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Kistler · 01-20-2003, 04:46 PM

We like reading about others on this forum; in someway it makes you real people more than just typing in questions, etc.

Our names are Brenda and Larry Kistler Ryan. I prefer to be called Kistler--to a lot of things

We are both 63 years old and moved to Tucson 2 years ago coming next Memorial Day. Both of us worked for Los Angeles City Schools and retired from that in 1993. We have two sons; one is 44 and the younger 41. We have three grandchildren (older son's); a grandson 17, grand daughter 14, and one grandson 10.

In 1993 we moved to Olympia, WA; because of climate and needing medical help, we moved to Tucson.

Tenting out of the car trunk, tent trailer, Terry TT, Vactioneer 5er, Class C Jamboree, and now our Airstream have allowed us to enjoy travel. We espeically enjoy going back to KS and OH--the places from where we came to CA from in the late '50s.

For me the advice on the forum is invaluable because I am not exactly mechanically oriented--was a HS Counselor. Brenda taught English and worked in "special programs". Neither of us pack wheel bearings.

It is really nice "meeting" you all.

Kistler

xtrm69 · 01-20-2003, 05:33 PM

Hi, my name is Darrell. Im 36 and been married for 16 yrs now. We live in SouthEast Alaska on a island up here. My hobbies are, hunting, fishing, cigars, good scotch, online games, and model building. (large type models such as the Cutty Sark ships).
This is our very first airstream to work on.
Ive read that some of you guys are pilots. Ive been in a airplane crash once about 6 years back. The plane was a DC something or another, A big silver plane with twin engines. Sorta like the original Flying Airstream!! LOL. The plane was heavy with people and goods, the pilot was learning, he banked to steep to the left and came down way before the runway. We lost the left wheel and strut and started to slide downt eh runway on the left wing and turning. We were doing a 180 and looked out the window to see us heading towards the ditch. Thats when I stuck my head between my legs and prepared to roll. We didnt roll, thank god, and came short of the ditch. To top it all off, the airline didnt even say sorry or offer a free flight lol.
We have currently 2 projects to work on, one being the airstream and the other a 26' Bayliner Cabin Cruiser 1973 model. Inboard 350.
Hope to get a digi cam one of these months and post some before and after pics of the airstream.

Rubyslipper · 01-27-2003, 07:57 AM

The Rubyslipper..."no place like home".JJ and Deb Gaskill,from Kansas.Bought the 1995 31' Classic Limited in May of 2002.JJ has been involved with nuclear power plants since construction days back in middle 70's. Has been all over the US working at numerous power plants while I stayed behind raising 4 kids. Our baby graduated back in May and is attending college.We are currently "fulltiming" and have been in the middle of Missouri since May.As soon as the current job contract is finished we will head out to the next.Where ever that may be.Hopefully someplace warmer...

xtrm69 · 01-27-2003, 02:12 PM

Hi RubySlippers:

Im a part time power plant operator here. We got Cats running the town. 1000Kw, 885Kw, and a 600Kw gensets.
Havent run into any operators except you so far.

John · 01-27-2003, 02:56 PM

X,

Check your PM

John

Rubyslipper · 01-28-2003, 07:47 AM

X, Not an operator....welding planner/engineer.

startrekker2001 · 01-28-2003, 04:16 PM

Hi all,
I am Vic Smith. I am 61, born in Glens Falls NY in 1941. Joined the USAF in 1960 and retired in 1980. My wife and I have been married for 41 years. It may last after all. We have two sons and one daughter and 5 grand kids. After living in New York, Maine, Maryland, Alaska, Illinois, Texas, North Dakota, Okinawa, and Virginia we have settled in Palm Bay Florida. The ocean is 5 miles away and we are loving it. Summers are hot and humid, hence the trailer and trips to the north in the summer.

I worked for GE Aerospace/Martin Marietta/Lockheed Martin for 15 years after retiring from the AF and retired from Lockheed in '97. Those were the most interesting and rewarding years of my career. In the AF I was a Weather Forecaster and got into computers when I was assigned to the Environmental Technical Applications Center in '73. Been in computers ever since, working primarily as an IBM Mainframe assembler programmer. (can you say Dinosaur?). Worked as a software contractor for 2 1/2 years after retirement from Lockheed. After the last contract was up, I thought I was between jobs, but it turns out I retired... finally.

We got our '78 31' Excella last March and have taken two trips. A short shakedown cruise and a 64 day excursion to Northern NY and Connecticut. I am in the process of stripping and polishing our pride and joy. We were extremely fortunate to find a real gem of a trailer. It was a trade-in at Recreation USA in Winter Garden Florida. I had been looking on-line and found it there. It is 25 yrs old and had some minor problems which I have solved. Everything is original and everything works. I suspect the trailer was from Northern New York. If anyone traded an Airstream at that dealer in March 2002 I would like to thank them personally for taking excellent care of it.

