GOOD v BAD

[rwsjms7]

Originally Posted by StreamNTyme

It amazes me people will spend a gazillion $$$$ on a new Airstream without a second thought and then scour the ads and Internet to get a cheap hitch, the most important item of the entire purchase, which helps protect their precious cargo, spouse & family, from possible danger on the roads. We have a Hensley and we also believe in Propride, no others can compare. Travel safely...

I agree wholeheartedly. I've done the research and I've decided on a ProPride hitch. Yes it is pricey, but you are absolutely right - one should not scrimp on the important.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by StreamNTyme

It amazes me people will spend a gazillion $$$$ on a new Airstream without a second thought and then scour the ads and Internet to get a cheap hitch,

It's not a cheap hitch, it's the appropriate Equal-i-zer. I could have paid $800, but chose not to. It has almost no wear, even on the ball. The seller didn't know what it was, but he took it as partial payment for work he did. Just because you feel the need to justify spending $3000 for a hitch doesn't mean everyone else is wrong.
Guess what? My Honda generator came from CL too! <gasp>.

[rwsjms7]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses.

I do understand the nature of forums as I've already stipulated. I don't expect 'perfection' (I'm a pragmatist to the core), but I do expect a quality product.

I never thought I would even be considering an RV, we are not the camping type, but the more I looked the more I liked. We have spent quite a bit of time traveling outside of the US and would like to stay stateside (new grandson might have something to do with that).

I did an 8k mile motorcycle ride this past June and I saw a lot of RVs out west and the light bulb went off. I was immediately enamored with the idea of seeing the country up close.

We already have the TV and it is just a matter of deciding to do it.

Once again, thank you.

[Rfriebele]

We've had 3 Rvs, all bought new. First 2 had a whole slew of issues that weren't major but annoying and I can fix most anything but having to do so made us re-evaluate our last purchase. We chose Airstream, for the layout and design plus we believed they were better made. We also (I believe) got lucky by living near a very old well established dealer. When we took delivery, the walk through was very different from the first 2 RVs. The people who setup our AS, owned them and used them. They spoke to us much like someone from this forum. They told us the good, the bad, the ugly and I'm convinced they did the setup in spectacular fashion. I've not had to do a thing except enjoy it. THEN, I joined this forum and paranoia set in. I started obsessing over issues people were complaining about that didn't exist...waiting for something terrible to go wrong. Nothing has. We couldn't be happier but I'm convinced we have our dealer to thank for that. Our previous experiences, I felt the dealers objective was to SELL IT, walk us through it and get it off the lot. The AS dealer sold us, then a lifelong employee who OWNS one, set it up for us knowing all the little ins & outs of how to take care of whatever the factory didn't to insure we had a trouble free experience and we DID.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

One very basic part of "fitting" into an RV (any of them, not just an AS) is to spend some time in several models. That's most easily done on new ones. I'd suggest a trip to a local dealer, even if you are buying used. Sit in them for hours. See how this or that works for you. Do you bang your head when you go into that cabinet? Are you ok with it? Do you / don't you fit in the seating? (including ...err ... the toilet ...the shower ...). Lots and lots of stupid little details.

If as you try to do this, the dealer wants to sit in your lap or limit you to 5 or 10 minutes ..... find another dealer. Indeed if it's a Saturday in late June and 6,000 people are on the lot .... not going to work very well, no matter who the dealer. Right now is end of season for the RV business in many areas. You should get treated well.

So yes, the dealer *does* matter in the "buy it new" process. The sales department is the end you will mostly deal with early. Later on you would deal with service. Often the sales end is a bit more polished than the service end. Make sure to at least look at the service area and say hello to a few of the people....

One other part of buying new is that service can come from any dealer or from the factory. That's something that dealers may be less than upfront about, but it does work that way. In fact it works that way on used trailers as well. Unless you have a weird warranty, all the service departments want your business .....

Lots of details.

In our case, the dealer is about a 3 hour drive away from here. That's a bit inconvenient. I can call up and chat with them if needed on the road. I can also order and get various parts direct from them. Sales wise, they did a fine job. We've dealt with a lot of RV dealers over the years. They have done very well by comparison.

Bob

[rwsjms7]

Bob,

I have already done that. I have spent at least 150hrs researching and watching videos.

I've been to Colonial AS at least 3, if not 4 times. Patrick always encouraged me to spend as much time in the trailers as I'd like.

So yes, I've done my part. Now the decision is do I want to do it? And that remains to be seen...

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by rwsjms7

Bob,

I have already done that. I have spent at least 150hrs researching and watching videos.

I've been to Colonial AS at least 3, if not 4 times. Patrick always encouraged me to spend as much time in the trailers as I'd like.

So yes, I've done my part. Now the decision is do I want to do it? And that remains to be seen...

The complaint I often hear is that I waited too long before making the decision. You don't want to be included in that group. I am one of them!

[slowmover]

It doesn't concern me my trailer was built in November of 1989.

The non-aero, conventional trailers (except Holiday Rambler) crumbled into the dirt long ago.

No ones stick'n brick house has gone that long without appliance replacement and needed cosmetic updates.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by slowmover

It doesn't concern me my trailer was built in November of 1989.

The non-aero, conventional trailers (except Holiday Rambler) crumbled into the dirt long ago.

No ones stick'n brick house has gone that long without appliance replacement and needed cosmetic updates.

Hi

.... and if the roof didn't get replaced on the stick and brick, there were leaks. All this stuff requires upkeep. The house (or RV) that didn't get the TLC is the one to avoid (or to bid really low on ..).

Bob

[rwsjms7]

Originally Posted by Hans627

The complaint I often hear is that I waited too long before making the decision. You don't want to be included in that group. I am one of them!

