New 2003 Safari LS

[dpope]

Just got our new 2003 Safari LS... We love it!!! Here are some pictures of our first camp-out.



This is our first RV. So be prepared for many questions....

dpope

[Kistler]

Nice...welcome to the Question Club....I have been advised well here.....

Didn't see any interior pics....is yours the model that is "European" and has exposed wood and aluminium???

Kistler

[dpope]

I'll try to post some interior pictures soon. The gally wall is exposed aluminium. The rest of the trailer interior walls are covered with something that looks like corderoy but more plush... Anyway, here is another picture of the trailer parked at home.

[jcanavera]

DPope,
Looks nice, we will be glad to answer your questions. I do have one for you though. Looking at your picture above, I noticed that the stone guards seem to have a different shine to them. Is the plastic that they cover them with still in place when you took this picture? If you look close at the picture of me on the left you will notice the same color on my guards. I took this picture just after the Safari was delivered to the dealer. The stone guards at that point were covered in a light blue plastic.

Jack

[Pahaska]

Jack

I figure the same thing regarding the plastic on the stone guards. I pulled the plastic off as soon as I reached home with mine.


dpope

Sounds like you have the same liner as my International with the shiny gallety and corduroy-like material covering the rest of the liner.

I have had some problems with the headliner sagging in spots. Some 3M spray adhesive solved the problem.

[dpope]

I was told by the dealer to leave the stone gaurd plastic covering on until the temparature was warmer. They said it is very difficult to remove when cold. It has been way too cold yet to even try...

Pahaska,

Thanks for the 3M tip. I'll keep that in mind if it starts to sag.

[Melvin P. Thorpe]

About ready to order a new 25' Safari LS w/ twin beds. wife wants dinette instead of sofa up front. Any pro's and con's on this? Retail is $40 (ouch!!)but dealer says he will deal at $33 does this sound about right?

[j54mark]

Until you mentioned it, I had not seen that option on the Safari. Is that new?

Obviously some people must like it or it would not be an option. We have a 25' Sovereign with the front couch, and without it we would have little use for our trailer. We use it to relax, and there is no way we could relax, watch tv, or read at a dinette. But your needs and wants may vary entirely. I know some do not like to deal with folding tables, and can understand that. Again, for us, the folding table is a plus, not a minus. We find it quite convenient to use, or not use as we see fit.

Is there one you can go and just sit in for an hour or so? That would probably give you your answer.

Mark

[jcanavera]

It probably would be a rough choice to make. We have a 27' unit with the sofa. My wife does miss the dinette but we also like the sofa too. My gut feeling is if we had to do it over again, we would stick with the sofa. The fold down table is pretty handy and we normally leave it up in its minimal position once we arrive at our destination. At dinner we open it up to its full length.

We went round and round since the 25' Safari had both dinette and sofa. We ended up with the 27' because of the double wardrobe closets.


Jack

[Silvertwinkie]

Isn't there a Safari 25' that has a side dinette and the front sofa? You could have the best of both worlds.

Regards,

Eric

[Melvin P. Thorpe]

The problem with the sofa and dinette that is in the 25C- 6 sleeper is that you end up with a bed in the corner and a small bathroom. Only the two of us but it is nice to be able to play cards or have dinner with other folks at a dinette. As far as I can tell, the only way to get a larger bathroom and bedroom is to get the sofa or dinette option up front.

[Silvertwinkie]

Very true, the bed is also a bit smaller in width on the 6 sleeper.

Still, if I recall the specs I had in the literature, the side dinette is a fair size larger than the front dinette. I have the Bambi front dinette and I believe it is very similar in size to the Safari's front dinette. It looks the same on the website floorplans. You could easily seat four and sleep two 6 foot adults on the side dinette in the Safari 6 sleeper, but not the front one. The front one sleeps only kids really and can seat 4 adults, but not as comfortably as the side dinette can. The bathroom is a bit larger in the non "C" Safari, but how much time do you plan on spending in the head? Me, I get in and then get out! One other thing I noticed about the 6 sleeper is that the black tank is smaller than the rest. If the website it correct, that seems a bit dumb. I mean you have 6 people that could be in the unit as opposed to 4 and the tank is bigger for the 4 than the 6? MMMM... Then again, my specs and window sticker on the Bambi say the black is only 8 gallons and that isn't true.

