i'm ordering a new classic (whoopeeeeeeee!) to replace my faithful 79 and there are so many decisions.........i've read the threads on gas oven vs convection/microwave which helped a lot.
now debating the floor and countertops. i'm asking here (instead of the new trailer forum) because of the wide experience with upgrades.....and not a lot of threads on the new side.
corian is now offered in 3 colors.....white (everest) tan (sandstone) and dark gray (midnight). the sandstone has been nixed because it's just another shade of light brown and doesn't really accent the hickory interior. so i'm deciding between the the 2 extremes.....white and dark gray.
the dark gray seems to be what most of the new ones come with and it looks cool, maybe even elegant, but i'm wondering how practical......would it show dust easier but hide stains better? might require more interior lighting when dark out and might be harder to work on? who likes the dark corian?
the white is what most units came with up to 2004. it's a nice light interior color, not as dramatic but maybe more practical. wouldn't show dust as easily but are cooking/food stains an issue? also would seem to better for low light situations. how likes their white corian?
so does anyone have an opinion about white vs dark gray counters?
next is flooring.....i'm opting for no carpet at all.....full vinyl.....i'll make some removeable area rugs for bedroom and living area. factory offers the regular classic vinyl or the wood patterned safari vinyl. they do charge for this change.
wood pattern looks great from a distance not so nice up close and again may be a conflict with the actual wood grain patterns of the cabinets/trim. the wood pattern looks great in the safaris but there are fewer wood surfaces and more bold interiors.
the classic pattern vinyl is pretty plain but may be the best choice as basic flooring with accent rugs for contrast. i wonder how it looks with the hickory wood and ultra fake leather buff colored sofa?
so any opinions or wisdom about vinyl floor choices?
look forward to some help from those who have tried different things they like or from those who have learned from mistakes in interior design/color schemes.
the wisdom of the airstream collective is impressive.
We have the mottled white corain in our 2004 ... and we like it.
We did see a new Classic with the dark corian ... at first it semed elegant .. but after being in the trailer for a bit ... it semed to be too dark for the room ... and made the interior apear to be smaller.
We have the standard vinyl flooring .... but most of it is covered with throw rugs ... which are very close in color (Sumatra, a.k.a. sage) to our couch and dinette.
We also have the white corian in our 2004, with the hickory cabinets. My wife likes the white - actually kind of an off-white, IMO - but I think I like the dark slate color offered in the 2005's better. If we ordered again, guess whose preference would win out though?
You might also want to take into consideration that hickory is a lighter colored wood than the standard oak cabinets, for what that's worth -- It's also a lot heavier wood than oak too (just thought I'd throw in that tidbit of info.).
As far as the floor, I think I saw at the Tampa RV show that the vinyl in the 2005's was the same Armstrong vinyl they used in 2004's. If I were considering vinyl for a new 2005 Classic, I think I'd ask Airstream to put a better quality vinyl in, and I'd be willing to pay for the incremental cost. The vinyl they used in the 2004 Classics is pretty cheap stuff. Doesn't take much to permanently scuff and cut it.
Thought I'd mention that the specific gravity of Red Oak is about .67 and Hickory is between .66 and .76. Also today Hickory and Pecan lumber are sold as one and the same and most of us wouldn't know the difference to look at it. Hickory is not as popular as it was as few years ago and Red Oak is actually slightly more expensive. If Airstream really wants to offer an upgrade in cabinet wood I would think the Black Cherry or even a nice Maple would be better that Hickory. If you look at the cabinet doors in a Limited,they glue up to many narrow pieces to make up the raised panels on the cabinet doors. Some people may like the look but because each narrow piece is so different in figure and grain, it ends up looking really busy and not as refined as it could. I understand that hardwoods are really expensive but the Limited packageadds another $7,000.00price so you would think that they would go the extra mile for the most expensive trailer in their line. I simply don't understand it.
Thought I'd mention that the specific gravity of Red Oak is about .67 and Hickory is between .66 and .76. Also today Hickory and Pecan lumber are sold as one and the same and most of us wouldn't know the difference to look at it. Hickory is not as popular as it was as few years ago and Red Oak is actually slightly more expensive. If Airstream really wants to offer an upgrade in cabinet wood I would think the Black Cherry or even a nice Maple would be better that Hickory. If you look at the cabinet doors in a Limited,they glue up to many narrow pieces to make up the raised panels on the cabinet doors. Some people may like the look but because each narrow piece is so different in figure and grain, it ends up looking really busy and not as refined as it could. I understand that hardwoods are really expensive but the Limited packageadds another $7,000.00price so you would think that they would go the extra mile for the most expensive trailer in their line. I simply don't understand it.
This is getting off the subject of this thread, but I couldn't agree more with you that hickory is not the best choice of wood to use in the Classic Ltd's.
I bet Airstream picked it more because of its cheaper price and availibilty rather than its beauty and desirability in fine cabinetry. There are lots of hickory trees in Ohio. (I'd prefer Cherry over Hickory any day if there was a choice.)
The quality of the hickory and the finish are pretty crappy in my trailer -- I wouldn't be so polite as to call it "busy". I'm already in the process of refinishing our dinette table top, and one of our cabinets was so unsightly that I asked Airstream to replace it - however, the one they sent me was equally poor, with unsightly knots and blems, so I'm not going to use it.
I don't know what species of oak and hickory Airstream uses in it's trailers, and like you say, some species are sold for something other than what they actually are.
I do know though that the hickory in my trailer is darn heavy. My dinette table weighs almost 35#, which (by my calculations) makes it well over 50#/cu ft. (I believe red oak weighs approx. 44#/ cu ft., and shagbark hickory weighs almost 52#/ cu ft. I recall seeing lots of shagback hickory in Ohio, so maybe that's the species in my trailer.)
thanks fly, porky and moe for the insights. the ivory color corian is probably more practical and gives a more open feel, but i think i'll go with the midnight. gotta have something different for folks to check out at the campsites.....right?
i do like the hickory or whatever species of buckeye wood they use in the limiteds and class a pushers. in fact i wish they were still doing wood inserts on the fridge like your coach moe. also i'm going to ask the dealer for the "stocked bar" at delivery....ha!
really i wish they would develop a birch wood option. i've inspected a couple of canadian rigs done with birch and alder. really nice. birch is hard, light and makes great cabinet doors and furniture.
i asked about the real wood floor and that's a negative. i suppose $$ could change their mind, but just getting full vinyl is an 800$ upgrade. i inspected a used classic with a front kitchen and the wooden floor....it was really nice.
thought about asking them to use a better grade of flooring since i agree the factory flooring isn't the best quality. i may cover it or change it in a year or 2 anyway. i do like the marmoleum or floating floors like mohawks. mainly i wanted the coach built without any carpet since they put it under things like the bed, sofa and inside the storage compartments. with vinyl instead, there should be less potential for veggies growing in those hidden places.
the safaris now have a thin diamond plate metal in the storage ports. it looks really neat and could probably be added later over the vinyl.
well now i'm just excited for them to get it built, hope they do it without too many quality issues and can't wait for the call on the new 34.
If you want to see the light Corian and hickory wood together, check out my photo gallery or click on "The long, LONG trailer" below. If they still offer the real wood flooring like is in our galley area, I'd have them use that in the front half of the trailer, vinyl in the bathroom, and carpet in the dressing area and bedroom.
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