Yeah, I hear you. We have the luxury of waiting till we are ready or just buying it now. Obviously, I'm not convinced this is the right decision for us or I'd just go buy it.

I was just at a dinner party the other night and I brought it up. Some people were intrigued, but one friend said you probably won't like it. He has had a TT and class A motorhome and is SOOO done with all that.

I listen to others opinions, but I always come to my own conclusions. If we do it, we will buy an AS. Be well.

[TravlinMan]

Well there is the other side of the coin, ya know. I did spend lots and lots of time at different dealers, in different units and the 25fb was so beautiful and so comfortable and had so much room and so many windows.... And the more I spent time with it the more I was able to convince myself I needed all that. And it seemed so compact next to the other giant RVs.

Spendin so much time with it was exactly what convinced me I should spent all that money.... But now I'm realizin I probly spent way too much on a trailer that was bigger and fancier than I ever needed.

I kinda knew it, but spendin too much time on those dealer lots was what allowed me to convince myself otherwise.

Now I wish I hadn't spent so much time there, ha!

[Lonekingfish]

I bought an AS because I admired "twinkles" since I was a child. The only other reason was because the SOBs I considered seemed rather cheesy in comparison.

I was nervous buying a used trailer because some people tow small ones rather hard - down very rocky back roads, occasionally causing them to bottom out. But the 16ft Bambi I purchased was just a year old and it looked like brand new. The price was a bit reduced, plus it still had a year under warranty. A win-win. I haven't had any problems with it.

[lynnsr]

We have been campers for many years. Started out backpacking and tent camping, then went to truck campers(Always told a boat) and were fortunate to have two very good units, a Hallmark built here in Colorado, and the Northern Lite built in Canada.
We did our due diligence and were rewarded in both cases.

This year we did the same and purchased a 2018 Flying Cloud 20FB.
We took off for many trips through the last three months and have never enjoyed a camper more. We could find absolutely nothing wrong with it as we travel throughout primarily Colorado it was a joy to camp with.

We’ve been in and around and traveled in some larger units.

It was just not our style. We love the outdoors and that’s what we travel to and for.

I have just gone through winterizing (temporarily) partially because of a cool dip we've had and I wanted to get used to the unit, set up some air connects etc.
I have been in every hole, nook, cranny, and/or panel I could unscrew and have found everything from a manufacturing standpoint superb.
No trash no debris, all holes to the outside well caulked, all wiring well fastened in place.
In our travels, nothing has broken, leaked (a couple of really brutal Colorado storms), fallen from the ceiling, failed to work, or failed to impress us. All of my life I have been known as a Semi-Pragmatic Perfectionist.

Wow, Great Camper.

The one thing that I am changing this winter is the full hanging closet will be converted to shelving as the occasional hanging item we travel with goes in the TV (I will post those changes)

I want to thank everyone that contributes to this site as I have spent numerous hours reading, and occasionally commenting.

I will continue reading, and continue posting occasionally

Happy travels to all

LynnSr & Joan

[Wayne&Sam]

We started with a used 3500 lb SOB. It was fun. It had a persistent leak that I kept on top of.

Then we got a new 2007 20' Safari. No real issues at first, but it too had a leak that I kept on top of. The only major problem in 7 years an a lot of miles was one of the pano windows delaminate ( the inner and outer glass separated. A very odd and rare problem. It was expensive but I replaced the window.

Now we have a new 2014 25' and use it a few months every year with no real issues.

When we went up to the 25' we thought maybe we didn't really need to spend all that on an Airstream. We looked at others but nothing came close to the Airstream.

We have no regrets and didn't experience the problems you read about here. As someone else said, you always hear of the problems on forums, not all the good things.

[Fly at Night]

The six o'clock news was showing the wildfire devastation in California. One neighbourhood was left a smouldering ruin; the only thing still standing in pristine condition: someone's Airstream trailer.

An Airstrean endures. Or...to paraphrase Wednesday Addams: The Airstream spirit is a hard thing to kill, even with a chainsaw.

[FCloud9]

We purchased our FC 20' Airstream in 2014 from Colonial and no regrets.
Not only was Colonial and Patrick excellent to deal with, the service and tech professional has offered phenomenal assistance fixing/repairing/replacing minor issues via cell phone contact at home and many times on the road during multiple 2-3 month long trips. After 3 years and 30,000 miles of travel adventures, we've been very satisfied with our decision to buy new, buying an Airstream and enjoying our compact efficient tiny home on wheels. We enjoy all types of travel experiences but the Airstream adventures have been the most relaxing and memorable.
Good luck in journey and maybe we'll see you down the road!
FCloud9

[Dave-n-Janet]

We've had our 2017 26U FC for 4 months now and have been very happy with it. Only able to use it 20 nights so far and all have been with full hookups. Hope to get out and use much more often starting next year when work commitments are over.

[Rfriebele]

I've attested before on the forum how much we've enjoyed our new Flying Cloud. We bought in the spring & been out numerous times over 10k miles without a problem. When I joined this forum, it sort of shook me seeing all the troubles and complaints but came to realize it's value for learning and resolving potential issues. There's not much to talk about if everything is wonderful but there's plenty of that here too!

[halfloaf]

I just purchased a Sport 16. The only thing wrong with it is totally lame and indeed a stupid quality issue from the factory, but it's also nothing I really care about (rather than install the step light they just threw the parts in the trailer and shipped it that way). I needed to hit the road when I picked up the trailer - the dealer will fix it the next time I'm in town.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Sitting here in the 60's, rain is coming down, the wind is hitting 30MHP. I'm happy in the AS. I'm looking over at the tent a few sites down and remembering how that was on a day like this. Glad I'm where I am ....

Bob