Looking to join the club

[hafer6]

Hope to learn a lot.

[falcon-N-Air]

Welcome, glad to have you here at Air Forums!

[blmitch5]

Welcome! We're in Olathe and there are several Air members in KC if you have any questions give us a shout.

[Protagonist]

Welcome to AirForums! Glad yo have you with us!

Your profile is a bit sparse on information. Do you own an Airstream now, or are you just interested in them? If you have one, what's its story? All Airstreams have a story, even brand-new ones… if only the story of how you decided on that one.

[hafer6]

My husband and I will have the last of our four "children" off to college in the fall of 2015. We were really interested in a Safari Alto, but find that getting one in the US is difficult.
We've really become enamored with the Sprinter. We like to travel light and are real greenies (both drive hybrids now) so we'd rather keep things as small and fuel efficient as possible.
My head is still spinning a bit with all the different Sprinter types and options, but I'm sure I'll sort it in the time I have to figure it out. If anyone can tell me if Airstream makes a model that sleeps more than 2, I'd be appreciative.

[andreasduess]

If you still want an Alto, come up to Canada

CanAm stocks them. Alto Travel Trailers by Safari Condo
I took a look at them at the Toronto RV show this last spring and really liked them. Great concept, very well made. Almost in the tradition of the teardrop trailers, but far more usable.

[hafer6]

We're hoping to find a used Sprinter, so if anyone hears of a good deal (especially you, Olathe), I'd love to hear from you.

[blmitch5]

There are a couple on the classifieds on Air also the Mercedes dealer in south KC sells them.


http://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/...t=19655&cat=13

http://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/...t=19618&cat=13

And not an Airstream but my Mother has a Born Free "built for two" and the build quality is very good! Hers is an mid 2000 and they have changed a bit but very nice units.

http://www.bornfreerv.com/#!born-free-freedom/c1bqk

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by hafer6

My head is still spinning a bit with all the different Sprinter types and options, but I'm sure I'll sort it in the time I have to figure it out. If anyone can tell me if Airstream makes a model that sleeps more than 2, I'd be appreciative.

Among the Interstates, if fuel efficiency is one of your criteria, you'll want to stick to 2009 or earlier models. They were built on the Sprinter 2500 chassis, and had the smaller 5-cylinder engine. Fuel economy is about 2~3 mpg higher than the later models. But if you're looking for low emissions, the 2012 and later models use DEF to reduce the amount of sulfur compounds released into the air through the exhaust. Fuel economy isn't as good at only 18 mpg or so, but total emissions are lower. So, two different ways to "go green." Or as green as an RV gets.

I doubt you'll find any Sprinter-based RV in the US that sleeps more than two as marketed, unless maybe it's a Class C built on a Sprinter cab-and-chassis with their own box on the back, or a mini-class A built on a Sprinter chassis. For something like that, you'd have to take a step down from Airstream to a competing brand, though.

However, there are a couple of very enterprising folks here on the airForums who have figured out how to build a bed out of an Interstate's front seats, to sleep a total of four inside. And if you don't mind the added setup time, the Fiamma Privacy Room (available separately) adds an 8×13 room under the awning where you could set up cots.

Also, many campgrounds allow you to set up both a tent and an RV in the same campsite. I've seen it at several capsites, where the parents or grandparents sleep in the RV and the kids sleep in the tent.

So, if it's just a matter of sleeping arrangements, your options are wide-open.