Glad to hear about the stories of your grandparents. Sorry to hear about your grandmother's fire incident. I am in the process of pulling out old photos to scan and post. There are many - most of them with me as a small child and the "silver bullet".
We did look for one at the Airstream Dealer in Irvine California where a lot of movie stars have purchased Airstreams...Unfortunately we had a budget and theirs were all over $5,000.
Thought I would post this for you. Since he is close to you, it might be something you can check out? Best of luck.
There is another one in KC that has a trailer w/sale pending. His website is Airstreamguy.com.
__________________
Leigh (IB Aluminated)
"When a great ship is in harbour and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for." by Clarissa Pinkola-Estes, author of ‘Women Who Run With the Wolves’
Last edited by COArgosy78; 11-19-2008 at 04:06 PM.
Reason: rearranged sentence
I was looking at your pics of your '85 AS, - I love that floorplan with the rear corner bed. Do you still own that model???
Unfortunately, no - we sold it to a friend who absolutely loves it. We loved that trailer - the only reason we changed was that we wanted slightly more room and 28' did it for us.
1985 was the first year for a mid bath 25'. They came with rear twins or the rear corner "queen" bed at least into the mid '90's before the queen turned to be across the rear of the trailer. Those '85+ 25' models are very popular, but there appear to be more with the twins than the corner queen. I actually think the mid to late '80's are some of the best Airstream values out there. The interiors started getting more and more wood to replace the 1970's plastics, so they have a nicer appearance, but do weight more. The '85 was probably 5000 lbs. empty and that value probably goes up as you get into the later 80's and early 90's as more wood is added. Prices for an '85 to '93 or so 25' probably range from $7000 to $17000 depending upon condition and options more than age. Of course exceptions exist on both ends of the price range. These trailers are more likely to still be in regular usage than '70's models, too, so you may find they have more of their systems still working than the older models.
So in the end you have to decide what is more important to you from a size, floorplan, condition, and price perspective. A '70's trailer may be a little less expensive and a little lighter for towing, but many you will find will need more work than '80's models (but many 70's Airstreams are in fine shape, too). Of course a '70's model (thru about 1983) will remind you of your grandparents trailer more than an 1984+ model, because of the interior materials and tambour (roll top desk style) doors on most of the cabinets.
Take your time. Look at all the photo's you can find and especially look at as many Airstreams in person as you can. Don't rush to buy the first one, because there will be others. Mostly, enjoy the process.
__________________ Joe
Vintage Airstream Club Historian WBCCI/VAC #5533
'55 22' Safari / '63 28' Ambassador / '94 28' Excella / '05 Hummer H2
...a friend forwarded an ad on eBay for a 1954 Cruiser. PERFECT for our needs (read that "wants"). Had to have it so much that I was willing to drive over 1,600 mi. oneway to bring her home (right at the recent apex of the diesel prices!). ...And I have to note here that it was that same AS best friend who turned me on to the ad on eBay who insisted (without even being asked!) that he was going to make that long drive from central Texas to within 13 miles of the N. Dakota / Canadian border with me, sharing the driving chores as well as providing lots of laughs. Is there any better demonstration of a friend? An Airstream friend at that!!
A Friend will help you move.
A REAL Friend will help you move a body.
An AIRSTREAM Friend will spend days moving a trailer with no working bath!
Welcome aboard. Let me say a word about "Vintage"...
They are great... after a year or so of restoration and $20K in parts and I'd really urge you to look for one. However in the mean time, consider a gently used one. You could be Airstreaming tomorrow.
You can sell it when your vintage is finished.
I have a yen for a 27 CCD FB.... wanna talk about a 25 FB Safari I'd need to sell first?
"Lead a snot into temptation"
Paula
__________________
Today is a gift. That's why they call it "the present"
We found ours on ebay, got it from a guy (TwistedSilver) in TN who remodels older airstreams. It was more work than we were expecting, such as replacing the floor in the bathroom and around the front door but the price made it worthwhile. We did not mind nasty since cleaning is cheap. This is our first camper and while I knew very little about campers we have experience in remodeling older homes. We spent about 1000.00 for materials but a whole month in labor. Just remember if you spend all your time working when will you be camping?
Thanks for letting me know. The requirements that I have in my mind are not written in stone. I am pretty patient and open minded to various prices, conditions, and floorplans. It will be one of those situations where "I know it when I see it."
Thought I would include 1 more website I was somewhat familiar with. Its a general RV trailers for sale so you have to scroll thru (there are quite a few for sale!!) to find the AS trailers. Mainly including it in case there are some listed that, again, might be close to you, you never know what you may find! Again, good luck.
"When a great ship is in harbour and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for." by Clarissa Pinkola-Estes, author of ‘Women Who Run With the Wolves’
Last edited by COArgosy78; 11-21-2008 at 12:23 PM.
Reason: added sentence
Thanks again for the links. I really like that one in Denver. Are you aware of an Airstream archive website that shows photos and floorplans for the years 1985-1993??? It seems difficult to find photos for those years - maybe it is just my imagination.
Quick Links
Best of luck.
Linear Mode
