Skydeck Registry

[Big Blue Rv]

Haven't posted here in years. Just browsing and saw the threads on the recent Skydeck purchases. We are the original owners of our skydeck (2003) purchased in April 2004 from Toscano RV in Los Banos CA. We stored it inside most of its life when not on the road. It was used for vacations and the like for the first 10 years, but now we are Full timers with a home base in FL where we spend about 3 months with the rest of the year on the road. We currently have 95K on it and no major issues as long as routine maintenance is done.

I met the CEO of Airstream at an Airstream rally and tried to get some help in establishing a registry, but due to "confidentiality" issues, Airstream would not help. I would be interested in pursuing that idea with some input of other Skydeck owners.

My understanding is that there were 28 units TOTAL, with the first 12-14 being traditional "residential" units. Since they didn't sell well, Airsteam deleted the kitchens and baths, put in more seating and a bar in the bedroom area etc and sold the remaining units as as corporate hospitality.
Coors marketing still has 5 units (based in Gafney SC) At some time there were commercial units owned by Camping world (seen it) Dodge (was on it at Watkins Glen International) Dewalt (seen it)and Sunoco. Trinity RV rental in Texas has 2 residential units (have seen both and met the owner at Daytona) and I know the Nomad unit which is owned by a guy in Montreal. (we had some smaller renovations done by Nomad as well)

I can identify with the issues in the units purchased by the posters in this forum and am glad we generally have not had those experiences! I look forward to talking with them.

[masseyfarm]

Thanks for posting your information, and it is nice to see the limited history of the SKYDECK updated.

You have one of the real collector units.

We like pictures, so fell free to post lots.

Dave

[israndy]

Those are some great pics, wish I could add them to the photographic list of SkyDecks I posted here. Seems I already have pics of 15 w/o including the corporate ones, so perhaps there were more SkyDecks made than 28. We need to start taking the VIN and mating it with the pic. It doesn't help that there are at least 3 with my paint job (Mine, the Nomad unit, and the one Airstream used in promo pics). Also doesn't help that people wrap them or repaint them. But I think if we try we can get a registry going.

Is that yours at the campsite full of Airstreams? You have the big yellow SkyDeck logo. Is that the same one from the RV show that they intro'd the RV at? The one in my list of photos above? Otherwise there are two with that paint job too.

-Randy

[Big Blue Rv]

Although it looks exactly like mine I dont think that it is mine- as my umbrellas are blue (but they could have been changed out in the year it sat at the CA Dealer for sale.)
You do have mine in your list- its the one that was taken by "geeks on tour" as labeled in the lower right of the photo. That was taken at a Motostat rally at the Buckhorn RV Resort in Kerville Texas in Oct 2005.

A number of these have been resold and wrapped for commercial use and then resold so identification by paint may not be very productive.
You are right that attaching VINS to the pics will help but that will take some research...

I got the 28 number from someone at Airstream a while ago.... We might be able to contact Airstream now and convince them to at least give us an accurate count....seeing as they are a rare piece of Airstream history....

[Big Blue Rv]

For the Pic guys, here are a few interior pics after we had the oven removed and a Fisher & Paykel dishwasher and new counters etc installed 2 years ago and changed out the fridge for a larger 4 dr (still 3 way) (done by Nomad)

I dont have a good pic, but in the pic with the stairs you can see two horizontal handles on the left top of the hatch opening. We installed a horizontal screen that rolls up and disappears to the left side.

[Big Blue Rv]

One last thing while I am doing this. In Oct 2014 the Travel Channel hired us to bring the Skydeck on a weeks filming of a TRIP FLIP show - "Alabama-the road to Talladega". The coach was in a small part of the show when they brought the guests to Talladega for the Sprint Cup Race. They filmed outside and on the deck. We had complimentary parking from Nascar and Hot passes to the garage, pits etc.- and the travel channel paid us to film on the coach. Good fun and only in a Skydeck!

