Did I get a good deal?

[Nixon66]

Well, first off let me say that I am not trying to get back to original so if there are any "brand" purists who might get offended I apologize in advance. I am remodeling my 77 Silver Streak Luxury Liner that had been poorly remodeled once already. I am sticking with a couch bed instead of doing a build-in wraparound dinette. One of my needs was a wall mounted table and I just got one on eBay. I paid 51.00 and it will cost me about that to get it to Texas from Portland, Oregon. It comes from an AS Excella but will work nicely for my needs. Is 101 bucks a decent total price or could I have gotten a better deal? Mostly I am just curious. Right now I am happy that I found one at all. I can't wait to get it.

[Stefrobrts]

I think when you want something like that you're lucky to get it at all! I wanted one of those flip-up counter pieces some of them have on the end of the kitchen counter, and the last one I tried to get on eBay went WAY out of my price range at over $100!!! And that's just a little piece of countertop! Sounds like you did ok to me

[vinstream]

The parts alone would be 100 to 150 green backs!

Lets see pic's when in trailer!

[Nixon66]

Originally Posted by vinstream

The parts alone would be 100 to 150 green backs!

Lets see pic's when in trailer!

Vinstream that's good to know about the parts costs. I am surprised with how versatile these are that there are not more reproductions out there. I may reverse engineer the thing and go into business.

As far as pics go, I have been documenting some of the before and after stuff and I plan on doing a big post when I get a little further ahead.

I am working on the new counter top tomorrow and have to go to IKEA to pick up a cabinet, sink and faucet that are going to be part of the end product. The sofabed I've picked out is at IKEA also and is being discontinued soon so I have to get it before they run out.

Thanks for the input.

[Nixon66]

Well I got the bill for shipping today on my table. Get this...$64.51 slowest ground UPS from Portland, Oregon to Burnet (Near Austin), TX. That is 13.50 more than I paid for the table. But I still think I got a bargain at $114.52.

The nice thing about the 55 inch (all the way extended) table is that is will comfortably seat at one time the family of 4 that will be using it.

[davidz71]

I do like those tables. I had a similar one in my '77 Excella and have one in my '86. The one in my Excella, a 31' model, actually fit 5 around the table, two on each side and one on the end. My shorter 25' Sovereign allows me to fit 2 on the couch side, one on the opposite side and one on the end. There is plenty of elbow room around the table.

[utee94]

Welcome to the Forums, Nixon. I love the Burnet area, as Austin grows larger and larger I could see myself moving out there one day, getting on Lake Buchanan.

I think you got a heck of a deal even with the shipping. As Stefrobrts stated, this is one of those items you feel lucky to get at all.

Please do post pictures as soon as you get a chance.

-Marcus

[Silverhobby]

If you think the eBay prices are high, try talking about a new one from AS with your serial # in hand. E bay is still a good value for some items. I have located 2 Flexsteel sofas in the past few months from www.craigslist.com. The prices have been reasonable. Also, I have a boneyard (Airstream parts) within 100 miles of me.

[Nixon66]

Thank you for the welcome Marcus. I love the Highland Lakes area and get a little spoiled living here. Believe it or not though property is so expensive that I bought my lake property up in Comanche County on Lake Proctor. Water is water and as an example, last Memorial Day weekend there were 6 fishing boats and 3 pwc's one of which was mine. My SS is going on my lot by Labor Day weekend. Partayyyyy!!

I know a lot of people don't really care for eBay but I am a fairly avid user and find a great number of deals. I have made a couple of mistakes and learned from them but I have also gotten really good at picking out frauds or less than truthful claims about offered products. I really got lucky finding this table as I actually looked at eBay on a whim. There is was with only a few days left. I outbid two other people and was shocked when I maxed my bid at 125.00 + unknown shipping and then won the thing for 51.01. Yeah it would have been nice to go over and pick it up but I paid less than I was willing to bid for the table on the entire transaction.

Craigslist was a big help to me in finding the trailer. There is some nice stuff out there that people don't want to pay eBay to be the middle man for. The two trailers I narrowed it down to were both off of Craigslist and neither one was on eBay.

I will post pics on this thread when the table is in. I just found out that my new couch I ordered won't be hear until the 7th.... @#$%& IKEA!!

[slowmover]

We found our trailer off of eBay, the owners lived north of Houston. We looked at 5-6 others, all the same source.

I don't yet know of any salvage yards that have S/S trailers (haven't looked/called yet either), but you may find that S/S cabinetry, chairs, tables are available. That said, I'll be buying whatever works.

Unlike an Airstream, Silver Streak was always accomodating to dealers and buyers who wanted something different. Cabinetry, generators, re-locations of appliances, etc, was possible. That may mean that a salvage trailer may have parts, pieces, ideas.

We have two of the fold-down tables in ours. No built-in dinette, but a single-leaf table and two chairs. Near the front couch, a fold-down extend-able table that will easily sit four.

Sounds like you may have some nice carpentry and fabrication skills. Hope to see your work as things progress.

[Nixon66]

Well REDNAX I am a little better than a hack but no artisan. I started at 18 working on custom formica counter tops and have done roofing, remodel carpentry, framing and trim work over the years. I learned enough to be able to do my own upgrades to my home including tile, sheetrock, yada yada. The closer to the end of the project you get, the tighter the tolerances have to be. It is a great lesson in patience to do trim work, of which almost all of RV remodeling is. Since there is no big timber frame work everthing has to be very precise or it looks like hell. I think everyone will be surprised when I unvail my handywork. Not so much because of the workmanship but because of the look. I am proud of what I have done so far. I just wish I had a big covered awning or barn to work on it in so it would be cooler and I could leave tools and supplies out. It is quite a process to set up to work on the trailer and makes it hard to get much done on the weekday nights.

[Sunni]

I wish I could say if you did reverse engineer it and set up your own shop, I'd be a customer, but I'm still waffling on what to do in my SS. At the moment I'm thinking a dinette that's convertible into a bed might be better for me than the current set up, which is a table like yours (with a bad leaf ) and a futon.

I'm looking forward to your big post unveiling your work!