How Big Did The A/S MH come?

[Matthew]

Howdy,
I had a few A/S motor home questions that I am curious about. I love my Excella trailer but I am quite tempted by the classic Motorhomes. If anybody can help I would appriciate it.
What was the longest/largest A/S Motorhome built in the classic aluminum fuselage style?
What motor options did it come with?
Do they come with a tag axle?
If you travel with children, how do you accomodate child safty seats? -do any Motorhomes have forward facing couches with seatbelts?
Rumor has it from a dealer that A/S is contemplating a return to the classic body style for a new motor home ( I would imagine they would still keep the other versions)
Thanks!
-Matthew

[Matthew]

Ok, I started a surf and immidiatly found Fred H.
1985 Airstream 345 'Jellybean III' and his web site chock full of great info answering 99% of my MH questions.
I'll still float The child safety seat question.
-M

[InsideOut]

Fred's a member here...he'll probably chime-in in the morning...

Good luck in your search!

Shari

[Matthew]

Thanks Shari! I am blown away by his site, I went to the "Tail slap" thread and saw the pic of his MH and that alone answered much of my questions...WOW! it is so cool. I might have to go back to the "how much are you going to spend this year" poll and list how I will now totally blow all future income.
-Matthew

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally posted by Matthew
Thanks Shari! I am blown away by his site, .............

Oh my, there goes Fred 's ego right out the door.
Everytime this happens he goes 5 miles faster.
(ps Matthew: not anything you did, just trying to protect Fred)

[ALANSD]

welcome to our forum. As for the child seat question, I think you will find that all the motorhomes have a center facing couch, and either barrel chairs that swivel, or a dinette arrangement with a booth. The couch will have seatbelts in most but not all cases, the swivel chairs and dinette will not.


The best safety feature I use is going 55mph in the far right lane

[ViewRVs]

Chime.......Thanks for the kind words about my site.

Infants should face the rear.
Older kids face forwards.

Both of my barrel chairs swivel and have seat belts. My dinnette also has seat belts.

If it were me..........(1) I'd break down the dinette and belt the kid in the proper direction. The flat dinette (a.k.a. bed) becomes a place for toys, etc......or (2) put them in the barrel chair and swivel it towards the front. Mom or Dad could sit in the other chair and entertain the poor kid during travel (while the poor tot is awake!). (3) leave the dinette up and see if the seat fits in there.

Since the couch is sideways, I would not advise putting the car seat there. They are not designed for that type of use.

The new classic MH should be out in 2005. Rumors abound. Nothing official out of AS. The anticipation is killing me. I can't wait to buy one in 2015 after the original owners take the depreciation hit.

[Matthew]

Thanks all,
The child seat has been an interesting question for us ever since we looked (prior to owning the Airstream) at a very cool 1981 Wanderlodge. The dinette did not have seat belts and the couch went sideways. With 3 kids in car seats it became a major ( only one of several ) concideration on the MH or TT question .
The safety seats themselves are reversable so the vehicle seats need not be but all mine are now big enough to face forward.
to the swiveling chairs lock in a forward position?

-Matthew

[ViewRVs]

To answer the first question, 37' is the longest but avoid it. It is on a unique chassis and not the Chevy P-30 like all the others. It is the 1989 370 model. All the others are fair game to fall in love with. Some will warn you about engine service on the 1992-1996 Classics since the radiator or dash has to be dismantled for service.

My barrel chairs lock facing in but I don't know about facing the table.

[PeterH-350LE]

Would be easy enough to rotate the base of the barrel chairs to lock them either forward or backward. Except my chair has a sign at the overhead bin: Not to be occupied while vehicle is in motion.

[thenewkid64]

Peter,

Mine say the same thing, but they have no seat belts and do not lock. I think Fred's chairs have belts and lock into position. You have the same bucket chairs I do, his go all the way to the floor.

[PeterH-350LE]

Mine can be locked, but the reason for them not to be occupied is in the mounting. The bottom of the chair is wood.

[87MH]

The 86/87 model barrel chairs lock towards center, have integral seat belts, and the pedastel is mounted to the floor. The chairs are placarded for use in motion only when locked center and retracted. The chairs can be swiveled 90 degrees forward and rearward from center, but only after extending a few inches towards the center. There are 4 sets of belts at the dinette, and 4 installed at the couch.

[Matthew]

Thank you all. It would seem that the dinette with the four seat belts is the way to go for the kids. I have to see how well the seats will fit as the safety seats are of course made to fit automotive seats and not the rather 90 degree upright styles of most dinettes.

[ViewRVs]

My dinette only has two seat belts. One on each side. Maybe the later years have more but my 1985 has 2 pairs.

[Matthew]

I wonder if I can just install more seat belts in the dinette if needed. How are they attached? As I recall in the couch of the Wonderlodge there was a steel rod running below the couch that the belts were bolted to.

Fred,
Thanks for the heads up on the 1989 370 model 37 foot chassis and the 1992-1996 Classics.

[ALANSD]

all my belts are bolted to the floor

[thenewkid64]

Mine are as well, but under the floor the bolts pass thru a steel brace or cross member of some type.

[74Argosy24MH]

My front seat belt mount bolts were through the tube, but in the dinette they were just through the plywood. I would put plate on the bottom, the plywood is only 1/2" and getting old and dry. I don't know where your gas tank is, mine is beneath the dinette, plus the bottom skin will have to come down.

John

[87MH]

I hope there was some thought put into the mount points. The driver & co-pilot belts on my unit are mounted through the wood only - no tube penetration. Some of the couch belts and all of the rear facing dinette belts are mounted on the top of the generator housing. On the 88 models they moved the aux heat unit to under the forward facing dinette seat (it's under the couch on my 86/87), this would preclude mounting the forward facing belts where they are on mine.

Even though my unit is titled as an 87, the chassis is an 86. Lots of confusion due to the fact that Chevy made considerable changes to the engine between 86 and 87. Gone on the 87 models are a lot of the pollution jewelry, the carb (Chevy went to Fuel Injection), and I know for a fact that the fuel pumps are not interchangable.