Having A Crisis Of Faith

[superChop]

Financial perspective

Option 1
Assume your 2012 TV and trailer are paid off? If that is the case, and you purchase a new AS at around $100K and new TV from $50 - $70K, 10 years prior to retirement, how do those payments impact your financial plans to pay off mortgage prior to retirement?

As others have suggested the recent transactions have seen a spike in used TV and trailer prices and patience may play a very important impact IF prices go down after, or IF COVID AND chip shortage departs from our daily dialogue?

Your current TV has enviable reliability and perhaps you should stick with your current situation for a few more years? Assuming you will tow into your 70's you have a lot of time to save up and plan for the upgrade in trailers.

Option 2
If you must change trailers now, get a used AS and make mods that you would like on the bed from a full, or queen size to twins. It will not provide external access to the space under the new twins, but will provide great interior storage under those beds.
TV's - used TV's seem to be extremely high and close to the new prices. Each OEM has packages at the lower end of the price range that can be excellent tools, such as Ford XL with STX package. NOTE: I found it interesting at the LA car show I attended last week, that few OEM's included pricing on their vehicles on display!

Please let us know what you decide to do, since many people are going thru similar considerations, even an upgrade from an existing AS can be challenging financially.

[Mattedfred]

Thanks again for the continued advice and opinions folks!

To clarify, we prefer NOT to go beyond approximately 25' in length.

We are debt free. No mortgage or money owing on our current TT or TV. We have been saving up for either a used or new AS for awhile and have close to the price on a 2022 FC 25RBT.

I was able to sit down with the DW earlier today and we both watched walkthrough videos of all of the trailers that I've mentioned in previous posts. Looks like the only remaining trailer to compete with an AS is the Bigfoot 25B25T. It isn't as short as I'd like but the fiberglass construction is attractive to me from a durability perspective. Hopefully Armstrong, BC isn't under water right now though!

Meanwhile, we continue to scour the online listings for a January 2020 or newer FC 25RBT. We recently discovered 1000 Islands RV in Gananoque, Ontario who are regularly importing used AS from the USA. Fingers crossed!

[Daquenzer]

The Bigfoot looks like an interesting camper. And it appears a 1/2 ton would easily tow it based upon the dry weight. But they aren’t necessarily too cheap with a 25’ around 65,000. Your model around 75,000. My biggest concern would be how the body would hold up. I just did a quick search….

https://www.godownsize.com/problems-...glass-campers/

One of the reasons I went with an Airstream was durability, the nice windows, and resale value (used AS go pretty quickly!).

But hey, to each their own. But I would check out the website above. And at least you could get some questions answered. Good luck.

Some people have suggested going and using a camper (rent one), and try it on for size. Not sure if that is something possible for you. And do let us know what you decide.

[Mattedfred]

I’d love to be able to rent an Airstream and a Bigfoot but I not aware of any place that does that. Most trailer rental places I know will only rent pop ups or box trailers.

[Gotta_Travel]

I’d probably own a Canadian built Travel Leisure Van if the wait wasn’t so long and Airstream of Tampa wasn’t able to get the trailer I ordered in such quick turn around.
I love my new FC23CB but take a look at the Travel Leisure Wonder. There are YT vids on it. It is amazing. If I went that direction, I’d have been able to haul my motorbike as a Toad.
Good luck…

[fran&frank]

We have a 27 FC FB which we really enjoy but have looked at Oliver and Bigfoot trailers as well. If you are going to do much cold weather camping I would seriously consider the Bigfoot. We do cold weather camping and get by with our Airstream with a few modifications we've made, but I sometimes wonder if the Bigfoot would be a better choice.

[AirParkOnly]

Originally Posted by Mattedfred

To clarify, we prefer NOT to go beyond approximately 25' in length.

I read that wrong, but the models don't change.

23 FBT Globetrotter or any twin 25.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Mattedfred

Thanks for all of the feedback folks. I appreciate the AS specific advice but wouldn't mind hearing from even more people that considered other manufacturers before selecting AS.

