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Airstream01 · 08-17-2009, 06:27 AM

Hello everyone, I have a "solution" to my housing problem that I will be faced with in the coming months. I will be starting a two year masters program at Naval Postgraduated School in Monterey, CA in January. I currently own a home in Virginia Beach that I want to keep. My grand plan is to buy a late model, 25ft FB Safari SE or International CCD and live in it full time while at the school. I have always wanted an Airstream and this seems like the perfect time to finally get one. I've already got an ample tow vehicle ('01 Ford F250 w/ 7.3L Powerstroke), I just need to find the right Airstream, and find a place to park it for two years. I've done a bit of searching online for locations near Monterey that would allow fulltiming and think I've found one, but I haven't emailed them yet to see how much it would cost. I'd like to keep the "rent" under $400/mo. Am I completely out to lunch on this? Do any of you all know of anywhere near Monterey that allows fulltiming and won't break the bank? I've got a good bit of experience with SOB trailers and lots of towing experience, so I'm not a complete noob in that regard. I'm a former submarine officer, so I can live in small spaces for extended periods of time no problem. I actually enjoy it. I'm also very handy and can fix most issues that will arise with the trailer. So overall I think I'm in pretty good shape, I just need to find a place to park the ole girl. I look forward to any and all comments you might have regarding my plan. Thanks

Brian

danalee · 08-17-2009, 06:36 AM

Seems like a great idea to me. What a beautiful place to spend two years! I have a friend in the area and will email her for ideas.

Minno · 08-17-2009, 06:41 AM

Hi Brian,

Welcome to the forums from another former Sailor. I think you'll find lots of us around

Compared to a sub, an AS will be gloriously spacious! I'm in Minnesota, so I don't have any answers for you regarding where you can fulltime while going to school, but I wanted to wish you fair winds and following seas in your adventure. Maybe you can find an Airstream park to stay in...

Best of luck,
Chris

usa448 · 08-17-2009, 08:08 AM

I've been living part time in a 28' in San Jose, CA and its proved to be a great solution. If you find a $400/mo park I'd sure like to hear about it. The commute would be worth it. My bad news is that I've had to pay double that (really nice park, close to the airport but still).

wahoonc · 08-17-2009, 08:16 AM

The plan will work on everything but the price of the park. CA is EXPENSIVE. I have used mine on the road as a living quarters for out of town projects for up to a year at a time. Very doable.

Aaron

Melody Ranch · 08-17-2009, 09:09 AM

There is a Military campground there...they will take you in.

Foiled Again · 08-17-2009, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melody Ranch

There is a Military campground there...they will take you in.

Melody is singing the right tune again. Even HERE in Bootiful Virginia Beach, the least expensive nice campground is located at NAS Oceana. It's a bit out of the way and even most locals don't know how to find it. Just turn West off of Oceana Blvd onto Harpers Road and go about 1/2 mile. You'll see it on the right.

Unfortunately I am a civilian so I can't use it.

You shouldn't have any trouble towing a 25 FB with your rig, but you are talking about doing about 400 miles per day across the country. Plan on 8 to 10 days - more if you're doing anything touristy.

Good luck finding a newish 25 FB, I think there may be one or two in the classifieds. (Or since it would be on the way, you could stop at Airstream of Arkansas. I've only heard nice things about them.)

Paula Ford - PM me if you'd like to see a 25 FB Safari in real life.

RoverOwner · 08-17-2009, 10:27 AM

RobandZoe to the silver courtesy phone, please....

Rob Baker went through that course back in the mid-1990's. He lived in a remote cabin in the hills, but I'm sure he can give you some information on the area.

Airstream01 · 08-17-2009, 10:35 AM

Thanks for all the comments. I did know about the campground on/near the base in Monterey, but I didn't read anything about them allowing full timing. I'll give them a call and find out for sure. That would be the best option as it is close to the school and close to the beach. Paula, I'll be pm'ing you shortly, I'd love to see a late model FB in person.

Brian

CanoeStream · 08-17-2009, 10:44 AM

For a warm climate I think you might appreciate one of these before they started installing skylights on all of them (I think for '07 models). For '06 skylights were only an option. Skylights tend to leak. But my biggest observation was about how much heat they admitted even with the shutter drawn. Then... if I was shopping now I'd probably leap at a solid unit anyway.

Airstream01 · 08-17-2009, 01:41 PM

Thanks for the tip Bob. I'm looking at anything from say, 2004 and newer. I got in touch with Montery Pines RV resort (aka the military RV park) and the person I talked to did say they make exceptions for students and faculty and that we can stay there full time save for about 4 weekends a year when they want us to clear out so others can come to festivals and such. The lady I need to talk to won't be back for a couple weeks so I won't know for sure how much its going to cost me per month, but the current daily rate is $27/day which translates to ~$800/month. I'm hoping we can bring that down a couple hundred.

