2008 Airstream Bambi- Wrecked

mgm · 11-12-2009, 10:49 PM

I'm new to the club. I'm 24 and a medic in the army and spent a few years in Iraq. I'm home now and this was the last thing on my wish list.

I live in Ohio and i found this on craigslist in Montana, in Februray. The army kept me busy all summer, so i couldnt make the drive out to Montana to pull her home and just broke down and had it put on a flatbed and brought out to me in ohio...

She needs some work, but i think in the long run i will still be on the low end, especially since its a 2008.

She rolled on the passenger side during her delivery to the dealership. So i'm the first owner and the interior is all intact. All she needs is new skin, so i took it back to the factory, took the tour and the guys there are working me up a quote....i m still waiting. SO i hope its under $12k and in the mean time, i'm planning some trips and soaking up all the airstream stuff

**Stefrobrts** · 11-12-2009, 11:18 PM

Welcome to the forums, and thank you for your service to the country. If anyone deserves to be out travelling in their Bambi, it's you!

Do you have any pictures to share? I wonder how they managed to roll it over?

lacosta31 · 11-12-2009, 11:49 PM

Hi - Welcome home. My family and I will add our thanks for your service. We repaired our Bambi when we got it also. I did my homework and was satisfied that it was only some lower panel skin damage and that nothing structural was in play. The repairs on ours were very reasonable (done by a well respected dealer here in the area) and we are in our AS for a very reasonable price. All the other systems were perfect. You can't do better than the factory....hope they give you the Vets. discount.

wagnerda · 11-13-2009, 03:38 AM

Hi there,

First off welcome back from the "sandbox"...

You will love your Bambi and I also agree you couldn't do better than the shop back at Jackson Center. Great quality and decent price. They have replaced a total of three panels on my '06 Bambi due to a tree coming down and the work there is top notch and I can't tell which ones they replaced...

While there you might also ask them about the "full awning package" which adds about a 4 foot awning across the back over the window and about an 8 foot wide, and narrow (only extends about 2 1/2 feet) one on the roadside. That has turned out to be one of the best things we added to our Bambi.

Best of luck to you,

regards Dave

3streams · 11-13-2009, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgm

I'm new to the club. I'm 24 and a medic in the army and spent a few years in Iraq. I'm home now and this was the last thing on my wish list.

I live in Ohio and i found this on craigslist in Montana, in Februray. The army kept me busy all summer, so i couldnt make the drive out to Montana to pull her home and just broke down and had it put on a flatbed and brought out to me in ohio...

She needs some work, but i think in the long run i will still be on the low end, especially since its a 2008.

She rolled on the passenger side during her delivery to the dealership. So i'm the first owner and the interior is all intact. All she needs is new skin, so i took it back to the factory, took the tour and the guys there are working me up a quote....i m still waiting. SO i hope its under $12k and in the mean time, i'm planning some trips and soaking up all the airstream stuff

If the damage is truly only skin deep it sounds like an option- but be cautioned, I have never known an Airstream to "roll over" and not have some sort of structural damage and therefore you would be getting a "can of worms" so to speak instead of your dream trailer.

Mikethefixit · 11-13-2009, 06:59 AM

First Welcome Fellow Ohioan
Welcome to Airforums.
Thank you for your service. We are pleased that you are home safe. Believe me the wife and I know how it is,we had a son-in-law and daughter in the army.
Im sure the guys up there at JC with do ya a good job of fixin her up. Hope to see you at one of our OHIO Streamer Rallys next yr.
Good Luck

mwells4654 · 11-13-2009, 07:05 AM

Welcome Home - From A Fellow Vet - I hope everything works out for the best. You never know - especially with a rollover.

Minnie's Mate · 11-13-2009, 07:15 AM

Welcome home and, again, thank you for your service to our country. There are too many out there that don't acknowledge the sacrifice you have made and your willingness to sacrifice all.

It would be great if you could post before and after shots when the work is done. I had my 30' Safari repaired at the factory (had two accidents within two weeks of pickup and had two panels replaced. They are good, but you do pay for the quality work you get there.

Hope all turns out as well as mine did.

Good luck and thanks again.

mgm · 11-13-2009, 08:36 AM

I know its rough, but i could have never afforded a 2008 and this one was never owned, so i'm taking a chance and hoping i have no regrets....so far so good.

The Interior is all in tact and the oven, frig, and shower still have all the original tags and stickers on them from the factory. I paid $5k for it and am waiting ever patiently for my quote from the factory. They said they had seen worse and that they would do everything they could to cut the repair costs and work with me, so i'm like a little kid waiting to hear back from them

My Colorado, pulled her just fine. I added some helper springs and the 5cylinder ran pretty great. I have some boats, but the trailer tips the scale as my heaviest toy. But i think they will make a good pair.

Rog0525 · 11-13-2009, 09:30 AM

Did you get a clean title? If you have anything other than a clean title (such as Salvage), you will be looking at more expense to have the title upgraded to Rebuilt. If you haven’t already done so, you should check with the Ohio DMV to see if there are any title issues on your VIN number.

Mike Leary · 11-13-2009, 09:47 AM

I'd leave it the way it is; think of all the tall tales you could invent while sitting around the campfires.

mgm · 11-13-2009, 10:05 AM

The title will be a salvaged title, the inspection and rebuilt title will run me about $100, so i'm not concerned about that too much. I don't care about resale value, i m planning on owning her for a while.

I considered leaving it as is, and pending my quote, i may leave her with some dents and just fix the nessecities. I'm just gonna play it be ear for now. I have been into old boats for a while- Lone Stars to be exact and i really enjoy that online club, so i'm excited to have another place to pass some hours online from time to time

Rog0525 · 11-13-2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgm

The title will be a salvaged title, the inspection and rebuilt title will run me about $100, so i'm not concerned about that too much. I don't care about resale value, i m planning on owning her for a while.

I mentioned this because I wouldn’t want you to have to fight another battle, this one with the DMV. The repairs on the trailer will have to be sufficient enough to pass the DMV inspection and those inspectors can be pretty demanding.
I hope it all goes well for you.

Mike Leary · 11-13-2009, 11:03 AM

You'd hope if the work was done at JC, DMV would say, "happy trails".