Newbie, almost ready to buy - Tips and Guides Welcome (needed!)

[Vurcease]

Hey folks! Long-time lurker here (almost 4 years on the boards, though only visiting once in a while). This is my first post.

My girlfriend and I have been pining over Airstreams for years now. We've toured through them on sales lots, drooled over them on the AS Classifieds, and even took a factory tour at Airstream in Ohio - if you haven't taken that tour, make it a priority! Talk about being proud of American manufacturing... wow.

This post's purpose is two-fold - first, I wanted to say hello and say that I'm very impressed at the strength, knowledge, and helpfulness of this community. I've learned a lot just from browsing here. Mostly I've learned how much I don't yet know! It's almost intimidating, but not enough to scare me away.

The second purpose is to see if anyone knows of any direct links to threads here that could help me with my next steps. There's lots of info, but most of it is very specific (e.g. "How does brand X coupler work with loads over Y pounds" and other highly specialized questions). Does anyone know of something like a 10,000ft overview "Here's what you need to get rollin'" guide?

Here's where I'm at:
- 2005 Ford F-250 diesel (long-bed, crew cab - already starting with some length!)
- Ready to buy an AS, either new or used, within 6mo or less
- We may even full-time it for a year, not completely sure yet
- Looking strongly at the early 2000's or late 90's Classic, 29-30ft.
- Based in Orlando, plan to drive all over this vast nation, we've got family everywhere!

The truck has a hitch - used to tow horse trailers before I picked it up used. So there's electric and hitch. I need to acquire a ball, any other hitching gear, and inspect the electric. I think - this is where I need some help - that after that I'm ready to pull the trigger on an AS purchase and drive up, hitch up, and start our dream!

But I'm new to hauling, new to trailers, and - well... I'm new. Any guides? How can I avoid making the most costly mistakes?

Thanks!

[FCStreamer]

Congrats! Here's the checklist I used when I bought mine. Hope it helps.

http://www.ourflyingcloud.com/2016/0...checklist.html

[Vurcease]

Originally Posted by FCStreamer

Congrats! Here's the checklist I used when I bought mine. Hope it helps.

http://www.ourflyingcloud.com/2016/0...checklist.html

That's a solid list. I've got it bookmarked, thanks!

[VaTravelers]

Vurcease, we just purchased a 2017 28' Serenity International. Awesome trailer. I tow it with a 2005 F250 diesel super cab. Running down the road at 70, you don't even know the AS is behind you.

[Vurcease]

You know, VaTravelers, that's music to my ears! I love hearing confirmation that my tow vehicle is a good choice - thanks!

[Vurcease]

It took almost another 8 years since that post, but we did it! We purchased a 2011 23' Flying Cloud FB - Woohoo!

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by Vurcease

It took almost another 8 years since that post, but we did it! We purchased a 2011 23' Flying Cloud FB - Woohoo!

Well, I guess better late then never.

Just curious why you thought of posting now!

[Vurcease]

Well, I've been a consumer of forums of all kinds since the late 90's on the Internet. It always felt like a cliff hanger when I came across a thread with no closure. Despite knowing it probably didn't mean a whole lot to others, it was a moment of pride for me, for sure! Now I can look back at this thread and grin like the happy idiot I am because there's an Airstream in my life. Finally!

Now comes the hard part: learning how to properly use these forums to get some of the minor bits fixed up. There's a few things to tweak on it, being a 2011 that's spent most of its life in storage. In excellent shape, for sure. But some things break down over the years and there's some work to do. Wish me luck!