How many days using the AS...... really?

[phil1ben]

My wife and I are headed to the Hershey RV Show in September to look at Airstreams. We love the AS. I have done a lot of research (including reading Rick Luhr's excellent book "The Newbies Guide to Airstreaming") and it would appear that the 23' Int'l Signature would suit our needs and style. Normally it will just be the two of us. Assuming that money is not the issue, the question we are grappling with is how many days we would actually use it. I know this is a question that only we can answer. I am retiring in December (I am 56, wife is 53). We plan on traveling 3 weeks per year without the AS. So we figure between kids (one a sophomore and one completing a Masters both at Penn State) and other things we will use it about 3 weeks per year. Between storage and headaches etc... is it it worth it?

So the question I am asking (excluding full-timers) how many days per year are you actually on the road with your Airstream? If you would like please identify if you are retired or still working and other relevant circumstance. I am trying to determine what more experienced people feel is the "over-under" in number of days on the road.Thank you everyone.

[FCStreamer]

Also consider that if you "store" it in an RV park, you can "use" it every weekend without going out. My wife and I both work and won't retire for another 10 years. But the plan is to "use" it 45-47 weekends a year, including two full weeks (vacation). If I had to store it somewhere and only use it when I pulled it, I would not have bought it.

[kscherzi]

Being an Airstream forum made of Airstream enthusiasts, the likely answer will be "it's worth it". To answer your question, my wife and I work full time but somehow manage to average about 30 nights annually in the trailer. We are wrapping up our 4th season with it.

We bought it with the expectation of retirement and using it for more extensive travels. Also, if you like to tinker, the Airstream provides hours of entertainment.

[DanB]

We still work. Kid not at home anymore.

We use ours at least one weekend per month year round, plus 2 weeks a year.

Never do the math.

[Protagonist]

For the three years of Airstreaming that I was still working for a living, I managed at least 45 nights and up to about 60 nights per year camping in my Airstream. The longerst trip was eight nights, the shortest was three nights.

Now that I'm retired, last year I managed 112 nights, and I'm well on track to exceed that this year. The longest trip was 22 nights, the shortest was 4, and all but that one 4-night trip were at least 7 nights. After that 4-night trip, I decided that every time I leave home, I will be gone at least a week.

My target is to spend over 180 nights per year Airstreaming in the future— half of my time camping, and the other half planning where to go camping— other commitments permitting. I might have managed it this year, except that my cardiologist, ophthalmologist, and an oral surgeon all had other plans for me. I'm hoping that medical science can keep putting me back together as fast as I fall apart!

[dkottum]

I think the worth is in the traveling to destinations, spending a few days, weeks or months there and having the comforts of home while away.

We travel a lot, retired and doing this twelve years, snowbirds seeking winter refuge for at least six months a year. Find a winter destination or more, and try to pick a different route to get there each year. Many times have gone to the East Coast on the way to the Southwest, wonderful things to see and do along the way. This year we will be on the beach at Calif, the deserts of AZ, and the mountains of New Mexico. And plenty of places along the way.

If it was just about camping rather than travel, it would be much less expensive and much easier to simply rent a cabin a few times a year in some remote mountain or lake retreat. Airstreams are for travel and comfort along the way, they do a great job both.

[moosetags]

First off, welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

As to your questions, SuEllyn and I are both retired since our early fifties. We got into Airstreaming over ten years ago. We had no RVing experience when we started. We have had three Airstreams, a 2005 Safari 25FB, a 2012 Flying Cloud 23FB, and a 2015 Flying Cloud 25FB. We bought the two 25's new and the 23 at a year old.

We have enjoyed them all immensely. We are now approaching 1,800 nights out in our Airstreams. We have towed them all over the country. We have been spending almost half our time on the road Airstreaming.

We have seen more of this great country than most folks ever get to see.

Brian

[AWCHIEF]

Easing into full timing. This year over 110 days so far.

[remphoto]

We are working and a few years out from retirement. We bought our Bambi last spring and are doing about 25 nights/year (which includes a 9 night roundtrip to Florida). That does not cost justify the trailer compared to better mileage/hotel room alternative but it is nice to sleep in our own bed and have the promise of more travels to come.

