Visit our Popular Forums

whiggs77 · 01-04-2017, 11:35 AM

Looking to buy my first Airstream down here in South Florida. I do not have the time or skill for a renovation so I wanted to buy something that had recently been upgraded. i found this "1975 Airstream land yacht" for sale nearby. Any idea of how much to pay for something like this? 15,000? Thank you all.

Whiggs

kb0zke · 01-04-2017, 05:17 PM

Welcome, Whiggs. Check the Classifieds here for some comps. The four pictures you posted look nice, but there is a LOT more that needs checking. You might want to make use of one of the inspectors here. You might also try contacting the local Unit to see if anyone there actually knows the coach.

Since you mention that you have neither the time nor the skill to renovation I'm wondering about your comfort level when it comes to maintenance. You are looking at a coach that is more than 40 years old. They are going to be issues that come up. Are you up to that? If not, you will need a healthy credit card.

I speak from experience. We have a 1993 Foretravel. We drove 150 miles yesterday without incident. This morning we were ready to go, and discovered that there was no coolant in the tank (full yesterday noon) and a wet spot on the ground. Two hours after the first call the tow truck arrived. Another hour or so and they had the coach hooked up and ready to go. Two hours after that we arrived at a truck repair shop. We're now in a hotel room and the coach may be ready sometime tomorrow. Cost will probably be a coach buck (1 coach buck = $1000).

An Airstream may not have anything that expensive, but you aren't going to get things fixed by the local shade tree mechanic. If you can't fix it yourself you are going to have to pay someone else, and that may well cost you well over $100/hour.

My suggestion would be to check the Classifieds for a similar-size coach from the late 90's or early 00's. I suspect that you can get one of those for your $15,000 and have fewer headaches. Just my opinion.

whiggs77 · 01-04-2017, 11:02 PM

Thank you for the reply. I should have mentioned that I only intend for this Airstream to be kept on my property for the next few years and used as a guest house. I contacted the seller this evening and asked if he renovated this himself- he said that he: "took it to the inner shell, and bare subfloor" I asked him to explain and he said : "I took it to the inner shell not the outer. I only replace a few soft spots." Does this mean that soft spots were caused by water leaks and he didn't fix leaks- he only fixed rotted wood? I want a good foundation for my first purchase and don't want to have to re-renovate a few years from now. I'm
hoping it was done right the first time,but how can I tell?

whiggs77 · 01-04-2017, 11:37 PM

How do I find the local unit? When you say they might know the coach- you mean they might know the seller or be familiar with it just because of the limited supply and the close proximity?

kb0zke · 01-05-2017, 01:42 PM

Here's a link to the Unit closest to you.

http://wbcci.org/sponsors/regions-a-.../south-florida

If you contact them it is possible that someone in that Unit (think local club chapter) might know the people who are selling the trailer and might know something about it.

55AS · 01-05-2017, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiggs77

Thank you for the reply. I should have mentioned that I only intend for this Airstream to be kept on my property for the next few years and used as a guest house. I contacted the seller this evening and asked if he renovated this himself- he said that he: "took it to the inner shell, and bare subfloor" I asked him to explain and he said : "I took it to the inner shell not the outer. I only replace a few soft spots." Does this mean that soft spots were caused by water leaks and he didn't fix leaks- he only fixed rotted wood? I want a good foundation for my first purchase and don't want to have to re-renovate a few years from now. I'm
hoping it was done right the first time,but how can I tell?

Hopefully he fixed any leaks (internal or external) first and then repaired any water damage.

nickclifford · 01-12-2017, 12:06 AM

Looks sweet, and tastefully remodeled. Number one is floor and frame rot! I'd have professionally checked. AS nuts will come and look for you .. Search this forum..