Buying advice

[golfgal]

Urnmor, we bought our 2010 25' from Colonial last summer and have been very happy with it. We were having trouble deciding between the 23' with the sofa or lounge, and the 25'FB. There were three things that made us decide to go with the 25' - 1) The 25' trailer was 6" wider than the 23', which can make a difference in "livability"; 2) We knew that the "crawl-over-me" double bed in the 23-footer would get old really fast; and 3) We thought the bathroom was way too small in the 23-footer. We are happy with our choice of the 25FB and just love our Silver Twinkie!! Good luck! The folks at Colonial are top-notch. We had them add the side and front awnings to ours and are quite happy that we did - not only do they help keep the summer heat out, but they also provide a measure of privacy when we have our shades open.

[Zia]

I baught my 2007 Safari 20' through Caiglist for a reasonable price and now can sell it for more than what we paid (not counting the additions I made) after 2 years of use and 8,000 miles. I am looking for a 23' FB. Two much trouble climbing over my wife. We love our unit which has one of the largest galley and my wife love to cook.
Caution: When you look at the Craiglist or private ad make sure the person is genuine, original owner, good reason to sell not a broker. The person we purchased our's wanted to upsize his to 25 or 27". He even deliver it to our house 250 miles away, because we did not have the two vehicle. After word he did baught a larger one, we became friend after this deal.
For a new AS from dealer you should be able to get atleast 20% off the list price and get a few axtra's added like solar panel (new units come prewired for solar panel). I jsut talked to one dealer last weekend and he admitted that 20% is norm if you know it. He was willing to give me what I want but anly giving me 10% off the new.
Good luck and I am sure you will love the AS which ever one you decide to buy

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by urnmor

Again thanks for all your time and effort in answering my questions. They have been a great assistance as we take this journey, however I do have one more.

It has to with size of the trailer. I am particularly interested in responses from the young at heart and over sixty five RVers.

Again thanks for you patience

Well…. guess I fit that demo.
Started with a 63 22' Vintage Safari bought used way back in 89. Went to a new 03 Classic 25' twin, this was done without benefit of the forum.
It was an "impulse" purchase after seeing the trailer on a dealer lot. We were on our way home from a dog show with the Safari in tow.
DW fell in love with the 25,(sound familiar?) It was late Spring and I had just finished spending two weeks getting the old girl ready for the Season. Something that was becoming all too familiar, so I was susceptible too!
Had more than a few new purchase problems, a lot of which related too poor dealer customer service and lack of a proper pre-delivery-inspection. Unfortunately I was the last customer for that dealership. The AS factory was very helpful in the numerous warranty concerns that I needed to repair, with no dealer support.
Had I known about the forum at that time I'm sure our purchase plan would have been considerably different. There's a wealth of knowledge and common sense here.

First…I would have spent much more time researching the possibility of a quality gently used AS from a Forum member or a known reputable dealer. I think that a lot of the concerns that new owners have crop up with-in the first few Seasons. A quality used unit would have some of these surprises behind it along with the considerable depreciation.

Second…I'm sure we would have been better off looking at ALL the AS offerings.
We most likely would still have chosen the Classic, but that exercise would have given us the opportunity to learn much more about what to look for.

The Classic has been the perfect size trailer for us. It has served us well, taken us on many boondocking trips and several extended vacations. We definitely lucked out, luck trumped ignorance. But a lot of anxiety could have been avoided with more knowledge, and avoiding the spur of the moment.

The more time you spend here doing your homework the more likely your purchase will be a happy one.

Good luck in your search, your definitely on the right road.

