Why an Airstream?

[Lance M]

Marcin,
Hello and welcome to the forums. I see you live just a few miles from me. There are many reasons to chose an Airstream over the other brands. We actually rented a 25' Mallard from Ft Hood outdoor recreation to see if camping was for us. We had a great time on our first trip. We went to Big Bend NP. The whole way there on I-10 the only trailer that stood out to us was the Airstream. We took a second trip in a rented trailer (30' Cavalier) to the beach for spring break last year. The whole time wishing it was an Airstream. Then when I got back from Afghanistan, we started looking for a trailer for our family of five. We looked at all the cheap white boxes. No matter how big they were inside or how many TVs, or how cheap they were, I could not spend $25,000 on a trailer that, by the looks of it, would only last about 6-8 years.
In the end, we bought a 1972 29' Ambassador. I've done a bunch of work to her. She is an awesome trailer. We just love being Airstream owners. Airstreamers are special kinds of people that I've never seen the likes of before. Friendly is an understatement! You can't take a pictures like these with a white box trailer.



But in the end, the decision is yours to live with. I am very happy to have bought an Airstream to see America with.

[cms4140]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

When something was breaking every day in the first year or so, I was beginning to hate the trailer. We discussed whether to sell it, but we would lose too much money doing that.

This describes my current state to a "t". To use modern lingo....right now, "I am over it".

-Chris

[pmclemore]

Originally Posted by Blakradish

If your only going to camp 4 weeks in a year, go buy yourself a restored Shasta or a pop-up. But for the love of God please don't but a fiberglass box on wheels with all of those horrible brown and maroon swooshes, and stripey stickers on them.
Good Luck,
Blake
'63 Avion H-24

Ouch! That hurts. You didn't really mean "maroon" did you?

Pat

[Jezibels]

We are so proud to pull ours down the road.

PS We paid less than the cost of a new pop up too!

[Gene]

Originally Posted by cms4140

This describes my current state to a "t". To use modern lingo....right now, "I am over it".

-Chris

Chris, sorry to hear you are having so many problems. I hope the cool factor and other positives make it easier for you to accept the Airstream into the family.

Maybe it's a like quirky child or uncle or other relative—they drive you crazy, have expensive needs, but you end up loving them anyway.

Gene

[Gator113]

Originally Posted by Jezibels

We are so proud to pull ours down the road.

PS We paid less than the cost of a new pop up too!

I have yet to see an Airstream that I didn't immediately love, but I need to tell you that your trailer is just plain sexy.

[InsideOut]

We just got back from a 2500+ mile road trip with 7 different overnight location stops from Denver CO > Oshkosh WI > Sturgis SD and back home. I can't tell you how many "thumbs up" we got on the road along the way - enough that we joked we needed to write an app for our iPhones to keep track of them! All types of folks from casual passers-by to airplane enthusiasts to "hardcore Harley bikers" expressed their approval.

Each time we stopped for gas or parked in a reststop or while at several different campgrounds or parked in a field at the Oshkosh Airshow with a whole bunch of non-Airstreamers with everything from tents, tent trailers, travel trailers, motorhomes and million-dollar buses surrounding us - we were the ones that had a constant stream of lookie-loos and people checking out our Airstream (although the tow vehicle didn't blend in either) even though most dwarfed us (both in size & $$$). Some subtly craned their necks on the way to the restrooms, while others more obviously nudged & pointed to their friends and yet others more blatently poked their heads in and asked all sorts of questions about it or a few just invited themselves in to take pics. Not once did I see the same occuring at our neighbors rigs.

Old or new, Airstreams stand out in a crowd and draw attention (whether you want it or not!) if you want to blend in with everybody else...get a white box with lots of colorful, swoopy graphic decals. As for us, we prefer to reflect our surroundings with shiny aluminum and share our aluminitis with others.

If you aren't a people-person, don't get an Airstream...and for goodness sake, stay far away from going "vintage"! Gotta love it...

Shari

[mutcth]

Shari, everytime I see pictures of your trailer, it has me wanting another vintage AS...

I spend my days in a data-driven job. Objective reasons are a good thing. But I WANT to own my Argosy. (Or a new 23' Serenity. Or a restored Safari or Tradewind.) That's worth something. Maybe that's worth a lot.

Sure there are some objective reasons - it's light, it tows well, my aluminium floor won't rot - but I could have bought a Casita that did all of that for the same money. I own my trailer because I love it. (So does my wife.)

Tom

[SL4BLLT]

Marcin,
Good luck in your decision. Right now, you are looking at 4 weeks a year, sort of like we were 18 years ago when we had the chance to buy our 1971. It has sat for a few years, but was also used moving many times across America.

Now, it has become our weekend get away. The Airstream has seen deep snow and sub temperatures in Vermont and Colorado, high triple digit heat in the southwest and NC and exposed to salt water on both coasts. Lots of rain and nothing has failed. we've been lucky, but we've also kept in up and using it is critical, even in the back yard.

i tried going to the Keystone forums and couldn't find one, so another reason to, yes have your questioned answered by people who have asked the same question, and that is what has got us here.

Airstreams are classics regardless of age. It doesn't have to be new, as most older ones have a story. Here is a chance to start a new chapter for that coach, when you find it.

good luck in your decision. But more importantly, follow your dreams.

SL4BLLT

[SilverGate]

We have a friend who just retired and she and her husband are considering buying their first RV and are leaning towards the Escape Trailer and they have probably seen the Escape Forum thread, "Escape vs. Airstream".

