Why we sold our Airstream

[Wayne]

This article details why we sold our Airstream.

Why we sold our Airstream - RVTheUS

Early this spring I pulled our Airstream out of storage, but this time not to get ready for another camping season. Instead, because we sold our beloved Airstream! Why would we sell the Airstream that we enjoyed so much, you ask? The reason is so simple it may seem nonsensical to some, however...

rvthe.us

We have asked ourselves a few times if we made a mistake by selling the Airstream we so dearly loved. Time will tell, but we do believe we made the right decision for us.

 

[spasm3]

I think if you stay in this ( hobby? lifestyle?) long enough, you find you need change. My wife an i had a Jayco 23B hybrid tent camper we bought new, we loved it. Looked new the way we took care of it, at the 15 year mark. But right before a snowstorm took out our camper garage, we both knew we were ready for something else. When young we loved the jayco but at ages of 55+ we no longer got the thrill of climbing in the tents.

Had not the snow made the decision for us, we would have sold it and bought something else. Like you we have fond dear memories, but it was time to move on.

With dogs, i think you will love a unit with slides.

 

[Wayne]

We feel a bit like we should have done more research with the Airstream, but how would one know personal likes/dislikes until you have experience? It makes the bad feeling easier to take when we sold it for what we paid for it.

Another factor is our RV lifestyle will change considerably in the next year, as we plan to spend a lot more time in the RV next year and beyond. A 5th wheel with slides makes more sense, because we'll have the dogs with us and will need more storage for our stuff. I think spending a couple months straight in the Airstream would have been a bit tight.

Time will tell, but for now we don't have a RV until mid July.

 

[imdrstork]

We understand your pain of watching your Airstream pull away into the sunset. This month we said good bye to our last in a series of Airstreams. They are extremely well designed and built to last more than a lifetime. Your analysis of Airstream was well done. We loved living riveted and the special place Airstreams had in our hearts. The world loves the iconic Airstream. It is one of the most pictured RVs artwork and advertising. Yet, after 4 Airstreams, we too moved on. We wished Airstream built a riveted Class A diesel pusher. We have moved into a Tiffin Phaeton as our life style and desire for creature comforts has expanded in retirement. Your thought on 5th wheels were well expressed. While we do not own any dogs, I suspect many family dogs are a critical part of RV purchases.

 

[Wayne]

We will miss other Airstreamers giving us a headlight flash to say, "hello fellow Airstreamer" and the camaraderie of the Airstream community. We are replacing the Airstream with a New Horizons 5th wheel and there seems to be a strong community there as well, which we will enjoy. I doubt we will spot nearly as many New Horizons as we did Airstreams.

We have moved into a Tiffin Phaeton as our life style and desire for creature comforts has expanded in retirement.

We would love to see pictures and hear about the difference class A brings from the Airstream.

 

[T & R Willson]

Wintering in our 5er, let us know we had made the right choice, we had plenty of room for storage and just 'living'.
Our Grand Design was the best choice for us. It is so good to have a unit we can spend the winter in or go to the out of the way places we love and dry camp for 4 to 6 weeks.

 

[Wayne]

we love and dry camp for 4 to 6 weeks.

Do you have to move to get fresh water and dump tanks?

 

[T & R Willson]

Yes, we can go 2 weeks before dumping or refilling water. In the area we have gone there is a wonderful RV dump and water within 2.5 miles, on top of a mountain. We are very careful with the water and use shower water and dish water for other uses. It works well for putting out the campfire completely at night and we even use the shower water in the toilet. Some campgrounds will let you dump and fill up for a fee.

 

[Wayne]

Yes, we can go 2 weeks before dumping or refilling water.

Wow - we need to learn the techniques for conserving water! I can stretch a few days without refilling, but two weeks! I'm going to start a new thread, hopefully you can school us on how you make your water last so long.

 

[T & R Willson]

We had some very good friends that showed us the way. With your new 5er you will have much larger tanks.

 

[Wayne]

With your new 5er you will have much larger tanks.

50 gallons in the Airstream, now 100 gallons in the 5th wheel.

 

[T & R Willson]

You may be able to have 100 gallons yet you don't want to travel with that much in the tank. It will certainly help if you are dry camping and fill up just before you get to your destination.

 

[Wayne]

You may be able to have 100 gallons yet you don't want to travel with that much in the tank.

Very true, we seem to go to Colorado and Utah a couple times/yr and have found that it's pretty hard to use more than 30 gallons in the two days, even when we shower. We've gotten good at using minimal water to shower.

I don't think we would leave home with more than 50 gallons, just no reason to carry that much water.