Jim & Susan · 08-17-2009, 04:02 PM

Brian, here's s'more stuff to throw into the mix.

Certain military installations have parks for trailers (as in double-wides and so forth). You might be able to fit in there. I don't know if they are available on the Monterrey Peninsula as I was stationed there in 1976 (Russian language translator at DLI, not Post Grad School), so I'll bet things have changed in 3 or 4 decades

.

Rob, of RobandZoe, attended school there several years ago, as somebody else has already suggested. He's a Marine officer (O5) and academy grad. And one hellava great guy. Try sending him a PM for more info.

You're going to love it there. One of the great places to live for a while. Don't worry about your air conditioner, you won't need it. The two coldest summers I ever spent were in Monterrey and central Europe.

Enjoy and let us know how it goes.

So, what's the field of study?

Jim

robandzoe · 08-17-2009, 04:17 PM

Hello Brian, and congrats on heading for Monterey.. a great place for sure!!! I actually bought the first of my multiple Airstreams while there at NPS (in the Operations Research curricula).. and full-timed it there my last 7 months. For the most part, I stayed here

Naval Postgraduate School - Monterey Pines RV Park & Storage Lot

I would stay there during the week, and then head over into the Salina's valley, Santa Cruz, or I-5 corridor with numerous weekends spent up near Yosemite.. If I recall, that was to get around the maximun number of days you could spend there. I also spent a little time out there at the Campground at Laguna Seca as well as some of the places in Big Sur on Route 1. Some good times!!

Let me know what other questions you might have! Monetery Pines was built new in 98 and was a secret then... it is in biking distane to school on a nice bike path. It's out behind the fiargrounds on hole 12 of the school's golf course... never a dent, but many golf balls around the Airstream in the evenings.. I used to collect them!

Oh - GO VINTAGE!

Good luck,

Rob

CanoeStream · 08-17-2009, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airstream01

Thanks for the tip Bob. I'm looking at anything from say, 2004 and newer.

moosetag's 25' FB is a 2005 produced about February 2005. His was one of the first 25' FB units produced -- Feb 2005 IIRC. Those had suicide doors. We saw one of those units at the AS dealer in Anoka, MN. There is a thread somewhere here about stabilization of doors that sit at 90 degree angles to the coach. Not far into the 2006 model production (our born-on date is 1st week of August 2005) should have doors hinged at the front and latch open alongside and parallel to the coach side -- which describes every 25' FB produced since.

Airstream01 · 08-17-2009, 05:04 PM

Jim, I'll be studying Mechanical Engineering. Looking forward to Monterey, and the long trip there--it should be an adventure.
Rob, thanks for the tips. The gentleman I talked to at Monterey Pines said they do allow fulltiming save for a few weekends out of the year. I will probably do something similar to what you did, and do a bit of traveling on the weekends. I really would prefer to go vintage and redo it, but I don't really have time to get it in shape/remodel it. Plus, I really like the modern interiors and layout, hopefully I get a good one with minimal quality control issues.
Bob, thanks for the info. So are you saying it would be a good idea to avoid an '05 due to the door issue? I'm going to take a look at a new '08 SE on wednesday at Carolina RV.

danalee · 08-18-2009, 02:18 PM

My friend is not aware of anything but she is checking with her Dad who used to work for the NPS and still has some contacts.

Airstream01 · 08-18-2009, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danalee

My friend is not aware of anything but she is checking with her Dad who used to work for the NPS and still has some contacts.

Thank you Dannie, I appreciate it.

Brian

tallytwo1994 · 08-18-2009, 05:48 PM

Well this was exactly what I was thinking. There's a great list of campsites available to both retired military and active duty personnel. If I could do something over again I might have married a military man just to take advantage of the camping opportunities, LOL. JDTMH!

Carol

California Military Campgrounds
ArmyMWR Travel Page - Path Across America - California

Airstream01 · 08-20-2009, 10:51 AM

Well, I have officially joined the club, and take delivery of my new '08 Safari SE 25FB on Tuesday from Carolina RV. I paid $43177 out the door, which I am very happy with. If this isn't a good deal, don't tell me, I'm happy

Sticker was around $61k or so. I may start another thread in a more appropriate section of the forum and post some photos and such.

Airstream01 · 08-20-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minno

Hi Brian,

Welcome to the forums from another former Sailor. I think you'll find lots of us around

Compared to a sub, an AS will be gloriously spacious! I'm in Minnesota, so I don't have any answers for you regarding where you can fulltime while going to school, but I wanted to wish you fair winds and following seas in your adventure. Maybe you can find an Airstream park to stay in...

Best of luck,
Chris

Thanks Chris, the airstream is much more spacious than the sleeping quarters were on the sub, thats for sure, with about 20 times as much storage space. Surprisingly the showers are about the same size--I don't really fit in either one.