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07-15-2017, 05:10 PM
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#1
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2 Rivet Member 
2018 25' International
Decatur
, Georgia
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 82
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Rent an Airstream, or "how to try before you buy"
From time to time there are inquiries on the forum about renting an Airstream. This post to provide a resource for those who want to know more.
In the US, there are several entities that rent a variety of models for towing and some those offer TVs as well. This is not a complete list, just the ones that I was been able to find when we began our search for an AS to try out.
Outdoorsy.co ( not .com) https://www.outdoorsy.co is essentially the AirBnB of RV rentals. You’ll need to know where you want to pick up as they don’t support keyword searching very well. There seem to be a lot of choices in the SF bay area, LA and San Diego. Outdoorsy has TVs and a huge variety of SOBs as well. I didn’t see any AIs but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Nomad Mobile Motor Lodge: https://www.nomadmotorlodge.com/ Several restored vintage Airstreams with pickup points in Maryland and New Mexico. TVs available. They rent thru Outdoorsy. This is the party that we rented from and we had a GREAT experience with towing-training and helpful support! They were all-around great folks to deal with.
Livmobil: http://livmobil.com/ has Airstreams in various locations around the country including CO, TX, CA and Washington DC. TVs too. They also rent through Outdoorsy.
https://airstream2go.com Locations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Bozeman and Rhode Island. New 28’ ISs with a Tahoe TV.
Go Silver: http://www.letsgosilver.com/ rents in the SF Bay area and has tow vehicles.
Haydocy, the AS dealer in Columbus OH, rents via their subsidiary RoadAdventures. https://www.roadadventures.com/
One very important detail that needs to be addressed when you rent is insurance. Depending upon your provider/coverage, you may be covered by your existing policy, partially covered, covered if you get a rider or not covered at all. Outdoorsy provides $1M in coverage with a $1500 deductible to its renters at no additional charge. Renters must be qualified via a DMV check; you’ll need to provide your drivers license number to do so. I’m not aware of how other services deal with insurance. Outdoorsy also offers Coachnet for on-the-road support.
If you only want to rent a stationary AS, and not tow it to another location, there are many options most easily found via https://www.airbnb.com https://glampinghub.com possibly https://www.vrbo.com. There are a few KOA campgrounds that have on-site Airstreams; one is in Key West.
Autocamp https://autocamp.com has campgrounds in Santa Barbara and in the Russian River Area with Airstreams for rent. Near Joshua Tree there’s Katie’s Lazy Desert https://www.lazymeadow.com. Soon (very soon?) in Asheville NC, there’s June Bug https://www.junebugretroresort.com/ which offer several vintage kin for rent, but no AS as of now.
You’re welcome to PM me if you want to hear more about our rental experience. We highly recommend doing this if you’re considering buying your first AS; we learned much more than we expected and have really been able to zoom in on what we want and don’t want in our 1st (and hopefully last) AS.
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07-16-2017, 10:56 AM
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#2
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2 Rivet Member 
2019 19' Flying Cloud
Boise
, Idaho
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 81
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Great thread!
I've rented from both Airstream2go and Road Adventures and would recommend them both.
We learned a bunch and it's been great to get first hand experience with multiple floor plans before we purchase in a few years.
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07-16-2017, 04:59 PM
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#3
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Rivet Master 
1962 28' Ambassador
1961 19' Globetrotter
1962 26' Overlander
Mesa
, Arizona
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,999
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Also Retro RV in Phoenix, a small family owned business with a few vintage Airstreams for rent.
__________________
Hittenstiehl
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07-17-2017, 12:04 PM
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#5
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Stay CazuaL
2018 25' Flying Cloud
2014 19' Flying Cloud
Reseda
, California
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 971
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Keep in mind, renting takes away the new stuff to do, fix, etc.
If you are renting to try what a trailer is like, then it makes sense.
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07-17-2017, 12:14 PM
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#6
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Reads a lot
2017 30' Classic
Titusville
, Florida
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,209
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I rented from Airstream2go out of Bozeman, Mt. last summer. awesome people and had a blast. Worth every penny and yes, I came home and bought a 2017 Classic. Highly recommend.
__________________
Lauri
She Believed She Could so She Did.
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07-17-2017, 12:28 PM
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#7
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2 Rivet Member 
Currently Looking...
Chicago
, Illinois
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 32
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We rented from Airstream2go last summer - expensive but great group and it confirmed our interest in an AS - we bought 2016 Classic last fall as a result.
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07-17-2017, 12:38 PM
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#8
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2 Rivet Member 
Currently Looking...
Southeastern
, Pennsylvania
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 74
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We rented a 2016 25 FC from Haydocy Airstream/Road Adventures in late April for a week. I second the insurance issue. It took us a few days to work it out needing to bring underwriters onto telephone calls from two different insurance companies. Ultimately, our auto insurance policy did not cover the trailer but our Chubb Umbrella Policy did. This is less of an issue if you have an existing trailer policy. However, if you do not have such a policy (we did not because we do not own a trailer) then resolve this issue BEFORE signing.
We wanted to try it out before making any decision to buy. Here is a link to our trip review and thoughts:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f483...al-166054.html
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07-18-2017, 11:23 AM
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#9
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1 Rivet Member 
Currently Looking...
spring
, Texas
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by runswithdogs
From time to time there are inquiries on the forum about renting an Airstream. This post to provide a resource for those who want to know more.
In the US, there are several entities that rent a variety of models for towing and some those offer TVs as well. This is not a complete list, just the ones that I was been able to find when we began our search for an AS to try out.
