N00b

[WIAirstream5309]

Hi. I'm a n00b. Filled with a bit of anxiety, to be honest.

I'm 45, veteran of two services (USMC enlisted grunt and Air Force communications officer). Just finished a grad degree in cybersecurity. Planning on the weekend warrior thing with my Airstream with a view to go full time once I get firm confirmation from my employer that we will be 100% remote work permanently.

I am in the process of purchasing a '17 Flying Cloud 19. Can't get Good Sam on the phone but he has replied to a few emails and I think the seller and I have sent all the documents he needs. Just waiting to hear back at this point.

My questions are:

1. What is your experience with the Good Sam lending process and/or company if you bought through them?

2. What insurance do you use? I did a side-by-side comparison of Good Sam vs. Progressive and Progressive seemed like the better bet; more coverage for less price. Thoughts? I do plan to pay for the "agreed value" option (thanks for the tip, AirForums!).

3. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the sytsems in the rig. Like, which ones to turn on first, what switches to flip before flipping other switches, inverter, not inverter, when and how to use the propane on the fridge, using propane at all, the step-by-step process for hitching/unhitching, etc. etc. etc. Are there any checklists for this sort of thing that you recommend? Are there any YouTube videos which go through these things?

4. Tow vehicle will, for now, be a 2010 Ford F150 FX4 with 106k miles with tow package/trailer brake. Rated to tow 9600#. I've been lurking here and elsewhere and have read up on towing, GVWR, etc., and so have an academic understanding of it all. I believe the seller will be conveying a weight distribution hitch with sale but I don't have details on that yet.

5. My main towing concern is stressing the truck's 10 year old engine and tranny with the trailer. The Ford 5.4L engine doesn't have the best requtation. I drove the truck off the lot new in 2010 and have kept it up with oil changes every 3k for regular oil and have been using synthetic since 80k miles and changed that religiously every 6k. Did the 100k tune up right on time. Have also upgraded suspension with off-roady bits; Fox 2.0 shocks in back and front and Icon upper control arms in front (for when I did a bit of off roading).

6. What roadside assistance is best, most useful, most responsive? Is it better to have a combination of a few services? I currently have USAA roadside assistance, but should I add the Good Sam or AAA services as well?

7. I can offer some IT/network related advice for those of you wondering about internet, cell coverage, etc.

That's all for now!

[n2916s]

AirstreamLife.Com has a great book for rookies written by a guy with beaucoup experience, “A Newbies Guide to Airstreaming” I also have his Airstream Maintenance book.

Your pickup sounds like you have maintained it well and should be up to the task. When I traded in my 2004 Nissan Titan I had over 80000 miles of towing 4 tons of 31’ Sovereign (216,000 miles total) — towing, especially an aerodynamic Airstream really doesn’t require a Peterbilt. Payload is a limiting factor. Your truck should be placarded in the door jam with the payload information. I can’t imagine the 19’ has a huge tongue weight but you have to account for it.

As you are eligible for USAA Insurance, have you called them for a quote? They were very reasonable for me and I half-time.

I have Good Sam Roadside. I have needed them 3 times in 15 years and they always solved my problem or reimbursed me for solving it myself. Many others like AAA, Coach-Net... I can’t think of a compelling reason to change.

[GetawA-S]

No worries on the truck. Our 2011 was going strong with 130k - didn’t even notice the 22 Bambi we towed. You will be pleasantly surprised if you decide to trade for something newer, but for now, it will do!

[drairstream]

I pull a 27 foot’99 Safari no sweat with my 2011 5.4.

Don’t buy sight unseen. The noob airstream book will help. All really simple.

[aftermath]

Welcome Noob, you will figure all of this out soon enough. Thanks also for your service, we appreciate what you do. I did have to let out a laugh when I saw that a "cybersecurity" expert was worried about what switches to turn on and in what order. Really? You can figure out who is listening in to a conversation from across the world and you're not sure when you should turn the switch to activate the water pump? Thanks for making me feel like an expert.


There are a couple of things that I will comment on. First of all, keep the propane on ALL OF THE TIME, unless you are plugged into power. Then you can run your fridge on 110 volts from the power post. You will still need the propane on if you want to cook anything or use your furnace.


If you are going full time and you are doing your cybersecurity thing I am going to stick my neck out and say you will need a steady source of electricity to run that computer of yours. I also think that the inverter is basically a last ditch option for getting 110 when you really have to have it. Using the inverter on a standard set up in an Airstream will draw your batteries down in a hurry. You will now hear from those who have a very large bank of solar panels and up to date high tech batteries. Those folks have a much better off the grid setup than a typical Airstream. You might want to listen to their suggestions if indeed you will be working from "home" soon.



