Vintage Base Camp or Ultimate Airstream

[Jcdevins]

At the International Rally in Sedalia, I met both of the above mentioned companies and was looking in to a redesign of our dinette area into the “Grand Lounge” concept. Can anyone share experiences with these two vendors? We live on the East Coast so VBC is closer but we really want a quality makeover and online reviews are quite limited. We have a 2023 International 25 FB.

Thanks for the help!

John

[Jeff_Cheryl]

Hi Jcdevins. We're lucky and Ultimate Airstreams is co-located with Portland Airstream Adventures which is where we bought our 2024 Flying Cloud. We had Ultimate Airstreams install a gourmet cabinet before we picked it up and couldn't be happier with their customer service and quality of the modification.
It wasn't cheap but you'd never know it didn't come installed at the facory. We're taking it back to them on Friday to have some task lighting installed above the working surface of the gourmet cabinet while we're getting some other service done at Portland Airstream Adventures. We'd be happy to send pictures, but I think Ultimate had done a good job with what they show on the website.

Good luck with your decision!

[99TJSE]

I'll second those comments. Ultimate Airstream does exemplary work, and pays strict attention to details.


Example, they weigh the loading on each tire and the hitch, BEFORE and AFTER any modifications to ensure that the trailer remains at least as balanced as it was from the factory.


A perfect example of you get what you pay for.

[rbs]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Cheryl

Hi Jcdevins. We're lucky and Ultimate Airstreams is co-located with Portland Airstream Adventures which is where we bought our 2024 Flying Cloud. We had Ultimate Airstreams install a gourmet cabinet before we picked it up and couldn't be happier with their customer service and quality of the modification.
It wasn't cheap but you'd never know it didn't come installed at the facory. We're taking it back to them on Friday to have some task lighting installed above the working surface of the gourmet cabinet while we're getting some other service done at Portland Airstream Adventures. We'd be happy to send pictures, but I think Ultimate had done a good job with what they show on the website.

Good luck with your decision!

We'd like to see your gourmet cabinet, can you post some pictures please?

[Jeff_Cheryl]

Originally Posted by rbs

We'd like to see your gourmet cabinet, can you post some pictures please?

Here you go, RBS. This is what the gourmet cabinet looks like in our 2024 Flying Cloud 27FBQ.

[gypsydad]

I have a copy of Ultimate Airstreams "older" catalog. Have always followed them and talked about upgrades. I like the upgrade options of a grand lounge and storage, but don't need anymore with my 28' FCTwin model. But, if I had a 27' or 25' model again (I had 3 different year 25's), I would highly consider this modification for sure. It's only money...

[10Smiles]

We had the dinette in our '05 redone by Ultimate. They do great work, love it. Before and after pictures...

[Jcdevins]

Thanks for your reply! Ultimate Airstream certainly does nice work! We would have to tie the cross country trip into an adventure - not a bad thing! I am curious- how did you decide on the size of the drawers in the cabinets? What are you using them for? We thought it may possibly be a place to install a wine rack. I'd appreciate your ideas! John

[daleyocum]

Ine thing to keep in mind with the grand lounge is if you want to put the table down you’ll need to find a place to store an extra cushion. Folks might weigh in where they put that when not using it. That’s given us pause.

[Jeff_Cheryl]

Originally Posted by Jcdevins

Thanks for your reply! Ultimate Airstream certainly does nice work! We would have to tie the cross country trip into an adventure - not a bad thing! I am curious- how did you decide on the size of the drawers in the cabinets? What are you using them for? We thought it may possibly be a place to install a wine rack. I'd appreciate your ideas! John

Hi Jcdevins. For us, the extra counter space/food prep area was more important than the drawers and we just went with whatever the "standard" drawer sizes were from Ultimate Airstreams. Although I'd guess they could do just about anything you wanted, within reason.

We use the two big drawers mainly for bigger pots, pans, tea kettle, cooking-related storage. The top drawers have varied use. We have an adjustable silverware drawer insert that fits perfectly and use it for an organized version of a junk drawer - misc. office supplies and small items. The other has tea, baking sheet, parchment paper, aluminum foil, and other miscellaneous items.

The two bottom compartments are fold-down doors, not drawers, similar to the ones under the fridge. They're not full-depth, either. We have a couple of baskets that fit them perfectly and use them for our supplements and pantry item over-flow.

Hope this is helpful!

[EKrebs]

Hi to Jcdevins and all: I am new to Air Forums, but I saw this thread and wanted to mention that my experience with Vintage Base Camp has been very positive. Here's a google review I posted (and have updated with successive projects by VBC):

Greg and the team at Vintage Basecamp are top-notch: talented, hardworking and conscientious. Five years ago, they repaired and updated various systems on our 1969 Safari to give it the love a 50-year-old trailer deserves. Last year, Greg's team replaced the original bathroom - adding a gray water tank - and restoring the bathroom with period correct design. And there was the time that Greg saved our vacation with an emergency repair of the door lockset without which we would have had to abandon our tour (couldn’t get in the trailer!) From sexy total rehabs to the more mundane necessary repairs on Airstreams, Vintage Basecamp knows how to get it done.

That said, we are in the same area code as VBC, so we are lucky to have them nearby. And our trailer is old... It's great to have folks sensitive to the value and idiosyncrasies of an older trailer. Good luck to you.

[Nick Laenen]

We had our Cloud upfitted by the Vintage Base Camp Team. Greg and Julie (as well as the rest of the team) were amazing. We were impressed with their professionalism and attention to detail. The cabinetry, counters and chair install was flawless, better than factory direct! I highly recommend VBC, on time and on budget! If you decide on an upfit, you will not be disappointed with the VBC choice!
Nick and Lisa

[Nick Laenen]

Here are several photos of the upfit from Vintage Base Camp. Julie and Greg have better shots than we do...we have been too busy enjoying the Cloud to take pictures!