Oregon Newbies taking the leap

[Climber]

Hi all, first time post but we've been lurking here since last year. My wife and I are retiring soon and have decided to try half-timing in an AS from our home base in Portland.

We've spent a lot of time prowling the lot and hanging around mooching free coffee at our friendly local dealer - Airstream Adventures NW - and have pretty much determined that a good used mid-2000's unit in the 27-28' range is ideal for us, living wise and price wise. Our folks at the dealership are keeping an eye out for possibilities, and we're thinking we'd like to buy from them if the right unit becomes available because we've heard good things about their service.

Our personalities tend toward the boondocking end of the RV spectrum (though in truth we've never tried it, never RV'd even), so we're researching what we'd need to live off the grid for days at a time, e.g. a good solar setup with a generator backup, robust battery capacity, water, propane, etc.

We're not sure what we need in terms of a tow vehicle, or where to shop, but again we're thinking a good used 3/4 ton rig might be the thing. Here's a shot-in-the-dark question: does anyone in the Pac NW know a truck dealer you'd trust to put together a TV plus tow package in the $20-$30k price range? (We searched on the site here but couldn't find a place for that kind of rec.)

All in all we are pumped to be on this quest! And overjoyed we've found this great site / community to plug into as we learn, leap in, and go.

Cheers,

Climber & Daria

[Woosch]

Climber,
Welcome! We have our Airstream serviced at that dealership and have been happy with their service. Unfortunately, our favorite tech retired recently so we are trying out another tech while she's in for some service this week.

If you have never been RVing you might want to try renting a class A or C for a week and see how you you do with the smaller space. You will find that there are some things that are important to you and others that aren't.

Good luck!

[Climber]

Thanks Woosch! We're eager to hear how your service goes. AS Adventures NW has several locations in OR, WA & CA, so that gives them some cred in my book, but there's nothing like a first hand review.

As for Rv experience, we both grew up road tripping in VW busses and truck campers, backpacking, mountaineering and so on, so we're used to small spaces -- we just never had a trailer to tow so that "RV" part is new to us.

Do you like your 2007 27' Classic FB? That's pretty much exactly what we're looking for.

Cheers,

Climber

[Woosch]

Yes, we are very happy with it. Wife wanted the walk around bed but didn't want the configuration of the 25. More storage up front without the panoramic windows works good for us. Watching TV in living room isn't the best setup. We never thought that we would watch tv much.
Got Flo back yesterday and they did a nice job. We have only been unhappy about a fix once and they took care of it with no hassle. Saw a 27FB for sale on this site a couple of days ago but its on the east coast.

[Climber]

Well we did it, we bought a 2012 Flying Cloud 27FB and took her out on a cool and rainy maiden voyage to Champoeg State Park near Newberg, Oregon. What a blast! We have a steep learning curve ahead, but even that looks like fun. Thanks to everyone on this Forum for all we've learned in our lurking mode. It's cool to see how your anecdotal and experiential wisdom passed along online translates to the real world for us. It's great to be part of such a smart and generous community.

Cheers,

Climber

[moosetags]

Congratulations on your new baby. We would love to see pictures of her. We have been half-timing in our Airstream since we retired nine years ago. It has been a great lifestyle, and we have enjoyed it immensely. We have seen a whole lot of this great country.

Brian

[PaulnGina]

Congratulations on your Airstream. What tow vehicle did you get?

[OregonVista]

Welcome to the family! We are not half-timers but 2014 saw us spend close to 100 nights in our Flying Cloud as we traveled to Alaska, Albuquerque, and about 4 Oregon Unit rallies.

Hope you are considering joining WBCCI. We are an active club with over 150 members and lots of organized camping rallies. And you will find all kinds of expertise among our members; from restoration to repair. Here is a link to our website;
The Oregon Airstream Club.

Safe travels!

[Drathaar]

Climber, congratulations to you and Daria. I'm just a bit south of you, and we often start trips by a night or two at Champoeg. We now keep the baby in covered storage, and take a couple of easy days getting things ready while at the park. It's easier than getting into our driveway, then getting turned around.

Welcome to the clan.


BTW, for those who haven't been to Champoeg (shampoo-eee), it's a nice state park, close to wine country.

[Blueliner]

Jealous on 2 levels; Portland is the top of our retirement list, and, the Airstream purchase! Hope to enjoy both within the year, though.

[idroba]

Originally Posted by Climber

does anyone in the Pac NW know a truck dealer you'd trust to put together a TV plus tow package in the $20-$30k price range? (We searched on the site here but couldn't find a place for that kind of rec.)

Glad you got your trailer, but if you are looking for a new TV in the $20 k to $30 k I can only giggle. Used, of course, but dealers that I have ever worked with have known far less about what is needed to tow with than I do, and only want to sell you what they have on hand. And they want to sell it to you TODAY only.

[Climber]

Thanks everyone for all the kind welcomes!

I tried to post a photo of us and "Bella" up but it appeared upside down. Our first crack at leveling wasn't perfect, but it wasn't that bad. Guess I'll have to figure the photo thing out...

We don't have a tow vehicle yet so we're renting a 2013 F-150 EB from Airstream Adventures NW. So far so good. Plenty of tow power on the flats but not sure how it would perform in Rockies, or even the Cascades. Maybe we should try pulling up to Timberline Lodge to see if we want to buy one.

OregonVista, hey guess what - we JUST joined the Oregon Unit / WBCCI. We got our numbers (5405) but haven't put them on yet. We're really looking forward to our first rally. We met some great people at an Oregon unit get-together a couple months ago at Champoeg, before we got "Bella." That turned us on to the park as a great place for our maiden voyage. Maybe we'll see you and Drathaar there sometime!

Cheers all, and thanks again,

Climber

[Climber]

Originally Posted by idroba

Glad you got your trailer, but if you are looking for a new TV in the $20 k to $30 k I can only giggle. Used, of course, but dealers that I have ever worked with have known far less about what is needed to tow with than I do, and only want to sell you what they have on hand. And they want to sell it to you TODAY only.

Yep, we are finding that out. And choosing our Airstream seems like a whole lot easier decision than choosing a vehicle.

[Climber]

Our new baby:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...1&d=1420247920

We are so pumped!