New airstream owner!!!!! any advice?

[nohillgrish]

Stacey, sounds like you got a great buy!!!!!!!!!!!! Just get hubby out for a weekend or two, and try to catch a rally in your area (I see you already have an invitation). Airstreamers are great folks and most are glad to help anyway they can. Safe travels!!!

[safari57]

Stacey,

The price for this trailer seems reasonable. I'm a vintage guy so I am not current with prices but you could do a quick comparison with trailers listed in the classifieds on this forum just as a sanity check. The advantage with this trailer is you know its history which is very important in my view.

You have suggested that your husband is not quite as enthusiastic about this purchase as you. For me the criteria was that the opportunity was available now and not six months or two years down the road. I got Donna involved right away and I made sure my enthusiasm never waned. With our first trailer in particular it came down to getting out and using it fairly quickly. We camped on the driveway a couple of nights to figure everything out, then went camping with friends who were avid campers. Finding unique things to do was key to making sure Donna appreciated the advantages of RV'ing and since she likes small town shopping with antique and craft type shops I made sure the first trips out were camping near those towns. She realized right away that this was a fun way to get out and do stuff she liked to do and the camping component was an added bonus that quickly overshadowed the other things. Then we graduated to beautiful campgrounds (CG's in forum terms) in the forests and by the ocean and she really enjoyed the quiet time, the people we met, and the chance for the two of us to spend quality time together without the distractions at home of projects like lawns and fence painting and ringing telephones etc. that, if at home, we'd feel compelled to do. Other friends started joining us and it just added to the enjoyment. It has grown from that. A key factor is that we sleep in our own bed, not one that many others have slept in and with questionable motel cleanliness issues always a factor that we did not like.

We see places most of our non-camping friends didn't know existed but once they see pictures many convert pretty quickly. Some have become almost rabid RV'ers going out far more frequently than we do.

It boils down to this is something you really want to try right? If it doesn't work out you have a trailer to sell that you may break even on or maybe go down a few bucks but the pleasure you derive from it during that time will by far offset that factor. Yes the economy is rugged right now but that doesn't mean you stop doing things that add value to your life. If you can afford to do this and it is not going to leave you in a potentially difficult situation why wouldn't you?

I don't know if any of the above is helpful but it is what I had done to get Donna more engaged in the RV'ing aspect. Now she is as enthusiastic as I am and in fact she is the primary driver of the tow vehicle and very comfortable in that role.

Good luck Stacey. Keep us posted on how you make out with this.

Barry

[doorgunner]

Stacey;
There will be 24 Airstreams at Jackson Rancheria next weekend oct 10-11. Why not take a short trip over saturday morning (45 mi?) and visit with the NorCal group. We have open visiting saturdays and it would be an opportunity to see a few trailers "just" like yours. You could find most of the answers to your questions. Bring something for the pot luck sat evening. LOL

[Aage]

Stacey, welcome to the group and congrats on winning the "argument" about bringing Bambi home. You'll have a blast learning it and camping, I'm sure.

The usual travel advisory applies, of course: Pack half the clothes but twice the money!

[dieterdog]

Hi Stacey,, welcome and just go for it with your new Bambi,,, hubby will understand his first trip out,,, lots of friends here and advice to be heeded,,, jump in and tour America,, that is what streamin is all about,, happy trails,,, donna

[AZ-JH]

Stacey,

If you can afford it, seize this opportunity for a great price! Since you're not overpaying for this barely used unit, you'll be able to sell if need be for minimal loss. As for the economy, for years I tended to be holding back while others were spending, and now I can spend while others are not. I feel like I got a nice deal on a near-new tow vehicle and AS due to this economy. Try to find a benefit from this economy.

Janet

[staceydr200]

my hubby feels that if we buckle down during hard times we will have more later, I am 40 and he is 46, he is an avid car collector and we are building a second home... it seems everything we spend $ on revolves around those things and not too much fun for us as a family or couple, I feel this is a good way too get away from it all and enjoy each other more... are we too young to invest in an as right now?? Are there people our age cruzin around also???? We would only be able to escape once in a while for long trips and maybe 1 time a month for a while....I also bought a truck for a surprise for my hubby and he hated it so I am trying to sell it and if it sells than he would be much happier and not so concered about the as price.... so if anyone out there wants a ford f-250 diesal that is a 2000 and a lariet model let me know, but it is lifted 8" and has 37" tires and tinted windows, so its a biggie, but it runs great!!!!!!!!!!

