Greetings Al R.!
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Many years ago I bought a 1989, 35' Land Yacht. Some call it the "Squarstream". It does have the fiberglass sides. I want to restore it but wonder if I wll have more $$ in it than it is worth. Any help will be appreciated.
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You are asking a question that I asked myself when I purchased my '64 Overlander in 1995. At that time anything over about 22' was considered somewhat less valuable from the standpoint of collectability. In the intervening years, the larger trailers have caught on and their values are catching up to the smaller coaches (still lag beghind, but not to the degree of nearly a decade ago). It wasn't too many years ago that there was a tremendous value difference between an Airstream and a similar vintage Argosy - - today, that gap is narrowing as well. It is difficult to forecast future values, but it seems that any Airstream product holds its value far better than most if not all of its contemporaries.
My suggestion would be to approach your coach from a similar viewpoint that I did with my Overlander. Assess your situation - - do you anticipate keeping the coach well into the future? If your answer is "yes"; then the question becomes one of prioritizing your needs and wants within the coach. Once you have completed an assessment; you can establish a budget and begin work on the restoration. If your experience with your '89 Land Yacht is like mine with the '64 Overlander, you will find that you have more than its resale value invested in it initially - - but when you consider two other factors it becomes a little less disconcerting - - (1) What could you have purchased in a New Airstream for the amount invested in your current Airstream? (2) Would you be as truly pleased and satisfied with a new or newer coach with a similar amount of monetary investment?
I know that when the restoration on my Overlander was fiished, I had no regrets despite having somewhat more than its resale value invested - - part of the reason for this is that 90% or more of the retoration was professionally done. I am enjoying my '64 Overlander far more than I would a new Airstream with similar investment, at least in part, due to the fact that it has a floorplan that is no longer available in a new Airstream. I also have a personal connection to the coach as it belonged to friends' of my family who purchased it new in '64 and took me on my first camping trip in the trailer when it was nearly new and I was five years old.
Kevin
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