Pulled the trigger on a 2006 Safari SS

[thegarse]

(Reposted from the Safari-only forum)

Hi everyone, I used to browse these air forums and the classifieds page only dreaming of ever owning an Airstream. They have the elegance I've always wanted in a trailer, the nostalgic retro look that I love and the craftsmanship that can keep a maintained Airstream going for decades.

About a week a go we had the opportunity to purchase a friend's 2006 Safari SS for what I think/hope is a good deal. Other than what I've casually read on these pages I am no expert (today's troubleshooting proves that) but this was either transitional part of our camping/RVing lives, or a mistake.

The Airstream needs some love and was lived in for some time. There are dents 3 or so, missing rivets, seals that need to be resealed, in need of new batteries, tires, toilet (my wife said this toilet is gross and very hard to clean), tv, rock guard, power lift, stabilizers, WDH, mattress, etc.

I'm hoping this never ending list of toDo's is normal, I even bought a truck because our little v6 would never be able to pull it (the v6 pulled our R-Pod just fine). I'm considering taking it to Bay Area Airstreams since they're only an hour away. Then later a famous/infamous Vinny who now lives in a neighboring town from me after his relocation (he wouldn't take any work until this summer - very booked).

Does anyone have feedback on Bay Area Airstreams? Should I leave the dent or have them work on it? Where do I go to buy a mattress? Do we have to make all/most of our purchases on the main Airstream website? Are there great parts pages I haven't found online? Why doesn't my power lift work when I'm connected to my TV, is it because my batteries are dead? All of these questions make this purchase seem very overwhelming. Does it get easier? Why are the pictures showing upside down? (edit: fixed the pictures)

Thank you in advance.

Mike G
Elk Grove, CA

[moosetags]

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us. Congratulations on your new baby. She is a real beauty. May you have safe travels and many great Airstream Adventures with her.

[azflycaster]

Congratulations on the SS purchase. Many of the things you listed can been done by a person with reasonable skills. I would defer things above your skill set to Vinnie. There is a reason he is booked until the summer.

BTW, love the Brick house restaurant in your town, great calamari.

[wandered]

Hi Mike, I just purchased a 2007 Safari 25SS in January and had many of the same questions. I'm a complete newbie but handy. As mentioned above, it's reasonable to assume you can figure it out as you go. Start with one thing at a time and chip away. It will be a great journey and you will know your trailer/investment.

My advice: address anything that could cause leaks asap. I had broken plumbing and a leaky roof. I had my entire roof resealed and glad for it. Water leaked in and ran down the walls and soaked the wood floor under linoleum and I was not aware. Working that problem presently!

The rest of the stuff is a learning experience! Plenty of help here and lots of your issues have been discussed here over the years.

Best of luck; you are not alone!

Ed

[AlinCal]

Nice looking trailer!
As much as I hate seeing a dented AS yours is one I would likely live with, the cost would be too high if payed out of pocket to justify. Imo
The other stuff addressed one at a time is normal maintenance, tires, batteries, etc.
Each of your items can be researched in depth here in most cases and will help you make good choices.

[KYShelby]

Welcome to the Airstream life.

Working on our 2nd year of maintenance on a 05 Classic. Pick the battles that will keep the SS safe and dry. We started with the tires, Maxim Skylights; only one brand works the best, resealing and looking for leaks. Dents are a age spot, ours have some hail damage, you can purchase a new one and have dents on it in a week. Don’t sweat the smalls.
The forums have been a game changer for us.

[thegarse]

Happy to be a part of a great community. I’ll likely have tons of questions. We can’t wait to be travel ready, I’ll be looking around for a reupholstery thread next.

[wandered]

Originally Posted by thegarse

Happy to be a part of a great community. I’ll likely have tons of questions. We can’t wait to be travel ready, I’ll be looking around for a reupholstery thread next.

Just did dinette. Found a local guy that did it for $800 (labor only). Took 12 yds and that included the "door" piece under sofa. He did a great job.

Other quotes were as high as $2000 for labor.

Taking my sofa/futon next.

[thegarse]

Hi all,

Rather than take on all these projects myself I enlisted the help of Bay Area Airstream Adventures (Vinnie wasn't taking work until the summer and the place in Winters was about the same $ and said it would have been a month before they take in work).

Here's what they found/did.

- After much deliberation we decided to replace a dented panel
- 2 leaks = Roof reseal (it hadn't been touched since 2006)
- Skylight replacement (I guess it's a good thing to replace this when doing the roof?)
- Took off satellite dome
- Brake job
- Lock assembly (previous owner could find his main key)
- Fresh and black tank sensors
- New toilet (because wife was not going to go in someone else's toilet)
- Needs new tires (I'll do this at America's tire or Les Shwab in Elk Grove)
- water pump adjustment
- Bought new batteries
- New mattress with Aire-Flow Moisture Barrier

Todo or in progress:

- Got a great quote in South Sac to get the inside reupholstered (teal/grey)
- Verify solar is working (I checked to see that there were 20+v coming off the panels but that's the extent of what I know about solar.
- Go camping! There's a pinball show in Lodi next month so I'm going to take it there to get all the kinks worked out or just to test everything (plus play some pinball )

Let me know if you have any questions, if you want some insight on pricing please PM me. I figured it would have created some unnecessary chatter if I listed out all quoted prices. I can also answer question on how to remove all upholstery/furniture.

[thegarse]

I don't think I've updated anyone on the progress. Overall I'm happy with the colors and the material. The fit is a big loose and suggested that he steam everything (shrinks the vinyl) but it would have been a few more days of work and I needed the trailer that weekend. He also said you can leave everything out in the sun and it'll shrink. What do you guys think?

[rmkrum]

The colors inside look very nice, and unique. Took a minute to figure out the photo distorts a bit. I like the look. How well does it ‘sit’?

[thegarse]

Thank you! The inside pic is a panoram picture so it does look a bit off.

It sits ok. The foam feels a bit like memory foam so it's comfy for a meal but I'm glad I don't sleep on it, I'll let my 3 kids sleep there.