Newbie gearing up for spring

[AppleStreamr]

Hello,
I'm a newbie gearing up for spring in Apple Country, NY. That is to say snow has blanketed the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York and I am currently looking for an Airstream to suit the next road adventure.

On a limited budget, I want to find an Airstream in the 19 to 25 foot range. My family boondock camps with a 29 ft SOB on weekends or in winter. Our absolute favorite roads are US highways and state routes that take us through the most scenic places and main street small towns all across the country. A smaller trailer would fit better into our plans.

Fixing meals at camp is one of my favorite activities so I am really interested in how I can work within the galley.

Hope to see you down the road.

[LisaP]

Have fun shopping! We love the size you are looking for. Easy to travel with. As far as cooking I do a lot of prep at home. Use the frig, freezer, oven and cooktop! We have a blast cooking on the road. Bon Appetit !

[Kevin245]

Welcome and good luck in your Airstream search. Keep us posted as to your progress.

Kevin

[fotochop]

perfect size! If I was going to do it again (which I probably will ;-) I'd look for either:

- late 50's up to mid '60's Globetrotter/Safari WELL-RENOVATED (or oem mint ;-) and carry a blue-boy grey tank (like I do now)...

- '73-79 GT/Saf WELL-RENOVATED/mint with stock grey tank...

-here's a very important fact to consider (unless you're DYING to renovate an Airstream): airforums, and America in general, has a surprising number of very talented craftspeople who have transformed/saved some very nice trailers and those trailers still regularly sell for amazingly low prices...in the $7-$20K range... I see trailers online all the time and think: oooh, sweet, THAT coulda saved me some time had I known what to look for..

-if you can be patient and really LEARN what to look for here, it will pay off when you do make a purchase..

-renovation bills add up so fast...but worse, its an amazing time-hole...ask my wife ;-)

crazedlist.org is a great research for searching your region... plus the vintage trailer sites...beware of ebay unless you can look at the rig in person...

good luck!!

[mutcth]

Originally Posted by fotochop

here's a very important fact to consider (unless you're DYING to renovate an Airstream): airforums, and America in general, has a surprising number of very talented craftspeople who have transformed/saved some very nice trailers and those trailers still regularly sell for amazingly low prices...in the $7-$20K range... I see trailers online all the time and think: oooh, sweet, THAT coulda saved me some time had I known what to look for..!!

I just wanted to second this. In our search (which took 14 months), we encountered a lovely restored mid-60s Globetrotter. Polished, added gray tank, everything worked, etc. It wasn't cheap - $12k - but when you realize the amount of time and money it takes to restore a trailer, that actually was a bargain.

It's also worth stressing that it's worth it to pay for a good trailer upfront, even if it isn't fully restored. The half-done project trailers for $2000 are cheap, but paying a few thousand more gets you something you can use immediately. And being able to camp immediately is very nice...

I agree - a 20'-25' trailer is just the right size. We started looking at 16' Bambis and 17' Caravels, and the additional 3-4 feet makes all the difference in the world.

Best of luck in your hunt!

Tom

[fotochop]

here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about in my post above:

Vintage 1965 Airstream 22ft Safari : eBay Motors (item 220560740529 end time Mar-03-10 19:04:01 PST)

currently around $5500, I'm guessing it'll go for 8 or so...just a guess..beautiful li'l ole trailer! 100% feedback from the seller, too, probably another cool 'streamer...

[fotochop]

argh...EBAY!!&^&^%&$$#@#@

clicking the link sez it's "expired"..

instead look for item # 220560740529

maybe that'll work...

[AppleStreamr]

Wonderful ideas from everybody - awesome! I love confirmation that shopping for this length is a terrific size. I have to check out the ebay # you suggested. Above all, you have made the perfect argument that buying an Airstream that is ready to go camping is the way to start enjoying the journey. Thanks all.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Greetings from WNY...Many a happy dog show week spent at Sampson S.P.

Be patient if you can..ck the Forum ads regularly.

We love the 25er size also, fits perfectly every place we enjoy going.

Good luck in your search

[mouth012006]

you are looking for a really good size....we started out in a 31' sob...and then got our 24' Argosy, and love the Argosy. You will love your stream once you get it....but it is true what they say....doing a renovation does take alot of TIME and MONEY. We are still working on our reno...and can't wait till we are done with the big parts anyway. I don't think you ever truly finish working on your trailer. Happy camping!

[sempi2]

We have a 22' Safari. got that siZe so we would be able to get into that state and federal parks . My sis and her husband have a big sob and they are now talking about getting a camper for their truck so they can get to more places. Go for the shorter, unless you have a large family. Good luck with your search

[Kathleenh]

How many people will be sleeping in your trailer? Our 19 ft. Bambi sleeps my husband and I comfortable - one of us in the bed, one on the table converted into another bed, lol. It would be difficult for more people to sleep in it besides us. If you have a big-enough tow vehicle, you might consider the larger one.

[JFerguson]

From one Newbie to another what is an SOB?

[JFerguson]

Oh by the way I agree on the size thing. 26 feet seems to be the sweet spot for most trips. Especially if you have a family of four as I do.

[LisaP]

some other brand

[Kathleenh]

All of us newbies asked that question when we joined this forum, lol. It stands for Some Other Brand.

[OB Bambi]

Usually refering to a Square, Oblong, Box.

[JFerguson]

Can you believe I googled it.....none of those answers came up in the search engine

[AppleStreamr]

Thanks for helping out with the identification of the acronym for some other brand, I learned that after guessing square obstructive box or some such, lol.

You may want to check out my blog entry for "Leaning Against Renovation." It offers my (our) thoughts on deferring yet another project until after we've been able to enjoy the camping with our future Airstream. Hubby is my partner in all these endeavors with patient support for my wild ideas. He is also my number one fan for meals from the kitchen. He earns that rank as number one fan for the sheer number of meals he has savored .

As for trailer size, most of the time, there would be two adults and two large dogs (Chesapeakes) sleeping in the trailer. We probably will include other folks as people come to visit our fishing camp, or decide to come along on segments of some odyssey. There needs to be some floor space, like a lounge area for their dog bed at night so they are not completely under foot when I'm busy in the galley. Besides, we really like to have comfortable indoor seating for the December and January evenings when I read aloud an adventure novel. The latest book we are enjoying this way is "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. Our major trips will be in the winter for some time to come, so the indoor space is important to me. In due time, we'll find something to fit our needs.

[LisaP]

19' would be too small for your needs. I would look at floor plans and go for the largest floor space you can find for your dogs in a 23-25'. A sofa is nice for relaxing instead of always sitting at the table. A queen bed is heaven.