New less expensive Airstream

[Jim & Susan]

So, just based on one picture here: 16' RV Trailers - Easy Tow Lightweight RV Campers - Scamp Trailers

I'd say that has to be a Scamp of some flavor. Look at the emblem above the name Scamp on the spare tire. Looks like the same as on the Chief's picture. They're website doesn't show a model like the Chief's, but it appears a bit out date. Latest catalog is from 2014.

Jim

['55 Airlight]

Originally Posted by DoublTrouble

"Not all important and rewarding careers begin at a university" I said. We need Americans with skills in the trades too.

You sound like our president who proposed (in May of 2012) <<substantial new spending on education with a $69.8 billion education budget heavily focused on boosting vocational training, both at the high-school and college level.>>

Michael

[KJRitchie]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

Back on topic,
Could this be the new Airstream being tested?😜

Don't think that trailer looks cool enough for the younger buyers Airstream is after.

Kelvin

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

Don't think that trailer looks cool enough for the younger buyers Airstream is after.

Kelvin

^
X2

I too question whether a plastic 'airstream' shaped like an aluminum Airstream will get the job done.

How 'bout an aluminum Airstream, water tight with a composite floor and a modern, (lightweight), interior.

Keep the 'iconic' and embrace the contemporary.

Bob

[Denis4x4]

There is a hydro forming process that could duplicate the Scamp/Casita/etc. two piece trailers in aluminum. A one piece molded fiberglass interior, much like a boat, could keep costs down and eliminate the soggy floor problem. This type of TT construction pretty much eliminates the customization process either at home or dealership. I could see a fiberglass lower shell with a hydro formed aluminum top section.

DeLoreans were basically a fiberglass body with a brushed stainless steel overlay. Same thing could be done using aluminum by Thor to create the illusion of a hand built AS.

[PKI]

Amazing as it sounds, some folks really like plastic, if it is rugged and nice looking. Less expensive is going to be simpler, with less features, and if what we hear about Thor's focus on efficient manufacture is correct, it will be easy to build. That sounds to me like a bubble with a liner. Hopefully the suggested pano window will be part of the package. It would be a great visual AS link. Too bad we have to wait for May to get a peek. Pat

[Airtandem]

How does one keep an Airstreamer in suspense? Bob will tell us in May, maybe.

[KJRitchie]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

^
X2

I too question whether a plastic 'airstream' shaped like an aluminum Airstream will get the job done.

How 'bout an aluminum Airstream, water tight with a composite floor and a modern, (lightweight), interior.

Keep the 'iconic' and embrace the contemporary.

Bob

We're talking about a less expensive Airstream

Kelvin

[TheCabin]

The few younger people that I have talked with over the past year are interested in a more aggressive camping. Something with the capabilities of http://www.vmioffroad.com/ is more suited to their needs. AS could do something like this at a lower cost.

[AWCHIEF]

Pat, what is significant about May?

[PKI]

The new trailer is supposed to be introduced at a dealer show then. Look back a few pages. Someone posted it prior. Or maybe I have been dreaming? Pat

[field & stream]

I think I am the guilty party mentioning a May announcement. My comment comes from:

1) Airstream's tendency to announce new products at their annual dealer show in May (last year it was the 26U),

2) Bob Wheeler's statement in the LA Times story breaking this news: "The new trailer won’t come in the traditional aluminum shell, Wheeler said, but will be unmistakably an Airstream when it arrives in the middle of 2016.", and

3) An Airstream dealer's guess as to when it might happen.

[PKI]

Not guilty.

Just intuitive.

The true sign of a good investigator working to uncover the mystery.

Pat

[ROBERT CROSS]

A good starting point with any 'new' offering.....price=quality.

In fact, why not start practicing that on what your offering us now?

Bob

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Jim & Susan

Yup, right click on the image and use the "search google for image" function.
[snip]

Jim

Thanks for this search tool, very helpful!

The main dividing line for any new AS will be the wet/dry bath stall shower issue. "Less expensive" would imply simpler plumbing, which will rule out a stall shower in a dry bath IMO. Thus the length would likely be less than 20' .

Peter

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by field & stream

I think I am the guilty party mentioning a May announcement. My comment comes from:

1) Airstream's tendency to announce new products at their annual dealer show in May (last year it was the 26U),

2) Bob Wheeler's statement in the LA Times story breaking this news: "The new trailer won’t come in the traditional aluminum shell, Wheeler said, but will be unmistakably an Airstream when it arrives in the middle of 2016.", and

3) An Airstream dealer's guess as to when it might happen.

Thanks, whatever your name is (?).

[field & stream]

Oh, I don't mean to be a secret agent! My name is Bob Field, hence "field & stream"

[AWCHIEF]

Bob, thanks

[Gene]

Airstream is resistant to change and innovation. The Airstream division of Thor doesn't have a big (or maybe any) research budget and Thor is resistant to spending much money on that either. When they do try new things and they don't work, they never want to try it again. Didn't they try foam insulation and double pane windows years ago (before Thor owned the company)?—both had problems, and then they have an excuse to never try again even though both products have improved tremendously over the years.

Fossilization at the company executive level leads to this approach. Maybe there's some new blood, or the good executives have been listened to.

If the new line isn't a copy of what they already know how to do, or a copy of someone's else's innovation, I will be surprised. Maybe it will be as successful as the Base Camp, Bob Wheeler's contribution to innovation. Or maybe his use of OSB subfloors in some models, or weakening of the frames in some trailers leading to sag. When you can sell anything you make as in recent years, there is little impetus to change your approach.

I'd like to see success even though we have ours and are highly unlikely to buy any new trailer no matter how cool it is.

Gene

[TheCabin]

The last sentence in this innovation article https://hbr.org/2015/06/you-need-an-innovation-strategy does not seem to be in AS favor based on what I read in this forum.