Newbie with questions!

[Corraleno]

Hi, I live in New Mexico with my husband, 2 kids (5 & 9), nine horses & a dog. We don't get to travel much because of the horses, but we would love to be able to take some 3-4 day trips in the southwest this summer. I have been in love with vintage Bambis for several years, and we're finally ready to take the plunge!

I went to look at a 65 Caravel today, and after 3 hours of driving, I discovered the guy sold it to a phone buyer from California half an hour before I arrived. I'm thinking I'm probably going to have to look much farther afield, but I have no clue what it would cost to ship a Bambi or Caravel. Are there any particular shippers people recommend? I tried to get an online estimate from DAS shippers (through ebay) but the only categories were "XL car/SUV" ($750 from Portland to Albuquerque) or "boat" ($3000 for 1000 miles!!!). Can anyone who has shipped a small airstream give me a rough idea at what kind of costs I'd be looking at?

I've been reading all I can on this forum for the last few weeks, and have learned a lot! I look forward to learning lots more, and hopefully becoming an "Airhead" in the near future!

[TBRich]

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on having reached the "gotta-have" stage in your Airstream journey. I really can't help much with how much the cost of shipping and AS might be, but it seems that it would almost be less expensive (depending on where it is, of course) to drive & pick one up somewhere (assuming it's raodworthy, etc) and towing it home (again, assuming you have a proper tow vehicle). Many may folks on the forums have done just that, so hopefully they will chime in. ou are in the Albuquerque area, right? Seems like there might be opportunities in that area for you...or in Colorado or Arizona... You can also post classified here...

By the way, that guy was sort of a jerk to sell that one out from under you...I would not have been too pleased.

Good luck with your search...and keep us up to speed.

TB

[Corraleno]

Thanks for the welcome TB!

Unfortunately, unless I can find a trailer within a day's drive (NM, AZ, CO, west TX), I won't be able to take the time off to pick it up. I wouldn't want to drive it by myself, and there's no way I could drag my husband and kids away for several days, especially this time of year. Plus I understand (from reading this wonderful forum!) that the trailers I'm interested often have dodgy axles which snap without warning, so that's another reason I would hesitate to tow it myself for any long distances until I've had someone give it a thorough inspection.

Yeah, I was pretty mad at that seller today -- I had $5K in cash with me and was ready to pounce on it, and the guy couldn't wait another 30 minutes for me to get there???? And now it has to be shipped to CA, when someone right here in NM desperately wanted it.

[urbanfood]

i've read before it's anywhere from $1.00 to $1.50 per mile.

one question you want to ask yourself is if you plan on travelling with the family, will the caravel be big enough for the two of you and two kids. i've seen many people wrestle with that question.

[colin57]

Hi Correleno,sorry about your experience with that jerk,i,d of been sorely tempted to squeeze him for some gas money.Any how try USHIP.COM,I,ve just bought a overlander on e-bay & am in the process of having it shipped to california from ohio.You just put up your shipment for bid then different companies bid on your shipment & your able to read any feedback on them from previous shipments good & bad ,ask questions & make a somewhat educated decision on that imformation.You would be advised to make sure it is completely road worthy if making a long journey.Good luck.Ian

[Corraleno]

Originally Posted by urbanfood

i've read before it's anywhere from $1.00 to $1.50 per mile.

one question you want to ask yourself is if you plan on travelling with the family, will the caravel be big enough for the two of you and two kids. i've seen many people wrestle with that question.

I've been thinking about that, too, but I need to be able to tow it with a mid-size SUV (2005 Honda Pilot AWD, 255hp V6, dealer-installed tow package). Max towing weight is 3,500, but I'd prefer to keep it under 80% of max weight, which is 2,800. I've read that some of the earlier 20'-22' trailers, like the 50s Safari and Flying Cloud, are also pretty lightweight. Is there a list of tow weights somewhere? Or could someone give me an idea of what years/models would be below 2,800 or so? (Maybe I should post this in the towing vehicle thread?)