Bob

[Zia]

The question is very personal, my preference is to buy the smallest size which will meet your need. Ease of Towing, parking, size limitations in some parks and economical aspect all points to smaller size.
My personal experience, I baught 20' Safari and now want to upsize to 23" FB for only one reason the bed (one us has to crawl over the other in the night when nature calls), even though my wife love the galley part of it. We do camp a lot may be 10-15% of the time and may increase after retirement but no plan for full timing
Good luck

[Scott J-24]

Becky and I looked for our AS for ~3.5 years before finding one. We had been looking for a 25' FB Ocean Breeze but kept missing some good choices by a day or less (good late model units sell quickly). Then a couple of months ago there was a posting for an '09 27' FB Ocean Breeze in the 'Classified' section of the forum and we pounced . Got what we still believe was a GREAT deal and just love the 27' FB. The big difference between the 25 and the 27 for us was the ability to put in a FULL size queen bed, the larger pantry and the much larger closet. We also prefered the center line queen bed over the side mounted bed since it is always easer to level fore and aft than side to side (hate sleeping wiht my head higher or lower than my feet) and you can walk around each side to make the bed. We have been going on long weekends almost every other week but just can't wait for an extended trip so we can really sit back, relax and enjoy our new AS .

[aftermath]

I think it was Paula that said earlier to THINK about what you are going to be doing with the trailer. We have no intentions of full timing so the whole couch up front didn't make much sense to us. We also did not like the idea of climbing over each other to get in and out of bed. We settled on the 25FB and have little regrets. Really like the bed, the separate shower and the decent sized bathroom.

I got mine through Craigs List and paid a fair price. I did not pay a penny before actually looking at it and inspecting it. I know that there are scams out there, I think it would be easy to spot one. It took us a couple of years to do all the research and then to actually find a unit. If I could have afforded it, I would have purchased new in a heart beat. As it was, I picked up a little used 2006 in the fall of 2009. It had been parked and suffered from lack of use. I did have to replace the batteries and the converter but that was about it. NO, I don't have a guarantee but my costs so far have been minimal. The set of tires I just put on would have been regular maintenance the way I look at it.

I am glad I went with the 25. The 27 FBs are nice and the extra space would be nice but right now, I am happy with the 25 and I like how it tows and I can park it in most spots in the state and federal campgrounds.

Good luck on your search. Get a used one if you can but only if you have the time and mind set to do so.

[Gene]

Well I hope I'm young at heart and am certainly over 65, so I met the first requirements.

I'm used to making quick decisions because in my profession I had to, but if you aren't, don't. My wife is slower at making decisions, but was in love with all Airstreams, so I had to keep her under control, an impossible task.

We looked at lots of Airstreams at 2 different dealers. Before that we studied floor plans on the company website. We were going to take our time, but didn't really take that much. At first we were confused, but we sorted it out. I had learned of the Forum before we started this journey and learned a lot, but maybe not enough. The first dealer's salesmen told us obvious lies and then disappeared to answer the phone and never came back. The 2nd dealer was easier to deal with, but after we got the trailer, we learned just how bad they were. We ended up having warranty work done 1,400 miles away at the Airstream Service Center. Generally they do good work, occasionally not. You have to be careful about dealers.

Buying privately takes time. A good deal will be noticed by many and by the time you get there, or have someone inspect it, it may be bought. Some people believe their trailer is better than it is, or just tell untruths, or price it too high for what it is. Any used vehicle may need things. But the price will be better than new and the time you spend may be worth it. If you have a job, buying used may be hard because of time issues.

Since you wife wants a 25', the odds are great you will be buying a 25'. It will not be so much bigger than you want (inside it is only about 22'), but if you cram her into anything smaller, you will not hear the end of it. We have the front bed and like that style. My wife has to crawl over me to get out of the queen, and I like that because she feels good. Her joints are better than mine, so she gets the inside. The 27' solves that because you can walk around the bed, but we decided 2' more wasn't worth the $4,000 more it cost in 2007. We were never interested in twins, so I know nothing about them, but if you decide you want to sell because you have chosen the wrong trailer for you, it will take longer.

We bought new because we didn't know enough to figure out a good deal for a trailer in good shape. After we bought, we found the factory does not do a good job with workmanship and there would be lots of repairs necessary. If we had known the dealer was so bad, and we'd have to travel so far for warranty work, maybe we would have taken more time, looked for used, or bought another brand. So we have mixed feelings, but the trailer tows very well, is iconic, looks cool and we fixed and improved it substantially. Colonial has a good reputation on the Forum and if I were in Md., I'd go there. I know nothing about any dealers closer to you. I'm not trying to discourage you from buying an Airstream, just a dose of reality. Some people report no or few problems with their trailer and they may be making them better now than in 2007. And, RV's aren't made as well as cars and trucks.