Our tow vehicle is a 2001 Ford Excursion V-10 that came equipped with a class IV receiver. We have a Reese hitch and I just installed the Reese Dual Cam Sway Control.

This year we are planning to go back north to family and friends then head for Colorado and the Grand Canyon, then to Texas to see family and back home.

Kistler · 01-28-2003, 05:08 PM

I wish you would have posted an email....however, maybe this is not so private....

What kind of miles per gallon do you get on your Excursion?

We got rid of

a class C motorhome and bought a 25' Airstream last fall and our toad became the tower.... isa Jeep GC 4.7L BUT feel a little "intimadated" as to power and wheel base....

Trying to decide if we "need" a diesel or gas and what size gas engine. Suburbans are out in my opinion (had too many 3/4 ton GMC PUs with trans problems) and loved our 460 Ford MH.

Would you buy the same you have?

Kistler

startrekker2001 · 01-28-2003, 08:52 PM

Kistler,

The Excursion gets 15mpg solo and 11 towing. In hilly terrain mpg drops off a little to around 10.

I am very pleased with it. It tows effortlessly. When I bought it I was only interested in getting a vehicle that would tow anything I wanted to buy. I knew I was in the market for a 30'+ Airstream. The vehicle was a 2001 leftover, so I didn't have a choice of engine and so on, but it was set up exactly the way I had wanted. I lucked out there. Plus we got it at a good price.

maxandgeorgia · 02-24-2005, 06:41 PM

Came across this "old" thread and wondered if anyone still wonders "who" we are? Some who are in this thread are still posting; some I've not heard of and wonder if they still lurk on the forum. Are you game? Let's update it. Who ARE we?

juel · 02-24-2005, 07:02 PM

I am a retired professional dog handler who used to travel to the shows in a 1967 Caravel. I loved that little trailer, but alas I had to go back to school and quit "playing" and something I loved. I went to nursing school and became a Registered Nurse. I have always regreted letting my Caravel go and just this year was able to replace it with a 1978 Argosy. I am in the process of restoration; however, the trailer is in great shape as it is. Just the wear of age. I like to go out and sit in it and dream of the time when I can take "Harvey" out on the road. I work for the State of Oklahoma in a child abuse program, so I don't have much down time. Hopefully as the weather gets better I will be able to get some time to myself to relax out by the lake. Judy

maxandgeorgia · 02-25-2005, 03:59 PM

Well, I invited updates to this old thread, but I didn't post myself. Now, Max would just describe us as "two old far-s" but I think we're lots more than that. Max is 65 and I'm turning 63. We are Mizzou Tigers from long ago, and still agonize over our football and basketball teams. Kind of miss the days of Stomin' Norman. We raised our four kids in north Missouri, and relocated in the capital, Jefferson City, nearly 20 years ago. This still seems like the "new" place to us. I grew up vacationing on the Current River with my family; Max and I continued that, but didn't take up camping because of Missouri's heat and humidity. . .til we learned about the North Shore of Lake Superior. Like others here, we moved from tenting (achey bones!) to pop ups (stiff backs!) to an SOB (getting better!) to Gypsy, our wonderful AS. With the AS, we had to have the truck, the Honda generator. . .it's a love trap or a money pit--depending on the day

Our oldest son lives with us-disabilities caused by a lifetime with Diabetes. We have an old Weimaraner, Wally, who rules us. Max is an attorney, nearing retirement; I am a middle school English teacher, thinking I'll retire this spring (!!). I took off bunches of years from teaching when our kids were young. We read, garden, love the Rocky Mountain West, seashores, rocky places, each other, and our kids. . .oh, yes, and Airstreams! Okay, that's more than anyone wanted to know in the first place, so how about the rest of you?

Ag&Au · 08-31-2011, 09:49 AM

While I was searching for something else, I stumbled on this thread. It apparently slipped into a coma, although it has come to once or twice. I thought I would attempt to revive it once more.

Obviously there are those here would prefer not to have much known about them, and if thats the case don't post just read.

My real name is Ken and my user name is my ham radio call sign. Knowing that, one can learn a lot about me. I have been involved in ham radio since I was 15 years old. I went to college, spent 5 years in the Navy and tried a couple of jobs in the civilian world before settling back with the government as a air traffic controller. I retired in 2004.

I spent a a few years in supervisory jobs before I realized it didn't fit with my belief that authority should always be questioned to determine its worthiness.

