Not your dad's Airstream

[gaymeadowsman]

This is posted on Craigslist this morning here in Montgomery. I don't know if is local or not but is one nice Reno job.

Upscale Airstream

[Hannibal]

Lol! We don’t have payments. We keep them clean and trade when we feel like a new one. We don’t have sway. Yes I would like a Classic RB and we can afford it. Can’t justify $156,000 for a travel trailer. That’s insane. We’re just as comfortable in our recliners in our Walmart special as we would be in an Airstream. The only thing we’re lacking is snob appeal. Snob appeal isn’t a priority at the places we go. A 10-15 year old Airstream is outdated and looks outdated inside. I have no desire to buy work. Cousin’s trailer tows fine, water intrusion included. We’re booked at Ginnie Springs this summer. Won’t be watching tv during the day. Will be comfortable watching tv with breakfast. Your attempts to insult me are wasted efforts. Narcissistic personality disorder is all yours. :B

[Slowmover]

Hannibal wrote:
Good grief! How high can you stack bovine biscuits in an attempt to glorify an old outdated trailer? So stable it needs a $3k hitch to keep it from flying off the road, rolling multiple times risking lives all around. A $140,000 AS has a particle board floor. The fuselage requires regular maintenance to keep it from leaking down to the particle board floor. Appliances are the same as the Walmart trailers. The chassis and running gear will rust and wear out just as fast as any other. I like a new trailer every 5-7 years. Cousin’s ‘87 24’ stick and tin Walmart special is still serving him very well. He tows it on a $40 tri-ball, stable and safe.

You like having a payment. You’ll buy, what, 4-5 when you could have had one. Will have spent far more. Senor Spendthrift.

They’re far easier to tow. Wanting a hitch not obsolete in design is a choice. As it’s equal in importance to the vehicle pair it’s cheap at twice the price. Sway is eliminated.

While your trailer jigs back and forth all day. A Hensley stands out. Rock solid. No movement not initiated by TV. But, not yours. Wearing out that cheap leaf suspension in a year. There are 30-year old AS that have suspensions still test within spec. Yours won’t make it 5,000-miles.

You don’t want one, fine.

My thirty year old SS is nicer than what you have. Always was and always will be. The difference is that I bought mine for less than you paid for whatever you have And even with changes along the way, I’ll still have less into it.

A 10-15 year old AS is still new. But depreciation has bottomed. That’s the time to buy one for a typically poor American. What little it will need can be spread out as time, funds and DIY allow.

That’s a FAR better trailer than whatever is brand new on the RV lots.

And your cousins trailer won’t pass a moisture intrusion test. Nor is it stable at typical highway speeds when the rig encounters severe crosswinds.

The ones I almost don’t notice. As 5’ers, big trucks and rigs like your can’t stay on the road.

Crosswind resistance is the crown. That’s the single largest cause of driver loss of control. Which you can’t control for. Mario Andretti can’t control a rig when the Drive Axle gets loose. Design matters. Frou-frou doesn’t. AS still has the basic design which hasn’t been improved by anyone in sixty years.

So, if your definition of going camping is watching TV somewhere else, have at it.

If you really wanted to travel, you’d have been a serious student. You weren’t. You took the higher risk & more expensive route.

Enjoy.

.

[stevemorris]

afidel wrote:
1) won't sleep away from the wife for extended periods so dual twins won't work
2) putting the toilet directly next to 3 surfaces is stupid, from both a comfort and cleanliness perspective.

Otherwise I like it, the storage is huge for that size trailer.

good thing there's lots of storage, need it for all those pillows

[Hannibal]

Good grief! How high can you stack bovine biscuits in an attempt to glorify an old outdated trailer? So stable it needs a $3k hitch to keep it from flying off the road, rolling multiple times risking lives all around. A $140,000 AS has a particle board floor. The fuselage requires regular maintenance to keep it from leaking down to the particle board floor. Appliances are the same as the Walmart trailers. The chassis and running gear will rust and wear out just as fast as any other. I like a new trailer every 5-7 years. Cousin’s ‘87 24’ stick and tin Walmart special is still serving him very well. He tows it on a $40 tri-ball, stable and safe.

[time2roll]

Nope. Dad took us camping in a tent. That Airstream would have been a palace.

[Slowmover]

TravelinDog wrote:
My wife and I looked through some Airstreams at an rv show a couple of years ago. Holy ****! the cheapest one there was over 79K. They are just way too cramped on the inside. The aisle front to back was no wider than the aisle in the 1963 19ft Airstream we used to have. You're just paying for the name.

How long do you expect to travel this way? Five years? Thirty?

Because you’ll pay far more buying multiple WalMart campers over a long period.
Finance & depreciation just to start ruins your picture.

“New” is always more expensive. Also, unnecessary with this end of things. My competitor Silver Streak turned thirty last year and it’s “better” than any five year old conventional.

A 10-12 year old AS is about bottomed out on depreciation. And new enough to not need much. If it needs anything at all. (Landfill time for a conventional). THAT is where to start a search.

Are you going to cover no more than 70k miles or so during a few years of camping? Then a conventional kept garaged might work.

Or will it be 250k over twenty years or more?

Only one trailer design-type meets that pair of numbers.
Done right, maybe two tow vehicles in that time.
Cars or SUVs. Not rollover-prone pickups.

Better stability towing.
Better stability solo.

How expensive is risk reduction?
Cheaper, when planned from beginning.

.
.

[Slowmover]

Ron3rd wrote:
Very nicely done just not out cup of tea. The wife enjoys her square footage.

She likes doing more cleaning.
You like trying to heat or cool more (unused) space.

[Ron3rd]

Very nicely done just not out cup of tea. The wife enjoys her square footage.

[shelbyfv]

deltabravo wrote:
You'd have to be as skinny as a 2x4 to fit on the commode the way it's jammed in to a tight corner.

Most people these days are too fat. Maybe a little discomfort would encourage them to get off their butts, lose some lard.:W

[deltabravo]

You'd have to be as skinny as a 2x4 to fit on the commode the way it's jammed in to a tight corner.

[afidel]

1) won't sleep away from the wife for extended periods so dual twins won't work
2) putting the toilet directly next to 3 surfaces is stupid, from both a comfort and cleanliness perspective.

Otherwise I like it, the storage is huge for that size trailer.

[rjstractor]

Bobbo wrote:

gbopp wrote:
What did the Airstream cost new in 1975?

I think the more appropriate question is what does a new one cost today. The Airstream website lists a brand new 30' Flying cloud with an MSRP between $101,400 and $102,400. I think the price in this ad is probably ball park for an equivalent new one.

(Full disclosure: My TT is an Airstream.)

Agreed, the asking price is very close to that of a new one. No reason to buy an Airstream of this vintage at that price because it doesn't look much different than a new one. And despite all of the new parts and appliances, the new one will still be more modern and reliable, with the same classic Airstream look.

[shelbyfv]

I personally don't care for the aesthetic, too foo foo. However, it's a 1975 and was worth fixing up and someone will buy it. I expect most of what's sold today will be in the landfill 45 years from now, no matter how many slides and TVs.

[TravelinDog]

My wife and I looked through some Airstreams at an rv show a couple of years ago. Holy ****! the cheapest one there was over 79K. They are just way too cramped on the inside. The aisle front to back was no wider than the aisle in the 1963 19ft Airstream we used to have. You're just paying for the name.