New AS owner in Ontario

[Garamax]

Hi All,

Have been travelling around Canada and the USA in our Roadtrek, but are now planning to camp in a little more comfort and closer to home in St. Marys, Ontario. Have purchased a 1980 25ft. Excella II twin. Looks pretty clean and every thing seems to work. will be picking it up this week. Would like to know if anyone has a similar unit and if there are any problems that I should be aware of.

[wasagachris]

Welcome Garamax to the forums from another fellow Canadian and Ontarion. I have a 1973 Excella 500 31' twin centre bath. Although not similar to yours I will try to help with any questions you have. I'm only a couple of hours away from St. Marys so if you need to drop by and need help now is the time of year to do it as my campground is closing in two weeks and I have plenty of time.

[Garamax]

Thanks for the quick response. Have been through Durham many times on my way to fishing in Owen Sound but never to stay and camp. Will be picking up our trailer this week and giving it a quick cleaning and inspection before putting it in winter storage. Don't know for sure what we will need to do over the winter. Thanks.

[Don McKelvay]

Welcome Garamax to the wonderful world of Airstreaming. I trust you will have a fabulous time. I will send you an email with some information about the Ontario Canada Unit of the WBCCI as we have great rallies as well as travel together a lot. Also, a unit is a wonderful place to learn 'almost everything' about your rig - all you need to do is ask a question and people will be there to help.

[william Haym]

Welcome ,you will enjoy this forum. AS well as the people here.
I live in Hamilton, Your never alone when your airstreamin!!!!!

[Wingeezer]

Congrats and welcome from Burlington Ontario!

I'll be interested to see how you enjoy the AS compared to the Roadtrek!


I always wanted a Roadtrek and came close to buying the Sprinter-based version before we bought our present AS.

In the end, my wife talked me out of it because she felt that it would be just too confining for the longer trips South that we make each year.

I suppose she is probably right (as usual!) but I still like the Roadtrek concept.

Many many tears ago when our (now grown) kids were little, we had a VW Westphalia camping van that I enjoyed!


Brian & Connie Mitchell
Burlington Ont.

[Aage]

Howdy and welcome to airforums.com, Garamax!

You lucky person, you are relatively close to two good Airstream resources: Can-Am RV in London, and Wasagachris in Durham! (Chris was a tech for years and years)

Now, HOW about some photos of your new trayla? We are always hungry to see another one. LOTS of photos, please, inside and out?

cheers,
Aage

[AlbertF]

You'll want to look up Shacksman. He's just a few miles away in Avonton, on the west side of the road next to the creek.

[Shacksman]

Originally Posted by AlbertF

You'll want to look up Shacksman. He's just a few miles away in Avonton, on the west side of the road next to the creek.

Actualy I'm right here. Welcome to Airstreaming. I'm in Avonton, just a few miles north of St. Marys on Perth Rd 130. I'll be away till Friday but stop in anytime after that and I'll show you how to get them ready for winter. (head South)

[Road Ruler]

Welcome Garamax from St. Kitts.

Lots of good responses so far. Enjoy your new Bullet

[Aage]

Y'know, it occurred to me after I made my post that I left out a bunch of great people in that area.

My apologies to you all, but I won't name you since, with my memory, I am very likely to miss a bunch more!

Just to say, there is an incredible amount of knowledge and camaraderie on this forum, and people are quick to share both with newcomers.

Enjoy!

[Garamax]

Hi Shacksman,

Have been driving by your location for many years. Always wondered what is up with the Airstreams parked in your yard. You have been mentioned by several people since I did my fisrt post here. Don't have our Airstream yet. Will be picking it up later this week, hopefully. Had to get our Roadtrek (which is our tow vehicle until we sell it) repaired as the left turn signal stopped working. Will stop by soon and thanks for the welcome.

[Garamax]

Hi Don,

Looking forward to receiving the information.

Gary

[Garamax]

Hi Wingweezers,

We have had our Roadtreks for 3 years: a 1998 Dodge and 2008 Chevy. Really enjoyed them. Used them for two or three week trips to Florida, Texas and Arizona combined with one week stays in time shares. Worked for us but are not planning any more long trips. Are camping closer to home with our children and grandkids. Hope the Airstream will suit our needs.

Gary

[Garamax]

Good to hear from you. Don't have our trailer yet so don't have any photos. Will post some in the next week or so.

Gary

[Garamax]

Hi Albert,

Drive through Avonton about once a week and have notice the Airstreams. Have already heard from Shacksman. Thanks,

Gary

[Garamax]

Thanks to all who have contacted me as a new Airstream owner. I must admit I am almost overwhelmed by the number of posts. Am looking forward to continued contact. Will likely need some help. This is the first time we have purchased a used trailer that will need a bit of TLC.

Garamax

[Shacksman]

Originally Posted by Garamax

Hi Shacksman,

Have been driving by your location for many years. Always wondered what is up with the Airstreams parked in your yard. You have been mentioned by several people since I did my fisrt post here. Don't have our Airstream yet. Will be picking it up later this week, hopefully. Had to get our Roadtrek (which is our tow vehicle until we sell it) repaired as the left turn signal stopped working. Will stop by soon and thanks for the welcome.

Well I've been playing with old Airstreams for 12 years and got requests to help others fix them up, so I started a repair business here. I don't have a sign out as I really don't want to be overrun with them. But advise is always free.

[Pat Conway]

We have a 1988 25ft A/S and have found it to be maneuverable and a good size for the two of us and the cat. Our longest continuous use of it has been about 10 weeks so can't speak for full timing. Our trailer has the original axles and have religously had the bearings greased every 10,000 miles or 2 years (which ever comes first). Also the power jack has been serviced every two years and is the original. You may want to run the fridge to be sure it is okay, possibly the PO can start it up 12 hours in advance of your picking it up and you would have a better idea of it's soundness. Our fridge gave out soon after purchase. ) You may want to pull the wheels and check the brakes or possibly the PO can give you a towing demonstration to check the brakes as a more immediate measure.

We know one couple who tows their 23ft A/S with a Road Trek. It meets the weight criteria, but can't remember if it was a 190 or what. They use the Road trek to branch out from the campsite for short trips while the trailer remains in the campground for longer periods. Also use it for other guests to stay in when camping or a getaway from snoring spouse!

I love the trailer and have been happy with the size of it. We tow it with a GMC duramax which works out well for pulling grades. Our previous tow vehicle was a 99 Suburban 1500 5.7 ltr with the 3.73 rear end. It was a four speed and was very week pulling the 25er up any grade at all.

Hope this helps, Pat

[Garfield]

Hi Garamax, welcome to the Airforums! We're just down the road here in London. I don't post here too much but since you're so close I thought I should drop a note. Sorry, don't know much about your new trailer but if the folks at Can-Am can't help I know there are plenty around here who can. Anytime you want to chat fire me a PM or email.

As matter of a fact we've got our "pride and joy" Safari parked on the street in front of our home as I'm typing this. We're heading out at 6:00am tomorrow for a 5 day stint in Huntsville/Algonquin to catch the Fall colours.

Cheers from London!
Gary