Hi. Congrats on the upgrade to a Bambi!
Most of the 2004 have been fine. There have been a few exceptions, but you can read about the 2004 quality here:
http://www.airforums.com/forum...2485#post92485
I would say that a unit built on or after 9/2004 should be mostly problem free or at least that was my take from the thread. We upgraded to a 25' Safari C that was built on 12/2004 (we traded the 2003 Bambi) and it so far has had little that would make me raise an real concern.
I would not and did not go solar as it doesn't really provide the power needed. It will give you a boost, but I believe that the current package offered by Airstream was discontinued. Based on cost when it was avail, I'd suggest getting a Honda inverter generator based on your power needs. Folks that have them, love them and they provide many times over the power needed....and they are VERY quite, but no one is giving them away!
The Bambi unit does have 2 stabilizer jacks located aft. I thought that with the LS upgrade which would include the fantasitc fan and black tank flush (although some builds did get some parts of the LS upgrade, but not the full LS upgrade) had 4 stabilizer jacks. I will tell you first hand that having had an '03 Bambi, 4 jacks are far better than just the two in the rear. I would strongly suggest looking into getting the other two installed in the front if it does not already have them, even if it was at an additional cost. Also make sure whomever installs them, knows where they go and what the heck they are doing. I was going to have the front set installed, but then we decided to trade up to the 25' unit. I had some basic RV stabilizer jacks I used, but it was kind of a pain to have to schlep them around. Having them perm attached is by far the best setup that I have found.
I was indifferent to the black tank flush until we got one when we upgraded to the 2004 Safari C as part of the LS package. I love it. Makes life very easy when flushing out the tank. It can be added later, but it is a PITA to do so. I think it required dropping the underbelly skin, dropping the tank, and cutting into the outer sheetmetal to add the exterior access. I'd be VERY careful with this one if it does not have it from the factory--particularly when having to cut in to the outer skins. One thing to note, is that some dump stations do NOT have a threaded hose to connect. I am in the process of fabricating some rubber neck that would work in those situations. To put it in perspective, of the 8-10 trips we took, we found that 50% or more of the campgrounds did NOT have threaded conenctors on the hoses.
We boondock too, but we also stay at some places with 30 amp hookups. To that end, if you too stay at places that have electricity, I would suggest upgrading the air conditioner to a 13.5k unit. I found in direct sunlight, the 11k standard unit did struggle a bit to keep up. I feel that for folks going larger than 22' the 15k units should be considered (I did).
The power jack is very nice and an easy install and a nice option...after you've cranked it a few times in one day, you'll know what I'm talking about!
The price that you mention, based on knowing there was a price increase seems fair. The iron is hot right now so dealing is a bit harder than it has been, but the 2005 models should start coming out in a few weeks, so the dealer might be trying to blow out the remaining 2004s. There is however another price increase slated for the 2005 model year from what I understand, so if you go the 2005 route, expect to pay closer to $30k depending on options and the dealers willingness to come down to the average 20% off list.
Hope this helps. PM me if you have an more questions, I'd be happy to share additional comments.
Eric
Looking at 2004 19' Bambi Safari
.I'd ditto the rest that you said regarding the 19'.
Linear Mode
