Visit our Popular Forums

redstart · 08-12-2009, 11:39 AM

so nice to see all these canadians in one thread.

smokeless joe, your argosy thread is the reason i want an argosy!

I have my eye on this one but my husband won't let me buy it

He says we can't justify having two trailers at the moment. What?! Who needs justification!!!

1979 Argosy by Airstream - Toronto Cars & Vehicles - Kijiji Toronto

Does anyone know anything about this baby?

p.s. gypsygirl, what a great job you did on the tradewind, i love it!!!

CdnSafari · 08-13-2009, 01:43 PM

I stopped and looked at that one last week.It's just outside Hamilton.

redstart · 08-14-2009, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnSafari

I stopped and looked at that one last week.It's just outside Hamilton.

Agh, don't tell me about it, I decided to put my 5k in a tax free savings account instead.

Shacksman · 08-14-2009, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redstart

Agh, don't tell me about it, I decided to put my 5k in a tax free savings account instead.

You'd make a lot more interest buying the trailer then in the account and you can use the trailer while it goes up.

bolerama · 08-14-2009, 09:37 AM

We seem to have a disproportionately large amount of RVs in Saskatchewan when you consider the whole population is only 1 mill. I see quite a few Airstreams on Kijiji and we have a dealer in Saskatoon. We bought ours at the dealer. In hindsight, we should have gone to the US. We saw a new one (25 FB CCD) at a well-known US dealer at the same time we were deciding on buying our 23CCD. The 25 CCD was about $10,000 LESS. The exchange rate at the time was almost at par. We considered the driving distance, time off work, getting warranty work done, etc and chose to buy locally. We wouldn't worry about those things in the future should we ever want a different trailer.

Since we bought our AS (yes, we should charge admission as one writer suggested!) we have met so many locals who have one or are interested in getting one. One family we met bought theirs in the States. They said the transaction went very smoothly. Another family saw theirs on Kijiji in Ontario. The sellers said they originally bought it at CanAm. The couple called CanAm to verify. CanAm went so far as to inspect it and hold it for them until they could arrive from SK to pick it up. Now that's service! I don't think CanAm got a cut at all. They seem like a great dealership. Both of these families deal directly with Airstream for parts since the local dealer isn't really interested in that end of the business (it's is basically "sales" only). We have also found that dealing with Airstream directly is much faster, even though our unit is still under warranty. Airstream ships to Canada without hassle.

If anyone out here is interested in a used AS, there will likely be a 22CCD arriving at the local dealer here in Saskatoon. The owners bought a 28 footer from out east and are leaving their 22 on consignment at the dealer if their daughter doesn't buy it. Check there in the next week or two. If you want the seller's name directly, you can send me a direct message.

Happy hunting!
Lisa

redstart · 08-14-2009, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shacksman

You'd make a lot more interest buying the trailer then in the account and you can use the trailer while it goes up.

twist my rubber arm!!

what did you think of it Cdn Safari?

CdnSafari · 08-14-2009, 01:25 PM

It looked to be in pretty good shape,but I'd rather have a polished one.

redstart · 08-15-2009, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnSafari

It looked to be in pretty good shape,but I'd rather have a polished one.

haha CLEARLY you haven't been bitten by the argosy bug!! that's ok, more argosy's for me!!

so is my 3/4 ton 4x4 truck too much for this one? do i have to get one TV per trailer? that could get pricey!!!

pauluptime · 08-16-2009, 08:48 AM

After years of desire and many months of searching, trips and emails we learned what we wanted (rear bedroom, mid bath, 31ft, clean) and ultimately found ours on eBay. This was at the end of Feb, so the fact that this AS was in Florida was a bonus!

We live on Lake Ontario in south Etobicoke and much of our planning was done while watching the ducks sliding on the ice in our backyard. The thoughts of a Fla road trip were VERY motivating. After all, our trailer was already there!

Got our old pickup ready, bought the hitch off Kijiji on our way through just before Windsor, mudflaps at Cabela's outside Detroit and drove straight south. In fact, we pre-ordered many items over ebay and the internet shipped to the PO was graciously held all our items for us. Where better than the internet can you find the best prices, selection and delivery?

