Hello

[Mama Love]

We have decided to buy a used Airstream camper for our 30th wedding anniversary. So I've decided to get information from the pros to help me make the right decision. Anniversary is in May, but to me knowledge is power. I want to be able to ask intelligent questions when buying any items. Thank you for starting this site its very interesting.

[dznf0g]

Congrats on 30! Had ours last December. What are you thinking? Near new, 5 - 10 years old , or vintage? ...and welcome!

[webspinner]

The first questions to ask are of yourself:
What sort of places do you want to go in the camper? (Will you be in it a lot, or only sleeping in it?)
How long will you likely spend in it at a time? (Weekends? or weeks on end?)
How much work and fixit are you willing or able to do? (Older models are cheaper, but need work.)
How much are you willing or able to spend? (Checking classifieds can give you some idea of the tradeoff between age and condition and price.)

[MaxAB]

First, welcome to the forum - its a place where you'll be able to get virtually any answer to an Airstream question, meet great folks, and have a lot of fun. The expertise within this forum is seemingly unlimited!

Congrats on getting the "new to you and yours" AS for your 30th! My wife and I actually got married in our first rig 3 years ago - although we've been married for 44 years, but to other people (that was a joke!). See pic below...

SO, SOME DECISIONS TO MAKE: "How old or new of an AS to buy"? We enjoy the vintage rigs and we're on our second one now - we are retired and like to tinker. Newer rigs are obviously more costly but they require a lot less maintenance and tinkering. There's a cross/over cost-benefit analysis that is recommended depending on your needs. Vintage, less than 25 years, 25-10 years, or newer less than 10 years old. Each rig has its advantages/drawbacks depending on the user needs. One can find vintage rigs (> 25 years old) in good shape - a systems check from a knowledgeable person is a must. Strongly recommend that you DO NOT buy an AS (regardless of age) without a competent person conducting a survey and overall assessment of its systems and general condition. New rigs can be found that have been abused and may not be road worthy - it all depends.

IMHO, another decision point is, "what size of Airstream fits my needs"? Suggest studying the various floorplans Airstream offers by year. For example, our first rig was a 31-footer, we decided to downsize to a 25' because of the type of locations we like to visit. In some instances the 31' was a bit too big for where we were headed. Again, its all about user needs and what you like to do...

Next, Airstream offers different levels of accessories and "luxury" for a given trailer length and model year. Suggest understanding the differences between these options. Decide among these options which "floorplan" is right for you - ie, mid or aft bath, twin, bunk, or queen size? There are pros/cons to the various plans within a given trailer length.

Bottom line... its going to be a fun experience for you and yours, regardless! The AS community is a positive one where you can certainly meet life-long friends either on the Forum website or especially on the road!

Have fun and keep 'stream'n the dream...

Cheers,