The Wife and I need some collective input......nearing ready to buy

[Acheron2010]

Originally Posted by jrwayne

Not saying you should drive all the way to Atlanta to Southland RV, but they are great. I am suggesting to look at the 26 RB. Great layout.

Second the vote on the 26. Love the bath arrangement, but to do again I might have gotten twin beds.

[Boba]

Regardless of which dealer you choose, given Airstream’s ongoing record for poor quality control, a smart move would be to bring someone who knows what to look for with you on your pre-delivery inspection. Many of the items likely to be found are not obvious to the newby. The dealer will be far less motivated to fix the manufacturing problems you are likely to find after you take delivery. My bet is that ther are many folks on the forum that would be more than willing to assist just for the satisfacion of helping a neighbor and future Airstream enthusiast.

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by Boba

Regardless of which dealer you choose, given Airstream’s ongoing record for poor quality control, a smart move would be to bring someone who knows what to look for with you on your pre-delivery inspection. Many of the items likely to be found are not obvious to the newby. The dealer will be far less motivated to fix the manufacturing problems you are likely to find after you take delivery. My bet is that ther are many folks on the forum that would be more than willing to assist just for the satisfacion of helping a neighbor and future Airstream enthusiast.

Interesting point, living in Rhode Island, I've "yet" to see an airstream being towed anywhere in the state!

Will keep this in mind...TY.

[loft47]

Save yourself a lot of grief and $, buy a good used Airstream.

[SteveSueMac]

Kittmaster - there used to be a dealer in Stoughton, MA (I see from your profile you’re in RI). That’s where I bought mine. Would have been convenient for you - but they’re no longer an AS dealer.

I was afraid to go too far to buy figuring CT to MA was easier to handle than CT to NJ or OH. Knowing what I know now, I definitely would have bought from Colonial. We bought new for the 2 year warranty and after having a few tick items done at the (no longer living) MA dealer, we finished the list and some customizations at the factory in OH. Later we had our hitch reinstalled at Colonial (original dealer didn’t do it right). As it turns out - we’ve always been able to schedule what we needed and work around it. The driving is fun - I always have an ear to ear grin when the Tin Goat is behind me and both the factory in OH and Colonial in NJ have been outstanding to work with for service. Both have options to “Camp” on site while getting service. Both were great!

Now new trailers have a 3 year warranty - even better to work out bugs. And there will be some.

Some folks don’t like paying new prices knowing they’ll be in for warranty repairs. For us, it was worth it. Primarily because I have no discernible mechanical skills [emoji3]. Your mileage seems to vary so take that in to consideration.

As to your driveway - have you tried backing something like a 25’ trailer in to it? Where there’s a will there’s a way - can’t tell from your pics but I suspect if you had the trailer you’d find a way to stuff it in there without needing a turning gizmo.

Last - the New England unit of the club might have some local folks who could be of help. I’m a member but there are others from RI who might be willing/able to bring their trailer by and work out the entry path and offer other help. The website is here: https://newengland.wbcci.net/ and feel free to IM me if I can be of any help making connections.

Good luck!

[TStehouwer]

If you're thinking new, remember that your new AS has a 3 year warranty. You may be handy, but warranty-related work is free when done by an AS dealer.

We took delivery of our 2018 AS in April. Since then, it's visited the AS service center in Jackson Center, OH twice for warranty work, and the local dealer about 3 times.

[The OctoGent]

Originally Posted by TStehouwer

If you're thinking new, remember that your new AS has a 3 year warranty. You may be handy, but warranty-related work is free when done by an AS dealer.

We took delivery of our 2018 AS in April. Since then, it's visited the AS service center in Jackson Center, OH twice for warranty work, and the local dealer about 3 times.

TStehouwer => 5 visits for warranty in 6-7 months? Is that normal for an AS?

[frank nordyk]

Originally Posted by kittmaster

Hello all,

Been here a short time as we have been researching the type, style, ins/out, and all things AS.

We made the trek to Albany NY to actually see the one we want to buy etc etc....

Came down to, once we did a final measurement, we went from 23 to 25 capability in a serenity (based on our driveway and turn around space area).......which opened a whole new can of worms....ugg!

So the question from my wife came up as, she has seen (on this forum) where people "shop around" for the best price and it could be thousands of miles away to get the best "deal" for said unit.

Now, some minor background, I am a Senior Electrical Engineer Manager, I am also have plenty of mech skills for repairing, replacing etc.....so I fear nothing about purchasing it from far far away.

