things change

[Theo]

My life just got a boost... And, I am going to buy a new Airstream (what else would one do in that circumstance )

I am looking at a Classic, 30 ft, no slide out, but can't find any pictures of that one specificly - Airstream claim to have interiro pictures on their site, but it has a slide out, which is not an option I am looking at, so guys, Who has a 30 ft Classic - 2003 2004 model, that has pictures I can drool over?

I decided that the Safari was a little too small, with a few too many problems to make it viable, so I will trade it in - A dealer will know what to look for, so I will not be giving them any surprises.

Is there any particular reason why I should not think of the slide out models - I will be fulltiming in it, as soon as it arrives, so could use as much room as possible - I do not wish to go over 30 - 31 feet, because of site limitations - some of my favorite sites only have room for 32 feet trailers total, so any bigger would not fit.

I look forward to the replies...

Theo

[Rog0525]

There are some photos of an '04 30' Classic w/o slideout at COLONIAL AIRSTREAM.

Rog

[Theo]

Thank you very much for the link. I now find I have a quandry.. To buy a 30 ft, or a 28 with slide out, and the side end bed.. That is a nice touch, taking less room from the rest..

I have about two weeks to figure out which one, so I will browse that site often, and ponder happily.

Theo

[norbert]

theo, i see you have enuff to tow with..so i guess weight would not be an issue..so extra maint and possible leaks might be an issue...other then that i glad you are faced with such a quandry....
norby

[Theo]

I have no problem at all with the wieght factors - my 'other truck' is a Ford F 450.. it can tow 16,000 pounds. The possible leaks pose a problem, is this a real threat, or a probable one? How many folk with slide outs have leaking problems, or mechanical problems?

Theo

[overlander63]

Theo, I am not fond of unneccessary machinery. They are also a good chunk of change extra.
Just my $.02...
Terry

[j54mark]

If I wanted one for my own personal use, I would do without the slide out. If I contemplated sharing the space, I would think hard about it.

As far as problems with the slide out are concerned, this forum is the international headquarters for people with Airstream problems - and there is scarcely a mention of slide out problems. There was talk about some early models with some problems, but since then, I've not seen a single complaint.

They have been out long enough now that if there was a problem, people would be posting here about it.

Mark

[RoadKingMoe]

The Classic and Safari floorplans aren't at the same scale, so I sized them at 2 pixels/inch based on length and tried to attach it here. Unfortunately, I had to scale it down to 80% for the forum to accept it, so the lettering is messed up. If you want the full picture, PM me with your email addy.

As I've said here before, I saw too many leaking and broken SOB slides as an RV tech to have a slide for myself. They say the latest ones are better, but it's a mechanical device, a penetration in the body, and not if, but when, a problem will occur. The slide gains you no more wall space "stuff", and may even cost some. It gets you some floorspace, which you may need for kids or pets, but Airstream uses some of that to put an angle in the counter, giving a little more counterspace behind the sink. That's just my opinion. Some like additional floorspace.

With the 30'SO, you give up a fold-up table useful for larger work projects without cluttering up the dinette table, as well as lose the perfect location for a TV/DVD/satellite receiver. You also lose some counterspace and no longer have the dinette table directly across from the galley, where it can be used for additional counterspace. In trade-off you get a microwave/storage cabinet with the slide. If you like to cook, the non-slide 30 looks to me like a clear choice. With an 8.5' widebody, there's room for two people to pass between the dinette and galley. I'd choose the non-slide model even if the slide wasn't $7200 more and didn't increase tongue weight so much.

When it comes to full-timing, I'd rather have the heavier components and better windows of the Classics. I wouldn't want to give up the "writing table" because it makes a perfect notebook computer table. Can't tell if the 28SO has that for sure. I'd also want the larger wardrobe for fulltiming. The longitudinal bed has a few advantages. There's more room on each side. I like being able to look to the front of the trailer when in bed and get the airflow of the AC on my whole body without having a fan to redirect the air. It's also easier to tweak the tongue jack to get the head of the bed as high or higher than the foot. It's a bit harder to do that if you haven't got it quite right side to side. The sideways bed doesn't get you any more room anywhere else, just a shorter trailer (along with about a 1' loss between the couch and dinette (compared to the 30SO). I also like the batteries being inside under the couch, where they're a little warmer.

Those are some of my opinions. Make sure you opt for the black tank wash and 40 lb propane tanks, as well as a screen door guard. At least one skylight, especially in the bath/dressing area where there are no windows, is really nice, and you've seen the discussion on Fantastic Vents.

[Theo]

Thank you, that has given me sufficient ammo to veto the slide option... Your points are very well put, and understandable. Full timing will be an adventure enough, without finding out stuff miles from security..

Theo

[jcanavera]

Theo,
We decided to go with the slide out. This trailer will probably be a retirement unit so the extra space was a real plus for us. The cabinet next to the refrigerator provides extra space and moves the microwave over to the street side of the trailer which again gives more space in the curb side cabinets.

While there is some risk because of the mechanics, I have a lot of faith in Airstream making it better than the average SOB slide out. I spoke to my dealer's service area and the slides on the last couple of years of trailers are highly reliable.

