Silver Sisters Online Rally

[loudruff]

Sorry that you missed our rally! Glad you found us though. We hope that you will bring you pop-up to one of the rallies this summer. You can join us anytime. We are NOT the snobby bunch that some folks portray us to be just cuz we have Airstreams. You will find lots of good choices for something to tow. Larry and I have a vintage Argosy Minuet that is only 3500# and is a dream to tow. There are some great old trailers out there...with a little elbow grease and hard work they become "new" little treasures.
This weekend we are fortunate enough to be having a little mini driveway rally. Big Al and Jean are here from Canada so that Jean can run in the Cleveland Marathon! Camping in our driveway. We sure enjoy the company. Maybe you can join us Ohioans some weekend too.
Lou...SW of Cleveland in little ol' LaGrange!

[Roamin' Cat]

Hi Teresa and welcome!!!

We recently purchased a 25' AS and I have towed, hooked up and unhooked, camped AND backed it up my long, windy driveway all by myself!!! Of course, it was all thanks to the helpful hints and encouragement that I received here on the forum and at my first rally with the the New England Unit of the WBCCI

The AS was my dream for as long as I can remember, but I had only been in one, years ago, and that one was waiting for a major rehab (I still thought it was the coolest thing ever!). I had been looking at AS floorplans online, dreaming, and at DH's request had gone and looked at a couple of SOBs, but I was unimpressed with the ones I looked at. DH just wanted to camp comfortably, he didn't care about brand.

I found out there is an AS dealer with a huge inventory about 5 hours from us, so asked DH to swing by there on the way to somewhere else, JUST to LOOK and see what the floorplans and space is like, and we ended up buying one on the spot!!! I was and still am quite surprised by this, as we do not tend to be impulsive with large purchases, and we did not own a TV yet either, so this was a major financial commitment for us. We are thrilled, for the most part. A major decider for my DH is that the AS will be useful for a very long time, which did not seem to be the case with the few SOBs I looked at (no, I did not see every brand and am not slamming any one in particular, this is just my impression of what I saw).

Though we like the 25'FB a lot, I kinda wish we had gone for the 27'FB. I like the orientation of the queen bed better and the extra 2 feet of storage space would be super! But really there is plenty of room for us and our teen son in the 25'. The FB (front bedroom) layout has the sofa running right down into the dinette, and I chose this because my son is about 5'10" and will likely be at least 6' like his dad, and when he sleeps on the sofabed his feet extend onto the dinette cushion. He finds it very comfy Once the kiddo heads off to his life without us in a few years, we will find the 25' to be very adequate for part time use.

My dream is to someday fulltime, at least for a year or two, though I could do it indefinitely. In a couple of years I will begin looking for an older unit that we can have made over to suit us completely, probably a 34', and we like Danish Modern/Scandinavian style. At this point it is not DH's dream, however, so we'll see!

Oh! I have never towed anything before this AS, but it tows like a dream!!! Amazing, really! It helps that I bought a 3/4 ton truck (a 1/2 ton would have done fine for this unit, but remember the fulltime dream?), but the AS is designed to tow easily. You will be amazed! I suspect it will tow easier than what you have now, but don't have the experience to know for sure. I have to look in the rear view mirror to remember I am towing! So do not let that stop you from getting exactly what you want, as we did. I have heard lots of stories of people going up just a few feet in size in a relatively short time after purchasing their first one (which I have thought of, too), so do just buy what you want, even if you have to upgrade your TV to do so. You will NOT regret it!

You CAN do it and it is FUN!!! Go for it

Lynda

[tksbaskets]

Linda, what a nice post.

I have to share my day with the 'sisters'. This is a repeat of a post on another thread to a great extent but your post made me want to tell you all.

Spent the afternoon at the Tin Can Camper Rally here in Michigan. LOTS of vintage campers, most in fine shape. Liked the Caravel, Bambies are cute but too small. Overlanders a good size. It was an open house so we got to explore and ask tons of questions. Went with two other couples. One Bambi/retro crazed, another partners who I think are leaning towards a new one.

DH came up to me this evening and said, "Can I tell you how I really feel about this airstream business?"....er, not what someone dreaming of an AS wants to hear but after 20 years of marriage I reply, "Not really but lay it on me." Here I was thinking OK, x-nay on the Airstream - Ay.

He then says, "I've got to tell you I don't really like the vintage campers. If we get one I prefer the sleek look of the new Airstreams" Guess it will be a new or a gently used camper for us in the future!

Still wondering about size......

Linda, does your hubby fit comfortably in the 25 ft AS?

[Roamin' Cat]

I am SO psyched to hear that your hubby is interested!!! Ride the wave!
So cool you got to check out lots of different sizes, floorplans, and ages of Airstreams.

We three fit nicely in this size, and I could see a fourth teen fitting as well, from a "hanging out" perspective as well as sleeping. We like the layout, having a dedicated bedroom for us, as well as the way the sofa and dinette are grouped together. We invited an elderly gentleman friend over for breakfast in the AS one morning after church, and he is easily 6'3" and broad shouldered (DH is also broad shouldered), and we all comfortably visited for a few hours. It was really nice He is a great cheerleader for us, so excited that we are getting out and exploring and enjoying our time together while still "young" and healthy, and thinks it is great for our son. He is right!

If you all plan to take longer trips together, the 27'FB would give you more storage room, which would probably come in handy. We do not tend to pack lightly so we could use it, even for shorter trips! We are getting better at this though.

