other light stuff. I WOULD NEVER MOUNT A BIKE RACK OR OTHER STORAGE EQUIPMENT ON THE BACK OF A NEW AIRSTREAM, per factory recommendations!

Maybe you should re-negotiate for a bit more of a price reduction, considering this 'modification' is certainly NOT STOCK and had further degraded the value of this trailer.

I'm sure it will not be a big effort to return it to it's stock condition. But don't let the dealer know this!!!!

[TBRich]

The standard bumper is a sliver (aluminum) bumper with a shallow storage compartment (same depth and width as the bumper) between the bumper and the body of the AS...it's big enough to carry sewer hoses and such and opens by means of a piano hinge on the foreward side of the compartment... We use ours to sotre our shore power cord, stabilizer crank, awning "wand" and a few other light items. Pictures would help to determine if it's just been painted or replaced with a different bumper. As noted above, it's generally accepted that bike racks on the back of an Airstream is not a good idea and could cause shell separation issues down the road. (Oops...Lew was posting at the same time I was...like minds and all that.)

[jambie]

Hey, thanks for the quick answers. We've negotiated a VERY good price for this AS, knowing that the P/O made some ill-advised modifications. I've included a couple pics of the bumper below...evidently he took the silver cover off to weld the bike rack to the bumper frame, and then fabricated a new cover from...ugh!...WOOD...using a piano hinge. Anyway, we're not interested in the AS for collector's value, we want to camp in style in it. Let me know what you think, and whether it looks like a stock unit can be refitted.

Thanks for the helpful info and...
Cheers!
Tom

[tpi]

The storage compartment appears pretty much stock, at least the bottom of it. I can't tell if the replacement bumper is bolted on stock mounting points or not, or if that has been modified so a stock bumper bar can't be used. It would make sense they would have kept it stock but who knows. At the least you'll need the stock bumper and the cover for the storage compartment. There are a couple little hold down clips to keep the storage door closed. Perhaps other hardware, I don't have the trailer in front of me.


Not my pic and an older one. And no compartment cover. But otherwise looks similar to mine.

[TBRich]

OK...I went out and took a few pictures of our Bambi's bumper...excuse the dirt and spotting...it's been raining and windy so it's a mess at the moment....needs a good bath...

The angled piece that you see below the main extension of the frame holding the bumper is a skid plate affair on both sides...it looks like those have been removed from your bumper supports as well as the bumper itself and the bracket holding the bike rack added to those extensions... I'm not sure why the replaced the metal lid to the compartment unless it was too long an got in the way of the bike rack structure...

I'd try to put it back the way it's supposed to be if it were me... it would be better functionally and aesthetically...

Hope this helps...

Pic #1:
Bumper with Compartment Closed (the reflective strip is not stock...we added that)...

Pic #2:
Bumper with Compartment Open from Curb Side...

Pic #3:
Bumper with Compartment Open from Street Side...

Pic #4:
Bumper with Compartment Open from behind Street Side...

Pic #5:
Bumper with Compartment Open from Curb Side...differenet angle...

[OB Bambi]

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f365...ons-70272.html

My last post on this thread is about Johnco and TBRich...you would do well reading the posts that both of them have made. You'll be a Bambi expert after the final.

Good Luck, Randy Bowman