Re. red #s on front of AS ?

[jwaldin]

Hello, I am just about to buy a 1972 International Double. I have never had any experience with AS. The owner says it is a one owner but I see that the large red number, three didgits (the WH club #) is painted over what looks like an old four didgit # that has been removed. I can still make out the old #. Does this mean that this AS is not a one owner? Is there a logical explaination or should I look into this farther? How can I contact the WH club and will they give me any information if I supply them the numbers? I have admired AS trailers from afar for years.
Thanks in advance for any help
John

[68 Overlander]

Hi John and welcome.
While the presence of two different numbers is cause for suspicion, it is possible that the owners let their membership expire and subsequently re-joined and had to get new numbers.
If you join WBCCI you will get a current directory but that will not provide you with all previous members, only current members.
I would not worry about how many people owned it, but rather how they took care of it. Check it out good and use this site for answers on what to look for.
Randy

[daltondbh]

Hi John,

Randy had a good response but you also ask to see the title if you are in a title state. Then you could see when that title was issued if nothing else.

[BobbyW]

I would rather have an Airstream that was enthusiastically and well maintained by 5 previous owners than one that was dogged out by 1 owner.

Also, if the seller is not the original Airstream owner then it cannot be a 1 owner as the seller would have to be the original owner.

-BobbyWright

[overlander64]

Greetings John!

If you are really concerned about the "one-owner" status of the coach that you are considering, you might try contacting the DMV and request a title search (assuming that the trailer is located in a strict title state) - - there is usually a modest fee associated with such searches.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the incongruous numbers. The recent issue numbers have a habbit of doing strange things as they age - - one of the ones on my Overlander simply fell off after about three years of use. It is possible that one of the number may have fallen off, or it is also possible that during rountine replacement the numbers may have been shifted left or right by the person applying them. The scenario of an interrupted membership in WBCCI is also quite plausible. Another possibility that might be that the coach is a "One-Family-Owner" translating into more than one individual from the same family having owned the trailer since it was new.

Unlike used cars, it doesn't seem that one-owner Vintage Airstreams are necessarily preferrable to one-owner used cars for instance. While my most recently acquired Argosy Minuet was a one-owner as verified by original regristration and purchase documents included with the traqiler, it wasn't one of my primary reasons for buying the trailer - - the trailer was well maintained and was being offered at a very reasonable price.

My '64 Airstream Overlander came to me with three previous owners - - the first of whom were friends of my family who took me on my first camping trip in the trailer when I was 5 years old. I didn't know the history of the trailer when I bought it - - the trailer just happened to be in very good condition at what seemed to be a reasonable price. Unless being able to own a preious "one-owner" coach is extremely important to you, I wouldn't get overly concerned about the actual number of previous owners.

Good luck with your decision!

Kevin

[azflycaster]

There are several reasons why a club member might have changed from a 4 digit number to a three digit number.