newbie & wannabe all in one!!

[WanderStream]

good morning to all!
we live in Durham, North Carolina & over the next 2 years are in the hunt for our 1st Airstream. We've loved them ever since we spent the night in a friend's '88 30' Soverign. A 16' Bambi CCD is what we covet--if you spy one, particularly on the "right" coast, please let me know. Our tow vehicle will be a 2005 Toyota Highlander with tow pkg rated to tow 3,500 lbs. Would appreciate any comments on that, too.
thank you all--i love reading the forums & it's great getting an email whenever a late model trailer hits the classifieds.
no kids--no pets--just ready to hit the road!!!
best to all,
susanne

[flyfshr]

Welcome Susanne ~

You've found the right place to meet new friends, get helpful advise and tons of pertanent info. Hope you find the CCD dreams are made of and make many years of great memories.

Brad
FF

[WanderStream]

brad, aka, flyfisher,
thanks for your quick note.
i agree.
and your website with your 'stream is a beauty!!
thanks again.
susanne

[Nodrog1945]

I just now registered to this site. I'm not generally a joiner, but I've decided to be a Road Warrior following retirement and I like the feel of the chats on this site, friendly and helpful.

Did I mention retirement is 1 year, 1 month, 20 days, 11 hours and 45 minu...no, make that 44 minutes away. Then it's open highways/byways and "What's around the next bend?" as long as my weary right foot can press a gas pedal.

I've had the road in my blood all my life. I've been to all 50 states, most of them multiple times. The only state I haven't driven to from Seattle, WA is Hawaii. Still trying to figure that one out. Before cancer intervened, my wife had shared my experiences in 43 states and we were looking forward to many more adventures. That taught me that we never know about tomorrow so you better have fun today.

To date, my favorite memory in North Carolina is spotting a NASCAR gift shop from I-95, getting off the highway and spending about $100 on #24 Jeff Gordon stuff (my name is Gordon). What I was hoping to find but didn't was a bumber sticker I saw up in Maryland "Anyone but GORDON". And I wasn't even a NASCAR fan at the time, since corrected.

Like you, I'm just starting research on what I want to purchase. Do I want a classic, restored trailer or a brand, spanking new one? Do I want a shorter, nimble one for adventures way off the beaten path or something in the 28-30 foot length since I plan to live in it 12 months a year?

I've always loved the Airstreams but never been in one. Two weeks ago driving down to Oregon I spotted a number of them and started thinking how cool one would look behind my red and grey 1993 F250 "ONDROAD". I had driven down to Oregon shopping for a retirement home I could purchase outright from the equity in my overpriced home in Seattle.

About 2 days ago it hit me "If I'm going to be on the road as much as I planned what do I need with the maintenance, taxes and insurance of an empty house?" So here I sit ready for the road but an absolute novice at the practicalities of selecting, purchasing and living in a trailer. A little scary but a lot exciting.

Hope we can share our experiences and lessons as we go through the process.

Take care'

"!nodroG"

[WanderStream]

nodrog,
we are in the same wonderful boat!
we recently downsized in housing & love our "tiny little house" as keith's mother calls it.
i'm about 2 years from retirement or just working a lot less--keith beat me to it several years ago.
we won't be full timers but will be "a lot of timers." and i plan our 'stream to be my 60th birthday present. so we'll all be still looking just on different coasts.
again, thanks for your note & best of luck.
susanne

[CaddyGrn]

Welcome,

This is a wonderful place to help you do your "homework" on what kind of Airstream you want, and with what amenities, etc. Everyone here is very helpful! I must tell you that I definitely recommend retirement! We have been retired for 3 & 4 years and it is better than sliced bread!

My "other half" just completed the restoration of the interior of our 1963 Bambi and we returned yesterday from our first outing! We have little trim to finish and the outside to complete but we got to be on the road and everything worked great! It was all because of our great help on this forum!

Good luck on finding the "right" trailer for you and welcome, it is a great community!

Mrs. NorCal Bambi traveling in S Tardis

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by tubewannabe

Our tow vehicle will be a 2005 Toyota Highlander with tow pkg rated to tow 3,500 lbs. Would appreciate any comments on that, too.

Sorry, I don't want to rain on your parade...but I don't think you TV will hack it. I have towed with an underpowered vehicle and trust me, it's no joy ride! You may want to check out the "Towing" forum or perform a search on your specific vehicle using the "Search" button on the top right portion of the blue bar.

Besides that, welcome to the forums and hope you find your dream trailers!

Shari

[razorback]

nodrog:

Glad to hear that another person will soon be retiring! I retired last July and we have been road warriors since then with the exception of a couple of trips home to see the grandkids. Since you are looking for an AS, maybe I could give you some insight as to which way you should go, shorter or longer. If you plan on living in it full time, the longer one is much more like home. When we started out, it was with a 26 foot 1976 Caravanner. We loved it and had no problems with it other than after a couple of months of full timing it started closing in on us. In Dec we bought a 31' Classic and it has made a big difference. The 31' gives us room to retreat from each other when things get tense (I have been called a remote control hog so it has a second TV in the bedroom). It seems the wide body makes a big difference also in that it gives the perception that it is really large inside. I was concerned about the difference in pulling the longer AS, but after a couple of weeks, it seems the same. The shorter one was OK for short trips, but on the long hauls the longer one is definitely more liveable.

Just some observations from over the last year and my humble opinion, for what its worth.

Waiting to retire is like a kid waiting for Christmas, but it will go faster than you realize. Hang in there.