The only issue we experienced was the RV dealer which the PO deliver to for inspection. We wanted trailer-experienced mechs to mount new tires (shipped to them from tirerack and the install was the ONLY thing they did right) and check over the brakes/hubs before the trip. The Bradenton RV dealer's mechanic left the electric brake wires out to far, causing them to rub against the hub until the insulation wore off and we had a ground fault... and no brakes. JUST as we were in the mountains of the Carolinas! They did a lazy, half arsed job of getting our trailer ready. Over five weeks didn't even get on to it until a few days before our arrival. It wasn't ready and it was clear their "inspection" (bah!) was rushed through. Our goal was to let THEM do the finding and fixing first, but in the end I believe this was an unavoidable case of having to do it right, yourself. Care is always more valuable than experience. Their mechanics and management involved had neither.

We worked at the trailer along the way back, using the warm weather and plethora of RV resources common in Fla. Enjoyed our holiday over two weeks, staying at beautiful (and inexpensive) state parks and private CG's.... all new to us! We were very encouraged with ready advice and having the holiday time to work on it. Glad I brought a lot of tools with me, but whatever I needed was cheap and easy to get, with Harbor Freight, Sears, Home Depot etc. Many times we boondocked outside those stores so we were never more than walking distance to get the anything we needed, and easily return what didn't work.

It felt great to know we'd have a head start on the summer season too as we could never have worked on so much of it locally for another three months!

There are many advantages to importing an older AS too. Anything older than 15 years is exempt from the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) cash grab, and our +7 days away qualified us for even more tax and duty exemptions. We were prepared, and at Canada customs the experience and treatment was very quick and fair!

There are always risks of the unknown buying used anything from strangers, but I feel more comfortable dealing direct and over time know the seller genuinely wanted us to enjoy a great trailer! We met other folks at the bigger Fla AS dealers who had bought new, and learned from their experience that buying new is many many times the price but no guarantee of fewer problems.

I know that overall we saved at least $10K, including the cost of the holiday and it was all GREAT FUN and ADVENTURE TOO! Isn't that the spirit of streaming anyway? I'd do over again in a heartbeat, and better... but for someone else. This baby's a keeper!

redstart · 08-17-2009, 09:38 AM

hi paul! nice to meet you - i grew up in etobicoke (near humbertown). sounds like you got a nice one.

redstart · 08-25-2009, 03:43 PM

Just saw this cute 1967 safari 22' for sale in London Ont. Let me be the first to say...needs a new axle! But at least there is only one!

22" 1967 safari international airstream - London Cars & Vehicles - Kijiji London

That's not WBCCI #11 is it?

It looks like there is another number cleaned off, maybe a 6?

redstart · 12-06-2009, 09:17 AM

1974 Airstream Argosy - Vancouver RV For Sale - Kijiji Vancouver

This one looks to be in nice shape from the few pics there are. Does anyone know if it's a dealer selling? Just curious.

**Aage** · 12-06-2009, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redstart

there is even a cool looking Travelux for sale in my town
22' dual axle camping trailer, airstream style, ready to tow - London, Ontario Cars & Vehicles - Kijiji London, Ontario

I would guess that Can Am rv in London must buy a lot of the used airstreams for sale privately in Ontario anyway - they have such a HUGE selection of used ones!

Well, it looks like it's still for sale, listed on 2 Dec. The photos show an interior that has a lot of "kitsch", what with the décor and hardware on the cabinets, and yet it looks solid, as far as one can tell from a photo.

And, what with leaf springs, it will never need new Dexter axles!

I wonder why the owner "removed all the LP gas lines"?

You're lucky being so close to a great AS dealer, Redstart. Can-Am is a good three hours for us. We stopped in there on our way to Florida in early November to have the hitch they installed fine-tuned to match Henri our trailer, and they were still busy with the Snowbird rush. Andy Thomson cmae out and had a look at it and had a modification done to the bracing they had installed in the summer.

We spent a month dragging Henri around for over 6,500 kilometres (more than 4,000 miles) and were consistently pleased with the hook-up that Can-Am did for us.

cheers,
Aage

cameront120 · 12-06-2009, 11:28 AM

I bought mine from an ad on craigslist. Here in BC, it seems craigslist is the preferred method of advertising.

Fort those of you in Calgary, you might want to look into Airstream of Spokane as your source for servicing and even a used unit. So far, I've heard nothing but good things about them.

redstart · 12-07-2009, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aage

You're lucky being so close to a great AS dealer, Redstart. Can-Am is a good three hours for us. We stopped in there on our way to Florida in early November to have the hitch they installed fine-tuned to match Henri our trailer, and they were still busy with the Snowbird rush. Andy Thomson cmae out and had a look at it and had a modification done to the bracing they had installed in the summer.

We do like to go just to poke around a little. Wish they had all their airstreams unlocked so we could wander thru at will without troubling a salesperson.