New to the forum, seeking a little advice

[SeanWasHere]

Greetings fellow forum folks,

After much deliberation, I placed an order for an Airstream today. I've loved the trailers for many years, and the time was finally right. It probably won't be ready until early July, but my wife and I are really excited about it. While waiting, I'm working on the parking area and getting ready to order a Parkit 360 for getting it past a couple of tight spots between the road and what will become its parking place behind the house. This will be our first trailer, we are ready to abandon the tent and enjoy a little more of a "refined" camping experience.

I'm new to this forum and looking forward to learning from the experts here. The scope and volume of information in this forum is daunting. Do you have any suggestions of good threads that you would advise beginners to read?

Thank you,

-Sean-

[SeanWasHere]

Oops, I didn't say what was ordered. It's a 2018 Flying Cloud 25' with the dual AC and solar upgrades. We opted for the rear queen with the truffle interior. We went with the 25' for the extra width. The rear bed option allowed for a microwave, which was not an option with a front bedroom.

-Sean-

[J-Dog]

Congratulations on your order. I think you have some time on your hands until you get your trailer, so you will have plenty of time to do a lot of reading. Might I suggest reading some of the "New Posts" to start. If you see something interesting or helpful dig deeper into that subject.
Or...
Perhaps some You Tube videos on setting up your camp. Do a search for Long Long Honeymoon and check out some of their content, you may get some good ideas on where to start.

[Wayne&Sam]

How many watts of solar panel did the upgrade give you? I would think a second AC on a 25' would make it harder to fit panels.

Congrats of your 25'. We too prefer the rear bedroom.

[Ruffn It]

Welcome. Between now and then you might benefit from reading through The Newbies Guide to Airstreaming and Airstream Life's (Nearly) Complete Guide To Airstream Maintenance. I have no doubt there's nothing in those books that can't be found in these forums ... but the forums can be a bit unwieldy if you want to obtain knowledge in a clean, organized way. Just depends on how you prefer to go about it. Maybe a little of both?

As for specific threads/forums - The Rally Zone.
Are you savvy with electrical systems? If not, I'd definitely recommend perusing some of those threads.

[SeanWasHere]

J-dog and Ruffin, Thank you for the quick responses! I'll check them out, I'll order the newbie book today. I've also subscribed to, and watched most of the "A Streamin Life" YouTube videos, which I've found helpful. Wayne, the solar is a 160 watt setup. It's the "flexible" style which the dealer said would more easily fit with a dual AC system.



-Sean-

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by SeanWasHere

Oops, I didn't say what was ordered. It's a 2018 Flying Cloud 25' with the dual AC and solar upgrades. We opted for the rear queen with the truffle interior. We went with the 25' for the extra width. The rear bed option allowed for a microwave, which was not an option with a front bedroom.

-Sean-

Our new 2012 Airstream was also a FC 25 RB. I believe the microwave will be located over the fridge and is also a convection oven, something we used a lot in 1200 nights of camping with it. If not in the order, one of the best options is the full awning package for keeping the whole trailer and fridge compartment cooler.

Very versatile Airstream model. We did many improvements to it, recliner seating, reversed the swing of the bath door, added a large mirror to the bath by relocating the towel bar and moving the swinging mirror mount to the other side, Maxim II vent covers, quiet fridge compartment fan, Shurflo water pressure accumulator, Lifeline AGM 30XT batteries and 3-stage charger, Sleep Number mattress, Michlin tires and 16" Sendel wheels, and ProPride hitch. Traveled throughout the country with it many times, towed like a dream in any weather or traffic and absolute comfort wherever we camped.

Set up a regular inspection and maintenance routine for it (every six months for example, depending on use). Check the function of all equipment, look for any interior loose cabinet screws or missing rivets. Spray and wipe down the external panel seams, rivets, and fixtures and the underbody steel parts with CorrosionX or Boeshield T9 corrosion preventive. Touch up inevitable nicks and scratches with clear coat touchup acrylic. Get an inexpensive moisture detection meter (Sonin for example) and probe the interior perimeter vinyl floor for moisture which indicates an external leak, and reseal as needed. With no external water hooked up and water heater off, but water in the tank, turn on the water pump to build pressure in the lines then turn it off, it should hold that pressure for at least 12 hours or there many be a plumbing leak. BTW, do not leave the water heater on overnight or extended periods, it tends to build up too much pressure and can lead to problems such as a constant drip from the water pressure/temperature relief valve on the water heater. We treated the external panel edges and rivets and underbody steel with CorrosionX just BEFORE two months camping on Calif beaches.

Probably a lot to digest for a new owner, but these tips we learned over time. Hang onto them. We never had an original equipment failure on our Airstream and no corrosion anywhere on our Airstream in six years.

[PharmGeek]

HELLO and welcome! I too made the jump back in 2013 into my very first TT (travel trailer)...if you are new to RV'ing, there will be plenty of information to read, digest, mull, obsess over.

I will include that which I can spew merely off the top of my head, my list will not be exhaustive but give you some things to consider reading about (using google for me and searching "airforums + 'search terms'" gives me best results).

