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Christonnix · 04-02-2012, 11:15 AM

Hi,I'm a new member looking to buy a vintage airstream. Would prefer gutted, but open to any. My price range is 3000 or less. Only stipulation is it must have a title

**moosetags** · 04-02-2012, 11:22 AM

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

You've found the right place to start. Take a look at the Forums Classifieds for starters.

Brian

Aage · 04-02-2012, 11:27 AM

Howdy and welcome to Airforums.com, Christonnix! Have you had experience with refurbing trailers before? If not, be sure to start reading up on all the wonderful tales of months and years of work that many members have put in with trailers in similar condition as you are looking for.

We look forward to your story too!

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any problems...

Regards,
Aage

Belegedhel · 04-02-2012, 12:03 PM

Hi, and welcome to the slippery slope!

It sounds like you are looking for a trailer to customize, rebuild, etc. My advice is that you educate yourself and manage your expectations. I spent two years looking for a vintage trailer, and my main goal was to find one that didn't need any sheet metal work, and that had the floor layout I wanted. After two years, I thought I had found "the one" and that I would be camping after a few months of superficial refurbishment. I am coming up on a year of ownership, and spent this last weekend POR-15ing my frame, halfway through a shell-off rebuild.

One thing you might try in addition to reading various posts on this forum, is to listen to some episodes of "The Vintage Airstream Podcast" (The VAP). This is something you can do as you commute in the mornings, and may help you to know what to look for in a vintage trailer, and how much work and expense to expect to put into one. The older episodes go into a lot of detail in this regard.

As for where to look for a trailer, I spent a lot of time on Craigslist and Ebay. There are plenty of scams on craigslist, so naturally, I wouldn't buy something I can't look at first, and as usual, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Happy hunting!

Travel Bird · 04-02-2012, 12:55 PM

Good luck on your search. You are in the right place. Keep us posted what you find and please post pics!!

Landshark · 04-02-2012, 04:09 PM

Hi and welcome! Just keep looking: we weren't even looking and 5 ASs found us. They just needed a good home.

Where is Magnolia? My family is from Oden or DeQueen.

Vivian

Christonnix · 04-02-2012, 06:09 PM

Wow thank you all for the warm welcomes and great info

yes, we are looking into a complete refurbish of an airstream. My husband and I are quite excited about it, but obviously trying to watch out for scams. We have looked into Craigslist and found a wonderful '71 sovereign that we fell in love with and it's only 3 hours away from our home! The guy is looking for the title and if he finds it we are a for sure sale! The outer shale and the belly pan are in great condition as we have heard those are 2 major issues found when refurbishing. We welcome any other tips you might like to share

----as for where Magnolia is, lol it's a small town probably about the size of DeQueen it's actually close to the Louisiana line near Shreveport.

Christonnix · 04-02-2012, 06:09 PM

Oh and we are definitely going to check into The VAP podcasts!

Christonnix · 08-29-2012, 07:53 PM

Looking to buy a severely damaged/scrap airstream with a clear title. Any helpful info would be greatly appreciated!

Splitrock · 08-29-2012, 09:33 PM

Did you try these links?

http://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/

http://www.allofcraigslist.com/

`

Art Culinair · 08-29-2012, 10:15 PM

Will keep eyes open for you. My wife and I are in Jonesboro la just down from you riding out the slurricane in our 78 airstream.

Belegedhel · 08-29-2012, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christonnix

Looking to buy a severely damaged/scrap airstream with a clear title. Any helpful info would be greatly appreciated!

You are looking for a rare combination--perhaps you could share your motivation so that we can see where you are heading.

Most newer model Airstreams that get even a good pock-marking with hailstones will get totaled by the insurance company, and sold at an auto auction as a wreck. By the time the average buyer like yourself gets a crack at it (for instance, on ebay), it has already gone through the middle-man mark-up, so that the money saved by buying a wreck hardly makes up for all the work it is going to take to make it right again (plus you have a salvage title).

