Greetings Paul and Dorothy!
Welcome to the Forums and the world of Airstreaming!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pagoff
We're starting to look for an Airstream in the 19-23 foot range. We particularly like the models with sofa rather rather than dinette alone. We're familiar with the new models but wonder what models in past 20 years or so would meet our needs.
Any suggestions about websites and dealers would be appreciated.
We live in the NW corner of Washington, are "young in our mind" retirees, moving from a Eurovan to something with a few more amenities.
Many thanks
Paul and Dorothy
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One of the more common terms used to describe the floorplan that you are describing is the Front Lounge arrangement. After having two Brand X RVs with dinettes and now my Airstream products with the front lounges; I am definitely sold on the front lounge. The floorplan definitely provides more room for relaxing and entertaining -- eating out is one of the joys of traveling for me so very few meals are prepared in my coach, but I enjoyed the front lounge layout even when I full-timed in my Overlander for six-months.
While they would be a bit out of your 20-year range, Argosy, a division of Airstream, produced a series of compact full-featured coaches that are fun to own and many were equipped with the front lounge floorplan -- the series was referred to as the Argosy Minuet and was available in 6.0 Metre (20' single axle), 6.7 Metre (22' single axle), and 7.3 Metre (24' tandem axle). These coaches were produced betweent 1977 and 1979 and had a unique feature -- they were only 7' wide compared to the 7' 8" width of their stablemates -- this width difference make them an absolute joy to tow on the scenic secondary byways around the country. I must admit that my Airstream has seen far fewer miles since I purchased my Minuet three years ago as the Minuet is so much more fun for byway travel.
I have attached a scan of the sales literature that shows the floorplans for the three Minuet coaches -- the dinette and front lounge were choices that the original purchaser could make when ordering the coach and it seems that many were equipped with the front lounge.
Good luck with your research and search for the ideal coach!
Kevin