EB to view in New England?

[ARF]

First post to Air Forums.

After several months of research, my wife and I have narrowed down our AS selection to a 25'. We are considering the Eddie Bauer for various reasons, but we are concerned the folding benches are less comfortable than the fixed benches. Anyone have some experience to share on this?

Also, none of the "local" dealers have an EB on the lot. We live just outside of Boston, MA.

Any EB owners in New England who would be willing to let us check out their AS? We would greatly appreciate a chance to see one of these first hand.

[djarrett]

we haven't found the benches to be uncomfortable at all. However, we don't stay inside of our trailer a lot. We are usually outside. Make no mistake, other airstreams have plush couches or recliners, but for our "outdoors' lifestyle and true "camping" in an airstream, it is way comfortable.

You probably won't find any at dealers as I believe short of "special order", you won't find one. There was a 2014 25' for sale in Knoxville on the classifieds area. Not sure if it is still available.

D

[BassCan]

Nashrover is right the benches are fine.
We also head outdoors when camping.
We love our EB. Great trailer and it has a lot of flexibility.

[JayleNBob]

I agree with Nashrover, I think the benches are fine for as much time as we spend indoors. The Eddie Bauers are designed for the outdoor enthusiast, meaning, they are designed for people who like to bring their gear along. If this is not your " cup of tea", there are similar floor plans in all lines, i.e., Flying Cloud, International, etc, that may have a more cushy feel to them, but then you sacrifice the rear hatch and carrying capability of the Eddie Bauer. On a recent search on RV Trader.com, there are only 3 new or used EB's listed. For your convenience, I have included a link to that website here: http://www.rvtrader.com/search-resul...modelkeyword=1&

[ARF]

Thank you all for your input.

We also are looking to use our AS as a camping trailer. Our "gear" is a tandem bicycle which will not fit in out TV and I do not want to carry in front of or behind the TT. We expect the rear hatch will be very useful for getting our tandem in/out and providing fresh air while camping.

I also agree with all of your suggestions that if truly outdoors and camping (which we will be doing), then internal "cushiness" is less of a requirement. I just need to convince my wife of this!

Thanks for the links for EBs for sale. I have been keeping my eye on them. Also, one AS dealer is checking in with Airstream to see if they will sell the hatch as a separate component so it can be installed on a different model.

[Foiled Again]

Be aware they aren't making Eddie Bauer's any more. They're now only making the Pendleton - which is huge dollars. You're going to have to buy used or find a leftover 2015 somewhere.

When I was at Alumalina last year there were two others and mine, which is a 2012. The newer ones have sturdier table legs, but one 2014 came with black ultraleather - which in my opinion (YMMD) changed the whole look of the trailer -and not for the better. A tan ultraleather would have been better IMHO.

If I had my druthers I'd choose the 27 FB over t he 25 - just for ease of making the bed. That sideways queen is a pita.

If the hatch is your priority, there were also about 75 to 100 "Panamerica" models made. Tri-Axle 34' with a configuration that was basically a 25 ft RV and a rear toy hauler - great to use as a shop/tool center and to store motorcycles or bikes or kayaks.

Paula

[JayleNBob]

To get what you want you may have to consider driving some distance or having the dealer meet you somewhere near the half way point to make the deal. Before we made our purchase, we went as far as Face Timing with the salesman as he walked in and around the EB we were considering. At the end of the day, we drove more than a thousand miles each way to get out Eddie Bauer, and so happy we did!

What we found was a gently used 2015 27FB at a great price that will eventually become our retirement home in a few years. Until then, we will enjoy using it for vacation trips and extended weekends, sort of "practicing" for the fulltime adventure that is ahead of us.

Good luck in your search!

[TSOMMY]

We have a 2012 27ft EB. Our thoughts were when you go somewhere you should not sit in your trailer all day (bench seat or fancy seat ) get out and explore that's why you bought an AS. One more important thing to consider is the 25 ft EB has a bed for sleeping that only has two sides the other two sides are against the wall ! ) (too hard for the person against the wall to exit the bed and too difficult to make the bed.) The 27 ft EB or 27 ft Flying Cloud has a walk around queen bed with only the head of the bed against the wall. Much better and the rig is only 2 1/2 to 3 ft longer with more closet and cupboard space. Not a problem in towing at all. I am just saying ! think about it. If you are going to make a BIG investment. The EB with the hatchback is really cool, everybody wants to look at it and there are none left in production after this year.

[GammaDog]

We've used the benches in our EB 25 for about 100 nights. They work well enough for us and we are more "indoor cats" than the outdoors folks who've responded above. We picked the EB because it is accessible for our son in a wheelchair, not because we're planning to free climb El Capitan.

When traveling as a couple (which is 95% of our travel) we typically travel without the dinette table and have a custom 20" round table top that fits on the rear table post. We heap pillows in the corners of the trailer and each take a side to stretch out and read. It's like two daybeds that way and we like it. I couldn't imagine that we would be happy with sitting upright at the original table... but that's us.

For our 2016 travel season we are removing the dinette and benches completely and have purchased two recliners to put in that space.

We will be in Massachusetts (Brimfield) this July. If you are still looking you're welcome to catch up with us there. For that trip we will have a daughter and granddaughter along, so we will have the dinette in place just as she left Jackson Center. Send me a private message if you'd like to connect.

[jayseejay]

We moved from a 2011 25' FC FB Twin to a 2015 27' EB Twin last year. I agree that the couches are comparable in comfort, but would note that in the EB the vertical edges of the hatch, near where the screen rides up and down, make it more difficult to prop yourself up comfortably if laying on the dinette couches to watch TV. (It takes more pillows to cover the ridge created by the hatch, compared to the Flying Cloud dinette, which has a smooth rounded rear wall.) Neither are all that comfortable for this purpose, however, which is why we went the twin bed route in both the FC and EB - we generally use the twins as our "couches" if watching TV at night.
Joe

[ARF]

We made the trip to Can Am for the towing seminars tomorrow and spent today with Andy Thomson and his team checking out 25' EB and 27' Pendleton. Andy also let me drive a Chrylser 300 towing a 31' Classic!

Now we are leaning towards a 27' FB Twin, hopefully an EB or other models with a rear hatch, but not the Pendleton. Just do not like the decor.

[jayseejay]

Hi ARF. Note that the Eddie Bauer's were not offered standard in twin configuration, unless you paid an up charge to special order them. As a result, there may not be many EB twins out there. Joe

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by jayseejay

Hi ARF. Note that the Eddie Bauer's were not offered standard in twin configuration, unless you paid an up charge to special order them. As a result, there may not be many EB twins out there. Joe

The twin configuration was offered in 2015, and possibly in 2014.5, but they are a rarity. And they may have only been an available choice in the 27 footer.

Paula

[jayseejay]

Hi Paula. When we ordered our 2015 EB in March 2015, we had to pay an up-charge of $2500 for twins, confirmed by both Airstream, Colonial and the dealer we ultimately bought from, because it was not a standard EB configuration. We were told this was true for both 25 and 27 foot models, and we ultimately purchased the 27, paying the up charge. Joe

[ARF]

Thanks everyone. I think we found our trailer. I will let you know once it is a done deal. Just don't want to jinx it.

I hope to update my member info with a pic and our TT and TV in the coming months.

Best, Allen