Asking Forum's Advice. . .

[maxandgeorgia]

You know us as very interested AS wannabes who have a great SOB, but who stay alert to the possibility of moving on up to Airstream. We have found a 30 ' 1995 Limited travel trailer that we are going to look at later today. While I know the site for price vs condition of earlier units (80's and older), I do not have a link to information about a 90's. So, I am asking for the Forum's advice. The owner says they purchased this trailer from Paul Sperrey dealership in Iowa, they are second owners, they have kept it garaged, is in "excellent" condition (no problems), has the Equalizer hitch. If all that is correct, what would the Forum recommend to me as a fair price? Thanks for any help, recommendations, or cautions of what to look out for with this particular year/model unit. I am feeling pretty excited, but I know the wisdom of this Forum and appreciate your help today.

[85MH325]

Originally posted by maxandgeorgia
You know us as very interested AS wannabes who have a great SOB, but who stay alert to the possibility of moving on up to Airstream. We have found a 30 ' 1995 Limited travel trailer that we are going to look at later today. While I know the site for price vs condition of earlier units (80's and older), I do not have a link to information about a 90's. So, I am asking for the Forum's advice. The owner says they purchased this trailer from Paul Sperrey dealership in Iowa, they are second owners, they have kept it garaged, is in "excellent" condition (no problems), has the Equalizer hitch. If all that is correct, what would the Forum recommend to me as a fair price? Thanks for any help, recommendations, or cautions of what to look out for with this particular year/model unit. I am feeling pretty excited, but I know the wisdom of this Forum and appreciate your help today.

Hi! First, they probably purchased it at Paul Sherry's in Piqua Ohio. The Iowa dealership is Ace Fogdall in Cedar Falls.

Our behemoth is a '94 Limited tri-axle 34' with two doors. We bought it last Memorial Day weekend.. The interior shows some wear after being used in Florida for eight or nine winters. We're planning on reupholstering the cloth portions of the cushions, probably next winter and the carpet could stand to be replaced; although it will do us one more year as well. The clearcoat on the front has seen better days., and the body has a couple of very minor dings. You can see photos on my photo link.

Late '80s to mid-90s 34' Limiteds in this condition last year ran from $20-30k depending on condition. I paid about $24k through a broker. Had I bought it directly from the owners, I probably could have gotten it for about $22k. I doubt that 30' prices will vary too much.

NADA guides (www.nada.com) values a '95 30' Limited trailer (without options) at:
Low Retail: $17,800
Average Retail: $21,450

You can check out the trailer, see what optional equipment it has, enter the data on the NADA site, and see what you come up with for the value of that particular trailer. I'd expect that with options, the value will probably go up another $2-$4k.

I can tell you that the quality of my '94 is superb. I expect you'll find the '95 similar. They are NOT the widebody trailers (which is OK with me).

Happy Hunting!

Roger

[maxandgeorgia]

Thanks, Roger, for such a quick and helpful reply--just what I was hoping for. Thanks too for the insight into the quality of your 94. That is one of the concerns I had, having read about quality control issues improving in '04. That left me wondering about the 90's. While I love the idea of the older vintage units, I know that we do not have the expertise to undertake remodeling, so this production era appeals to us. Thanks for the reference to the NADA site. We were searching RVtrader.com and other sales searches, but you gave us the link we need. Well, off we go, armed with good information from this forum and see what we find. I wish I had a next door neighbor forum member to go look with us. Now is when I'd like an expert along! I'll post later about it.

[InsideOut]

I wish I had a next door neighbor forum member to go look with us. Now is when I'd like an expert along!

Don't know where you're located, but this may help: So you wanna buy a trailer three states away?

Shari

[j54mark]

I thought '95 was the year they went to the wide body. I don't have one, so I really don't know, but that was my recollection.

There are two issues which might affect the '95. Somewhere in the mid to late 90's was when Airstream installed that ill-fated vinyl ceiling. The foam deteriorates and the whole thing starts to sag. The other issue I THINK affects later models, but could be as early as '95, and that is the change in the clearcoat formula. It started flaking off much sooner than the old formula, and was not corrected until they went to the pre-finished aluminum in mid 99, I believe.

But in general, a '95 Limited should be a real find, and $20,000 give or take for condition does not sound bad at all.

Mark

[85MH325]

Originally posted by j54mark
I thought '95 was the year they went to the wide body. I don't have one, so I really don't know, but that was my recollection.

There are two issues which might affect the '95. Somewhere in the mid to late 90's was when Airstream installed that ill-fated vinyl ceiling. The foam deteriorates and the whole thing starts to sag. The other issue I THINK affects later models, but could be as early as '95, and that is the change in the clearcoat formula. It started flaking off much sooner than the old formula, and was not corrected until they went to the pre-finished aluminum in mid 99, I believe.

But in general, a '95 Limited should be a real find, and $20,000 give or take for condition does not sound bad at all.

Mark

Mark, NADA shows the '95 Limited 30' as a 7'11" width body. According to NADA, '96 was the debut for the wide bodies.

We have the dreaded vinyl ceiling, but we also have a 'something' every couple of feet in the ceiling that holds it up. Ours hasn't fallen (yet) because there just aren't any large expanses held solely by the foam.

The clearcoat is junk. Ours appears to have been re-sprayed once already, and the respray has worn off. I'm thinking about having the trailer cast in lucite!

Roger

[maxandgeorgia]

just as we thought it would be. Thanks to you who have replied and given us information to consider. The interior looks great. Carpet has been replaced with oak flooring; all appliances are clean and functioning. The refrig had new work done last year to correct a problem; two fantastic fans, microwave-convection oven, no leaks, wood is in like new condition, all windows, day-night shades are great, upholstery on sofa looks dated-but still good, curtains are good, electric hitch jack and electric stabilizer jacks-all working with a new motor put in hitch jack last year, two batteries-new last year, Zip Dee awnings all around, Queen bed (we wanted twins, hmmmm), skin is excellent all around (shows some faint streaking but no evident clear coat peeling), trim strips have some barely ragged edges (but that seems really picky!), owner says tanks are all okay, storage seems good, center split bath with pocket doors separating living and sleeping areas, rock guards on lower front and coverings on front windows outside. . .we have only one evident problem. Our Toyota Land Cruiser sure won't tow it. This unit has shown up sooner than we planned! Now we have a dilemma! Noting the posts above, how serious is the vinyl ceiling problem? I noticed the vinyl--seemed kind of dated looking to me, but I didn't think of it as a potential problem-didn't see anything "hanging." What are people doing if the ceiling "hangs?" Solutions? If the clear coat starts peeling, does it all have to be removed and reapplied? Sorry for so many questions, but we need to know what to consider. Thanks again, if anyone can add to our information!