Outdoorsy.co ( not .com) https://www.outdoorsy.co is essentially the AirBnB of RV rentals. You’ll need to know where you want to pick up as they don’t support keyword searching very well. There seem to be a lot of choices in the SF bay area, LA and San Diego. Outdoorsy has TVs and a huge variety of SOBs as well. I didn’t see any AIs but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Nomad Mobile Motor Lodge: https://www.nomadmotorlodge.com/ Several restored vintage Airstreams with pickup points in Maryland and New Mexico. TVs available. They rent thru Outdoorsy. This is the party that we rented from and we had a GREAT experience with towing-training and helpful support! They were all-around great folks to deal with.
Livmobil: http://livmobil.com/ has Airstreams in various locations around the country including CO, TX, CA and Washington DC. TVs too. They also rent through Outdoorsy.
https://airstream2go.com Locations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Bozeman and Rhode Island. New 28’ ISs with a Tahoe TV.
Go Silver: http://www.letsgosilver.com/ rents in the SF Bay area and has tow vehicles.
Haydocy, the AS dealer in Columbus OH, rents via their subsidiary RoadAdventures. https://www.roadadventures.com/
One very important detail that needs to be addressed when you rent is insurance. Depending upon your provider/coverage, you may be covered by your existing policy, partially covered, covered if you get a rider or not covered at all. Outdoorsy provides $1M in coverage with a $1500 deductible to its renters at no additional charge. Renters must be qualified via a DMV check; you’ll need to provide your drivers license number to do so. I’m not aware of how other services deal with insurance. Outdoorsy also offers Coachnet for on-the-road support.
If you only want to rent a stationary AS, and not tow it to another location, there are many options most easily found via https://www.airbnb.com https://glampinghub.com possibly https://www.vrbo.com. There are a few KOA campgrounds that have on-site Airstreams; one is in Key West.
Autocamp https://autocamp.com has campgrounds in Santa Barbara and in the Russian River Area with Airstreams for rent. Near Joshua Tree there’s Katie’s Lazy Desert https://www.lazymeadow.com. Soon (very soon?) in Asheville NC, there’s June Bug https://www.junebugretroresort.com/ which offer several vintage kin for rent, but no AS as of now.
You’re welcome to PM me if you want to hear more about our rental experience. We highly recommend doing this if you’re considering buying your first AS; we learned much more than we expected and have really been able to zoom in on what we want and don’t want in our 1st (and hopefully last) AS.
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I am new to this forum and do not have a airstream as yet,but I am looking. Could you tell me a little about your experience of renting an airstream.I live in Houston area and would love to talk and meet other airstream owners for imput
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07-18-2017, 06:10 PM
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#10
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Wise Elder
2010 30' Classic
Vintage Kin Owner
South of the river
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,169
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In most cases people who benefit from renting are completely new to RV travel. It is easier to find local RV rental companies that rent other brands of trailers and easier still to find motorhomes.
Any rental will differ in important ways. The space isn't "yours" and you have to load and unload all your belongings at the beginning and end of the trip, so you miss out on two of the best things about RV travel.
I believe that most people who rush into purchasing an Airstream and then realize they have made a mistake fall in to one of two categories:
1. People who never become comfortable driving and backing a large trailer
2. People who do not have the mechanical ability to deal with the frequent but (usually) very minor mechanical frustrations of RVs.
__________________
To learn to see below the surface, you must adjust your altitude
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07-18-2017, 08:04 PM
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#11
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2 Rivet Member 
2016 23' International
Loudon
, Tennessee
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 58
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07-19-2017, 10:47 AM
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#12
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2 Rivet Member 
2019 19' Flying Cloud
Boise
, Idaho
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 81
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shotgunner
Could you tell me a little about your experience of renting an airstream.
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I'm not the original poster, but I can share a little about our two rental experiences.
1. I had never towed anything before we rented. It was great to gain some experience and find out how much mileage my wife and I find comfortable towing in a day. It helped inform discussions about where we could realistically travel with the trailer within our limited vacation time when we purchase.
2. Gaining experience with multiple floorplans was awesome. We rented a 23FB and a 19CB. I always disliked the 19's from walking through at dealerships and looking online. After living in one for a week, the 19 is now my front runner.
3. There is nothing else like getting out there and doing it. I spent a lot of time reading the forums, watching YouTube, etc. While these things helped prepare for our trips, the experience you gain in the first 24 hours is way more valuable.
4. It gave us clarity on if owning an Airstream was for us. We live in a city neighborhood in Chicago and would never otherwise own a vehicle that could tow. Storage will have to be remote, many miles away. Our rental experiences showed us these downsides are small issues compared to how much we loved camping in an Airstream.
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07-19-2017, 01:08 PM
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#13
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2 Rivet Member 
2018 25' International
Decatur
, Georgia
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 82
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ChicagoAir, you totally hit the nail on the head. Your reasons for renting were exactly the same as ours. Like you, one of the things we learned is that can go smaller than we originally planned. Maybe alot smaller.
Not only did we get to experience the AS we rented, we were able to talk with many other ASers and see their setups, hear their complaints and learn from their advice. We stayed in an AS only campground in VA, which, BTW, was perfect for this purpose.
Perhaps as important as the AS experience, was the towing experience. I'd towed and backed boat trailers too many years ago, and DH had only the experience from our "training" provided by the owner of our rental. Good, but there's nothing like 800 miles of real driving... on the DC beltway in rush hour ... or on the Blue Ridge parkway.. or while a double semi passes you.
Then there's the whole TV thing. We're also city people & drive a small car. The "giant" '18 F-150 that will be landing in our garage in a couple months is going to be a big change. It was nice to spend some time behind the wheel of a truck before making that commitment.
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