The wife wants to know, since I'm handy, should we "not" worry about where we buy from since I can do most things......BUT, what do we do about service if/when we would have to make a service run........somewhere....

Does buying from a local dealer supersede handiness because at some point I will need it serviced by a dealer and not buying locally could create an "issue" of serviceability?

To me local makes the most sense since most AS dealers are within a 3 hour window to get service done, but if I can save XXX grand by traveling........we just aren't sure what AS buyers have done......and do they like it, regret it.....or other.

All views welcome, please help us make an educated decision.

We both thank you.
Chris

I have purchased two AS in less than a year. Traded in the 25' FC (Side ways bed-ouch to my head) for a 27' Globetrotter. Bad first decision. Get the one you really like the first time, it will be expensive to change.

We went on our first real dry camping trip in the Globetrotter, last week at June Lake, CA and Yosemite, and the refrigerator stopped working at 2 AM with red light flashing and making buzzing sound, trying to use propane only. Had to cut the trip short and take it back to our dealership where we purchased both AS. with about 6 other little things wrong. Three years warranty works for me.

I am retired, have no real skills to fix anything and I am 24 years short of the 100 year's mark. I admire those that can repair stuff. But, if you're retired, why would you want to spend your time fixing things. Just a thought.

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by frank nordyk

But, if you're retired, why would you want to spend your time fixing things. Just a thought.

Not retired.....just have lots of drive and energy and I can't stand things that are broken, just part of my nature to get it working.....even if it is not used all the time.....

If you're "really" interested, just type my username into Google....you'll see the name with a .com on the end........if you ever watched any tv in the 80s.......then you'll understand.....

[Tomfeury]

Originally Posted by Albireo

I like John Ruskin's approach.


“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When
you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay
too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you
bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The
common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a
lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well
to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will
have enough to pay for something better.”

― John Ruskin

I have no problem paying for good service because it is important to me. Others not so much. Can Am in Ontario, where we bought, has a great reputation which I found out after. I went there and they checked all of my mental boxes without even thinking about it. It just felt good and I felt like I was being taken care of. The price was competitive and for me price is only part of the equation.

When we left on our trip just the other day with our new Airstream Andy the owner said if you have any issues give us a call as we know lots of people along the road and we can set you up anywhere. This was the icing on the cake with all other services and transactions being top notch in our experience. Money can not pay for that. Good people are good people and good dealers make good experiences and good experiences are all part of the equation when I look to buy something.

I hope you find a great dealer and have a good experience and get a fair price while doing so.

...

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Tomfeury

...

Did John Ruskin ever own an Airstream? The 25 is a nice size...only complaint we had after owning 3 of them, was the newer layout with the bench seating is very uncomfortable for watching TV, especially with 3 or more...I also agree; twin beds give you more sleeping surface, (queen-60"; twins-34" each) and they also give you at least 2 more compartments for outside storage...queen models do not. The 25' front bed also has a window in the bathroom...plus a 4th outside compartment in front...just saying...there are lots of options to consider...even in the 25'. I also like the 26' seating...very comfy...we, however, opted for a 28 this time, and it is pretty nice also...just may not fit in your driveway from what you are showing...good luck!

[Rocinante]

If we were to downsize from our 27FB, we'd drop right down to the 23FB. We love it, but as we've been full time since March, we're glad we stayed with our existing floor plan / length.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

You are spending a *lot* of money on an new(er) AS. That's just the way it works. It is reasonable to expect 10 to 20 years of "fun" if you buy the right model for you. Buying one that is to small (common) or to big (less common) gets you into a trade-in cycle. That's really not the way you want to go.

Trucks / SUV's (if you get out and see the world) probably are not 10 to 20 year sorts of things. Best bet is that you will go through multiple tow vehicles while you are towing your AS. Pick the trailer first and *then* figure out the tow. The trailer is what you will own the longest. It's also (normally) got the most money tied up in it.

Driveways depend a lot on exactly what the lot limits are. In a lot of cases, turning 9 feet into 12 feet is fairly easy. Putting in a load of gravel to turn around on ... maybe that works. There are a lot of variables involved so, no way to guess there. I'd just suggest that getting the "wrong" trailer in order to save $2,000 on a driveway mod is not a good idea.

I'd certainly recommend Colonial. If you are shopping for a 2018, understand that AS puts out discounts this time of year. The "best deal" in August is not the standard for November. Service wise (and parts wise) there is an *enormous* variation between dealers. Some are absolutely worthless, others are amazingly good. Being close to a worthless dealer .... not so useful.

