Would you lend out your Airstream?

[CanoeStream]

I would haul the 'offending party' off to the nearest SOB dealer, open my wallet and rent them anything on the lot. It would cost me less in the long run -- money and mental anguish!

Yeah, right!! Count this as a NO!

[Mike Lewis]

Have always had te policy that "I don't borrow.I don't lend". I'ts just simpler that way. I just seen to many friendships lost that way. I feel it's better to have someone mad at me for not lending than for me to be mad at them for damaging something they borrowed. ---- Pieman

[remcolent]

I lend My overlander out some times.
But I tow it to the campground .
I had it out for rent for wedding nights also a couple of times.
Also use it as a guest room .
I do have my own mattress and a guest mattress.

[JStanley]

and from Thomas Tusser:

“ Who goeth a borrowing
Goeth a sorrowing.
Few lend (but fools)
Their working tools.”

Our literature has many lessons on lending and borrowing.
This thread could go on and on with situations and lessoned learned.

Change that famous Latin phrase from “Let the buyer beware.” to: Let the lender beware.

[bake315]

Becky, when you mentioned a while back that you were going to be lending your Airstream to someone, I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Now I know why, since it came back with damage. No matter that it was merely a bathroom door latch - damage, especially due to carelessness or neglect is still damage. No reason to agonize now over how to respond when your sister's friends "borrow-by-proxy". The answer should be NO. She asks why, you tell her it's because you loaned it to her, not them, they damaged it, so she's responsible. Therefore you are not in any way obligated to loan it to "her" again. If she can't understand that, then shame on her.

As for me, I don't care if the Pope or the President asks, they aren't borrowing my Airstream. Period.

I'm thinking now about those little plaques you can get with a Snap-On tool chest. Maybe we should get some made that something similar, like "We do our traveling in an Airstream. Please do not ask to borrow it." You gearheads out there will know the one I'm talking about.

[JStanley]

And from Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

“Nether a borrower, nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dull the edge of husbandry, ….”

[mandolindave]

My stepson can back a trailer 100 feet thru a maze, in the dark, without making a correction. He also likes to see how high in the air cars can go.
I just know he's gonna ask......... OH MAN! I'm using it that weekend!

[azflycaster]

NO!

[AirstreamGypsy]

Thank the stars above no one in my family has any interest in using my AS. They've "moved up" ??? to motels and wouldn't consider my Bambi their thing. So I am saved. There might be two people on the face of this earth that I would even let "stay" in her overnight and one of them is my daughter. The other is a dear friend with total understanding of the situation, due to AS ownership.

It makes me nervous just to think of anyone else taking her out.

[Uberlanders]

We have talked many times of driving and parking our trailer for someone. For example...an elderly couple who has been in the club for years but now don't feel comfortable towing but they really want to go to the Autumn Leaf Rally. Or if one of our trusted Airstream friends was in need of a trailer for a family reunion, etc. I think we would consider that because they know how to tow a trailer and know how hard we have worked on it.

[Alumaholic]

In her Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Judith Martin, Atheneum Press, New york, 1982; Miss Manner addresses the topic of responding to a request from a "friend" to borrow a cherished, personal belonging:
Just reply sweetly, "No, it's impossible, simply impossible." Then, resist the urge make anything up to fill the silence that follows.

[pinkflamingoes]

I had to stop inviting friends to our hot tub because they use it as a bathtub, jumping in without showering in spite of my insistence and getting their hair wet. The residue from skin, swimsuits, hair/conditioner and hairspray instantly wrecks the water chemistry, not to mention the cleanliness of it and the ability for users to enjoy a soak in something other than bacteria soup...we're talking about 102 degree water here, folks... They are not the ones who have to drain, scrub, refill and treat 800 gallons every time. I still get eye-rolls when they ask and I say no. Only those who are willing to shower and let me run their suit through the rinse cycle in the washer can get in.

Having said that, I don't think there's any way to say "no" on this one without hurting anyone's feelings. I understand your conundrum. If you do lend it, you're ill until it comes back. If you don't lend it, you're ill with guilt and feeling selfish. I say go for the "don't lend it" and live with the second ill and love your baby and be glad she's safe in the driveway. Accept that they may not understand and they may get miffed. The more you try to justify your answer the worse you'll feel. Stick to your guns. Every single response on this thread was "NO" for a good reason; you're not possessive or anal, you are SMART, to say no.

Airstreams wouldn't be such an obsession of they were everyday things, that take no maintenance, easily and inexpensively fixed, with no sentiment or value attached. You have a really nice, rare piece of Americana that takes a ton of maintenance and TLC, that represents more than just a portable place to sleep. If something were to happen to it, it would be a huge emotional and financial loss. I know not everyone understands that, but that's their unwillingness to listen to your feelings about the trailer.

Just trying to offer some support. Saying no is hard sometimes, for me too.

[rebel beck]

We live in a college town and when there are football games we rent our house out each weekend for $800 a weekend, take the Airstream out to the campground for $16 a night (nice profit) Back to the subject would I let someone borrow The Peppy no way, but I have thought about buying other Airstreams and starting a small shady dell just for football weekends and rent them out.

[maxandgeorgia]

We must be among the few who HAVE let our children borrow our Airstream. Both one of our sons and one of our daughters have camped in Gypsy. Son hauled her to Colorado, just beyond Denver, and daughter to state park here in Missouri. Was I worried until the AS was back home again? Oh, yes, indeed! However, those children are the first to be here to help when we need assistance with a repair. They already have an "investment" in her in their time and expertise and they've heard me sing her praises enough to know her value. I know an accident can happen, but if it does, they'll be first at the head of the line to help rectify the situation. So, to their request, I'll always say Yes. To anyone else, NO WAY! ~G

[oldwingrider]

i rented mine for the 4th of july weekend for 10 days got it back 14 days later screen door tore up an some other damage never got my rent money that will never happen agine

[SafeHarbor]

Hi, Becky,

I'm glad you got it back in one piece. This was a bad one because they'd loaned you their motorhome before. However much hillbilly it was, this did set up the case where you owed them.

Them - not third parties.

Now, really, how much can go wrong with a bathroom door?

I don't know anybody in my family who would DARE ask to borrow Betsy, but then most of them won't go with me anyway because they know I always break down and end up working on something.

Lamar

[C Johnson]

NO ! But you can go with me when I use it !

[Becky B.]

Well, it sounds like a resounding "NO!" according to this forum. I hope the subject doesn't come up until next year. By then I should be completely finished polishing, etc. I think I'll have the guts to say I have too much time invested in Bessie to lend her out to anyone but my family (sons, daughters). Thanks for all the responses. I guess I've learned my lesson & won't be borrowing anything from anyone!

[DJ Bassett]

Well Becky,

Isn't this forum great? This wonderful diversity of responses lets you (and the rest of us) thoughtfully examine the different ways we might respond to the same situation.

The intentionally drawn-out Palladin NOoooo! Followed by the old gunslinger's 2-minute menacing stare is often enough to ward off the inappropriate request.
DJ

[Frank S]

Hi--I've owned my A/S (which doesn't have a name for 18-years), and experienced many misadventures, and I am very familiar with it's idiosyncracies. Things that happened when I had it out: pulled out of camp site with outriggers down (only a couple of feet); overflowed black tank during rinse; stone broke front curved side window (went to Jackson Center for replacement install); started out with step down; started out with door open; started out with antenna up; hail in CO broke out roof vent plastic window; towed in heavy wind, rain, and snow; and other misadventures I don't remember now. Operating and setting up all the systems is tricky. I don't want to place that responsibility on anyone but me.--Frank S