The final reason I went to the slide was resale. I looked at the 450+ units at the RV show this week and the majority of units had slides. This not only includes motor homes and trailers but also included many pickup campers and pop-up's. Bottom line its becoming a slide out world and when the time comes to resell this vehicle, my gut feeling is the lack of a slide may be a liability.

Jack

[Silvertwinkie]

Hey, my bit is simple. You buy a car, you get power windows, locks, A/C, etc. You buy it because it makes sense and you like it. You can look at it two ways.....

1) You buy it because you like it and it works for you.

2) You don't buy it because it's just one more thing to go wrong.

My grandparents had a similar philosophy and as such bought cars without power windows, locks, etc. Until they got older, they didn't have A/C either.

You can choose to live in a shell or you can get out and smell the roses.

In life there are no promises that things won't go wrong, however in regard to the slide out, there must be at least 3 dozen places that make hundreds of models that slide out. They've been doing it a long time and I have to believe by now that they know what they are doing. They all can't be junk or wrong.

Having seen an Airstream slide being built, I have to say if that is the direction I was going, I'd take stock in the fact that Airstream has done it right.

If we used the philosophy that all engineering feats are worthless and problematic, we'd never have advanced as human beings.

I say, get power windows if you like. Get power doors. Buy an Airstream and if a slide is what you want, do a bit of research and ask folks that actually have them before making a final decision.

Like anything most times, things that are new that have problems get a bad rap in some cases longer than they should, but talk to folks that own what you're looking for......there are many in this forum that have 'em that can comment far better than I can!

If Airstream made a slide out on the 25' line, I might have considered it. In the SOB arena, I might give it a second and third thought.

One thing for sure that you might already know is that the slide out adds some serious weight to the coach and as such, depending on your tow vehicle might pose some concerns......

Eric

[RoadKingMoe]

There were two other 34s at Jackson Center when we took ours in for service... both for slide problems. One was there when we arrived and when we left. They were having problems getting it fixed right. Airstream is good about bringing the unit back out to the Terra Port every night, but that couple wasn't exactly happy.

We also intend to full-time and don't want to risk a problem while we're living in it. It isn't the same as having problems with a car, and not all dealers are as accomodating to full-timers as the factory.

The Good Lord willing, this trailer will be a vintage Airstream by the time we get rid of it or it's in one of our estates. Either way, I don't think it will make much difference to us in resale value. LOL!

[Theo]

Researching all of the problems reported in three sites who specialize in Airstreams has convinced me that were I a genuinely lucky person, I would go for the slide out option. As I am Murphy's best customer, I will avoid it. If it could go wrong, believe me, in my trailer it would. SO to be safe, no slide.. Unfortunately another problem reared it's head.. I just had to click on Moe's Long trailer link. I just had to. So I did.. and now I don't want to restrict myself to a mere 30 feet at all. I LOVE your trailer, Moe.. I will aim towards getting one of them.. Should you have any more pictures for me to drool over, I would very much appreciate them. The price difference is more than I would have expected, but I just have to have that enormous area infront of the couch. Perfect for rolling around on.

So, I am now sold on a Classic 34 Ft, No slide, with an extra skylight, and I have to yet decide on other things to add. I am leaning towards one of those Satellite dishes that allowes for internet connection - I like to read emails... (hint hint..)

Now, the question is where to buy it from - I will be ready to start the process in a couple of weeks, so unless the skydeck motorhome grabs hold of me regardless of cost, I will be buying the 34ft.. I am not particularly near any Airstream dealers, and hate dealerships of anykind with a vengeance - dealers see me, and immediatly get vicious. SO, who knows a good dealer, who will give me a good price, and not mess me about? If such recomendations are frowned upon, please accept my apologies, and PM me the info...

Who said getting old sucked?

Theo

[Silvertwinkie]

Sent you a PM about the dealer info....not that it's taboo, but just felt it was better said offline.

[RoadKingMoe]

ROTFLMAO! That's EXACTLY what happened to us! There were three trailers sitting side by side, a 30 and 31 Classic, and this 34 Limited. We walked through the 34 first and my wife fell in love with it. She walked through the other two, pointing out in each the things they didn't have the 34 did.

Neither of us liked the bath being split across the hallway and the loss of half the wardrobe (compared to the 31 and 34) of the 30 to get a dinette. I thought the 31 would work and we could eat off the fold-out table, but she informed me she WOULD have a dinette across from the galley for additional counterspace, even if it meant splitting the bath and giving up my half of the wardrobe.

The 34 also had the Limited package with the beautiful hickory wood and brass trim throughout, and goodies like 40 lb tanks, black tank flush, and electric stabilizers. It was a leftover 2001 70th Anniversary model, just as they were to be getting their first '03 models, so we got an awesome deal on it, and I didn't have any excuse not to buy it.

We'd seen so many Airstreamers who'd eventually traded up to the 34', sometimes through several models, that we decided to skip all that and get the trailer we'd keep for the rest of our lives.

We have very similar trucks, and the 7.3L PSD pulls it just fine, especially with the Hensley hitch.

Shop around. Also don't pass up lightly used '01-later (Alcoa coating) models.

[RoadKingMoe]

BTW, Porky just picked up their new 34 Classic. Now that the Photos section is back in operation, I expect more photos from him.

[qqq]

Do we know who won that huge lottery last week?

Hart