Repair / upkeep wise, I could have had my trailer back in the shop every week for the past 18 months. The same is true of my truck, my car, my TV, my computer, and my cell phone. If every time something goes *ding* you want somebody else to figure out why .... you will spend a lot of time at the shop. As it is, the trailer has had one service call, that was for a brake assembly that went bad.

Best approach:

Find a dealer with a range of trailers in inventory. Spend a lot of time in each of them. This will take at least a day if not a couple of days. Look at them all. Figure out where what goes. Check the seating (is it comfortable / do you fit). Check the bathroom (same ...). Beds matter a lot as does bed layout. Can you cook what you need to in the kitchen? The list goes on and on.

Ultimately you should get a pretty good idea of what works for you size wise. The 27'+/-2' range has always been the sweet spot for Airstream. It is not at all unusual to wind up there. Once you know the size tradeoffs go back and see what that does to the driveway. See what sort of tow vehicle makes sense.

Now you have a multi variable problem to solve. You have all the inputs. It's just a matter of working out what the rational solution is. It's probably not as highly constrained a thing as it first appears ....

Does this or that take time? Sure it does. You are headed into cold weather season in your area. You have a *lot* of time to work this all out before it's time to go camping again.

Lots of fun !!!

Bob

[Bigventure]

I just saw a trailer mover in the classifieds. Check it out.

[johare22]

No problems with service at any Airstream dealer, but quality may vary if you ever experience an issue like you didn’t buy it here so no service for just call Airstream customer service and they will make it right very quickly we bought our unit 909 miles away from home, no regrets

[dbwilson4]

Based on my personal experience I would shop around to ensure I get a fair price. I also have yet to experience good customer service from any Airstream dealer I have dealt with in the past even though I purchased my last unit from a dealer who came highly recommended on this forum.

[Overstreet]

Originally Posted by Caffeinated

IMHO you should back it in. It's not that hard, just a bit of practise.turning it around once you are in there just complicates everything.

Mike

People tell me that too. But I'm going to continue to use the tugger. Explaining it just doesn't fly with some. Just do what works for you.

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by Bigventure

I just saw a trailer mover in the classifieds. Check it out.

Sent a message, thank you for the heads up!!!

Chris

[Drathaar]

Originally Posted by kittmaster

Hello all,

Been here a short time as we have been researching the type, style, ins/out, and all things AS.

We made the trek to Albany NY to actually see the one we want to buy etc etc....

Came down to, once we did a final measurement, we went from 23 to 25 capability in a serenity (based on our driveway and turn around space area).......which opened a whole new can of worms....ugg!

So the question from my wife came up as, she has seen (on this forum) where people "shop around" for the best price and it could be thousands of miles away to get the best "deal" for said unit.

Now, some minor background, I am a Senior Electrical Engineer Manager, I am also have plenty of mech skills for repairing, replacing etc.....so I fear nothing about purchasing it from far far away.

The wife wants to know, since I'm handy, should we "not" worry about where we buy from since I can do most things......BUT, what do we do about service if/when we would have to make a service run........somewhere....

Does buying from a local dealer supersede handiness because at some point I will need it serviced by a dealer and not buying locally could create an "issue" of serviceability?

To me local makes the most sense since most AS dealers are within a 3 hour window to get service done, but if I can save XXX grand by traveling........we just aren't sure what AS buyers have done......and do they like it, regret it.....or other.

All views welcome, please help us make an educated decision.

We both thank you.
Chris

We have a 2012 25 FCFB Q, and although we keep wanting a new and larger trailer, every time we visit the local dealer, the quality issues quickly bring us to our senses. We were at the dealer yesterday, trying to find a hinge (no longer available) for a cabinet door, and again started looking at the 30’ FCs. When I can walk in and see obvious (minor) quality issues, it makes me wonder what else is there that isn’t obvious. I’m staying with my current trailer.

If the boss of me would downsize, I would be looking at an Oliver (or Oliver would make a bigger trailer) in a heartbeat.

No new Airstreams for us. Used? Maybe...

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by Overstreet

People tell me that too. But I'm going to continue to use the tugger. Explaining it just doesn't fly with some. Just do what works for you.

My wife and I agree with you on this point. We don't make willy nilly decisions and it's one of those things you have to be there to understand the motivation of the decision.

We will also buy a tugger based on our very specific needs.

In 10 years, that view may change, but right now, we know what we need to do to make it work for us....