Update or hold out?

[kb0zke]

As you probably know, Jo Ann and I are going to trade our current SOB for an Airstream very soon. The search parameters are: 2005-2015 30' or longer, rear queen bed, two air conditioners, and at a dealer's lot. I've been searching rvtrader and there are a couple that are interesting. One is very close to us, but the price seems a bit high and there are no pictures. There is a twin to it at PPL that has been there for some time, currently priced at $58,000. The one in Wentzville is quite a bit more than that. Both of these meet all of the criteria.


There are two more that come close, and both are less money. PPL has a 31' but only one a/c. There is another Classic 30' about 3 hours away, again only one a/c.


We're going to go big on solar, so there will be electrical upgrades anyway. Would it be worth it to take one of the lower priced trailers and add the second a/c, or should we stick with the requirement of two air conditioners? The advantage of doing the upgrade is that at least one air conditioner would be new.


Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Belegedhel]

Seems like we are always working on these trailers anyway. Having upgraded my '73 that had the riveted on AC to a modern one, I would say it isn't a big deal, and if it were me, I would go for it. All that being said, it would be interesting to know if there are AC wires run to the "missing" AC spot, so that wiring would already be in place.

good luck!

[BikeCamper]

It sounds like a/c is a high priority for you. With your requirements, I’d want to make sure the trailers in question have ducted a/c, and I’d want to understand how difficult it is to tie into that if one of them needed a second a/c unit added. Ducted a/c is a major upgrade over earlier units with the drop-ins.

[Hans627]

It it was me I would wait to get one with two A/C's since that is so important to you. Cutting holes in the roof gives me pause.

[kb0zke]

Good points! Thanks. Since everything we're looking at happens to be a Classic, I'll ask on that part of the forum. My guess is that the wiring is probably already there for the second a/c, and it is probably a direct drop-in in the bedroom.


Our old Foretravel didn't have ducted a/c, and this trailer does. The original a/c units on the Foretravel were very quiet compared to the new ones. This is almost as loud as the new units on the Foretravel, so I'm not sure how much the ducting helps in that regard. Of course, this isn't an Airstream...<grin>


I also haven't seen any of these trailers in person, just pictures of most of them. Sure wish Bill Thomas would get the pics up of that 2013 Classic. We may just have to take a few hours and drive over there.

[CBWELL]

The second A/C takes the place of the vent in the bedroom. Our new to us 2010 Classic Limited has the 2 A/C units, and I am still not certain that I like this set up. Our 1994 34 had MaxxAir 10 speed with remote fans in the front living area and the rear bedroom. They could be set to pull air in at one end and out at the other. At night it was great to set the bedroom fan "in" at the lowest speed and you get a tiny breeze and virtually silence. We miss that with the 2 A/C units. It seems easier to keep a lower temp in the trailer with the 2 fans unless it is extremely hot ( over 100 degrees).One other thing when looking at units that became a "no buy" for us was the shower location. I refused to have the shower door open onto the toilet. For us it has to open into the hallway. Much easier to enter and exit the shower, and it seemed to have more room. With 2 A/C units you have to have a 50 amp service panel, and it will be much easier to buy one with that in place, as well as the A/C units. We installed 2 new 15000 BTU A/C units with heat pumps in this trailer. We have had the twin beds in previous units, and it is taking some time to get comfortable with the queen. We miss the floor area for dressing and the extra space that twin beds give. Also miss the exterior storage. As a hint, try getting in and out of the shower whichever unit you look at. JMHO!!

[richard5933]

If the second a/c is important to you, then buy a trailer with two a/c from the factory. There is no easy way to properly add a second a/c to a one-a/c trailer. With only one a/c from the factory the 120v electrical is only 30 amps, but on a two-a/c trailer it's 50 amps.

You can't just stick a second a/c on the roof and wire it in on a 30-amp trailer. This job will involve figuring out how to run power to it since there is not enough capacity in the 30-amp system.

Aside from that, I'm curious why the desire to stick to trailers on dealer lots? Lots of great trailers out there being privately sold so I think you're needlessly limiting the market for yourself. There are risks to buying privately, but in my experience there are equal risks to buying from dealers. The difference is that dealers are better at cleaning things up so you don't see the problems.

For much less than the increased cost at a dealer you can arrange to have a private inspector check out any trailer you are considering buying from a private seller.