The only 25' layout I am familiar with is the front bedroom (FB) that we have, and we love this layout. It has a queen size bed (though twins are available, and I understand they have more storage accessable from outside). The bed is very roomy for us, we are used to a king bed at home and this is fine. DH is just under 6'1" tall, and the bed is barely long enough for him. We may install a 6" piece of foam up under our pillows, to extend the bed by that much, though it really doesn't seem to bother him so we may not bother.

The bed is a little tough to make because though it is not mounted right up to the wall, one side is kind close and you cannot really walk on that side due to the lower curve of the AS. DH sleeps on that side cause he doesn't mind crawling over the end of the bed to get into it, whereas I am stumbly at night and need to have easy access to the bathroom, so this works fine for us. He does have to be careful not to bump his head (again) in the overhead storage, and one side of that storage is a little tough to access. We will be switching over to a duvet and cover and making the bed look tidy will be much easier on me

The 27'FB has the bed mounted at the very end of the trailer (as opposed to ours being sideways). I like the look of this better, but have not tried to walk around it. Should be easier though, and then both sides get a night stand. Not sure how you access the outside storage with the bed this way though.

Tomorrow I will put down the dinette and ask DH and son to lay down on dinette/bed and sofa, to see how your twins might fit. I'll let you know what my guys think about this arrangement! Their feet will share the same space, but the beds are nice and wide.

We are not very handy people, so going new was good for us. IF I had it to do over again I would look for one just a year or two old, though, because it would save a lot of money. DH really likes that it is ours from the beginning though. My problem is that I am not an "off the rack" kind of girl, but spending much money on customizing a brand new trailer is a tough sell. Also, should we decide to trade in a few years, we probably need to keep it original, or at least save the original stuff (?). I am having fun dreaming of my custom interior that I hope to someday have!

This works for us because we are out camping and using it! Eventually I would like to get an older unit and have it completely redone to our taste, but DH would never have gone straight to that, especially since it is likely to cost about the same as a new unit by the time we are done with it!

As far as the TV (tow vehicle) goes, I understand that a 1/2 ton is adequate for up to 25' newer models (much heavier than the vintage on same size), but 27' and up you really should look into the 3/4 ton vehicles. This may determine which direction you go in. We went with a 3/4 ton so we have room to go bigger later if we want to, without also having to upgrade our TV! So for us, since we were buying a TV as well, we made a long term commitment. Plus, being complete newbies to towing, we like the confidence and peace of mind that having the extra power give us.

Teresa, take your family to the nearest AS dealer with lots of units, soon!!! All of you hang out for at least a half an hour in the unit(s) you like, stretch out on the beds, stand in the shower (oh! the shower light should be moved! tall people could bang their head on it), sit on the toilet with the door closed, imagine your stuff in the cabinets, etc. This is the best way to really get a feel for the space

So excited for you! And remember, if I can tow and camp in this thing solo, YOU can too! Seriously, it was all completely new to me, and I am doing it! So very cool!

Lynda

[tksbaskets]

Today doing a bit more dreaming. DH and I have narrowed our 'dream' selection down to a Safari 25 FB with the twin beds. He is really concerned about outside storage as our pop-up has a TON and then what to do with the bikes...

I really like the interior with the green. Some I see have checked green cushions on the dinette.

We will be taking a trip this summer to the factory in Ohio (2 1/2 hours away) and stop at one of the big dealers along the way. In the mean time, I'm surfing the net and have called a couple of places to see what storage will be. DH is a stickler that no camper will be parked outside at our house and our pole barn only has a 9' door. I can see his point, it is a pretty good signal that you aren't home if your camper is gone.

Off to look at the other messages.

[eikel1we]

Hi Teresa,
I also welcome you to our group! I may have a solution for your bikes. We carry ours inside the AS. Our s-i-l had bike fork racks mounted to a 2x4 set up to carry 2 bikes in the back of a pick-up he no longer owned. He gave it to us and Ike cut it in half and re-positioned the fork racks. The bikes fit cross-wise in front of the sofa, each one with it's handlebars facing a side wall. The 2x4 frame keeps them stable and in place. This works very well with interior in our '75 Tradewind, the only drawbacks being the sofa, nor the table, can be used during overnight stops while traveling. The kids have "borrowed" the racks to transport their bikes in the back of their Yukon this wknd.
I found a great picture of a fork rack mount on e-bay - at the bottom is a large picture. Item # 300224561391 Of course, they're available at bike
shops.

Good luck in your search,
sue

[airedale]

Hello Everyone, Im back home! I see I missed a lot!

[wheel interested]

Originally Posted by tksbaskets

I really like the interior with the green. Some I see have checked green cushions on the dinette.

I think the checked green cushions are called Kiwi. ??? Too cool this is exciting. Glad your hubby's got the silver bug too.

Hi Laura where you at Daytona?

[airedale]

HA, I wish Daytona, more like Dayton, Ohio. Im back, but sick, had to call in sick for work. Got sun burned and pealing now!

[wheel interested]

My bad, sorry. What's in Dayton? CB radio weekend? Sorry you are sick and burned.

[airedale]

Yea, its Ham radio, but close enough!

[wheel interested]

Am I good or what?! Two for two, soooo remind me not to buy any lottery tickets this week. But we missed you just the same even if I didn't know where you were or what you were doing.

I feel a little like Balki Bartokomous in Perfect Strangers, "My ship has finally hit the fan." I think I speak his language.

[silverhawk]

I hate to bring bad news but,there was an attack at the eagle's nest earlier this afternoon. both young ones knocked out of nest by intruder. last report at 7:00ish both found on ground one with damaged bill both alive. More info at www.chil.vcoe.org I hate bringing this news.
Bob, Silverhawk

[silverhawk]

At last report both eaglets were found alive on the ground below the nest. One has a cracked beak the other may have a broken wing. They are being flown to the mainland for care.