[Utah Man]

We are close to your age, still working, 2 sons graduated from college and a younger daughter still in school. The winter takes 4 months out of the equation, but work tends to be the biggest impediment. Our usage has been 1 full week trip plus 4 to 5 long weekenders (20+ nights) over the past 3 years.

We bought a quality used model, so I do not fret about usage. To us, it's quality time given the beautiful places we visit, nice folks we meet, and slower pace of life. I would observe there are some minor hassles with 'care and feeding' of the beast, but nothing remarkable vs. owning a home, cars, etc.

Good luck!

Regards - Ron

[dkottum]

Speaking of Moosetags and us, we both tried a little smaller Airstream size for our extended travels and found we needed the 25'. Big difference in interior space and feel, little wider, little longer, larger tires and brakes, larger storage tanks, 25 is the smallest of the large Airstreams and has most of the amenities except a separate dinette.

[Piggy Bank]

Our situation is very similar to Utah Man's.

We live in the midwest and both still working, so Halloween to Easter it is winterized and in storage. Empty nesters with 2 adult children in their 20s. One lives in our city, the other in Denver.

This is the second summer and first "full year" of ownership for our Airstream.

We have used it 1 to 2 weekends per month for the spring and summer months, and took a 10 day trip to Yellowstone over the 4th of July. On that trip our 2 adult children came along and tent camped with us.

We find for us this is a good balance in time away "chillaxing" vs. time in town doing things with friends and family.

We have found 3 different places to camp we like that are close to home and that can be reached before dark if we leave work about 3 on a Friday. Which puts us back home to get the dog, packed, hitched up and leaving with the Airstream hooked up by 5/5:30 on a Friday. Tried a few others spots to camp that we didn't like for one reason or another (sites not level, too crowded, lack of scenery).

We currently have reservations in place for 10 more nights before Halloween when we will need to winterize. We will be trying 2 new places to camp in that time.

We have found it best to get reservations in place; we can cancel them if something comes up.

All in all we are enjoying it very much. We have friends who have lake houses and they have a lot more "chores" to do than we do with our Airstream.

But that is just the "doing". To me, the learning, planning, and focusing on the experience has been very rewarding and it's nice to have some downtime that is planned. And long term, we are both working out at the gym with more focused goals so that we will be able to safely camp and hike once we do retire in 15 years. Having that long term goal is certainly going to have a lot of health benefits.

So for us it's worth it.

[Silverflames]

My wife and I work, with two kids. My official answer is "not enough." We try to get in 2 week long trips a year, and then long weekends every couple of months.

Also, if you store the AS at your house with hook ups, it can second as a guest house.

[phil1ben]

Very much appreciate all the answers. We also have a second home at the beach (where our family has spent the summers). When the kids start work they will probably come most weekends in the summers to be with their friends and "perhaps" find some time with us. So our trailering season will likely be September - November and then mid-March through mid-June. Although limited, those are beautiful times of year to visit national parks and other sites. May also trailer to the Penn State games but would be boondocking as there are no hook-ups. I guess we could also use it in the winter if we drove down south but we will start with fall and spring.

[patnal]

My husband and I are still working, just turned 60. We travel in our 16' 2012 Bambi 4 weeks a year on planned vacations. Plus at least 4 weekends scattered about when we just need to get out there and camp. Worth every penny and still holds its value.

[JamuJoe]

Alas, no survey can inform you of your future lifestyle. Marinas, for example, are full of boats that hardly ever get used and make no economic sense, yet the owners had dreams. I make that observation based upon our 5 months per year living on and cruising our sailboat (Leopard 42 catamaran). When not sailing or spending time at our home in CO, we have enjoyed 347 nights and 43700 miles of travel camping since we bought our FC23FB new in 2011. All with my wife and many with 2 grandkids at a time aboard (six from 2 to 13 and all have travelled extensively with us). Our 'travel gene' is not normal, however, and I only provide one example of an active retirement. We practiced long before retirement at age 56 (has it really been 8 years?) and knew what we wanted to do. By comparison, own dear brother rarely ventures 50 miles from his house and his camper has been used once - in his driveway. He loves his bass fishing right near home. We are both happy.