Have you become so enthusiastic on the rebuilt trailer fun that you want to do loads of sheet metal work in addition to all the other work a rebuild requires?

If so, I have a bucked rivet gun, English wheel, bending brake, and electric shears that i will gladly sell cheap as soon as I am finished banging on my shell!

CaddyGrn · 08-30-2012, 12:21 AM

Welcome to the forums! Lots of good pointers here so far.... keep on looking and you may find just what you need! In the meantime, read the forums and learn all you can about the job that may lie ahead! Planning is half the fun!

Christonnix · 08-30-2012, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splitrock

Did you try these links?

http://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/

http://www.allofcraigslist.com/

`

Yeah Splitrock, I did see those and I will keep looking there! Thank you so much for your help!

Christonnix · 08-30-2012, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art Culinair

Will keep eyes open for you. My wife and I are in Jonesboro la just down from you riding out the slurricane in our 78 airstream.

Thank you Art! Hope all goes well for you all! Stay safe and keep that '78 safe as well

Christonnix · 08-30-2012, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

You are looking for a rare combination--perhaps you could share your motivation so that we can see where you are heading.

Most newer model Airstreams that get even a good pock-marking with hailstones will get totaled by the insurance company, and sold at an auto auction as a wreck. By the time the average buyer like yourself gets a crack at it (for instance, on ebay), it has already gone through the middle-man mark-up, so that the money saved by buying a wreck hardly makes up for all the work it is going to take to make it right again (plus you have a salvage title).

Have you become so enthusiastic on the rebuilt trailer fun that you want to do loads of sheet metal work in addition to all the other work a rebuild requires?

If so, I have a bucked rivet gun, English wheel, bending brake, and electric shears that i will gladly sell cheap as soon as I am finished banging on my shell!

Thank you for your response on this! So here is the story, my husband and I recently bought a 72 Trade Wind in almost immaculate shape for its time, we bought from a friend who assured us the title was clear, when indeed it was not. Not stolen, but has changed hands several times and now we don't know where to begin. Ive seen so many issues with this as far as the title is concerned so I'm sure trying to get a title is useless. We only paid $500 for the airstream so at least we didnt spend our life savings on it! our hopes are to find one and use ours that we bought for parts/ and such. Oh and my husband said hes definitely interested in those tools!

Belegedhel · 08-30-2012, 07:18 AM

I wouldn't give up hope so easily on the trailer you already have. I know that the title can be a big issue, and I fled from buying a few trailers that had dicey or missing titles. Anyway, vehicles with missing/lost titles get retitled all the time, the level of difficulty just depends on your particular state, you might need nothing more than a bill of sale and a form from the DMV to get things moving. Check your state's DMV site and see if you can find the answer there. If not, you may have to spend some time in the dreaded DMV line to get the information, but it might be time well spent. Besides, if you are doing a full blown refurb on your trailer, you probably have a year of slaving away, during which time you can get the title sorted out.

On the topic of using the trailer you have for parts to fix up a trailer bound for the scrap yard, if your thoughts were to just swap the plate with the vin and serial number, then you will need another '72 Tradewind. If your thoughts were truly to disassemble both trailers panel by panel and frankenstein one together, then you would be better off just buying some rolls of aluminum sheet and building one from scratch using the one you have as a pattern.

You could then get it titled as a home-made trailer!

Landshark · 08-30-2012, 07:59 AM

I 'm sorry to admit that I've bought 3 trailers without titles; 2 have now cleared the titling process, and the third is on the way. And yes, better to buy with a title, but ve haff vays! First check with your DMV, preferably in a small town (like Magnolia?) where they know you and maybe even the friend who sold you the trailer? tell them the exact circumstances and ask what you have to do to get it titled. In my state, it was as simple as finding the last titled owner (or his heir), getting a bill of sale and having the last titled owner/heir sign a power of attorney (only for that trailer) assigning the legal responsibility for the trailer to me and filling out a lost title form. I could then file all of these with the DMV and everything is underway. Although this sounds a little dodgy, this is what the DMV said to do, so I have done it and am awaiting the title. it didn't matter how many unregistered or untitled owners were in between me and the last titled owner, that was the legality of it for the DMV.

