Need some tips on getting my first Airstream ready to roll

[m.hony]

Oh, yeah, and flashlight batteries...

[PharmGeek]

Coast HL7 headlamp - awesome - get it!

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by suzieleigh

We just bought our first Airstream....a 2006 31' Classic....and we're working now on getting it ready for the first trip to Virginia Beach in April. Would love some advice on making sure we have all the right gear for the inside and out. Been searching the web for all the leveling, chock blocks etc, along with making sure that everything seems to work. And the Salvation Army got me started on kitchen stuff along with some Amazon purchases. And as soon as we get the recall items taken care of (refrigerator and Actibrakes), we should be 1 step closer.
Any help you all could provide on this topic would be wonderful.
Thanks.

Darlin's - we do have WalMart, K-mart, Sears, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, et al here. If you need it and don't have it, we can help you find it. No Camping World, but plenty of sports stores. Don't fret - and don't buy too much stuff at the start, you'll end up discarding about half of it anyway. Water hose, Sewer Solution or Stinky Slinky, Toilet paper, soap, toothpaste and brushes, basic clothing and food. The rest will be better chosen as time goes by.

BTW - as a grateful recoverin' Yankee, I should tell help you with your grammar and pronunciation:

• y'all - one person
• all y-all - more than one person
• hail - the ultimate abode of Gen. William T. Sherman
• Sheee-it - in the North it's a one syllable word

"no see ums" are microscopic insects that are so numerous and tiny that you'll breathe them in or eat them by mistake. YUK.

First Landing state park is great and not so expensive as the KOA or Holiday Trav'l Park.

Let me know what your dates are.

Paula

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by suzieleigh

Would love some advice on making sure we have all the right gear for the inside and out. Been searching the web for all the leveling, chock blocks etc, along with making sure that everything seems to work.

What I did when I bought my Airstream was this: For the first trip, take only the minimum. Shore power cord, potable water hose, an assortment of fuses, the least amount of clothing I could get away with, food, and the minimum necessary cookware and dinnerware to cook and eat the food.

Then, whenever I ran across a situation where I said to myself, "Self, one of those would sure come in handy right about now," for my next trip I'd make sure I had one of those, whatever "those" happened to be that time.

On the flip side, if I made two consecutive trips and didn't use something I had brought along, for the next trip that item would stay home. Except tools and fuses, which are "better to have them and not need them…" items.

I've gone camping in my Airstream over 30 times in the past two years, and I still find stuff that "sure would come in handy right about now." And I still take stuff out because I haven't used it in two or more trips.

Moral of the story, there is no such thing as "all the right gear." Even if you think you have all the right gear, something will happen and you'll find that it's only almost all the right gear. And sometimes what you thought was the right gear turns out to be not so right after all. As you make more trips, your equipment will evolve.

[Rollster]

Besides the above, our must-haves include a coffee maker and camp chairs to enjoy the great outdoors.

[m.hony]

"Self," says me to myself...
I am of the "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it" camp-
All we have to add is perishable grocery items when we travel-
It is truly our home away from home-
Everything is in there, and stays in there, as well equipped as our stick and brick home-

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by m.hony

Everything is in there, and stays in there, as well equipped as our stick and brick home-

If I had the storage space in my Interstate that you have in your trailer, I'd do the same. Unfortunately, only on television can you find Airstreams that are bigger on the inside than on the outside. In my case, with the exception of basic hand tools and safety equipment, anything I don't use every trip is something that's in the way of something I would use, if only I had room to bring it.

[m.hony]

If they still made the 34' trailer...

[suzieleigh]

Thanks again for all the help.

If only we were in a sunny warm spot right now so that my husband could stop calling our new Airstream "popsicle"..

[m.hony]

That trailer looks frigid...
Frosty the trailer
was a shiny silver soul
with a roof a/c
and a long awning
and four wheels made from...

[PharmGeek]

We have a ton of space in our 30 bunkhouse - have not come close to filling all the storage - so far we have been minimalists and that has worked fine - will build up crap though I'm sure

[F450Harley]

Suzieleigh,
Congratulations on your new classic and happy streaming.

You have a lot of farms around Wendell so my advice will be to make a list, pack up and go for a 2 night camping on the farm. Whatever you forget while on the farm, add them to the list or go home and get it if it's a must have. Also get two lifeline AS handymen that can trouble shoot over the phone (electric & plumbing)just in case. Best wishes.

[F450Harley]

Check this thread out too.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f483...rs-114580.html

[jrudd1968]

As Aage said: "take half the 'stuff' and twice the money you had planned!"

Practically everything I pre-planned for our first trip 13 years ago was still right where I stowed it when I sold that trailer 8 years later. Buy as you need something!

[Splitrock]

In addition to getting the trailer ready with tires, brakes, lights, 7-way, and window rock guard, I bought a hitch for the truck, mud flaps, and extended mirrors. It adds up pretty fast.

[PharmGeek]

It's not a total necessity - but we got a patio mat too to reduce tracking in stuff

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

It's not a total necessity - but we got a patio mat too to reduce tracking in stuff

I have a patio mat, too, but sometimes an ordinary doormat does just as well; I've had the wind catch my patio mat and blow it halfway across the campground when I laid it out on concrete with no way to stake it down at the corners. Plus a doormat is easier to store in between trips; just lay it out on the Airstream's floor just inside the door like a small area rug.

[suzieleigh]

Paula,

Just wondering if you received my personal message?

Thanks.

[VT Wanderer]

The Newbies Guide to Airstreaming is a great suggestion. Also, have all your major systems (brakes, propane, water, sewage, electrical components, tires etc.) checked out by an AS dealer if possible. Safety is first. When we got our first AS in 2007, I also got the Idiots Guide to RVing. It covers all bases. I would also suggest doing 2 short trips prior your first big trip. 1. to a campground that has all the hook-ups, so that you get familiar with how all your systems work. 2. to a location to boondock - it could even be a campground with no hook-ups. This will give you a lesson on what works without water, electric and sewer connections, leveling your AS, etc. We did these 2 short trips and it was the best thing that we could have done. 2 weeks after our shake-down trips, we were on the road cross country for a 10,000 mile adventure. It was FANTASTIC. Be wishes and enjoy.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by VT Wanderer

The Newbies Guide to Airstreaming is a great suggestion. Also, have all your major systems (brakes, propane, water, sewage, electrical components, tires etc.) checked out by an AS dealer if possible. Safety is first. When we got our first AS in 2007, I also got the Idiots Guide to RVing. It covers all bases. I would also suggest doing 2 short trips prior your first big trip. 1. to a campground that has all the hook-ups, so that you get familiar with how all your systems work. 2. to a location to boondock - it could even be a campground with no hook-ups.

Actually, you know, you CAN boondock where there's hookups; just don't use them. That might actually be safer for a learning experience, so that if you misjudge how long your batteries or fresh water or whatever will last, you don't have to break camp to correct the problem because the fix is on the pedestal right next to your trailer. The only thing you wouldn't be able to do is run your generator to recharge; to learn about that, you really will have to go someplace with no hookups.