I have been looking into the following:

Keystone Bullet Crossfire 1800RB
Gulfstream Coach Vintage Cruiser 19RBS
Sunset Park RV Sunray 199
Palomino Puma Ultra Lite 16QBX

Just to be clear, we have owned other TT's, a Popup, a Casita 17', a Class A, Van conversion, etc...we also had a 2006 25' Safari AS, a2008 25' FC, A 2014 25' FC RB twin, and now our currant 28' FCT. We have looked at and camped with several friends who had brand new SOB's including Lance and Winnebago's. Last year, one of our friends and his wife spent 2 months camping with us off and on in their New 2019 Lance 28'; We camped with them on Texas Coast, Montana, Tetons, and Borrego Desert. We shared many a meal in each others trailers while on the road..When they returned to San Jose, she told her husband, she wanted a new AS 28 FCT, just like ours. Said the big windows and simplicity of our open design in the AS convinced her that her Lance was dark and convinced inside, the slide out dinette was a pain to open/close, plus felt Closter phobic with 4 of us eating dinner, their bathroom was cramped compared to the AS 28', the twin beds offered them more room and the beds were easier to make and space to move around. The awnings on the Lance and auto levelers were a pain and had gotten stuck a couple times in wind with the awning when the auto retract did not work properly. They took their new 2020 AS 28 FCT on a trip from Spring to Fall this past year and visited FL Keys, to Main and back to CA with the AS...he said the AS tracked so much better than the Lance he was very glad they made the switch to AS. He did trade in his GMC Denali 1500 for a GMC Denali 2500 with diesel also...said the switch to AS and the 3/4T made their travels so much more enjoyable and they are very glad they made the decision..

[anlot]

Originally Posted by Mattedfred

I’d love to be able to rent an Airstream and a Bigfoot but I not aware of any place that does that. Most trailer rental places I know will only rent pop ups or box trailers.

Where are you located? There’s a company in California that rents Airstreams. It’s what we did before we bought ours. It’s expensive though. They have a location in Las Vegas as well but not sure if their full fleet is available there. Website is roamandboard.us

EDIT: Oh I see, Ontario. Well that won’t work! Sorry.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by anlot

Where are you located? There’s a company in California that rents Airstreams. It’s what we did before we bought ours. It’s expensive though. They have a location in Las Vegas as well but not sure if their full fleet is available there. Website is roamandboard.us

EDIT: Oh I see, Ontario. Well that won’t work! Sorry.

Used to be an AS dealer in SoCa area that also rented AS's when we were living in San Diego area few years back...not sure if they are still there, but they would apply your rental $$ to purchase. Think they were up around Pasadena or OC area? Think they also would deliver the AS to a campsite if you wanted, and set it up for you, pick up when you were done, if you did not want to tow the AS rental? Not sure if they are still around; we moved back to Texas 4 years ago...

[IanPoulin]

Originally Posted by Mattedfred

Current trailer: 2016 Shasta Airflyte 16'
TV: 2012 Toyota Tacoma V6 4WD
No kids
No pets
Turning 50 within a year
Expect to retire within 10 years

If I were looking at fulltime options, I would also look at the Arctic Fox series by Northwoods - a series available from tow to fifth wheel, from no-slides, to resplendent with slides.

However, all have in common a construction made to survive northern and Canadian winter season travel and living. A couple of years ago, I did some winter camping with a friend who owned a mid-20' AF series, and we experimented - with the same furnace temp settings, in the same campground, I went through approximately 6-8x the amount of propane over a given period of time; and his trailer became the choice place to game or stay at the evenings. It was cozy; where my airstream was filled with draft currents.

If you plan however to sunbird, you could find more options out there.

Ian^2

[Camper Crazy]

Thought I'd add my 2 cents. We currently own a 27' Gulfstream 5th wheel with bunks and a slide, a '72 AS overlander and a 1950 something 16' Pathfinder. If I were doing any extended camping, hands down, I'd choose the Gulfstream with the slide. The comfort of being indoors in poor weather is superior, especially in the event of company for a meal or game night or children. The electric slide has worked seamlessly for 10 years + with a little maintenance now and then.
CC

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Camper Crazy

Thought I'd add my 2 cents. We currently own a 27' Gulfstream 5th wheel with bunks and a slide, a '72 AS overlander and a 1950 something 16' Pathfinder. If I were doing any extended camping, hands down, I'd choose the Gulfstream with the slide. The comfort of being indoors in poor weather is superior, especially in the event of company for a meal or game night or children. The electric slide has worked seamlessly for 10 years + with a little maintenance now and then.
CC

Key words: "extended camping"! Of course, a 5th wheel with slides is very nice for extended camping...we purchased a 2017 used 40' Montana last summer for use all summer in one location (Star Valley Ranch RV Resort); and we stored our 28' AS near by at a storage facility. End of summer we sold the Montana for what we paid for it ($35K) in a just few days. But, I would much rather "tow", park, and stay in the AS when traveling or camping, than doing same with a 5th wheel!