Best Wishes & Safe Travels,
JamuJoe

[Al and Missy]

We have owned two Airstreams since retiring in 2013. Our first, a 2001 Safari 25, was purchased in January 2014 and its successor, a 2002 Classic 30 Slide-out in February 2016. The original owner had the 25 converted from a sofa to recliners when he took delivery. They were very comfortable for sitting or watching TV, but we tired of eating on TV trays and not having any guest seating so we upgraded to the 30 Classic with the slide-out and love it. I would caution that you should spend a significant amount of time in a trailer talking and thinking about how you will use it before committing to a purchase. Many people trade up, few trade down in size and some of those reverse that decision.

We have traveled nearly 13,500 miles and spent 93 nights in one or the other. We did our first caravan this year as the first non-delivery trip in the 30. We have spent about the same number of nights in each of them, but have more miles on the 25 due to the caravan in the 30 being over a relatively short distance.

Good luck with your decision.

Al

[Rich W]

I retired 3 years ago but I still work part time, contracting for the same company I used to work for. My job allows me to work from home, wherever that is. I use a hot spot to connect to their offices. I pretty much set my own hours and availability.

The wife always wanted an Airstream, I just wanted to travel. We both like being in Florida in the winter. I imagined that we would camp and travel more than what we do. Our AS is more of a basecamp and we do day trips from it. She doesn't like to sit by the fire while I do. I enjoy the outdoors and she will run or hike short distances with me. We got a kayak for this past stay in Florida, which was fun. I can say that 23' is not much room for 2 people for 3 months. We were very happy to get home this spring.

What started out as thoughts of camping have turned into being snow birds for 3 months then maybe some week long trips here and there. We would like to do more but the one remaining chick is having some emotional problems and has returned home. I'd travel but the wife doesn't feel comfortable leaving him alone. We had several trips planned this year but have taken only one since Florida, a week near D.C.

So life has changed for us since my retirement. (Life is what happens to you while you're making plans.) Another more recent consideration for us is if we just use it mostly for Florida in the winter, it might be better to rent something down there for the 3 months instead of keeping the AS in a storage lot for the rest of the time. That way we'd have more room and wouldn't have to keep changing sites. (If you want to stay in Florida's state parks you need to make reservations a year in advance, max stay is 2 weeks.) No decisions yet, waiting to see how things turn out with the last chick in the nest.

[Len n Jeanne]

We are retired. We bought our first AS shortly before retiring.

Initially during the summer and shoulder seasons, we determined that we did not want an expensive lawn ornament that never went anywhere. We live in an area with all kinds of boats, RVs, and horses that are seldom used. We settled on two short trips per month or one long one. A short trip is defined as 3 nights out, which gives us only two full days at the camping site. Were we working, this probably would have to be a two-night weekend outing. A long trip has been anything from 5 nights to 6 weeks.

Initially we kept the winterized Bambi up here in BC for the winter, either at our place or at a RV storage site in town. But after falling in love with Death Valley, for the last two winters we've gone to southern Utah in October for a red rock camping trip, left the winterized Bambi at a RV park in St. George that has RV storage, driven down in February, stayed at the RV park for a couple of nights to dewinterize and shop, then gone off to Furnace Creek or Shoshone, CA for a longer stay. We're not total snowbirds, but we have spent up to 6-7 weeks in February-March in sunnier climes.

BTW, don't be made to feel you need a bigger (and more expensive) AS. We looked at the 23-footer before deciding that for our more rustic camping preferences, we could get into more sites with the shorter 19-foot unit. The 23-foot AS should be ample for two people. It can sleep a couple of guests when you need to. Then if your TV is a truck with a topper on the back, as ours is, you have a lot of auxiliary storage capacity.

Happy trails to you!

[LBOskiBear]

We work full-time and also travel extensively around the world, using up most of our vacation time. The Airstream, so far, has tended to be used on the weekends.

That said, we use it at least 1-2 weekends per year. Since we are in southern California, we don't winterize it and actually use it more in the cooler months. It's more comfortable without the heat and less fighting for camping spots.

We're also fortunate to have what feels like wilderness within a 50-100 mile radius of where we live.

The goal is to eventually shift more of our vacation time to the Airstream versus flying off around the world.

However, the Airstream is really like having a vacation home but it gets to be in a different location each time versus always going to the same locale.