Good luck in your search. Others have told you things to look for. It's a big purchase and you are smart to ask for advice and take it carefully.

Gene

[jdalrymple]

Welcome to the forums. Whatever you choose, new or used or old, I would suggest moving up one size from the first one you think is comfortable.


Happy travels!

[urnmor]

My wife and I are still looking. We have taken the advice found on the forum and put it to good use but have yet to buy an AS. We have travelled to an airstream park in PA. Spoke to a number of owners and asked many questions. They all were very enthusiastic about their AS. We visited Colonial RV in NJ looked at the 22 - 25 feet some with twins and queens. We definitely like the Queen in the front. They were friendly however have not heard back from them. Also looked at used on the web 2007 and older.

[Zia]

I am looking to purchase a new AS International Serenity 23 FB and talking to various dealers. One should be able to get about 20% off the MSRP. One brand new sold on ebay exactly 20% off. If you are looking at 2011 model, manufacturer sometimes give additional incentive to the dealer to sell the older models.
Good luck

[urnmor]

Looking is half the fun and good luck on your search. We will see you on the road shortly

[urnmor]

We are going back to Colonial tomorrow and if all aligns correctly we should be the proud owners an Airstream

[urnmor]

It looked the stars aligned correctly as we are now the proud owner of a 2012 25' Flying Cloud. should pick it up in a week or two

[lcurrie]

Congrats! You're going to live it!

Lynn

[Scott J-24]

Originally Posted by urnmor

It looked the stars aligned correctly as we are now the proud owner of a 2012 25' Flying Cloud. should pick it up in a week or two

Looks like you will need to change your status since you are no longer "Currently Looking". Congratulations on your new AS.... It's going to seem like a LONG week or two!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Stupid Kool...grate nuze, don't forgit thoz photoz.

[Jack46]

We bought our first rv - a 2006 28' International in early 2008. We thought that was exactly what we would ever want. Over time, we discovered that for us, it was not very comfortable nor spacious enough. The bench seating was terrible. Money and effort spent in re-stuffing the cushions, trying different pillows, etc., never helped. So, we bit the bullet and went with a new 30' Flying Cloud. The three feet difference seems much longer to us. Plus, we prefer the interior materials - cabinets, etc. - the the International.

Others have said that a purchase decision ought to be driven a good deal by your expected RV lifestyle. Since we expect to spend longer periods a full hookup CG's, the extra room of our Flying Cloud will surely work for us. The other major change we made was that we found that our existing Blue Ox hitch could not handle sway which we never experienced with the International. So, we made another investment in a used Hensley. Very frustrating to hook up the first couple of times, but now we are very pleased that we made that change. Good luck.

[urnmor]

Yup needed to make that correction. More importantly I wanted to thank all of you for the great advice. It certainly assisted my wife and I in making our decision. Our first outing will probably be local as Assateaque Island is only 15 miles up the road.

The biggest option is the solar panels however I believe they will be very useful as many of the best sites in our National and State parks do not have hook ups.

We have not made up our mind concerning the extended warranty offered. I have read many of the posts and threads on them and agree that the price is way to high. I had one on my car for less then half. I may just do the self insuring or look into separate warranties on the major units such as the refrig. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

I will use USAA for insurance as I have been with them over 40 years and based on comments on the web join the good sam club for towing etc for both the TV and Airstream.

Again any thoughts and insights are always appreciated.

Happy trailering and looking to meet you all on the road

[Gene]

Urn', check out this thread on solar: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f448...ort-62608.html
You may not want to do it yourself, but you'll learn a lot from seeing how it is done. Lewster, a forum member who does solar installations if he's traveling in your neighborhood, recommends AM Solar as the best system.

With solar, it is good to upgrade the batteries and the converter. The OEM converter that Airstream has used in the recent past does not have a multistage converter and is not very good for batteries. Changing the batteries and converter is not something you have to do right away, but eventually is good for boondocking. New solar panels are smaller and you can mount several on the roof.

I never buy extended warranties. A very high percentage of the premium goes to the dealer and some of these warranties have many loopholes.

Gene

[ROBERT CROSS]

Same'o

Positive on Lewster

Negative on extended warrantee.