Worth of my 1974 23' Safari

[gdbell67]

I have a 1974 23 foot land yacht is great shape just wondering what's it worth. Thinking about selling it next year.

[Belegedhel]

Welcome to the Forums!

A good starting point might be at vintageairstream.com. Look for the "price vs. condition" section to get an opinion.

Next, click on the "portal" tab on the Air Forums site, and download the "inspection checklist." Use the checklist to go through your trailer in detail and honestly identify the items that need repair. 70's trailers are notorious for rotten spots in the floor and rear-end separation. You have to get down and really look for it--it will be under the cabinets in the bathroom, along the perimeter, and around the door and behind the fridge. Every seller of a vintage Airstream thinks that their trailer is in "good condition," they just haven't looked at it like a buyer would.

Be able to answer questions like: what repairs have you done, how often do camp in it, have there been any upgrades done, etc.

Finally, post some pictures on this forums and ask for opinions. There are some finely calibrated eyeballs that can at least find every fault at a glance.

good luck!

[CaliforniaJJ]

I am going to Moreno Valley to look at a 1976 27ft classic with a center bath tomorrow and would love some advise on what problems other than mentioned above I should look for and where/how to see them. If anyone with some some experience wants to help I would so appreciate it. This might be our first Airstream!

[Belegedhel]

The inspection checklist mentioned above should give you an exhaustive list of things to look for. The question will likely be "how much (X) is too much?" For example, if you find some floor rot, how much is too much? Have in mind how much of a rebuild you are willing to take on. If you aren't ready to do a shell-off, then have your limits firmly set in your mind before you go look at the trailer. It is easy to get carried away and make compromises that take years of work to resolve.

Good luck!

[CaliforniaJJ]

Thank you so much Belegedhel. We drove 3 hours to see the trailer and on the surface it looked pretty amazing, especially for the price BUT after going through the inspection motions recommended there were 3 deal breakers ! 1) Mouse turds. 2) previous water damage noted under carpet in multiple places 3) It didn't pass the ice pick test (pick almost through the floor at previous water damage spots) so yep, a full monty would be required and we are NOT going through that expense. So no trailer....YET! LOL.

[Belegedhel]

Just the design of the bodies on the trailers '69 and newer makes them more prone to rot in the rear end, so no surprise you found some. I would hazard a broad-brush statement and say that the vast majority of the un-fully-restored vintage trailers out there will have some rot, and many of them will be candidates for a shell-off rennovation.

So my advice would be that if you are looking for a vintage trailer that has no mice infestation, no rot in the floor, and is ready to camp, then you might want to avoid perusing all those decrepit, unrestored, or superficially redcorated units and limit your market to trailers that have already had the work done. Yes, you will pay a lot more for a trailer that has already had the floor repaired, the axles replaced, and the applianaces all put in working order, but you will spend your time camping instead of rebuilding a trailer. The good news is that you can find fixed up trailers like I just described for around $10-12k, so although two or three times the cost of the $3-5k you might find an un restored trailer in "good" condition for, it is on par with what you will spend in repairing a vintage trailer in "original" condition.

good luck!