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Old 02-04-2013, 07:29 PM   #21
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2006 31' Classic
Archer , Florida
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We spent the weekend at the Tampa Super RV show a few years ago in January mostly looking at 5th wheels. On the drive home to North Central Fla we decided that we didn't want to haul around the Empire State Building and looked on the forums on my iphone. Found the one that we wanted in Pennsylvania. When we got home, we called and made the deal sight unseen (other than pictures). Gem of a lady (both seller and AS). It wouldn't stop snowing in Pa, so didn't take possession until late March. Haven't had one regret.
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Old 02-04-2013, 07:41 PM   #22
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1972 31' Sovereign
Fort Bragg , North Carolina
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One (1). Actually i bought it from my brother who wanted to buy a 5th wheel for more space. He owned it three years after he purchased it from the original owner that owned it for 20 years. The A/S came with five international stars reflecting the previous members WBCCI commitment for 30 years. I would have loved to have what they traded for this back in 1972.
It does have the rear bat,h mid twins, which to some is a non-starter, but this was in great shape so you concede on some things especially if the price is right and the unit is solid. You can have a lot of miserable sleepless nights in a queen rear bed, if the coach is not working or is non-functional.
We re-flagged, re-commissioned, re-numbered the ghost numbers as we have now owned it 19 years.
We've been across America in it twice and been in many other Airstreams wanting to possibly upgrade, but once you see what you have we ask ourselves, what are we gaining.
Keep it simple and make it comfortable. Like I am finding out this month, and continue to find out every time I want to upgrade something, I can swap out two vents with new fantastic fans, and have LED recessed lights placed in the ceiling by the dealer for allot cheaper than buying a newer coach with LED lights and fantastic fans.
It is all about the adventure and having the dreams of attending all the Airstream Aluma Events, (JC, Tuscon,Oregon....). It takes time and we'll eventually all get to where we want to be.

Keep looking and you'll know it when you see it.

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Old 02-04-2013, 08:01 PM   #23
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Looked at new ones, looked at two different local used ones over a couple months. Then went an bought a new one
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Old 02-04-2013, 08:10 PM   #24
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1968 24' Tradewind
Rural, blink and you'll miss it , Missouri
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Bought the first one I saw/looked at. Old, beat up. Intended to be a project.
Bought the second one I saw. Heavily damaged, intended to use for parts.

Lost my job, sold both and ALL of the original pieces that I had bought to restore the first, (66 Tradewind, Icky) for start up capital for my own business.

Hadn't thought of another for a while but woke recently with the thought to look for another. Ebay. Close to home. Went to see it. poked, prodded, inspected. Bought it.

So I'm an impulse buyer too.
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Old 02-04-2013, 09:33 PM   #25
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Lonewolf, we bought the third one we looked at and it was a gem! A recommendation for you. Look at the bottom of the forums and find a rally near you. Go there, the folks will generally welcome you and you will get to see a wide range of ages and models all in one location. We came away with a hand written list of units for sale, provided by one of the members. Bought the third one we looked at off that list..
Happy hunting!
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Old 02-04-2013, 09:37 PM   #26
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I looked at five used ones before purchasing. There weren't many to compare.
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Old 02-04-2013, 09:47 PM   #27
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Bought the first one we saw after we actually decided to buy. Before that, we looked at quite a few new ones on the lot and at the RV show in town. We knew what we wanted, what we "needed" and what we would settle for before we got started.

The internet is a wonderful thing as it gives you a pretty good idea of prices to expect. I found a few that would work but they were on the other side of the continent. One finally popped up about 400 miles away, made the call and drove down to take a look. It was as advertised and the deal was done.

In the process we did look at a few used ones on the dealer's lot which helped us to focus on newer trailers. Settled for a 2006 25 FB SE in 2009 and paid less than they guy owed on it after three years of payments. We were happy how it all turned out.

Good luck. Don't be in a hurry.
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Old 02-04-2013, 10:50 PM   #28
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2005 25' Safari
Salem , Oregon
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Hi, we originally were looking for the shortest Class "C" motorhome with a rear walk around queen bed on a Ford chassis. Another concern was that if it was too high we wouldn't be able to park it in our driveway and under the eaves. We weren't retired yet and our entire investment would be sitting in our driveway for a few years and only get used for a few vacation weeks.

Then my wife had a vision of an Airstream trailer being towed with a Lincoln Navigator. We studied sizes and floor plans and decided that a 25' Airstream was the perfect size for us. We did not like the six sleeper model and we only needed room for two people. We still wanted a rear queen, but I was willing to buy a rear twin and convert it into a queen.

I searched on the Internet every night for a nice used 25' Airstream. seemed like most of them were either in Texas or Florida and I wasn't able to make the drive since I was still working. Finally I found some in Southern California; They were beat up, stinky, had rusty tongues, bad tires and who knows what else. One dealer said they had a real nice used trailer coming in, in about a month, and would give us a call.

At this point we decided that the only way we were going to get what we wanted in decent shape was to buy a new trailer. We went to all of the local dealers and got used and abused buy some of the sales people. We liked the 25' Classic but it weighed 1,000 lbs more than the Safari and listed for about $15,000.00 more, and had the same exact floor plan. So now it was narrowed down to a 25' Safari. I went on line and bought a brand new 25' rear queen Safari in Oregon. It was in line to be built so we could get what we wanted and got a one year newer model too.

We looked at several trailers and the dealer called us almost one year later on the trade in that we were told about. [too late]
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Old 02-04-2013, 10:53 PM   #29
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1971 25' Tradewind
Menlo Park , California
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We bought the first Airstream either of us had ever set foot in. We'd lurked here and watched craigslist and ebay and new how often trailers came up and in what sort of shape.

