So Here We Are

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The wife and I have been camping and "discussing" an Airstream ever since we got married 40+ years ago. We have camped a lot of ways in a lot of places. I camped out as a kid as did my parents and grandparents. The whole discussion of "AS or not" has been going on for generations. We seem to go through the loop about every 4 years.

At this point I'm retired and the wife has four more weeks to go. It's just us, one Lab and two Neuf's. It's time to commit to a plan. Tents, popups, and small trailers are not going to work for us anymore.

This time around we only spent about a month talking and researching. Then, tike others in the neighborhood we made the "bad" decision to go over to Colonial. We spent a full day of popping in and out of everything on the lot. All that after already narrowing things down to the 25 to (maybe) 30 foot range.

We and tried to work in all of them from 19' on up. We sat in the seating. We looked at the storage. We tried to do things in the kitchens. We arbitrarily positioned dogs (they stayed home). At the end of the day the decision was to get a 30' Classic. The Classic had not been on the list at the start of the day. Nobody talked us into it, it just was what seemed to work. No it's not going to fit in those cute little sites in we did with the tents back in 1980's. There are trade offs.

It will be fun to see how three large dogs and two "large" people all function in the trailer.

Bob

[Farmer Dan]

Bob, I'm sure the 30' unit will be best for you, your wife and the big dogs. We had camped in tents, slide-in truck campers, motorhomes and trailers. And with 3 kids when they were young. We retired at the end of '09. We had a 30' Classic w / slide and stayed in it in FL for 3-4 months each winter until buying a park model in 2015. It was big enough that we didn't go stir crazy. I think you will be happy with your choice.

Dan

[Masondood]

All the best with your buying experience Bob! Hope the dogs let you use the Classic!

[moosetags]

Hi Bob. Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us. Congratulations on your decision. A 30' Classic is a beautiful Airstream. May you have safe travels and many great Airstream Adventures.

Brian

[OTRA15]

Sounds like the 30' was a good choice for your family.

Have fun!

Peter

[Hans627]

Congrats on your decision. I'm sure you will be happy. It certainly is a beautiful trailer. When do you take delivery and do you have any trips pending?

And of course you must post some pictures!

BTW we are right down the road from you in Hanover!

Wishing you many happy and safe journeys.

[Al and Missy]

Hi Bob, and congratulations!

We started with a 2001 25' Safari. We could take it almost anywhere. The good news was the original owner had converted the sofa to recliners. The bad news was the original owner had converted the sofa to recliners.

We had to eat from TV trays and there was no guest seating. We traded up to a 2002 30' Classic (with a slideout) and love it. We started with three dogs, one large and two small. We now just have the two small dogs. The 25 was crowded with just one large dog. I Can't imagine having three in there.

I know you will love the Classic. I've never dealt with them but Colonial has an excellent reputation and quite a following on here. Hope to bump into you out there somewhere. When will you get your Classic?

Spent some time in Carlisle and Mount Holly years ago doing an installation of some communications equipment. Really enjoyed the time there. Went to a restaurant in Carlisle several times. Don't recall the name but it was near the Army War College.

Al

[Rich Jenkins]

Warm welcome, Bob. That is a great choice of an AS.

We've bought two AS's from Patrick at Colonial; great experience each time.

Rich

[PKI]

Glad to hear you are becoming a member of the shiny set. By going for a Classic, it is going to be very hard to find fault with your choice. Especially since you did the process of playing house in all the models. You should be very happy with your decision. The only problem you may have is that waiting so long may have imprinted some long term drivers that just one AS will not fulfill. Lookout for a growing lust to get a vintage shiny and refurb it during the down time between trips.

Hope to meet you down the road. Pat

[Ruffn It]

2 Neuf's and a Lab. That's a lot o'love right there. Sounds like a great crew to fill a great trailer. Hope to see you out there somewhere!

Safe travels.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Thanks to all for the encouragement !!!

I must admit that the whole process is a bit scary. No matter what the decision has been over the years, there has been a lot of second guessing. There's also been a lot of "why didn't I think of that?" nonsense.

The dogs *hopefully* will let us use their trailer from time to time I have very little doubt that they will decide where everybody belongs when the trailer is in use. The biggest issue will be the state of Pennsylvania's idea that park patrons should only own two dogs. What a bizarre idea !!!

No big trips planned in the first month or two. It'll be a bit late to drive to Nome and back when we get the trailer Longer term, we certainly want to get back out west and back up to Canada. It will be a bit less aggressive camping than 40 years ago ... that's fine with both of us.

Shorter term the plan is for a number of mid week trips. That should give us a chance to shake down the gear and the process. We'll get some miles in towing to get past the learning curve that has been part of anything I've ever towed. We'll also get the check lists down on trips that aren't make or break when there's no food for the dogs

Lots of fun !!!

Bob

[slowmover]

How's the dog hair carpeting project advancing?��

[lonewolf1977]

Congrats & happy travels!