There is also a company that titles vehicles/trailers for $200-300. They run the bill of sale through a state that doesn't title trailers, then take that paperwork to your state and get a title. I didn't want to shell out the extra cash, but you got the trailer at a real bargain price, so I would just consider that cash part of the trailer's price. Any chance of getting part or all of the titling expense back from your "friend" the seller? If you want the name of that company, I'll dig it out.

Sounds like the trailer you bought is worth a little hassle; don't give up on it or its title without a lot more work!

Good luck! let us know how it turns out!

Vivian

Christonnix · 08-30-2012, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

I wouldn't give up hope so easily on the trailer you already have. I know that the title can be a big issue, and I fled from buying a few trailers that had dicey or missing titles. Anyway, vehicles with missing/lost titles get retitled all the time, the level of difficulty just depends on your particular state, you might need nothing more than a bill of sale and a form from the DMV to get things moving. Check your state's DMV site and see if you can find the answer there. If not, you may have to spend some time in the dreaded DMV line to get the information, but it might be time well spent. Besides, if you are doing a full blown refurb on your trailer, you probably have a year of slaving away, during which time you can get the title sorted out.

On the topic of using the trailer you have for parts to fix up a trailer bound for the scrap yard, if your thoughts were to just swap the plate with the vin and serial number, then you will need another '72 Tradewind. If your thoughts were truly to disassemble both trailers panel by panel and frankenstein one together, then you would be better off just buying some rolls of aluminum sheet and building one from scratch using the one you have as a pattern.

You could then get it titled as a home-made trailer!

It sounds as though we are on the same page, but if one does build said home-made trailer how does insuring it come into play? As we have definitely had this thought. Would insurance pay to fix it, or see the worth in it? And where is a good place to buy aluminum sheets reasonably?

Belegedhel · 08-30-2012, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christonnix

It sounds as though we are on the same page, but if one does build said home-made trailer how does insuring it come into play? As we have definitely had this thought. Would insurance pay to fix it, or see the worth in it? And where is a good place to buy aluminum sheets reasonably?

Actually, I was being facetious with the suggestion regarding a scratch-built trailer. My guess is that titling a scratch built utility trailer weighing less than 2000 lbs may not be a big deal. Titling a full sized scratch-built 4500 lb travel trailer is probably much more complicated. That being said, Aluminum sheets can be ordered online from Air Parts Inc., and Aircraft Spruce, as a couple of examples. I spent more on the aluminum I used to replace just the belly pan on my 21' trailer than you paid for your Tradewind, so don't look at this as a low-cost alternative!

On the topic of insurance, you will probably find that coming up with a value for a home made, completely refurbished, or otherwise vintage trailer will be much more complicated than getting your hands on a title for your trailer (but you will go through this, title or not). You can do a search on the Forums for "Insurance", and you will find many threads describing members' challenges with negotiating a value of a vintage trailer. Insurance companies like things simple. If you show them a bill of sale that shows you paid $10,000 for your trailer, then they will take a look at it, and you may be able to insure it for $10,000. If you show them a pile of receipts for thousands of dollars worth of materials that went into the trailer, you may not find them as agreeable.

The conventional wisdom is that you never recoup (ie., you won't be able to sell it or insure it for what you have in it) your tangible+intangible costs of a refurbed trailer, so if you set foot to this path, realize you are doing it for the entertainment value, pride of ownership, etc., not as an "investment." With this thought in mind, the less time and money you spend on the refurb, the less money you will be out in the long run.

Good luck!