Questions for Interstate owners - need advice!

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by bugsbunny

For us, we just camp and go more and are perfectly comfortable. We call it the rolling dog house, because Wags the wonder dog, can be touching mommy and daddy both at the same time as we roll down the road. We put a cooler between our seats with a dog bed velcro'ed to the top. It is even with the seats and the dog is in heaven!

Besides camping much more frequently (had a classic motorhome before), we also use it for day trips in the non-snowy months in NH. I may have to park a little differently, but not too much differently than a truck big enough to tow a larger trailer. The MH gives me the option to tow a car or a small trailer- depending on the trip, or nothing at all. It is very comfortable to drive for many, many hours (and take a nap if I need to). It is great to go to museums, concerts, picnics, and dark sky nights.

Often, we will go for a day trip, thinking we might stay overnight. It literally takes 15 minutes to load the dog, a couple of days of clothes, some snacks and us and we are off.

When I had all the stuff laid out from cleaning out my 345 MH, I thought "What have i done", I will never be comfortable without my "stuff". But then I remembered spending weeks at a time out of town on business, and living out of a suitcase with a kitchenette in my hotel room - it was fine! It is so much less stress packing for all the short trips as well as the longer trips. I am very glad we made the switch.

Encouraging! You have described very well the sort of advantages I felt we might see as a compromise in giving up all the space we have in our present trailer!

[c21]

Originally Posted by m.hony

Honest assessment:
I have a crew cab pickup and a Classic 30.
Our camping friend has a 2004 Airstream Interstate.
My pickup and trailer handle the road better- less top heavy- can go faster.
The Interstate feels like it will just fall over if you go over 60 mph.
Maybe the newer Sprinter vans with dual rear wheels handle better?
You may want to consider keeping your pickup and trailer.
Also, the Interstate is so small inside it is claustrophobic.
Just saying...
Food for thought.

Different strokes for different folks! BTW, how's your fuel mileage towing that 30 footer?

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by FlyFishinRVr

+1

Back it into your driveway and I doubt your neighbors would do anything other than admire all that shiny silver and chrome....

FWIW to the OP, I know you asked about the Interstate, but you also mentioned RoadTrek so I'll just throw this out there. You can special order the Roadtrek without the rooftop A/C or awning. By removing those from the van, it just looks like a VAN, not a RV.

I really only referenced the Interstate in my inital post becasue this is an Airstream forum!

In reality, for us, I think there re other makes that have units that are more aligned to what we might prefer. I was mainly just interested in learning more about how people use their Class B's and to what extent people who had made a swicth from a larger RV are happy or regret it!

Also, the Roadtrek factory is within an hour of our home - could be a serious consideration itself in what to buy if we move in this direction!

[Lily&Me]

Wingeezer, your wife being able to drive your rig in event of an emergency is a very important consideration, in my opinion.

It’s all well and good to have AAA and other systems in place to evacuate self and rig if need be, but one wouldn’t always want to wait for help to arrive....but rather be able to go to help oneself.

Think about it. You just never know what could happen, to either of you, when or where.

We bought a hitch hauler, with covered, expandable bag to strap in it, for travel with the grandkids, and that has been invaluable tho not often needed

Folding bikes eliminate the need for bike racks, as they can ride inside, and we found we were much more likely to ride them than our older ones that were mounted up.

Maggie

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by elgo

I made the decision to buy a class B (Interstate) specifically for the reasons you highlighted - I wanted something big enough for me, wife and 2 small kids, but I didn’t want something so big as to make it difficult to drive from campground to wherever we wanted to go during the day. We have camped many times in Silver Strand Beach and made day trips to SD Zoo or Legoland. It’s never felt like a chore to break camp and just take off. We treasure flexibility and often camp in different places each day. If I had to tow a car, it would seem burdensome to unhitch and hitch constantly. I never felt at a loss for not having a TOAD in any of my trips.

As for parking in the driveway, we have a version of the AI btw the size of the 22 ft model (which had no storage space behind the bed to speak of) and the 24 ft EXT (which I felt was too long for our driveway and parking situations). I wanted enough space to fit a cooler behind the bed, but felt a 24 footer would be too cumbersome for me. One thing to consider as well with the EXT is if your driveway has even a slight slope the EXT may have too much of an overhang in back to avoid scraping the back end or the propane exhaust pipe. A shorter model has better back clearance. This not only helps on driveways but also pulling into parking lots or other entrances.

Lastly, if you have a nitpicky HOA (of which there are many) and bylaws prohibit RVs, there’s not much hiding the fact that AI is a RV. Graphics or not, the awning kind of gives it away. That said, as others have mentioned,
many people compliment the AI - which I didn’t expect. On my last trip a guy driving a $100k sportscar commented how he wants an AI. If your HOA or city doesn’t ban RV parking, there’s a good chance your neighbors won’t mind. A good conditioned Interstate isn’t going to be a blight on the neighborhood the way a beat up boat in the driveway will.

Good luck.

Thanks Elgo - all comments much appreciated pro and con to help make a decision!

I would like to park in our drive year around and think I could do so, but worst case scenario, where we live RV parking is permitted except for winter months. We would be away anyway for close to two months and if I had to, I could find an alternate parking location the other three months or so.