We have shared information about our trailer and the AirForums with them. I also gave them the link to this 3-year old thread.

When we were considering buying an RV, we did our research and for me, it came down to an Airstream or nothing... and we still feel that way!

Perhaps others might like to add to or update this thread, "Why an Airstream?"

[Gene]

I guess the OP bought something else. He posted on his thread twice early on and that was his entire history on the Forum.

Marcin, are you out there? What did you do?

If you bought another brand, how did it go?

Gene

[SilverGate]

Originally Posted by Marcin

Hi to all,

My wife and I (we have a 2 year old daughter) have decided to purchase a travel trailer in order to discover more of the US and Canada. We plan on camping 4 weeks in a year, plus occasional long weekends... I was researching different trailers online, obviously the AS look great. They are, however, way more expensive than anything else... I am not sure why (except to be a part of the culture) should one spend the extra money to purchase an AS? Could you please provide me with some objective reasons. Thank you for your help. M

Maybe it's because some of us like living riveted!

Live Riveted

[Marcin]

Thank you all for your time in responding. I really appreciate it. I still have not made a decision. I must say that I am not thrilled by the reasons given: attention from others, being able to meet new people and join a community and being able to take pretty pictures of your trailer really do not seem to justify the kind of money these cost - in my mind. I am concerned by the poor quality described, maintenance required and quick depreciation. I have recently become intrigued by the escape and bigfoot trailers. Do any of you have an opinion on or experience with the latter trailers? Thank you again.

[Tincampers]

Try: www.fiberglassrv.com. Lots of info over there.

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by Gene

There's something to be said for buying a cheaper trailer to check out this kind of lifestyle, maybe something like a Casita or a hybrid—part hard sided and part popup.

Gene

That's what we did. Once we were hooked, we got a 20' AS. When it was time to go a bit bigger we thought maybe we didn't need to spend that much. So we looked at SOBs.

For us, nothing came close to the Airstream in design, layout and finish.

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by Marcin

Thank you all for your time in responding. I really appreciate it. I still have not made a decision. I must say that I am not thrilled by the reasons given: attention from others, being able to meet new people and join a community and being able to take pretty pictures of your trailer really do not seem to justify the kind of money these cost - in my mind. I am concerned by the poor quality described, maintenance required and quick depreciation. I have recently become intrigued by the escape and bigfoot trailers. Do any of you have an opinion on or experience with the latter trailers? Thank you again.

My experience with these fiberglass models was to sit inside and experience the space as well as looking out the windows; unfortunately for them I had been in an Airstream first. The we walked around the outside and looked at all that plastic. Crossed them off the list.

[gandttimes]

Originally Posted by Marcin

Thank you all for your time in responding. I really appreciate it. I still have not made a decision. I must say that I am not thrilled by the reasons given: attention from others, being able to meet new people and join a community and being able to take pretty pictures of your trailer really do not seem to justify the kind of money these cost - in my mind. I am concerned by the poor quality described, maintenance required and quick depreciation. I have recently become intrigued by the escape and bigfoot trailers. Do any of you have an opinion on or experience with the latter trailers? Thank you again.

Our first trailer was a 14 ft fibreglass trailer ( Trillium)that had no toilet or shower, did not leak but was a bit warm inside on sunny days. We sold that to help with the down payment on our first house . When we could afford to look at a trailer again we started looking at used stick built types but just did not like all the cheap cabinetry and walls that would shake when you closed a door so we looked at Bigfoot and were suitably impressed to go new 17.5 ft ( they don't measure the tongue) . We did not really know about Airstreams untill we saw one while camping on Vancouver Island and we were hooked by the bright interiors and solid finish. When it was time to move up, we looked at both Bigfoot and Airstream , totally ignoring the stick builts as being too cheap looking inside and so tall .
We had to go to the US to purchase our first A/S as the only dealer close to us in BC almost put us off buying anything.
We had 3 great years with our 19 then fell in love with the 20 with its larger Kitchen and great picture windows and aluminum interior which made things so bright for my wife who is visually impaired.
Move ahead 5 fun years of travel and we of course needed to go bigger ( 3 Dogs) so started going to all the RV shows, looking at everything with an open mind. Bigfoot had gone bankrupt( building again now) and the other fibreglass trailers were too small, and the SOB's were just too cheaply made.
Our good fortune was to have a new dealer open up 50 m away so we had another look at A/S and there is really no comparison. We are now the proud owners of a 2014 25FB international.
We have friends with SOB's and we both think they are huge and overdone, and they have all had their issues and continue to have them.
Sorry to be so long winded.
Bottom line is I don't care how many people look, but must admit to a pride of ownership that I know I wouldn't have with anything else.
Could we camp with something cheaper? Of course we could. I could also drive a cheap car but I choose to drive a Corvette because I can.


George

[Tincampers]

The only fiberglass trailer I would even consider is an Oliver.

[gandttimes]

Originally Posted by mrprez

The only fiberglass trailer I would even consider is an Oliver.

Looks basically like the Escape made up here in BC. Well worth considering if you want a smaller ( narrower) trailer.


George

[dannydimitt]

Originally Posted by gmeikle

Looks basically like the Escape made up here in BC. Well worth considering if you want a smaller ( narrower) trailer.


George

from what I can glean from the internet and seeing one or two on the road , it looks as if the tandem axle Escape would be well worth considering .
Wish Casita would get around to building a longer tandem axle trailer .