New Airstream from NJ to San Diego. Get it shipped or go pick it up?

[Fly.On]

My daddy told me years ago when I was buying my first house "Don't
think this is the final one you'll ever buy." We have owned 5 Airstream trailers and full timed for 12 years in one of them. It might be good to look for a used one.
Regardless of your decision there are lots of Local San Diegans available and willing to help. Try AirstreamSanDiego.Com to see the vast array of help.

[Bauerg]

Just have it shipped to the mothership in Ohio. They will give you the orientation, you don't have to deal with quarantines imposed by select states, they have parking and hookups and should be willing to accept it. You can drive with your family to Ohio in your TV and get everything you need right at the factory and work out any bugs you find while there. Too much fear mongering.

[Moodywelman]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

I am still trying to figure out this quarantine thing. When you get to a state with a 14 day quarantine, do they pull you into a staging area and provide you with a full hook up site and provide meals? With tens of thousands of RVs currently on the road, the logistics are staggering.

Has anyone know anyone who was quarantined? How did that work?

Why not ask Colonial? They can answer all your questions.

[Picinich]

We bought our Airstream from Colonial Airstream in NJ and the orientation that they do was amazing!! you spend several hours with the orientation man and he goes through everything in great detail. You can even spend the night in your trailer to get the feel for everything on their site. Truly excellent service at colonial. We then drove across the country to Washington State which took us five days and was an amazing trip so I would say go to NJ and spend time with the orientation folks it is a must!! Good Luck and happy traveling!!

[John57]

What is your tow vehicle? You may want to fly to NJ and purchase TV that is recommended for your AS by the dealer.

[Silver.Sanctuary]

Originally Posted by ellenpepe14

Hi, everyone! We are in the process of purchasing a brand new Airstream and the one that I really wanted, we found in NJ. We are a family of 5 living in San Diego with three little kids and we are planning on full time Airstreaming for at least one year.


Do you all think it is critical to get the orientation and pick it up from the dealer?

Pick it up. You can stop at Jackson Center on the way home and have all the poor quality things repaired. The new Airstreams are frought with problems... you can kill two birds with one stone and the dealer's introduction is often very informative... If this is Colonial, you don't want to miss the orientation.

Full time Airstreaming for one year with three little kids? Good Luck to you. I home it is everything you want it to be.

[Silver.Sanctuary]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

I am still trying to figure out this quarantine thing. When you get to a state with a 14 day quarantine, do they pull you into a staging area and provide you with a full hook up site and provide meals? With tens of thousands of RVs currently on the road, the logistics are staggering.

Has anyone know anyone who was quarantined? How did that work?

In New Mexico, you are quarantined 14 days or the length of your stay if it is shorter. If other states have quarantine rules like this, I don't think passing through on the freeway is an issue.

[Silver.Sanctuary]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Thank you for the question. In view of the OP’s permission for me to speak frankly . . . [Post #35] . . .

IMO . . Unfortunately . . . and increasingly . . . with most folks migrating to phones and tablets and the AF App — versus viewing this site on a real computer with a larger screen — the tendency is to read only the first post and then reply.

In the old dependable days of more patient folks, everyone would take the time on their real computers with large screens to familiarize themselves with the conversation already underway.

You know . . . Like when you walk into a party, and check out the other guests and what they are talking about?

Who walks into a crowded party, listens to a sentence or two from the nearest and loudest voice, and then starts talking loudly enough for everyone to hear?



Thus . . IMO . . . the quality of CONVERSATION here has devolved into a mostly “type first think later” mode.

Very sad IMO.



Bingo!

If a response is to the original post, the opinion of the poster whether already answered by others is still valid. If the OP is counting 'votes' it still counts. In this case, there may be other considerations than the "collective wisdom".
I am sorry you only think that opinions are of value if posters have read all 5 pages. Maybe YOU should be more patient?

[babbo treks]

Just show a departure ticket from San Diego with a date on it and take a 2 week road trip. Make sure you stay at places that won't ask.. also get the whole fam tested before you go...

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by Kitcat7

Why not do both? That is, fly by yourself to NJ, get the tour of the trailer, quarantine in it over night, see what works and what doesn't, at least superficially, and then fly home a day or 2 later. Of course, wearing a mask when appropriate. And record the trailer tour, as has been suggested.

The NJ quarantine "advisory" is just that. It is is essentially voluntary, the announcement itself, cited in an earlier post, calls it a "recommendation".

It only requires you to stay in your "home" or a hotel when you are there. So your privately owned trailer would appear to qualify as much as a hotel room or house would.

NJ's advisory does not prevent you from leaving before the 14 days is up.

And the whole quarantine thing is premised on you coming from a state where the tested rate of infection is 10 per 100K, or more. But San Diego's infection rate is below that, so you would be compliant with the spirit of the advisory, if not the letter, if you came and didn't quarantine.

