Another new 2009 27FB Ocean Breeze Owner

[Scott J-24]

Hi, my name is Scott and my wife is Becky. We just joined the forum after purchasing our first Airstream. This morning we met with the original owner of this particular AS here on the left coast (Los Angeles area) and agreed on the purchase price and signed a sale agreement. This is the culmination of over three years of searching, dreaming, and just missing good deals by hours. We always knew that when the right one came along, she would find us, and she did. Now the wait begins to get all of the paperwork completed, monies transferred, storage located, etc. so we can take delivery. Hopefully all within this next week. We are looking forward to our first trip in our new second home! After telling a good friend (also a fellow AS owner) he said, "now that your dream have become a reality, the smiles begin". We haven't even taken delivery yet, and our grins are from ear to ear. We are looking forward to years of traveling and making new friends along the way. Hopefully we will meet some of you in the process.

Scott & Becky

[dmoore]

Congratulations!

I grin from ear to ear everytime I read a posting like yours. It reminds me of how we felt when we purchased our Airstream over three years ago. And it just gets better and better . . .

Debbie

[moosetags]

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us. Congratulations on your new baby! The 27FB is a great floor plan and very livable Airstream.

Have safe travels and many great Airstream adventures.

[Scott J-24]

dmore and moosetags,

Thanks for you welcome. We can't wait to take delivery of our new AS. In the meantime, I was given all of the manuals and technical papers for the trailer. Hopefully I will be reasonably familiar with its systems before she arrives. I am sure I will have questions as I read through the manuals, and even more when we start using it. With the help of folks here on the forum, I am sure we will have a very rewarding experience.

Scott

[JFScheck]

We are all new once, lots of help here - and Congrats!

[redeagle313]

Welcome to the Forum! You will love your "new" TT.

Hard to believe our "new" TT is almost 6 years old.

[pilgrim]

Such pleasant memories are rekindled just reading your posts. You are where we were just three years ago - new, wondering, excited, wishful, etc...Now we've travelled through several states, some over and over, and we're looking forward to doing several more this summer. IT NEVER TIRES!!! That's the beauty of 'Streaming. Every year is another year....an exciting year and boy will you ever have a great time. You've got the perfect AS - if we were doing it over, we'd purchase the 27 instead of the 25' BUT we do love the 25'. We've made her our own by redoing much of the interior to our satisfaction. Next week will be our first outing of the '11 season - hoping to match last summer's 85 nights out. Gotta get going if we hope to equal that number. Enjoy....ask questions and have someone you can count on to help with any problems that might creep up. Fix 'em when you get 'em....don't put them off till later. ENJOY and keep on 'streaming.

[casa3805]

Congratulations to you on your research and your purchase. We took well over 2 years of looking at various brands of trailers and finally an Airstream rally was held in our area and we just stopped by to look. That was an impressive sight to see!!! So we stopped and talked to a gentleman and his wife who welcomed us as if we were long lost friends. When we left, we had a hand written list of people in his unit and others that had trailers for sale along with some personal insight into what would work with our Tow Vehicle (TV) and what to look for as far as problem areas. Another couple of months and we bought one of the trailers off the list. (we have had it now for about 2 months) A 1984 27 ft Sovereign. We have taken a couple very short trips and leave tomorrow for another, longer one. 6 nights in 3 different state parks. Learn something new every time.
Paperwork to join the national, and the local unit where we first met Myron and got all the initial info, is in the mail.
2 things sold us. The longevity of the trailers and the "family" environment between Streamers. Both are obvious on this site.
From one newbie to another, welcome to the Airstream Family.

[Scott J-24]

Pilgrim and casa3805,
Thanks for your kind words. We are very excited and already doing our research for our first weekend excursion. Due to work (bummer how that can get in the way...) we won't be able to do anything much longer than that until mid-summer.

I spent last night reading the trailering guide that came with the AS. Lots of good information.... and a fair amount of confusion..... Info on the various systems was clear and understandable, but the front sections on weight distribution (each axle, each wheel, adjusting the WD hitch torsion bars to increase or decrease weight on off the two TV axles, etc.) just increased my confusion (even after reading most of the thread on towing setups). I know the setup between the TV, Hitch, and TT are critical to a stress free experience on the highway. I am hopeful that the previous owner will be able to help me get set up when we go to pick it up next Sunday. But I am a bit of a belt and suspenders kind of guy. I am hoping to get everything rechecked out here at our local AS dealership (Southwest Coaches) or Camping World, but any simple things to look for as we do the initial set up to make sure I can get from his home to my home (~30 miles) and then safely to the AS dealer (~50 miles). My TV is a 2010 Tundra 5.7L CrewMax with a Reese WD hitch. Thank in advance for your suggestions.

Scott

[moosetags]

Remember Scott, that one of the functions of the weight distribution element of the hitch system is to put some of the trailer's tongue weight on the front axle of the tow vehicle. This is important for two reasons. One, it takes some of the weight strain off the rear of the tow vehicle. Two, and more importantly, it puts enough weight on the front axle of the tow vehicle to insure sufficient contact of the front tires with the roadway. Allowing too much weight on the rear lifts the front of the tow vehicle enough to adversely affect the steering capabilities of the tow vehicle.