[Mikethefixit]

Welcome Stacy
I hope U talked the hubby into the purchase. No I dont think you guys are to young. DON'T wait till your 70 like me and then buy an AS. Life is a serious business YES. BUT take time for U TWO.
If he is inclined to like people and LOVES TO EAT . Then AIR FOURMS Rally's will get him hooked.
This is our first yr and My wife was not real keen on the deal, but since we have met some wonderful people and had some great food and conversations around a campfire in our first 6 outings she LOVES IT.
She is so proud of our vintage AS she had to show it to everyone and shes not a showoff.
She just loves camping.
Best of luck to You and Yours REMEMBER Just have fun!

[OB Bambi]

Stacey:
Congratulations! I have some thoughts on some of the things you asked about. First, we have a Sharp Microwave/Convection oven in our Bambi. We aren't too thrilled with it because we can only use it when we are in a campground where there is electricity or we have to use our generator which we don't like to do. (We have it for back up). I think I read TBRich mention that they perfered gas oven. I think they are right. So if you have to replace it I would reccommend the gas oven. As for the battery/generator question. In August we were dry camping (no hookups) for 6 days. I have a solar panel I bought from Costco.com and hooked it up the whole time. I thought about having one mounted on the roof, but we usually look for trees to camp around and with the portable panel, I could move it to get the best shot at the sun. At the end of the 6 days we still had about 1/3 of the charge left. (You can check it with the system monitor on the wall to the left of the range top). My advice is to check that the batteries have enough water in them, the connections are clean and the ground (under the trailer near the battery box) is clean. Then charge the batteries up using the power from your house and when they are charged, disconnect and use the lights etc., for a few days so you can then check the level on the monitor and that will give you a feel what you can do in the way of dry camping.

Have fun.
Randy Bowman

[olddog299]

Congratulations and welcome. Just a couple of thoughts, Stacey. Get the hubby involved in the process by having him find the "perfect tow vehicle" (aka TV). That'll give incentive to get rid of the F250 he didn't like. Then there'll be the coin for something he does like. Secondly, do some online research and see if you can't find a car buff rally or two more than a couple of hours away where there is dry camping or a nice campground nearby. Once he sees that the AS can be a method to greater enjoyment of his hobbies, the faster he will catch on to the true value AS ownership - flexibility.

Finally, enjoy yourselves NOW. I thought the way of life was to work hard, retire and enjoy life. A triple bypass and clipped lung later, I wish I'd started enoying my life much earlier as the remainder looks to be rather shorter than I'd hoped...

[funkill]

So, you bought it? If so, congrats! I am about your age (single though) and bought an AS a couple months ago. I did not get the deal you did! I did not do my research and found that mine has some problems - but it hasn't stopped me. I brought it to my house a few weeks ago and am enjoying the "lawn ornament". I took it out to a park close to my home last week and had a great time. I enjoyed the time out and think it's a great time in life to start streamin.... You gotta just go for it!

[staceydr200]

thanks for the positive feedback from you all!!! I go and pay for my little beautie in less than 2 hours... I could barely sleep last night trying to plan our first trip in my head... well maybe our 1st trip will be the driveway as so many of you suggested.. good idea I think!!!! I may not be able to bring her home until Wed. as I do not have the correct brake set up.. I can borrow her hummer, but we will see, I do not want any problems on her maiden voyage!!! Yippie!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[warbler5]

I am sooooooo excited for you, Stacey!!!!! You may want to make a trip down the hill to Camping World, in Rocklin (you can see it on the north side of I-80 from the freeway). They will help you get set up with a brake controller....I recommend a Prodigy. If you are considering a new tow vehicle (TV, in AirForums-speak), many of the new full-size trucks include a brake controller with their tow packages.

You should spend some time reading about towing on the AirForums between now and Wednesday.

Congrats!

[bizcamp]

stacey,

Did you buy it yet?