Of course, whether it is safe to travel cross country on an airplane to NJ (as opposed to being legal) is a separate issue. I'd be nervous, but I am in my mid-70's.

Whatever you do, super props to you for being so adventurous, your family will have a year to remember!

Voluntary or not I would hope fellow Airstreamers would be considerate enough to do what is requested. The idea and spirit of this is to limit travel from states with high numbers of COVID cases. Trying to find ways around it is like wearing a mask around your neck so you can comply with the rules.

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by babbo treks

Just show a departure ticket from San Diego with a date on it and take a 2 week road trip. Make sure you stay at places that won't ask.. also get the whole fam tested before you go...

Sure because it’s always ok to break the rules as long as you find a way not to get caught.

[Jody505]

Oh EllenPepe.... I’m read some responses but not all and wanted to carefully chime in with a first off....welcome to the airstream life, it’s great and so much fun on Pinterest and blogs but in reality I challenge the concept of cross country travel right now on plane or with a TV to pick up an airstream to start RVing during this pandemic. Finding spots to camp will be a challenge and coming from a hotspot of covid (California) wouldn’t it be horrible if you and your family were carriers? Or if you exposed the kiddos? I hate operating from a place of fear and typically discourage it but the risks should be considered for the good of the masses. My husband and I have delayed our trips due to covid and the very reasons I state above, we’ve gone so far as to just purchase camping property and plan to just use that to get our fix. We are in NM where our Governor has us pretty locked down and we’re in between several states that have struggled - AZ, CA and TX and I bristle when I see a car or RV license plate from those areas. I try not to begrudge but given the craziness I see in the news there are certainly those that take “state hate” to a different level so be careful of that as well. I live near 40 and am now careful to avoid shopping at gas stations, etc right off the interstate and was witness to some major rage (yelling, etc) at a non NM RV’er just recently at the Costco pumps.

You posed the question so that’s a response to consider. In short, if you’ve already made the purchase and must get the airstream I would have it shipped but then if the driver gets covid from the crossing the country it would suck. I agree with the sentiment that an orientation is awesome but in reality I only remember snippets from our orientation and have used this forum and other blogs to fill in the gaps.

Best of luck in whatever you decide and kudos for finding yourself in a place to RV for a year!!

[4taxabel]

Originally Posted by ellenpepe14

Thank you for welcoming me(us)! We have towed trailers before but this is first time owning one. I ended up finding this Airstream in NJ because they wre the only one who had it in the size/model that we wanted. We pulled kids out of school and will be full timing for a year, but still keeping our sticks and bricks back home.

If we fly into NJ, we have to come up with an itinerary to go through the midwest I guess vs if we get it shipped here, I was going to come up with a plan to do the west half first.

Reading other comments though, due to COVID and possible 2 weeks qurantine if we fly into NJ, we may have to just get it shipped to us.....

Tax consequence is something to think about. If you take delivery in Cali the tax is due. If you take delivery outside the state and use the trailer for 90 consecutive days outside the state, you would avoid the state sales/use taxes.

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by 4taxabel

Tax consequence is something to think about. If you take delivery in Cali the tax is due. If you take delivery outside the state and use the trailer for 90 consecutive days outside the state, you would avoid the state sales/use taxes.

So what would you suggest for a registration during those 90 days?

[memph]

I've done both. In the future, I would always go pick my Airstream up in person ... or at least go take delivery in person if I had to have it towed. There are little things that you'll see in person that you won't see in photos. Details to look for, stuff you might want to have them add last minute...etc, so on. It's invaluable to do a pre-purchase walk through, in my experience.

[4taxabel]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

So what would you suggest for a registration during those 90 days?

I’m sure you can figure it out.

[vbud]

Will Colonial tow it to dealer in a state without quarantine maybe PA, MD, VA, Delaware or even Ohio. Not sure if they have quarantine or not. You could drive your tow vehicle pick up the Airstream and get an orientation from Colonial people and not have to worry about interpretation of Covid19 policies. Cost a little but would make the best of your limited time to fulltime
Bud

[Airdream99]

How about calling to see if Colonial will deliver the trailer in a neighboring state that does not have quarantine rules. You can meet at a campground. You all pack up everything you need for the Airstream in a small Uhaul trailer, buy a tent and camp your way across the country. After a compete orientation, gift someone the tent and maybe a stove, load up the rest of the stuff in the AS and hit the road for your adventure.

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by 4taxabel

I’m sure you can figure it out.

I guess you could get a temporary registration in NJ then 30 days later set up residency in another state. Register it there then 60 days later register in California. Sounds like a fun way to start an adventure. I can’t say for sure but I don’t think most states would allow you to register a trailer without residency and probably a state drivers license.

[AbbyA]

We bought our Airstream far away from home. We had our truck with us and it was an impulse buy. We have had excellent service from our local dealer. People move around all the time.