New Members

[Golfiture]

Greetings! Kathy and I are excited about our membership in your Airstream Forum since we're currently in the process of evaluating our airstream/tow vehicle purchasing options (new vs.used). We're hoping to learn as much as we can from other members experiences so we can make informed decisions down the road in the near future.

Steve & Kathy Nichols

[TouringDan]

Welcome to the forums. This is the best place to get educated and to do your homework before you jump in and buy an Airstream and TV. Look at lots of them, old and new, go to some rallys to see some and meet some Airstreamers. Good luck and have fun.

Dan

[Golfiture]

Thanks for the forum welcome and great advice Dan. We're looking forward to the exploration process.

Steve

[SteveSueMac]

Welcome! There's a ton of outstanding information here that will serve you well.

Do you know what size trailer you're looking for? Some suggest trailer first THEN tow vehicle so you know what you need...

Either way - welcome and have fun. We love ours and the great friendship and advice of fellow Airstreamers.

[switz]

I suggest going to the Colonial Airstream website and clicking on their link to download the 2014 Airstream Trailer Catalog. It is about 2/3 of the way down on the left side of this page.

27FB - 2014 Airstream Classic Limited 27FB - Twin

Their web site has about the most comprehensive inventory with pictures of any dealership and you can get a real feeling for what the interiors look like. However, based upon my experience, you do need to spend some real butt time in several different models visualizing spending several rainy days in a row in that space. Would you both still be talking to one another? Can you sit up in bed and not hit your head? Can you exit the bed gracefully and not awaken the other person to make a pee run in the middle of the night? Is there a gas oven versus a microwave/convection unit that requires electricity? Where is the pantry?

I found out after ordering from overseas sight unseen that the cross frame queen bed models were a challenge for us as there really is no room between the edge of the bed and the front wall of the trailer.

Determine a realistic $$$ amount you wish to spend to start this adventure (including a tow vehicle). Then also sniff around the forums in the vintage area to see if the lower initial cost plus the deep $$$ hole of renovations spread out over time might appeal to you.

There are enough threads on nearly every topic to wear out a pair of glasses. Ask questions. Use a pencil to figure before you use a pen to write the check.

Welcome to this immense Airstream information data base!

[SteveSueMac]

Switz - the pencil/pen advice is brilliant!

[cwf]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

Switz - the pencil/pen advice is brilliant!

^^2^^
Well said!

Welcome aboard!

>}}}}:>

Peace and blessings
Channing and Phyllis.

[Luigi123]

Make sure you sit in the Coaches you are considering. I almost ordered a 27FB until my wife spent an afternoon at a large Airstream dealership, and chose the 30ft/ Recliner model. If you can afford it buy larger than you think, and figure the TV second. It like my secret to a long marriage (42yrs) "over marry")

[Golfiture]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

Welcome! There's a ton of outstanding information here that will serve you well.

Do you know what size trailer you're looking for? Some suggest trailer first THEN tow vehicle so you know what you need...

Either way - welcome and have fun. We love ours and the great friendship and advice of fellow Airstreamers.

I'd say at this point in time, we're leaning towards a 19 or 22 footer. It's just the two of us and we prefer to travel lite. What year and size is your AS? What do you use as a TV?

[Golfiture]

Originally Posted by TouringDan

Welcome to the forums. This is the best place to get educated and to do your homework before you jump in and buy an Airstream and TV. Look at lots of them, old and new, go to some rallys to see some and meet some Airstreamers. Good luck and have fun.

Dan

Hi Dan, I was wondering where you found your AS? I've heard Craig's list is a place to sometimes find used ASs.

[Scott J-24]

Galfiture,
After an extensive search across the country (traveling back and forth between L.A. and the east coast for work), we found ours right here in the Airforum's classifieds that was less than 20 miles from our home. The seller was great and easy to deal with. The search was fun, but it was a LOT more fun once we found her. We haven't had a moment of buyers regret and have met many wonderful folks along the way.

Happy hunting!

[Silver Otter]

Steve and Kathy - Welcome home! Linda and I were at your exact place during winter 2010-2011. We, too, thought going from tent to Airstream we would be happy with a short one. Turns out we were wrong. We got our used 30-foot AS in the Spring 2011 after investing untold hours on the classified here, Colonial's site, and rvtrader.com. Don't by shy about 27-30 feet of trailer. We have never pulled an RV before this Airstream, but we LOVE it. (39 states and 2 provinces and we're not retired.)

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by Golfiture

Hi Dan, I was wondering where you found your AS? I've heard Craig's list is a place to sometimes find used ASs.

Look EVERYWHERE. You never know where you are going to find it. I found mine on the back row at an rv dealer 20 miles from here (3 years ago). I find my 84 Excella at an rv dealer 10 miles from here (about 15 years ago). Try CL, Ebay, Forums Classified, rvtrader, etc.

If I wanted a Caravel, I would probably go the the Caravel section and let all the Caravel owners know that I am looking for a nice one. Yeah, I would like to have one of those too.

Go to an Airstream Park and let the members know that you are looking for one.

Go to a Rally. Let the rally attendees know that you are looking for one.

My most important advice is to look at lots of them, so you learn what is available and what fits your needs. Buy the best one you can find and the one that you really want.

Good luck, Dan