I doubt I'd have to as some if not all these units are registered here as vans, not RV's and are treated as such by our bylaw officers (I discussed with the dept.) And even if it is classed as an RV, I am "unofficially" advised that the bylaw is only invoked if a neighbour complains. I (think!) we get on pretty well with our neighbours , but I would need to be prepared and be ok with all eventalities!

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Wingeezer, your wife being able to drive your rig in event of an emergency is a very important consideration, in my opinion.

It’s all well and good to have AAA and other systems in place to evacuate self and rig if need be, but one wouldn’t always want to wait for help to arrive....but rather be able to go to help oneself.

Think about it. You just never know what could happen, to either of you, when or where.

We bought a hitch hauler, with covered, expandable bag to strap in it, for travel with the grandkids, and that has been invaluable tho not often needed

Folding bikes eliminate the need for bike racks, as they can ride inside, and we found we were much more likely to ride them than our older ones that were mounted up.

Maggie

Hi Maggie,

Yes, both being able to drive is one of the factors I am starting to think may be more important.

As it is now, my wife would be really stuck - well, we both would (!) if for any reason I couldn't drive. As you say, you just never know. And as we age, (gracefully, hope!) chances of some such issue surely increase - so far so good!

If we decide to go this route and can get a decent trade on our resent rig, we will surely miss it in some ways - but in other ways, not so much! It would be great to be able to easily camps in almost any sized site!

Cheers ........ Brian.

(PS - I think we may have met you briefly quite a few years ago at an "Alumilina" get together at Charlotte NC. We were on a return trip from Florida to our home near Toronto. I remember a great traditional NC meal get-together under a tent awning in a rainstorm, followed by a fantastic rainbow as the sun came out - I think I have pics!)

[Lily&Me]

Wow, I think that was Alumalima #1, the very first one, where we had heavy rain, heavy winds, and hail.

Didn’t scare off John, tho, did it, and look at the size of the gatherings now.

Maggie

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Wow, I think that was Alumalima #1, the very first one, where we had heavy rain, heavy winds, and hail.

Didn’t scare off John, tho, did it, and look at the size of the gatherings now.

Maggie

I do believe you are right! John does a fantastic job much appreciated by all!

We must try to get to another Alumalina and learn more about NC traditions!!

Maybe in a Class B,who knows! Would we still be able to come in a Roadtrek I wonder?

[bugsbunny]

You mentioned getting in to smaller sites....


One thing that got me considering the switch from the 345 MH was something that happened frequently when campgrounds were near capacity - we were told that a site was available but would only fit something small or a tent site. With the Interstate, we have always been able to find a site later in the day with a one or two phone calls - other than a holiday weekend (and we Cracker docked if traveling cross country). It makes a lot of sense that smaller sites would be the last reserved. Very convenient when one travels like we enjoy - without reservations

[sthrngary]

I complete understand your thought process. I ordered my Class B 3 weeks ago. It will be delivered between November 15 through December 1. I live in Destin so I hope you will look me up. I literally studied class B for months before I bought on. So much to share. Let me know when you are her and I will visit or you can visit with us. Gary T, The "RV Advocate".

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by sthrngary

I complete understand your thought process. I ordered my Class B 3 weeks ago. It will be delivered between November 15 through December 1. I live in Destin so I hope you will look me up. I literally studied class B for months before I bought on. So much to share. Let me know when you are her and I will visit or you can visit with us. Gary T, The "RV Advocate".

Hello Gary,

Will try to do that, many thanks!

We nearly lost our site at Topsail - I booked last August but then a month or so they emailed me to cancel my reservation saying that the site I had booked was on a loop that they had now decided to renovate and they were cancelling all reservations on that loop!

They said to call them to see if they could give me another site or to get a full refund!

Tried to call them immediately, but had a frustrating experience (it is some other outfit that look after the reservations) I kept getting put on hold, hung up on transferred, etc.!)

While I was waiting to speak to someone I checked on line and found only one site left available that would fit our 31' trailer so went ahead and booked it!

I finally got to speak to someone and had a hard time explaining why I had two simultaneous reservations but it all worked out ok in the end - don't have as nice a site as we had, but still have a site - I hope!!

Looking forward to Destin - we have been several times before. Heading from there to LYH at Melbourne.

Be interesting to hear your thoughts on buying a Class B - what did you wind up buying and why?


Cheers.

[Wingeezer]

Maybe time I update our situation on this thread!

After reading closely all the pros and cons, I still felt that at this stage of our RV career, a "B van" might now be the best fit for us.

Several folks suggested we rent one to be sure - but many years ago back in the seventies, one of our first RV's was a VW Westfalia, and we camped in that with two small kids so we are not strangers to small places! Just the two of us now and we are not large people so I think we'll fit ok!

Last week we signed to purchase a 2019 Pleasure-Way Plateau FL (Front lounge). We don't get it until September, but really looking forwards to new adventures with it. I have four months to study the owners manual !

We traded in the Airstream and truck and were pretty happy with what we got for both, as well as about $15k off MSRP on the van.

In fact, as far as the trailer goes, we got almost exactly what we paid for it ten years ago when we bought it used - then three years old.

I'm sure there will lots more years in it for its new owners!

We'll still be lookingout for Airstreams as we roll along!

Cheers ....... Brian.