Just ordered 2018 AI Grand Tour

[TCSpecialist]

Originally Posted by Cindyberm

Hello everyone, what a valuable resource having you experienced AI owners helping us newbies (and oldbies). I cannot find the answer to this question anywhere, so I suspect the answer is "None". The question: Is there any external storage on the Grand Tour? Thank you for your support!

I'm the Interstate Specialist for AANW Washington. It looks like your question has been answered, however I want to clear up one thing. The underfloor "cooler" (not insulated, but has drain plug) will only come on a coach if it is 4x4 or NON AIR RIDE SUSPENSION.

I have just sold my 2017 Interstate (in the photo) and now I have a 2018 Interstate for a demo. I'm a salaried in my position. Airstream Interstates are my life. If you have ANY questions, please ask and I'll be sure to help! I have the resources to get factual answers for you! [emoji4]

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by TCSpecialist

I'm the Interstate Specialist for AANW Washington. It looks like your question has been answered, however I want to clear up one thing. The underfloor "cooler" (not insulated, but has drain plug) will only come on a coach if it is 4x4 or NON AIR RIDE SUSPENSION.

I have just sold my 2017 Interstate (in the photo) and now I have a 2018 Interstate for a demo. I'm a salaried in my position. Airstream Interstates are my life. If you have ANY questions, please ask and I'll be sure to help! I have the resources to get factual answers for you! [emoji4] Attachment 290923

Nice group selfie! It illustrates the main reason I bought an Interstate- you can take the whole family/group with you.

Also love the Seahawks shirt!!

[TCSpecialist]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Nice group selfie! It illustrates the main reason I bought an Interstate- you can take the whole family/group with you.

Also love the Seahawks shirt!!

Thank you sir! The family and I were on our way to Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho. It was a very, very fun trip! Don't let your Interstate be a Garage Queen. USE IT! :-)

[lovetokite]

Originally Posted by Cindyberm

Thanks to all who answered my question, and especially for the extremely helpful suggestions. FlyFishinRvr, you are right, I will wait and see if I really need something before I go further. My particular item I want to bring is fence panels to give my dog some freedom (and me too). We started 20 years ago on our RV journey and like so many others found we loved the concept but had trouble finding the right combination of trade-offs to make it most satisfying. After many RV's and many dollars spent to learn, we are sure of two things: dragging or driving a big behemoth around is awful, and most of it is poorly made crap! We hope we are solving both those issues well with this Airstream purchase.

As for the fence panels for dogs, they proved to be a wonderful solution for the dogs to be able to go in and out whenever they want (when we leave the door open). Back then we had two big 100-pounders; now we have just one small mini Aussie. The panels are about 30" wide by 40" tall -- that's not exact. They came in groups of 8 with one panel having a gate in it. (I bought 2 sets.) They are powder coated, very well made, and after using them for 10 years or so for all sorts of things around the yard and in RV's, they are in excellent shape. They connect to each other with a rod going through hinges on each side, but I have discovered a quicker, easier, better way to connect them if anyone is interested. Anyway, they each are about .75" thick, so if I were to velcro the entire bundle together they would be about a foot thick. They could easily store in the back, standing up behind the sofa, and that is where I was thinking of putting them. Since they would be the first thing unpacked and the last thing loaded, it all makes sense. But there are other things you'd rather not carry inside if you can avoid it: mats, rug, hoses, etc. I was thinking just carrying them in a garbage bag (inside) until I come up with something more elegant. I have REALLY enjoyed your posts, especially your 8-day boondock journey. I am in No. Cal too, but not for long. Just sold our house and moving back home, the Pacific Northwest. In fact, we are to pick up our AI in Seattle in September. Have been living here for almost 2 years and are ready to go back to cooler climes, lush forests, lots of water, smaller crowds. You know!!! Thanks again for your replies!

Happy Trails to All!

how about an "Invisible Fence"? Just requires a little training.....

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by lovetokite

how about an "Invisible Fence"? Just requires a little training.....

Invisible fences keep your animals in. They do nothing to keep other animals out, so confrontations between your animals and the local wildlife (including other campers' animals) are still a potential issue. A real fence that all animals can see, is a much better solution for ensuring domestic animal tranquility.

[amirm]

A side story. We stayed at a private RV park on Longbeach, WA a week or so ago. This was among bunch of homes and tons more RV parks. We pull out the park and immediately see a black bear run across the road in front of us! And here we were walking our dogs there without a single worry (on leash of course). Not sure a dog fence would do much to keep a bear out . But the point is well taken about wildlife incursion.

[InterBlog]

The good news is that black bears are usually not confrontational, unless they've become accustomed to trash can foraging and whatnot. Numerous times, we've been close enough to black bears to smell them, and in fact we've gone creeping around the woods specifically looking for them when we know they're close, but we've yet to catch a glimpse. They'd rather avoid the whole human situation.

I don't know what I'm going to do when we eventually get to grizzly country. Have a heart attack on the spot, perhaps. That's an entirely different bear scenario.

[c21]

Originally Posted by SWH

I totally agree. We purchased a Stowaway 2 when we purchased our Interstate and have yet to use it because so far we're been able to fit everything in without it, even on a trip with 8 people and all luggage (admittedly not a camp trip). The Interstate will swallow a lot of gear.

We have a Stowaway and use it on the big trips such as twice across the US. We store all outdoor gear such as power cord, surge protector, hoses, water filter, engine spares, chemicals, lawn chairs, grill etc in the Stowaway. That frees up more indoor storage and precludes having to access the power cord and hoses thru the rear doors which pretty much remain closed. At other times we use the receiver for a motor scooter carrier or ball mount to hitch up our enclosed trailer with my Harley in it.
The Stowaway has proved invaluable to us for the longer trips.