[KK4YZ]

Originally Posted by Iansk

Have you looked at Oliver trailers? If I were in the market for a new (modern) trailer, I’d think long and hard about them. Very high quality.

Ian

Oliver indeed looks to be high quality and perhaps better insulated. However they’re narrow. (7’?) the 23’ Oliver looked cramped to me, but that’s just me.

[2012FB]

Originally Posted by Mattedfred

I’d love to be able to rent an Airstream and a Bigfoot but I not aware of any place that does that. Most trailer rental places I know will only rent pop ups or box trailers.

We rented a 23’ last year. There are several large person to person RV rentals sites out there. We went through outdoorsy.com. We had a great experience with our rental. It is how we decided not to go smaller than a 25’.

[Mattedfred]

i login, type a reasonably length reply and when i go to post i get logged out. sorry folks

[Mattedfred]

keep the feedback coming. i'm reading all of them

[Gotta_Travel]

Originally Posted by Mattedfred

i login, type a reasonably length reply and when i go to post i get logged out. sorry folks

Yeah, the site is pretty weak in that regard. It’s happened to me more than once and a couple times what I’d written wasn’t even lengthy. Now if I think I’m going to take time composing something thoughtful, I write it in Word then copy and paste. Pretty much any website should keep you logged in if there’s keystroke or mouse activity so perhaps it’s a deterrent from lengthy or thoughtful composition-or from proof reading! 🤣

[Mattedfred]

Thanks for suggesting I draft my replies in Word and cut and paste! I was starting to lose it with the website. LOL

Anyway, I truly appreciate everyone who is taking the time to share their opinions, feedback and expertise, especially those that have either owned or considered other manufacturers before deciding on an Airstream.

Now to respond to a few comments in previous posts.

We aren’t looking for a 4 season trailer. We plan to camp in the Southern USA if we camp between November and April.

We aren’t interested in either a campervan or 5th wheel.

We aren’t planning any extended camping now or in retirement.

The Oliver Elite II has a wet bath and small fridge. Our needs are a dry bath and even a slightly larger fridge.

We went back and checked out Arctic Fox and will do some more research on the 22G model. It’s nitpicky but I don’t care for those type of entry steps, having the bed right at the door and the poor aerodynamic design.

We did check out the Outdoor RV Backcountry and prefer the Arctic Fox.

We checked out owner rental sites. However, a quick search for next Spring didn’t show any 23’ Airstreams available anywhere in Canada. We’ll keep checking as we know that could change.

Some good news, during our latest research we discovered General Coach Canada’s Citation Reward 25’ that is manufactured here in Ontario and will be sold by our local Airstream dealer. We’ve arranged a walkthrough of a prototype model next month. This would compete with the FC 25RBT that’s on our list.

All that said, we found a new video of a full walkaround and walkthrough of the 2022 GT 23FBT by AS of DFW that is one of the best videos we’ve watched so far and we didn’t stop smiling the entire length of the video. Perhaps we already have our answer? LOL

Keep the comments coming.

Cheers!

[GettinAway]

We went from 23FB FC to a 25FBT GT a few years ago. When we retired we started taking longer trips. Four weeks (in winter) was going to be too long in the 23. I’m 6’5” and needed more room. The 25 is working perfectly for us. We still pull with a half ton (Toyota Tundra) no issues at all. AZ to FL, and CO, WY, and MT. Beef up a half ton and drive cautiously. It’s totally doable. FYI, we are not big tv watchers (enjoy being outdoors) and try to find NFS CGs or state parks. We have squeezed our 25 into some tight spots, and we certainly had our 23 in spots that the 25 won’t fit. But overall, with retirement long trips, we are very happy we went from 23 to 25. GT electric stuff has worked fine so far, knock on wood..