Newbys considering Airstream

[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

[wkerfoot]

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

Paul & Dorothy,

Our 1979 23' Safari has a couch in the front. Pictures at: http://www.vintageairstream.com/arch...ari/index.html

Bill

[Silvertwinkie]

There are many of those units out there and most folks that have them I am sure are happy as clams with them. I would also suggest that you look at units with both a dinette and couch. I have heard numerous times from folks that had a dinette and got another RV with just a couch have sometimes regretted not getting a dinette as well in retrospect. You can go to http://www.colonialairstream.com/newinventory.html and they have new coaches that have both with and without dinette. One of the reasons I say this is that if you're looking at a 23' a 25' is not much larger and sometimes has both.

[pagoff]

We wouldn't mind having both dinette and sofa but we've found ourselves slowly creeping up in size to the 23foot. We want to be able to use a 1/2 ton pickup to pull it.

Bill's 79' looks quite lovely!!

Thanks for the responses.

Pagoff

[overlander64]

Greetings Paul and Dorothy!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Airstreaming!

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

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