Official Intro Thread

[GolfStream]

The Touareg TDI is an amazing vehicle and I wholly recommend it. The T-Reg pulls my 28 foot international beautifully. That said, I did have the receiver reinforced at Can-Am RV in London, Ontario and I spend the cash on the Propride hitch to make for a very stable ride. I love the set up.

[GREENovaters]

The last time I saw something like that it was an Excella 34' at JC.... I found it hard to believe that someone trusted such a big trailer behind that!

Originally Posted by GolfStream

Finally!

Here's a pic of me on our way to Toronto this morning. And one of me and Petra on our last visit home to Miami.

The imperial retired from tow duties a while back.

Looking forward to meeting everyone on the road!

Cheers,

Javi

[briboy]

Originally Posted by GolfStream

The Touareg TDI is an amazing vehicle and I wholly recommend it. The T-Reg pulls my 28 foot international beautifully. That said, I did have the receiver reinforced at Can-Am RV in London, Ontario and I spend the cash on the Propride hitch to make for a very stable ride. I love the set up.

Nice setup! We use the ProPride hitch too. I doubt we could tow without it! Plus, our first trip out, Sean was very receptive and helpful in taking our calls while on the road. Money well spent!

[Rdiddly]

Hello everyone. My husband Dietmar (Viennese) and myself (Richard), civil-unioned in NJ and together for 13 years, just bought a 27' FB Serenity (80th anniversary model). I should be asleep right now because I have to get up in a couple of hours to take over from Dietmar the care of our 6 month old twins Tara and Philip. The reason I can't sleep is that I'm very concerned that when we get our trailer home at the end of the month I won't be able to back it down my driveway. Silly to think of this after buying, but I always have been sort of impulsive. I would post pictures except that I'm writing this in bed on my iPad. I'll have to get around to doing that later. I'll be posting elsewhere on the board the reason for my nervousness, but, in a nutshell, we live in a hilly enclave in central Jersey where the roads are rather narrow and the corners rather tight. I think I'm going to have to build a model to scale to convince myself that I can get the trailer in to the driveway. The driveway itself is about 10' wide with a wider opening at the street. Across from the egress is a hill (going up) and the street is about 25' wide. The driveway is a hill going up both sides, so it's sort of like a gulley. The hills on both sides recede back away. The driveway is at a 90 degree angle to the road. It's a long driveway, going back to a much wider area outside of a 2-car garage and ending at a very steep incline (going downhill). Once the trailer is backed down the driveway there will be plenty of room around it for our car to get in and out We don't own a tow vehicle yet. Whatever we get, it has to fit the twins and our 3 year old Eleanor. In my recurring waking nightmares I wind up getting the trailer stuch halfway in the driveway and I'm blocking traffic (of which there's vey little) and need some sort of crane to get me out of my predicament.

[TBRich]

Welcome aboard! Well, frankly there's no good way to know how this will go until you try it...BUT with some practice, you will probably be OK...

I'd suggest that you get very familiar with backing your trailer up and positioning it like you want it BEFORE you attempt it... Lots of practice will help a great deal... somewhere where there is lots of room to maneuver and no hills to complicate your life just yet... Also work out a system of hand signals so your partner can assist you as you back it into your drive... The grade of the driveway my be your worst enemy because of the length of your rig...so take it easy and watch your plumbing... If the grade is an issue, you may have to figure out how to work around that with a ramp for something to level out the sharp changes in grade...

It's always a challenge at first, but before long you'll be an old hand at it. We totally entertained the neighborhood when we first brought our Bambi home...just getting it into the (quite wide) driveway! But now we can back it into the tightest of spaces imaginable...it may take a bit of back and forth, but we get it there! You will too...have faith and take it easy...don't rush it!

[DKB_SATX]

@Rdiddly: Let's see... to welcome you both in your native tongues... Wilkommen and "how ya doin'?"

You could always do what I do... we live on an urban lot with a narrow drive and about a 9' pass by the house to the detached garage in the back, so I store our Argosy at a secure covered storage facility away from the house. It's only about 5 miles away and it's next door to a police station so I'm not too worried about the trailer wandering off on its own.