The table on the deck was made by Nomad and way back in 2004 we moved the grill from the deck to one of the bays and removed the sinks so we could install the motosat satellite dish. (now gone and replaced by my verizon mi-fi card)

[PSchw]

Nice SkyDeck with nice modifications.
I own a 2005 and also full time in it. Still working to get it the way I want it just had a new floor installed by Creative Mobile Interior in Columbus OH which goes all the way from the back to the front.
Not that easy to put images up here. Maybe some day i figure it out.
The registry is a great idea and maybe we should put a rally together for SkyDecks some how somewhere.
Peter

[Big Blue Rv]

Peter
A rally is a cool idea- maybe at Jackson center in conjunction with some other airstream rally there? Might get us a start on the information for the registry.

we are in the market for a new floor as well- carpet is 10 years old etc. I would be interested in seeing what you installed and the cost etc. How did you choose them to do the install?
Were you happy with the results?
can we do private messages here? i would like to exchange contact info with all skydeck owners on this forum as a start.
Alan

[SeeMore]

..can we do private messages here?...

Yes, just under your "Welcome, Big Blue RV" identifier at the top right-hand side of the page find "Private Messages." Click there and you'll be taken to the messaging section where you enter the name of the party whom you want to contact and the message text.

[israndy]

I would prefer if we kept our info in the clear. When we start going private thinking we are boring people we limit future readers from knowing what we know. The SkyDeck thread that Peter and I have been conversing in would be a GREAT place to put info specific to our model, sadly I called it 2005 Skydeck. We could also keep it here since this thread is about finding all the existing Skydecks. I have also found it powerful to post new threads about new topics. So "Replacing flooring in an Airstream 390/396/Skydeck" would be a good place to concentrate posts on that topic as people would find it quickly. You may not think someone cares about what you are doing in your RV today, but these things are only going to get older and people will want to know what you found works to fix them.

Now if you are sending your phone numbers and bank account info, keep that in private messages, but the rest of us knowing something was sold from one member to another is also good info for future users.

Peter, you have posted many a photo successfully, don't be discouraged. You have such a pretty RV. Just remember if you are going to post from a camera and the pic was taken in the tall orientation, save it on your computer and rotate it before posting, as the orientation is not recognized by this site.

[israndy]

Alan, thanks for clearing up the info about your RV. I had seen but never noticed the phantom screen you have on your roof access:



Boy you have clean roof fiberglass in that photo, I have a LOT of work ahead of my to get all the adhesive of the no slip tape up.

If you have removed your dish, did you put anything back in that space? You mentioned that you removed your grill and I can see that in the Nascar photo in a slide out from your basement. Is that a grill that came with the Skydeck? I read in the manual that one should stow the grill but I have never seen pics of a grill on a Skydeck other than the clever Nomad setup I plan on emulating.

I know Peter removed his accessories over the front AC as he needed to do some service. I am thinking about removing mine as my front furnace is not responding and I'm gonna want it working now that the snows are encroaching (like this morning). It may be something as simple as the switch on the AC unit, that indicates a furnace is attached, was not flipped.

But I love that front area with sink and two storage bays, the only thing I could think that I might want there more is a big wooden ships wheel so I could pretend to be driving from the roof in the 4th of July parade this summer. (Need to check the route to see if I will be clipped by power lines before then.) Just wish I had a picture of how the grill was supposed to be deployed originally. I currently just use a Weber Q.

-Randy

[SeeMore]

israndy, I agree with your sentiments about public info. However, my post was educational about a specific forum capability as Big Blue RV asked about private messaging and sharing contact information which might have included stuff like phone numbers, etc. which, via public posting, can be used to for nefarious/hacker behavior.

My 30 years in IT gives me unique insight into just how many individuals act badly and undo caution is highly advised.

[israndy]

No I was not commenting on your post, as I was writing mine at the same time. I wanted Big Blue and Peter S. to keep as much info public as they are comfortable with. My Vectrix electric motorcycle group breaks off into private conversations too often, I then see others ask the same questions and again breaking off into private. If the conversation had just been pubic no need to repeat it, and if the resource leaves the group then there is NO record of the answers discovered.

-Randy

[Big Blue Rv]

Randy and Peter
I am absolutely glad to share public stuff, what mods i did, any issues etc. as we love our skydeck and we are glad to show it off anytime (wish i had a dollar for every person that has come on board!) We have had ours 12 years so i certainly should have some input for other new owners that i can share. I really am glad to finally "meet" other skydeck owners- including another Fulltimer!

