Do Sport or Bambi Airstreams have a generator?

[room202d]

I am in the process of trying to purchase a Used or Sport Airstream Trailer, but can not figure out the Airstream website....do they have a GENERATOR that will run AC and Refrigerator if you are parked in the middle of nowhere? This is my first post and I have NEVER used a forum or posted anything???? Help! And thanks in advance for any info you can give me.

[zlee]

I could be wrong, but I believe the trailers don't, but you can in the MoHos. People generally buy a generator and carry it along with them.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by room202d

I am in the process of trying to purchase a Used or Sport Airstream Trailer, but can not figure out the Airstream website....do they have a GENERATOR that will run AC and Refrigerator if you are parked in the middle of nowhere? This is my first post and I have NEVER used a forum or posted anything???? Help! And thanks in advance for any info you can give me.

Welcome to the forums. With the exception of a few 1970's-era large Airstream trailers, none have or even have the option to include a generator as part of the trailer.
Most of the newer ones have a connection at the front for a customer-provided generator, which usually resides in the bed of your pickup truck.
For everything except the air conditioner, you can get a 2000 watt generator, if you want to run the a/c, you will need a minimum of a 2400 watt generator. Also, you don't need to be plugged in to 120 volts to run the fridge, it will work just fine with the onboard LP and battery. Eventually, the battery would have to be charged, but you would not need to have the generator hooked up and running 24/7 for that. A couple hours per day would suffice in most cases.

[tpi]

As posted, the fridge will run on the trailer's built in propane tanks. But the AC will need to be powered from a portable generator not included with the Airstream trailer.

One category of trailers which tend to have optional built in generators are the toy haulers. These are the ones with a large door/ramp on the rear of the trailer. Unlike Airstream, they're boxy but some do come in smaller sizes.

[Foiled Again]

I notice you're from Pennsylvania - If you're up in the mountains, you don't often need air conditioning at night. All of the newer ones come with at least one "fantastic fan" - I added a second one in my 25 ft Safari (now called Flying Cloud). The one in my bedroom can be set to blow in or out. At night I crack the windows and set both to blow out - or if it's really hot, have the one in the bedroom blowing directly in on the bed area.

Now in Coastal VA, there are lots of summer nights where the temp stays at 90 F all night. I recently bought a Honda 3000 Handi to run the Air conditioner. It's much more compact than older ones, but it does not have an electric start, it's a pull start.

I carry it in the bed of the truck with a ramp (plywood) to move it into the bed of the truck.

Paula

[room202d]

As a Newbie, I really appreciate everyone responding to my questions. We are going to visit a Dealer this weekend and perhaps we will be the proud owners by next week...10 fingers and toes crossed! Many thanks!

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by room202d

As a Newbie, I really appreciate everyone responding to my questions. We are going to visit a Dealer this weekend and perhaps we will be the proud owners by next week...10 fingers and toes crossed! Many thanks!

Good luck! And if you want to start a conversation round here that will entertain you for days, you can ask which is the best generator.

[Skater]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Welcome to the forums. With the exception of a few 1970's-era large Airstream trailers, none have or even have the option to include a generator as part of the trailer.

Actually, it was an option in the mid-90s on the Classic/Limited 30' (and possibly other models, I didn't do extensive research). I only know this because we saw one when we were looking last summer. It was under one of the dinette's booth seats, and Airstream's reference documents indicated it was an option that included 40 lb propane tanks instead of the usual 30 lb. I want to say the one we saw was a '96. (Here is a price list that lists the 2.8kw generator as an option, for a 1995 30'. It doesn't mention the larger tanks, but I know I read that somewhere.)

We ended up not buying that trailer - apparently it had been owned by the lead male actor on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and was therefore worth much, much more than book value to someone.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Good luck! And if you want to start a conversation round here that will entertain you for days, you can ask which is the best generator.

Yep...Chineeze lectricity will not werk in a USA AS.
Land of the rizing sun is the only approved supplyer.

WARNING....do not mention what toe vehicle you have until your skin thickens.

Sweet Streams.....

Bob

[dznf0g]

Or hitch, Robert!

[Scott J-24]

Now, now, now... don't scare the newbies.

[dkottum]

Maybe they'll drive home the Interstate van and you hitch/truck guys won't have anything to talk about.

doug k

oops . . payload!

[mefly2]

Wow, my advice - if there is anyway to fit it into your budget - is to go ahead and take the plunge. We worked our way up from a hard-sided pop up to a SOB and then, finally, just bit the dollar bullet and bought the TT of our dreams... each time we were not happy and we only made the dealers more profit. Finally, we just paid what they asked and got what we wanted ... wish we'd have done that years ago.

You will love it! Some of the newer models have Fantastic Fans that will only exhaust vent rather than blow in, but that is what we have windows for. Although we did buy two K-watt generators, one K watt will suffice 95% of the time in our latitude. However, if you are headed south, you may want to consider two K watt units or one K unit - depending upon your AC wattage / amperage requirements. It is nice to have the microwave usable most of the time, too.

Originally Posted by room202d

As a Newbie, I really appreciate everyone responding to my questions. We are going to visit a Dealer this weekend and perhaps we will be the proud owners by next week...10 fingers and toes crossed! Many thanks!

We did just as you are now - several years ago - when we asked on this forum about used prices and values. We could have saved over $10k if we had just bought the AS then instead of SOB and taking the depreciation... and we would have enjoyed ourselves more in the AS than in the SOBs.

[sandcardet]

Excuse me. But just what is an SOB?

[m.hony]

Some Other Brand

[m.hony]

Same Old Box

[m.hony]

Anything that isn't an Airstream or some similar semi-monocoque construction shiny silver aluminum trailer such as Silver Streak, Avion, Streamline, etc.