I also bought the trailer before the tow vehicle... but for me it was because trucks are everywhere in Texas, and really nice older Airstreams and Argosies are a bit harder to find... I bought the trailer when the opportunity presented itself.

[Rdiddly]

@TBRich & @DKB_SATX: Thanks for the warm welcome and the encouraging words. To hear that someone thinks it's possible is encouraging. Storing the trailer somewhere other than at home has occurred to me, though it doesn't seem as romantic somehow. Then there's the schlepping of all the stuff to the trailer in order to head out, but that's certainly doable. I'm going to make sure that I have a place all lined up, just in case. We've got family coming in tonight from Vienna for a week, so looking at tow vehicles will have to wait until next weekend. I think the short list has Ford Expedition, Chevy Suburban, and Nissan Armada on it. Fun, fun, fun.

[GolfStream]

I live on flat land in Dallas and I keep my 28 footer in an indoor storage facility that is heated on freeze days so I don't have to winterize my unit. Off site storage can be really handy and is worth looking into.

As for backing down your driveway, it's doable with LOTS of practice on flat ground first... Then try backing down a hill in an open area so you can see what the dymamics of mirrors, viewing, and inclines are all about before you move in to a tight space.

I got to the point where I could parallel park my rig without assistance... That took a looooooooong time, but totally worth it. I also practice for a couple of hours before each trip just to get refreshed. (I mostly travel solo, so it's more important to be self-sufficient.)

Good luck and welcome!

Javier

[Globie64]

Yeah, it takes practice but its not all that hard to back into a defined space- I do the parking and hitching solo, you learn what to align with what in the rear view mirror... honestly, its kind of a game: how few times backing and filling will it take this time.

[Rdiddly]

That's all really very encouraging. I'm not having waking nightmares anymore now. I think based on your comments I'll be able to do it. I do like a good game. And here's a picture of myself, my husband, and our first daughter. She's 3 now.

[TBRich]

Nice family, Papa & Daddy!

[Globie64]

Funny, I believe we drove through Olathe a couple of years ago, driving from Boston to SF, via a friend's ranch in Wilmore, KS. Alas, not with an Airstream but in a Honda Element. I'm dying for another long road trip.

[J&C]

This is us, I am on the left (John) and Charles at right. May 12 we are winding-up a three month vacation on Kauai. This trip celebrates our 33rd anniversary and retirement. I was glad to see so many folks on this forum and look forward to attending some campouts. Tomorrow I will call to make reservations for the August 5th event in Arkansas.

[CallDon]

Greetings from Tech-Sus. My name is Don and I have actually been an Airstream owner for almost 14 years. My love for Airstreams began WAY back when I traveled alot, mostly in "music evangelism." Left that show back in 1982 and moved to Dallas, but the bug never left. I'v been online since back in the '80s before the internet was the internet as we know it today. Still in my mind...I loved traveling and the idea of RVing. Then saw the opportunity to travel in my work again. I got online and began searching for the history of Airstream, since there was not much information available. After awhile, I compiled the answers I was receiving to my questions and conversations. Posted it online back in the '90s and it became the first Airstream history on the internet. But, I was also busy with other projects. The internet grew in popularity and other folks with more time on their hands dug in deeper. Suddenly, everyone had an Airstream history. I am glad for all the information available.

At one point in the mid-1990s, I was on the verge of a new career involving travel. So I bought a 1986 Argosy 32'. Several unexpected cultural and professional events happened and new "career" as such never materalized. Since I had been planning to "full-time" anyway, I temporarily parked the Argosy and moved in. Well, many years later, I am still "fulltiming" but haven't left town yet!

Life brings many changes in 14 or 15 years. Two years ago, I bought a Nuwa Hitchhiker to "upgrade" my temporary RV lifestyle. So now I have both RVs. I am thinking about selling the Argosy and downsizing to a Casita FD for future traveling. I started a blog The Don Pod about this venture. I am single (one income) and still "working." We will see what happens in the next few years.

I have enjoyed reading this sub-forum and especially about the relationships of multiple decades. My word for you is "honor." If you honor each other about all else, that will help your relationships to last as it helped my sweet parents to last sixty-two years.