Both of us are pretty handy and we've been able to do all the work ourselves (new axles, fridge, awning, cushions, shower, vanity, composting toilet, water heater...the list goes on). We new we'd pay later for the low price. If we don't "pay" ourselves for our hours, the dollar expenditure would have ended up about the same whether we bought one fixed up or fix it ourselves.

Yes, we've done a lot of work on our, but we love the results. If we'd waited, we would have missed some great camping experiences.
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Old 02-04-2013, 11:01 PM   #30
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Not many used ones for sale in rural areas ... we looked at several used AS at the dealer and then bought a new one!
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Old 02-05-2013, 05:05 AM   #31
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Thumbs up

We bought our 63 on irrational first impulse with no regrets.....


Unfortunately the same plan didn't werk so gud on the Classic.
Thankfully no new opportunities for such childish behavior are on the horizon.

Bob
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Old 02-05-2013, 05:09 AM   #32
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We looked at one that was in need of major renovations (and four new tires). We had someone on here check out one for us in Minnesota, and friends checked out two others for us. We bought one of the latter ones. AND LOVE IT!

So, depending on how you count, we either looked at one before we bought it, or four.
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Old 02-05-2013, 06:08 AM   #33
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The 1977 was the first Airstream I had ever been in and we bought it. Then we worked on it and worked on it. Decided to get a newer Airstream and bought a 2005 used in 2005. We only saw pictures of it on the internet before driving 5 hours to pick it up. We found the 2012 on line and drove 3 hours to pick it up.
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Old 02-05-2013, 08:04 AM   #34
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Lonewolf, We looked at hundreds online, both in the Classifieds here and at RVTrader.com. Once we narrowed down the list of options we had to have, we bought the sixth one we looked at in person from a private seller six hours away from us.
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Old 02-05-2013, 09:48 AM   #35
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1997 34' Limited
Joliet , Illinois
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Smile How many frogs before the prince?

Too many to remember before the first two we bought, but our #3 seems to be the most elusive for us. In addition to hours of Internet surfing, multiple phone inquiries, we have logged many miles fetching and inspecting. Best advice can be found here on the Forum site....use their checklist, request current dated photos, and always ask if seller holds clear title. Surprisingly, we could write a book devoted to deceptive practices, poor-to-no photo quality (cellphone cameras do not count as digital pics), and owners' avoidance of the truth (and I won't get into the dissection of the word 'truth.') However, we remain hopeful.
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Old 02-05-2013, 10:38 AM   #36
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None, ours found us by happenstance. I looked at her and she said, "If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time..."

This was a good 5 - 10 years ahead of our planned search for an AS. (Probably 5...not sure the old SOB would've made it 10 more)
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Old 02-05-2013, 11:38 AM   #37
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1968 24' Tradewind
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucy749 View Post
Too many to remember before the first two we bought, but our #3 seems to be the most elusive for us. In addition to hours of Internet surfing, multiple phone inquiries, we have logged many miles fetching and inspecting. Best advice can be found here on the Forum site....use their checklist, request current dated photos, and always ask if seller holds clear title. Surprisingly, we could write a book devoted to deceptive practices, poor-to-no photo quality (cellphone cameras do not count as digital pics), and owners' avoidance of the truth (and I won't get into the dissection of the word 'truth.') However, we remain hopeful.
Oh gosh isnt' that the way of it? Deception, half truths or purposeful omissions. The checklist is really the way to go. I don't even agree with current photos as these can also be altered! We KNEW what we were in for after we inspected it due to our previous experience with Icky and bought it anyway. It will be fun. It will be fine. It won't be original/restored because I have been down that path and made myself (and the dear husband) crazy.
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Old 08-28-2013, 01:10 AM   #38
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Dozens and dozens online, at least a dozen (probably more) in person.
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Old 05-06-2017, 01:49 PM   #39
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2006 25' Safari
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I drove to Bates RV in Tampa twice for half-day visits looking only at new ones. I sat around in several floor plans and sizes before doing anything, considering Airstream and which one I liked best. I got a price of $54K on a new 25 2010 twin back then.

My third visit, in 2011, I asked about used ones and got a negative response from sales but they showed me three. Two were vintage and the third was an Ocean Breeze edition owned and signed by a rock star but the interior reeked of smoke. I was told that I would pay about the same as new so why bother.

In January of the next year I met a different sales person from the same company and told him what I was looking to get. He said that twin 25 models were not easy in later model years to find but he would watch for me. A month later someone was trading one in and he called me. He also mentioned a second unit a year newer but with a queen bed. I ended up with the twin Safari- the fourth used one I looked at about 7 months or so after shopping used initially. I knew it was the one. It was already six years old but had only been used a few times and purchased 4 1/2 years or so earlier. I paid half the new price but of course I have added $15K of goodies since. It is much nicer now. In spite of the covered walls and RV windows of the Safari that some criticize, I would do the same thing again. It had some major corrosion but I have dealt with it for the most part. People who have seen it are quite complementary on condition and features. The rear exterior was featured on a magazine cover!

Used can be great.
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Old 05-06-2017, 04:48 PM   #40
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St. Louis , Missouri
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We looked at hundreds of floor plans, and dozens of new and used trailers before deciding what we wanted. But just knowing what you want doesn't guarantee you'll find it. We hunted high and low, and saw neither hide nor hair of our dream trailer. I wanted a 1989 Avion 34XB. Saw nothing even close to it. Just when we gave up, and resigned ourselves to getting a whitebox, a 34VB dropped in our laps. It is *almost* the trailer we want. It was in too good shape, and too reasonable a price to let it go by. We still wish we had an XB, but we'll enjoy the VB until our XB also falls in our lap.

So the answer is dozens or one, depending on how you look at it.
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