Leaving it unattended? Mobile base

[theGoose]

I have never been RVing but I love the outdoors, backpacking, mountain biking, fly fishing etc.. Recently I flew up to NC from South Florida to go mountain biking. I told my friend it would be so much cooler if the trails were right outside our hotel rooms. Instead we had to load the bikes in the rental car then drive 30min to get to the trail heads. I'm thinking now that an Airstream would be the perfect solution. A base for all of the outdoor activities. Every month or two moving the AS to a different location.

I have a small plane and every month we like to get out of Florida for a few days or a week. How feasible is it? Leaving the AS somewhere unoccupied for 3 weeks at a time? I would leave the tow vehicle at the closest airport, fly back to Florida when we are done. When we are ready to return for more adventure my truck is waiting for us at the airport and the AS close by.

My biggest fear is returning to the Airstream and everything is stolen. I'm sure it all depends on where I leave it.

[Wsmith]

Rent a hanger. Store the trailer and truck in it. When you get there put the plane in the hanger and take off in the RV.

[xrvr]

At top of ga as park you can leave your trailer. Must be a member of WBCCI. Lots of mountain biking around there and near Helen, ga. Airport? don't know. 7 dollars a night is the fee for full hookups. jim

[theGoose]

Hangar would be great but a lot places require 6 month or yearly commitment. I would be moving it every couple of months and some of the smaller more remote airports or landing strips don't have them available. I'm hoping I can find camp grounds that are safe, secure and under $400/month to leave it unattended.

I will check out Top of GA. Looks like a nice area. The Habersham county airport is about 25 miles away.

[Bill M.]

there are several airstream only parks around the country. you should get a copy of the Blue Beret or look up WBCCI on the internet. many of these sites will rent or have storage for weeks or months. Some of them will let the lot owners sublease. Floyd, Va, Crossville, Tn, Top of Ga, a couple in texas, Land yacht harbor in Olympia, Wa, couple in florida, Penn woods in Pa, one in Minnosota. I do not think the idea is real practical since you will always have to arrange storage or pay for a site. but you might be able to make it work. The airstream parks would be a very safe place to leave a trailer.

[DaveFL]

Smaller airports probably could find parking that would be safe for an Airstream, most have chainlink and gated entrances if not a nightwatchman.
Been to the Helen, Ga park and I agree with Bill as a safe place to park it long term.

[Jammer]

Welcome.

In general Airstreams are targets for theft, vandalism, and "repurposing" by amorous young couples and people looking for a place to party. As a practical matter it isn't possible to secure an Airstream to withstand criminal activity, so it is risky to leave one unattended in locations that aren't secure.

Given your use case you may find that a B van is a better fit. Airstream made a B190 for a while and is now making something called an Airstream Avenue which has roughly similar capabilities. Pleasureway and Roadtrek are other makers to consider. The shape and size of true B vans (unlike the wide body B+ vans you sometimes see) is such that you could leave one parked at any airport where it would be acceptable to park a tow vehicle.

[shebeen]

I plan on leaving my AS on my land on the coast of northern Maine. I'll probably only get up there a few weeks every spring/summer/fall.

No neighbors.

My plan is to hire a local to do a weekly check and to use battery powered passive infra-red motion detectors inside hooked up to a 200dB horn. Somebody trips that and their gonna bolt, neighbors or not. The battery will last 6 months without recharging. Whole set up for less than $100.

Trick is to keep the infra-red a few feet above floor level.....or there's gonna be one DEAF mouse.

To that I'm adding a big sign in the window....IF ALARM IS SOUNDING CALL 911.....more of a deterrant than anything.

Of course, this will protect the inside but not necessarily the outside.

This seems to have worked on my boats over the years....because yes....thar be pirates. Good luck.

[shebeen]

One thing I forgot to mention. I plan on leaving my door 'open', yup OPEN. Same as I did with the hatchways on the boats. If somebody wants 'IN' they'll get there one way or another by busting the door or opening it, no question......I prefer not to replace the door.

Once in, then they meet my little alarm.