2008 Safari Sport 22'

[Ahab]

Originally Posted by TennisMan

I know you meant "mpg", not "mph".

Lance

oops!

[CrawfordGene]

Looks good. We thought about the 22' SS, but it didn't meet our needs for long, long trips, but we thought it to be a very nice interior. Congratulations!

Gene

[leopattie]

Well, here's my first post: we pick up our new 22' Safari Sport tomorrow morning! I'm so excited, this is our first Airstream, we've been coveting them for years. We'll take her on a one night camp trip next weekend, so hope all will work out with the new rig. This forum is great info, I'm sure I'll be here lots for questions, support, etc!

[bobkelly]

leopattie---Welcome to the forums. Lot's of experience and knowledge.
Congratulations on the new AS. You'll have a great time. Did you buy it at Geo Sutton's in Eugene. That's where I bought mine.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, leopattie. Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy your new Safari Sport and post pictures for eveyone to see your new Airstream and tow vehicle. Did you buy it from George?

[Whizzo]

Shakedown Voyage: About 180 mile trip, camped on a rural Texas Hill Country ranch, AC power only, onboard water. Overall: five stars. Great TT! Felt surprisingly roomy, even though we went from 26x8 (SOB) to 22x7 (A/S). Kept an eye out after reading the very helpful 2008 model year QC issues thread, but almost no issues to report.

Pros:

Structure: Solid! Steady as a rock with the jacks down. The SOB bounced like a trampoline when you walked the length to the bathroom. Quiet – much better insulated than we’re used to, and carpeted versus classic shiny walls helped out there.

Facilities: The bathroom is the nicest I’ve ever experienced in a TT: very roomy, quality metal fixtures, no leaks. In the SOB I felt like I’d punch through the flimsy plastic, and always managed to dribble around the seals. Less storage space than the SOB, but always managed to find a cubbyhole for odd-sized things.

Sleep: Slept good on the front dinette “Super Queen.” Only needed a 1 inch foam topper to smooth it right out. My back didn’t complain about the really firm foam cushions. We’ll try the ‘gaucho sleepo’ next trip, but I think rest quality is really good

Towing: Amazingly smooth. TT seems well-matched to the torque curve of the small block V8. Had to drop a gear once, on the same terrain that made the SOB and same TV downshift five times (always towing with overdrive off, of course). Fuel usage was a reasonable 12 mpg at 65mph, up from 9-10 before, but we had a good 20 mph headwind/crosswind, so that will improve in calm conditions.

Cons:

Plumbing: Water pump sounded like it was going to tear through the bulkhead. Gotta research this group about maybe quieting it down. Rarely boondocked with the SOB, so we didn’t hear a pump very much. Water faucet valves are very sensitive – tiny adjustment range between warm, and ouch!

Warranty issue: Awning arm had a cracked bracket. Riveted pot metal on the lower support arm. So, no artificial shade this time.

Next trip: the beach in two weeks!

We’ve drunk deeply of the Airstream Kool-Aid, and it be fine… And what's the deal with toasters that match trailers?

[pilgrim]

My quick reply - the little things we didn't think about until our second night out - our maiden voyage was only two weeks ago so we also are just getting our feet wet. We didn't even think about the TV controls or the radio controls until we wanted to use them. Also, we didn't have the stabalizer wrench for putting them down. Fortunately I could jerry-rig my torque wrench with an extender and the 3/4" socket to put the stabalizers down and then back up prior to leaving. A little awkward but worked fine. Other-wise everything worked fine - water pump (had to use our own water), toilets, black and gray tanks and dumping them, etc... So many firsts on our first two trips but all worked fine. Can't wait for our next trip. We think 'streaming is going to be more fun than we originally thought. Good luck with your new Safari Sport, also. See you on the road........... By the way, our dealer gave us all the missing parts when we stopped in to see them after our maiden voyage. They were very nice about it, too!
_________________________________
2007 25' Airstream International SS OB
2004 Nissan Armada
Equalizer hitch
Prodigy brake controls
"It's better to keep your mouth shut and thought a fool
Than to open it and remove all doubt."