Brian

[Scott J-24]

Moosetags,

Without easy access to a public scale, is it ok (e.g., at least marginally safe) to presume that if the TV looks level the distribution is 'close enough' until we can get to a scale?

Scott

[moosetags]

You don't need access to a scale to make this determination. While the tow vehicle is on a level surface, measure the distance from the ground to the center bottom of the fender well at the eye brow. Do this for both the front and rear wheel wells. This will give you a base figure for the unloaded tow vehicle's front to rear relationship.

When you hook the trailer to the ball, measure again. then apply your weight distribution and measure. The tow vehicle should look fairly level, and the relationship between the front and rear measurement should be similar in ratio to the measurements of the unloaded tow vehicle.

Brian

[Scott J-24]

Brian,

Thanks for the tip. Now I will feel more comfortable when we take delivery next weekend. We can't wait for our first trip on our new girl!

Scott

[FLMarine]

Congrats on your new Ocean Breeze. I got the same model about three weeks ago and even though I still have a house my friends all want to hang out in the Airstream when they come over.

You'll have a blast in yours, I know I made the right choice with the Ocean Breeze as I'm sure you guys are.

[ASwifey]

Welcome, and congrats! What a nice trailer you are getting!

Hope to see you out and about. There is a rally in Morro Bay at the end of the month, would be a great shake down trip.

[Scott J-24]

FLMarine,

We can't wait to take delivery. These last three days seem very close to the last three years of waiting if you know what I mean. We really like the bright and sunny look of the Cool Breeze model. Hopefully everything goes smoothly with all of the paperwork so the transfer of ownership doesn't take longer than currently planned. This is the first time I have made a purchase this large where the owner of what I was buying didn't already have full title and the pink slip. Logistics of getting my down payment and loan, pay-off of his loan, transfer of ownership, etc..... This is a private party sale and is a bit more complicated than I had anticipated. It would be nice to have a dealer worry about all of the paperwork, but also glad we don't have to pay a sales commission. I am sure that everything will get taken care of and we will soon have our new toy and take our first AS camping trip.

Scott

[Scott J-24]

ASwifey,

Doing a shakedown to Moro Bay sounds great (work commitments permitting). Since we haven't taken delivery yet, our plans are still very much in the air. I saw the information on the "upcoming rallies" link and took a look at the campground website. How does this work, just show up? We may not know our plans until the last minute. Sure sounds like fun to meet some of the folks on the forum in person.

Scott

[brad1]

Dude,

Although this will be a difficult concept to square with Becky and dozens of other Airstream owners, but an Ocean Breeze is a guy's trailer. Naming, as a result, is tricky. In the final analysis, it should not have a girl's name.

What, Becky and other doth protest? Already? Well, that's the way they are.

Face it, the Ocean Breeze's decor is designed to appeal to the sophisticated guy. I put emphasis on "guy." Why? Check out that scaloped pattern in the polished almuminum next to the galley. No chick would have picked that out. Sure, once they see it they say they like it, but that ain't the point. And the fabric patterns. Reminds you of that old mattress in the secret room in the frat house, right? (or the mattress in the back of your microbus or whatever--you know what I mean. It reminds you of the decor you left behind before Becky got her claws into you). (Don't tell her I said that!!)

Dude, you've got to give your Airstream the kind of name you'd use around your pals when you said you had to split to a cooler scene.

You can't say, "well, I'm going to hang out with Nancy". Your pals will want too many details and Becky will imagine too many of her own.

It's got to be like, "yeah, me and Rip have got a road trip going on, over to Memphis for the Nascar", or, "up to the Rockies for some Rainbows", or "out to Idaho for some training with the militia," or whatever.

My friend, you don't realize it yet, but you and Becky are in a life and death competition for the identity of your new Airstream. And the structure of the rest of your married lives together. (I'm not kidding! It's that important!!)

So be a real Airstream guy. Pick the name. Establish the identity.

(Keep it secret from Becky if you have to. Lots of other Airstream guys know how that goes).

[joelin1]

I have my 2008 27fb Ocean Breeze since last Aug . I am driving same tv like yours . They are perfect combination . Tundra come with back up camera ,you don't need another person to help you hook up . I feel my truck is smoother when I am towing the airstream than not towing anything. It will be good idea when someone direct you to back up into narrow spot by using cell phone . You can talk to each other easily with bluetooth .
If you need any help let me know . We live not too far away .

[Air4USA]

Good for you!! We live in Idyllwild, CA. and store our 25' Internation in Redlands. You will have grate fun visiting the California parks as well as parks out of State. We have had our AS 1 year. Last year we used in 50 days. We hope to do the same this year. Some of our favorite trips:
Up the Oregon Coast
Borrego Springs,CA. The Springs at Borrego
Newport Dunes RV in Newport Beach
San Clemente State beach
Emerald Desert RV park in Palm Desert