[Mollysdad]

If you want a second A/C, get it installed. Remember, besides another A/C it's also 50 amp service, which is a big deal.
Besides, shopping is half the fun.

[crispyboy]

I would get the trailer with the factory 2nd A/C unit. Not only is there an electrical upgrade there is also a condensate drain line to be considered.
I would have put one in years ago but this is a very involved job.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Up in "snow country", the prices are just going to drop for the next few months. Very few folks are thinking about buying an RV when there's snow on the ground.

Will that be reflected in the "list price" shown on a dealer's web site? Maybe not. There are a lot of dealers who really don't tell you the "real price" until they are pretty sure you are interested. It's a good bet that all the prices you see right now are at least 10% over the "real price". Come February ..... maybe they are 20% .... maybe more ....

Bob

[Silver Otter]

David, you probably already know about RVTRADER.com. We bought all three of our 30s from that site. Easy to filter for what you want. Recommended. ~GH

[kb0zke]

Silver Otter, I'm very familiar with rvtrader.com. That's my primary search site. There are two seemingly identical trailers with price difference of more than $11,000. That sort of information is huge.


We've pretty well settled on a 2010-2013 30' Classic RBQ with two air conditioners (which includes the 50A service). I search 2005-2015, but there are things that show up in 2014 and 2015 that I don't care for, with only one (ducted a/c) showing up in 2015.

[sctinman44]

Very easy to add another air conditioner to a rear queen or twin. PM me and I'll tell you how.
Ken

[MissingLink5]

Originally Posted by kb0zke

As you probably know, Jo Ann and I are going to trade our current SOB for an Airstream very soon. The search parameters are: 2005-2015 30' or longer, rear queen bed, two air conditioners, and at a dealer's lot. I've been searching rvtrader and there are a couple that are interesting. One is very close to us, but the price seems a bit high and there are no pictures. There is a twin to it at PPL that has been there for some time, currently priced at $58,000. The one in Wentzville is quite a bit more than that. Both of these meet all of the criteria.


There are two more that come close, and both are less money. PPL has a 31' but only one a/c. There is another Classic 30' about 3 hours away, again only one a/c.

We're going to go big on solar, so there will be electrical upgrades anyway. Would it be worth it to take one of the lower priced trailers and add the second a/c, or should we stick with the requirement of two air conditioners? The advantage of doing the upgrade is that at least one air conditioner would be new.


Thoughts? Suggestions?

c.


David:
I know you said you wanted to buy from a dealer, however, we are located in Lincoln, NE, not that far away. We have a extremely clean 2014 30’ Flying Cloud rear queen with twin factory recliners, upgraded blinds, 100 watt solar, upgrade ultra leather in kitchen dinette and recliners, 3” lifters, rear camera and monitor, two ACs with one having EasyStart, BlueOx hitch and stabilizers and all of the standard features found on the Flying Cloud. Tires are in great shape and overall the trailer is in immaculate condition. This is stored indoors when not in use.
We are currently at the int’l Airstream Rally in Sadalia, MO but will be home on 10/12/24. My wife and I have moved into senior living 3 months ago and would like to down size. Call me if interested; I could deliver if necessary.
402-570-6829. Larry & Marcia Link 420 So 47th St Unit 227, Lincoln, NE 68510

[MissingLink5]

David:
I know you said you wanted to buy from a dealer, however, we are located in Lincoln, NE, not that far away. We have a extremely clean 2014 30’ Flying Cloud rear queen with twin factory recliners, upgraded blinds, 100 watt solar, upgrade ultra leather in kitchen dinette and recliners, 3” lifters, rear camera and monitor, two ACs with one having EasyStart, BlueOx hitch and stabilizers and all of the standard features found on the Flying Cloud. Tires are in great shape and overall the trailer is in immaculate condition. This is stored indoors when not in use.
We are currently at the int’l Airstream Rally in Sadalia, MO but will be home on 10/12/24. My wife and I have moved into senior living 3 months ago and would like to down size. Call me if interested; I could deliver if necessary.
402-570-6829. Larry & Marcia Link 420 So 47th St Unit 227, Lincoln, NE 68510

[kb0zke]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful suggestions and ideas. We're going to look at a 2013 Classic 30 on Wednesday. The only thing that isn't to our "spec" is the power awning on it instead of the manual one. Of course, descriptions and pictures on the computer don't tell the whole story, so we'll know more later this week.