Again, welcome. Come back with more questions. You will get a lot of advice here and most of it is quite good.

[aftermath]

Forgot to actually answer one of your questions. How to operate the fridge?


You most likely have a Dometic fridge. First turn it on with the on/off button, heh heh.


There is a "auto" option and a "gas" option on the control panel. In "auto" the fridge will run on propane unless it is plugged into house power and then it will automatically change over. In "gas" it will run on propane all the time.


I leave mine in auto but will change over to propane when I want things to cool down faster. My fridge cools better on propane than on electricity. When getting ready for a trip and I am in a hurry I use the gas option.

[kpfate]

Originally Posted by Joseph Matte

Hi. I'm a n00b. Filled with a bit of anxiety, to be honest.

I'm 45, veteran of two services (USMC enlisted grunt and Air Force communications officer). Just finished a grad degree in cybersecurity. Planning on the weekend warrior thing with my Airstream with a view to go full time once I get firm confirmation from my employer that we will be 100% remote work permanently.

I am in the process of purchasing a '17 Flying Cloud 19. Can't get Good Sam on the phone but he has replied to a few emails and I think the seller and I have sent all the documents he needs. Just waiting to hear back at this point.

My questions are:

1. What is your experience with the Good Sam lending process and/or company if you bought through them?

2. What insurance do you use? I did a side-by-side comparison of Good Sam vs. Progressive and Progressive seemed like the better bet; more coverage for less price. Thoughts? I do plan to pay for the "agreed value" option (thanks for the tip, AirForums!).

3. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the sytsems in the rig. Like, which ones to turn on first, what switches to flip before flipping other switches, inverter, not inverter, when and how to use the propane on the fridge, using propane at all, the step-by-step process for hitching/unhitching, etc. etc. etc. Are there any checklists for this sort of thing that you recommend? Are there any YouTube videos which go through these things?

4. Tow vehicle will, for now, be a 2010 Ford F150 FX4 with 106k miles with tow package/trailer brake. Rated to tow 9600#. I've been lurking here and elsewhere and have read up on towing, GVWR, etc., and so have an academic understanding of it all. I believe the seller will be conveying a weight distribution hitch with sale but I don't have details on that yet.

5. My main towing concern is stressing the truck's 10 year old engine and tranny with the trailer. The Ford 5.4L engine doesn't have the best requtation. I drove the truck off the lot new in 2010 and have kept it up with oil changes every 3k for regular oil and have been using synthetic since 80k miles and changed that religiously every 6k. Did the 100k tune up right on time. Have also upgraded suspension with off-roady bits; Fox 2.0 shocks in back and front and Icon upper control arms in front (for when I did a bit of off roading).

6. What roadside assistance is best, most useful, most responsive? Is it better to have a combination of a few services? I currently have USAA roadside assistance, but should I add the Good Sam or AAA services as well?

7. I can offer some IT/network related advice for those of you wondering about internet, cell coverage, etc.

That's all for now!

Welcome to the forum! You will learn a lot from everyone as we definitely have as we are new ourselves.

Answers to some of your questions:

1. Didn't get a loan on ours so can't answer - but I can say I would check with USAA (our insurance/banking as well) as they are great!

2. Insurance - Progressive - again, we went through USAA and Progressive is the affiliate insurance for RV's, toys, etc. We got 5% off on top of that for being USAA member.

3. What switch, who, what, why and when - You Tube it...and ask here lot's of info out there. You may want to visit the Airstream site and register your AS and watch their step-by-step videos. Once you get your AS, set it up for a "dry-run" at your home, driveway if possible - we did with ours for 2 weeks before taking her out for our first trip.

4. Tow vehicle - I am assuming your FC is a single axle. Your 2010 F150 should have no problem towing, but make sure you understand what your TV can handle in weight & towing capacity - i.e. tongue weight, GVWR, etc. and that you do have an equalizer hitch with sway bars - important!

5. Ditto above. Our TV is a 2018 GMC 1500 Sierra with tow package and all and has no problem towing our 2018 FB Sport.

6. USAA Roadside assistance is tough to beat. If you go through them/Progressive you will get good coverage!

7. Thanks for the IT assistance, I am pretty darn handy with this myself!

K :0)