My PM request was for email or phone info or discussing costs of projects etc that we may not be willing to post in public.

Randy, I dont even remember that pic with the Motosat! where did you find it?
Alan

[Big Blue Rv]

Randy
GRILL- The grill is the exact same kind that came with our unit. It was still in the box when we got it- but didnt work correctly. It was meant to be placed on the stainless unit next to the sink when needed-not permanently mounted. Turns out the exact same grill is (or at least was) sold in the Boats US. Its a marine grade stainless unit suitable to mount on the boat rails. They gave us a even swap since mine was still in the box. My wife didnt want to drag food upstairs to cook etc. so I made the fixed mounting bracket to mount it to the basement slide out tray. Its on my list to change the bracket to a accordion type (similar to the Nomad unit) so it will come out further and higher.

FRONT AC- Dont know what brand of AC you have - but Yes there was a FUSE on the passenger side of my ac unit. You need to remove the cover to get to it.

Front DECK area- we have nothing there now except a small local tv antenna. Although my wife wants me to figure out a way to hang a hammock there!
The floor is a bit of a mess now from the motosat and my painting trial (below). Without any decking material the floor is VERY slippery when wet- but easy to clean with a mop! However, It fades/ yellows with time. The Trinity Rental owner had purchased rolls of the original decking material. He tried replacing it, but it still came up on the edges. Ultimately he put strips of it across the isle (kind of like safety strips)
Nomad tried some outdoor carpet, but i think that is gone now as it gets heavy when wet.
In one spot up front I tried some boat/marine paint with a gritty finish. looked terrible-but i still think something from the marine industry that's used for nonslip boat deck flooring would be best. Just haven't pursued it further yet. Since we now "live" in florida, I think I will have a better opportunity to find something than was available in CT.

Hope this give you some ideas.

Alan

[nvestysly]

Thanks for sharing your experiences about Sky Decks. We have an Airstream trailer and will likely never switch to a motorhome but if we were going to change over, Sky Deck is the way to go. We've seen a few and think they are fabulous!

Big Blue RV, did you attend Alumaflamingo in Sarasota, FL a few years ago? We saw a Sky Deck at the event in 2013 or 2014 and the owners were very accommodating and even hosted a happy hour event at their rig.

I'm sure Sky Deck owners are always at the top of the discussion list at the campground. Marge, come look! Did you see that thing?!

[israndy]

Originally Posted by Big Blue Rv

Randy, I don't even remember that pic with the Motosat! where did you find it?
Alan

Alan,

I keep thinking:

I got the pic from the same place I got all the photos of your RV:

Geeks on Tour Blog: Sky Deck

as far as the grill goes, is this what came with them?



from a WanderLodge forum, photos from the 2003 FMCA show, in case you are curious. Post #9

My "grill-table" then is painted and rusting underneath, guess I need to get out the wire brush come Spring. Would be nice if it was stainless like that, would make more sense to prep food up there. Still it's nice to have water and umbrella stands even if there isn't a built-in grill as I imagined.

Check out the 2005 Airstream thread where I was trying to draw the conversation with a question about all the many antenna you have on your coach.

-Randy

[Big Blue Rv]

i was looking at the pics of the Jeff Gordon fire damaged SD that was posted. The roof looks like diamond plate, but I assume is a rubber non slip material...maybe another option for covering...

[israndy]

Personally I am still going for fake grass. It has holes in it to allow drainage, and the splines of grass will hide the pine needles until I have time to rake (or drive). I think I will do the roof in eternabond first. Although, the Skydeck has all sorts of non-obvious holes thru the roof that I will need to find first. Once you put down eternabond there is little going back. The nice thing about grass, other than how it feels on bare feet, is it's heavy so it should stay down. No curling up in the corners and then the wind.

-Randy

[PSchw]

You gone take all the seats and so up to do it? I looked into roof-armor it looks great it is easy to walk on. It is applied liquid with a spray gun so the seats and everything on the roof need to be removed.
Peter