Well, that's all for now. Back to my reading.

Don

[Frank&Mike]

We have been on the forums for a couple of years now. We're from Austin, TX, celebrating 16.5 years together, have two Jack Russel Terriers (Buttons and Shali), tow with a 2008 Ford F250 4x4, have a 2007 International CCD and enjoy camping with our friends in the Texas Highland Lakes Unit and the Four Corners Unit (both of which we are members of).

[TBRich]

Hey, Frank & Mike! Glad to see you checked in! let's go campin'!

[Rdiddly]

Well, I know this is an introductory thread, and so it may not be appropriate to continue on this theme, but since several of you responded with encouragement to my intro post, I thought I'd let you all know that we picked up our new Airstream on Friday morning at 11:00 and went on from the dealership to the Jersey Shore Haven, a campground exclusively for Airstream owners. What an experience! We learned a lot about our trailer and the friendliness of other Airstream owners. Everyone at the site was super-helpful, and there were several times when I was in search of help. I think retracting the awning was probably the most harrowing of the things I tried to do, after parking that hulk in the slot for the site, that is. Couldn't have done the parking without the help of the volunteer shareholder who was hosting this weekend. What great practice that was for when we got home. Slow and steady won the race. With the help of our neighbors we got the trailer down the driveway while my husband looked after the little ones. Quite the spectacle that was. We live on a very quiet street where there's almost never any traffic, but it was 4:30pm on Mother's day, so there were lots of cars sitting and watching and waiting, quite patiently actually. I think it took about 8 false starts before I got the angle right. Then, much to my chagrin, once I'd gotten the angle right, the slope of the driveway got in its licks, causing me to have to raise the chains (I had already removed the stabilizer bars). The bottom of the hitch scraped but no damage was done to it or the driveway. I was elated and exhausted when the trailer was parked. What a sense of accomplishment! The worst thing that happened on the weekend was when I knocked my iPhone off the kitchen counter into a bowl of water in the sink. DOA. On the way home we got a lesson in what not to put in the cabinets when traveling, like olive oil for example. Makes for a rather slippery floor. All in all, a successful maiden voyage, which is in itself an introduction of sorts. Thanks for the encouragement.

[TBRich]

Hey you guyz... You made it on your maiden voyage and back home in one pieces...that's great! (It will become easier ... promise!) And you experienced first-hand the Airstream community. They are a special lot ... there seems to be a bond. Just ask and they will help. (Actually we've found the RV community in general is much the same ... but there is something extra-special among the AS crowd.) Congratulations and may you have many more memorable trips with the brood.

[blmitch5]

Congrats on your maiden voyage! We had a few bumps as well but our first trip was to a local lake site (only AS there) and lots of people drinking beer in the site across from us watching and laughing. They were nice but I wanted to go through my check list and they wanted a tour. You never forget your first trip but like TBRich said, it does get easier. Keep us posted on your travels!

[Fenghuang]

Hi guys,

Your little ones are adorable! I miss working with kids now that I am retired.

BTW, we had the same experience with cabinets and drawers opening while in transit. In our case the spill was with canola oil. On another trip the 3 credenza drawers slid completely out and dinged the cabinet door of the lobster sink.

We now travel with all cabinet doors and draws secured with bungee cords. The pantry cabinet door and slide out pantry are secured with a long bungee cord hooked onto the exhaust hood vent rim and wrapped around the cabinet handles, and then hooked back on itself.

The credenza drawers are secured with the bungee attached to the magazine rack rod with the end hooked onto the bottom drawer. On the floor, a storage box (for the dog food and supplies) blocks the bottom drawer from opening.

Congratulations on a successful maiden voyage. I can well understand your anxiety about towing and parking. Bill, my husband from Hightstown, NJ, does all of the towing and trailer maintenance while I attend to the domestic responsibilities.

Have fun and happy feasting,
Larry, Bill, and their corgi owners, Mac & Tasha

Originally Posted by Rdiddly

On the way home we got a lesson in what not to put in the cabinets when traveling, like olive oil for example. Makes for a rather slippery floor.