I liked the newb airstream guide...they do however I believe give you a copy when you get the airstream, but who wants to wait till then right? It was cheap, maybe 10 bucks...a decent read. On the other hand, most of those subjects covered can be reviewed in probably even greater detail by reading and watching youtube videos (I will include some references).

If you are anything like me, you will enjoy all the youtube and reading in prep....there is plenty to do...below are some ideas for said enjoyment. If you are not like me, or more like my DW ("dear wife", btw there are loads of shorthand on here haha) you find this part just laborious.

Youtube Channels:

Loloho (the "long long honeymoon") - their videos are great, airstream specific, many many are very informative and generally fun to watch.

"RVGeeks" - their an SOB channel - "SOB" by the way on this forum is a playfully pejorative acronym for "some other brand" to denote in shorthand all other brands that are not airstream...although I have noticed that some brands that are better liked are not as often referred to merely as "SOB" - anyway, this channel is I believe a guy in his MoHo (motorhome) and although not airstream specific, there is plenty of good info on that page, also plenty less relevant to sift through...

Airstream's youtube channel has some very simple videos showing this and that about hooking up the trailer, using the dump, etc, worth a look, but not "that great"...they actually should consider really over-hauling that fb page.

Just discovered the channel "The More We Explore" - fun watching that so far, likely lots of good stuff in there.

Probably many other channels I am unaware of or did not go into, but that are just some off the top of my head.

Asking questions on here, even if it has been asked in the past is always welcomed in my experience.

My experience with my new unit back in 2013 and on, has given me certain experiences that I will share, and offer as "something to think about" (in no particular order of importance):

1) this is an expensive item...wind, rain, UV damage, dirt, and HAIL...find a way if at all possible to now or "very soon" build a roof or building or pay for storage that protects your costly wonderful trailer....this is not an absolute mind you, I did not do it as my funds became stretched, but after having some minor yet diffuse bits of hail damage, boy if I could go back in time.....even without the hail issue, keeping it covered is almost universally a great idea to protect your trailer!

2) GET INSURANCE, and make sure you have the kind that offers "full replacement coverage" - in the event of a "total loss", they put you in a new trailer essentially, usually such coverage expires after the first 5 years of ownership. I think it has been said that this added benefit costs like 150 bucks per year extra, worth it!

3) Do research for yourself tires, hitches, and tow vehicles....enjoy endless reading and what will feel like futility, lol.

4) Do your maintenance: wash regularly, apply sealer type product at interval recommended, apply anti-corrosive to metal parts applicable, learn about where sealant is on your trailer, to look for gaps. Get a "moisture detector" device that can probe your sub-floor in your trailer and inspect for moisture (leaks) on a routine (maybe quarterly or so).

5) I still am guilty of not doing this, but use checklists...be like my dad is when getting an airplane ready to fly, be religious about going through that checklist in the proper order...I have had a few near misses because of this and that slip up, and others have had far worse (example: operating tongue jack while stabilizers are down). Use packing lists, hitching/departure checklist and unhitching/arrival checklists...this is on my to do list right now, I should always be doing it and every time I do not, I run some risk...its far riskier as a newB.

6) im out of time, I could go on, and may add some other thoughts for you.

More importantly, with some preparation however, you will be fine and have a good time....worked for me! Still now loving using our airstream! Best luck!

[PharmGeek]

if the stock converter on your unit is that single stage parallax unit, and you plan on leaving your unit plugged into shore power, just exchange that converter to a proper converter/charger that is "multi stage"....I heard from a little birdie that the 2018 models will have multi-stage units...finally!

If you leave that unit as is, and leave your trailer plugged in, you will "boil" the water entirely from your batteries and they will be destroyed - in some cases a very short period of time....

[dkottum]

Just a note about single stage and multi stage battery chargers. The single stage charger will not ruin the batteries if on external power for a camping weekend or trip and you are regularly using the Airstream electrical equipment.

However, if you return home and plug in external power and leave it charging for a long period without equipment use, the single stage charger will ruin the batteries. You can avoid this by putting the Battery Switch in the STORE position, but then why leave the trailer plugged in.

Some new Airstreams may have multi stage chargers from the factory, I don't know but it would be good to research your own particular trailer.

[SeanWasHere]

Doug/Cheryl and Pharm,

WOW, thank you for all that info and advice! I've been planning on getting a Pro Pride set up, and even spoke with the owner of the company on the phone for a few minutes. I'll look into the potential battery issues, maybe gel-type batteries would help. I plan on getting one of those metal awning things with the galvanized uprights, at first I'll probably attach some lattice panels to the sides, to be eventually replaced with something more stout. You both mentioned a lot of things, though I won't address each point, I can assure you I will research each suggestion.

Thank you again for such quick and thorough replies to my very general inquiry!

By the way, another big project will be the "upgrading" of my 14 year old truck which will be the tow vehicle. If my plan pans out, the truck will be ready by the time the trailer arrives.

-Sean-