I like the non 6 sleeper rear bedroom config. I think that is a really neat setup. But for me, I'm willing to not have a seperate bedroom or two twin beds for the ability to sleep 4 or 5 very comfortably. Listen to me though, I too only have the girlfriend and the dog, so sleep four I won't do unless I bring the guys on a camping trip for some reckless abandon guy time!

Regards,

Eric

[Melvin P. Thorpe]

Checked the spec's and the Safari is 6" wider interior. Should give more room at front dinette than Bambi and perhaps more room than side dinette.

[dmac]

The 25' Safari 6 sleeper's dinette is tight for 2 adults, and made into a bed it is best for 1 not-too-tall adult or 2 kids. It is nice to have both the sofa and the dinette though!

The six sleeper is great for 2 people - you can have the bed, dinette, and sofa - just like home.

The corner bed is fine except when you try to put the sheets and stuff on - it's tough to get the sheets under the mattress in the rear and curb side! I'm thinking about giving up on that and just using sleeping bags.

[Silvertwinkie]

You are right about that corner bed being a PITA (pain in the ass) getting sheets on it.

Where did you get the actual spec size, is it in the brochure?

The width of the dinette is not the issue, it's the length of it. It is pretty short. In the case of the Bambi, it's kind of expected cause it's only about 19'. If the dinette is longer in front due to the Safari being 25', great, but if it is not, I can tell you that it is tight for 4 adults. Can be done, but not totally in comfort. The way they show it on the website is that the side dinette is both wider and a bit longer. If the actual number specs say otherwise, I would still talk with someone that has one, because what Airstream has in it's specs is not always what is in the trailer.

Dmac it sounds like you have the 6 sleeper with the side dinette. Do you have measurements. For anyone that has the Safari with the front dinette, can you also verify measurement.

I could swear when I looked at these that the front dinette was smaller than the side one and that is also the way I saw it on paper (without measurements). I could be wrong, but if it's important to you, better to have the answer now than regret later.

Regards,

Eric

[dpope]

2003 25' 6 sleeper wishes or could be better (IMO):

I wish the bathroom was a little larger. The shower is fine but the area where you do your business is too small for me. (6'2" 260lbs)

Making the bed is difficult since you only have access to one side of the bed.

We have two small children. One sleeps in the dinette and the other sleeps on the sofa. They have no complaints. It's a pain though to make up and take down. Oh well...

We wanted a bunk bed above the sofa but Airstream would not do it...

Other than that we are very happy with the quality and ruggedness of the unit.

Whenever the kids get older we may trade in for a classic..

dpope

[Silvertwinkie]

I wanted the same thing! They had the bunk in the '02 and nixed it for '03 on the Bambi.

I think the bunks are the best, even if you don't use them as bunks, they make great storage. With the current config, I don't get the whole space for storage since they block off both sides for something. Not sure what, but it's gotta be important.

Eric

[dmac]

I do not have ready access to my trailer to measure the dinette, and Airstream does not list the dimensions on their web site. The dimensions might be in the Airstream product brochure. In any case - the resulting bed is both short and narrow.

[Silvertwinkie]

Dug up my 2003 brochure this A.M.

Still check before ordering since info is not 100% in their brochures and web site as you will see below.......

2003 Safari 25'

Front dinette:
31.625" x 42"

Side dinette:
36" x 76"

____________________________________
2003 Bambi 19'
26" x 42" -per brochure

Just went out and measured from back of cushion to back of cushion and from left side of cushion to right side of cushion.

41" x 68"

I measured it 3x the same way because it was so far off what the brochure said. I figured they put the 16' Bambi spec there. They also have a picture in the brouchure that has the 16' Bambi in the main line up too, not the advertised 19'. I also verified the length when I set mine up as a "sleeper." I'm 5'7 and I can almost, but not quite fully streach across to sleep cause it's about 5'6 in length.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Eric