As my 4th grade report card said, "Ken would get better grades if he wasn't such a "wise acre"

I lived in western Washington for the first 50 years of my life and will probably spend the second have of my life here in Colorado.

I like technically challenging things. I spent as much time on my bicycle as possible. We have a couple kayaks that we use on local lakes and take on trips with us.

If I haven't put you to sleep yet, please tell us something about yourself.

Regards,

Ken

PS If you want to know about my super powers, just place your mouse pointer over the red dot after my user name in my profile.

StreamRollin · 08-31-2011, 12:47 PM

OK Ken, I'll play ... We are Jim & Wendy, but I do most of the posting (Wendy) - I am just a couple of months away from 50 and Jim's 50-something. We have both worked for the same company for over 20 years (Jim's got 25) We work hard and we play hard. Jim's a branch manager and I run the I.T. department (of one, me). We have one grandson who is 5 and new granddaughter due this week, and another son getting married end of next week who hopes to increase that number as well. We have a blended mine & yours family and all the kids (4 total) are grown up and independent. Life is full and enjoyable.
We purchased our Airstream in June, to buy it we sold an older RV and our boat, we just like camping more and having a vehicle to explore with is even better. Our first Rally will be the Balloon Fiesta in ABQ, and not being the shy type, I'll be hollering around for AirForums personas to come and say Hi.
In our free time, besides camping, we love, love, love our house. Been fixing it up for 10 years now, and finally having a chance to enjoy it. Landscaping, gardening and generally beautifying our surroundings.
In the summer, Jim rides his motorcycle a lot to work (his other passion), and we take occasional rides up into the mountains as well. I am just a passenger. I like to read, but not fanatically and have numerous unfinished stitching projects, but I don't quilt ... we're just a normal ordinary couple, nothing fancy here.

And ps, we're just a little south of you

Erik Olson · 08-31-2011, 01:47 PM

I've been wondering this after reading the PayPal thread! Shapow!

My wife and I are both 40, living in Charlotte, NC with our twins (boy, girl 9) and daughter of 12. For a long, long time, I've dreamt of owning an older (1974 certainly can't be considered vintage yet!!!

) Airstream. Now that the kids are getting a bit older, we decided to finally pull the trigger while the tween will still be seen with us. That might be a two year window at this point!

Could be a couple Jack Russells along for the ride. And you know how that goes...

Hope to meet others out there this fall and, eventually, at some rallies!

Erik & Stephanie, Riley, Ethan & Grace
Darby & Scout

**DKB_SATX** · 08-31-2011, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik Olson

I've been wondering this after reading the PayPal thread! Shapow!

My wife and I are both 40, living in Charlotte, NC with our twins (boy, girl 9) and daughter of 12. For a long, long time, I've dreamt of owning an older (1974 certainly can't be considered vintage yet!!!

) Airstream. Now that the kids are getting a bit older, we decided to finally pull the trigger while the tween will still be seen with us. That might be a two year window at this point!

Could be a couple Jack Russells along for the ride. And you know how that goes...

Hope to meet others out there this fall and, eventually, at some rallies!

Erik & Stephanie, Riley, Ethan & Grace
Darby & Scout

The Vintage Airstream Club's page says it's for trailers 25 years old and older... so your trailer was already vintage before you turned 30.

Erik Olson · 08-31-2011, 09:29 PM

I'm four years senior to "Ohana 74" - guess I'm not quite ready to be called vintage!

Ag&Au · 08-31-2011, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik Olson

I'm four years senior to "Ohana 74" - guess I'm not quite ready to be called vintage!

That makes you the same age as my daughter.
You still have much to learn, Grasshopper

(You may be young enough to not recognize the reference.)

Regards,

Ken

Erik Olson · 09-01-2011, 06:51 AM

Karate Kid (the real one)? A good one, but if we're willing to go back further, I much prefer Drunken Master.

Aviator · 09-01-2011, 07:41 AM

Well, since I have been posting a lot I will provide some background on myself also. I am 49 and my wife Carol is younger. We have two children. Our son is 13 and our daughter is 11. By profession, Carol is a Financial Planner with a boutique firm in the Atlanta area, and I am a pilot (hence the user name) for Delta Air Lines.

We inherited our Airstream from Carol's parents who were the original owners and full-timed in it. We also camp with our Weimaraner as well and have found the Airstream to be an ideal family get away machine.

Reading from the top of the thread, pilots appear to be tinkerers as a general rule and I am no exception. I am constantly tweaking this or tha with the trailer. This week it was a Wilson cell booster setup which I have been very pleased by how well it works.