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Impulse bought an Airstream, school me.

larboc

larboc

Limestone cowboy
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
237
Messages
830
Loc
Da yoop
Been wanting to try camping with something sub $10k for 5+ years now but all the regular campers I looked at over the years had rotten spots in their roofs and walls despite what the seller said or how far I drove to look at them. This thing popped up for sale last night and I grabbed it this morning. No idea if it was a good or bad idea, but here we go I guess. My first camper.

The bad, original 1971 water heater has a leak and needs replaced. I pulled it out tonight and need to order a new one. It is a 16" square opening. Also PO didn't think the ac (also 1971) worked so I want to get a new unit. Appx. 14.5" square.
The good, body is straight. Awning is like new, new tires this summer, pretty much everything else works, needs new mattress and a tail light. I also need to add some bunk beds (4 kids).
Any tips?
Also, front tires of burb are up on a slab. Sets level on level ground.
20240817_130711.jpg
 
Airstreams have a cult like following. You should be able to find the answer to every question on line. Congratulations. Those aluminum bodies polish up like a mirror. 14.5" seems like the standard opening for a roof AC unit. Get the quietest one you can find. Not sure about the water heater, but if it came out easy, that's a good sign.
 
BDK said:
Airstreams have a cult like following. You should be able to find the answer to every question on line. Congratulations. Those aluminum bodies polish up like a mirror. 14.5" seems like the standard opening for a roof AC unit. Get the quietest one you can find. Not sure about the water heater, but if it came out easy, that's a good sign.
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I was just going to post that that thing is going to be a motherfucker to polish! :stirthepot:

Better teach those four kiddos how to help out =)

Looks like a great purchase and yes, there is a huge following for Airstreams. If you unleash your googel-fu, I am sure any questions you have, have already been answered.

First right of refusal when you go to sell it =):beer:
 
For road ability and social ability a airstream is great

For spending a lot of time inside them , not so great .
The rounded corners help while moving but cost a lot of space inside while parked .




At least you don’t have to worry about rotten wood in the roof and walls

The floor still is wood right ?

My parents had two airstreams

A 18 foot and a 30 foot

Where’s the bed in yours ?

In their 30 the bed was in the center of the trailer

At least in the 16 it was in the back

My wife and I lived in the 16 for several months

The 16 footer was in my family for decades
My fathers sister and her husband owned it for decades and then sold it to one of my cousins and she and her husband lived in in for over a year while building their house .

The good thing about airstreams is they hold their value pretty good so as long as you didn’t overpay too much , you can get it all back when you sell .
 
roundhouse said:
For road ability and social ability a airstream is great

For spending a lot of time inside them , not so great .
The rounded corners help while moving but cost a lot of space inside while parked .




At least you don’t have to worry about rotten wood in the roof and walls

The floor still is wood right ?

My parents had two airstreams

A 18 foot and a 30 foot

Where’s the bed in yours ?

In their 30 the bed was in the center of the trailer

At least in the 16 it was in the back

My wife and I lived in the 16 for several months

The 16 footer was in my family for decades
My fathers sister and her husband owned it for decades and then sold it to one of my cousins and she and her husband lived in in for over a year while building their house .

The good thing about airstreams is they hold their value pretty good so as long as you didn’t overpay too much , you can get it all back when you sell .
Click to expand...
Its a 31' sovereign twin, bathroom in the back, two beds in the middle and a po put a bed in the front.

 
Put a Furrion chill cube HE 15k on my rig, it seems to have more cooling power than the old Brisk 2, and seems to recirculate the condensate drain water.
 
Nice.
A lot of stuff for these is universal, meaning you should be able to find replacements for the water heater and AC no problem.
I have a spare sacrificial anode for the water heater if you want it.

On the board for my motorhome people complain about the Coleman AC units squared cage fans come apart all the time, so maybe look for a different brand. (Or buy a spare fan blade which a lot of owners seen to do)
 
deadmeat said:
Nice.
A lot of stuff for these is universal, meaning you should be able to find replacements for the water heater and AC no problem.
I have a spare sacrificial anode for the water heater if you want it.

On the board for my motorhome people complain about the Coleman AC units squared cage fans come apart all the time, so maybe look for a different brand. (Or buy a spare fan blade which a lot of owners seen to do)
Click to expand...
I have gone thru 3 squirrel cage fans on my Colman mach 8 , plus a mach 8 that was a couple years old.
Colman squirrel cages were reasonable then went up to $125 they have dropped down to around $70 , but there are now knockoffs on Amazon for $30 , I always have a spare onboard.
 
There is a guy on youtube shows how he turned a windo unit into a roof mount, usining a roof mont chassi he got for free from local RV scrap pile cost him half of a new roof unit and cools better
 
deadmeat said:
Nice.
A lot of stuff for these is universal, meaning you should be able to find replacements for the water heater and AC no problem.
I have a spare sacrificial anode for the water heater if you want it.

On the board for my motorhome people complain about the Coleman AC units squared cage fans come apart all the time, so maybe look for a different brand. (Or buy a spare fan blade which a lot of owners seen to do)
Click to expand...
AC seems to be the easy part that I'll be tackling next. the water heater is a bit more of an issue. Or at least expensive. The cutout is actually 16"wx15.5"h. Suburban, which seems to be the more popular unit and is half the price is 16.4"x16.4". The height part would take a lot of surgery due to the way the unit is built. They riveted in headers to address removing a section of vertical "stud" like you'd do in a building. Good for strength, but makes it impossible to gain .75" of height without a lot of work and I'm out of time.
Looks like the Atwood GC10A-4E is the new version of the G10B that was in there and should just slide in, gonna run a grand though.
I was considering the $300 amazon tankless units, but they wouldn't be a direct fit either and I feel like having the option of electric heat would be missed.
 
bigun said:
Propane costs money and I have go get the bottles filled, electric is in the cost of the rent at the park, just simple economics
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Lived in our old 5th wheel for 5yrs and I never turned on the propane part of the water heater for the same reasons as you. Why spend money you don't have too? :laughing:
 
If you have the old style waterheater that uses a pilot light and all you are doing is washing dishes and such just use the pilot light for heat, it provides enought heat for that. showers then turn up the temp take your shower then turn it back down. For really old school that means your going outside mid oldschool you have a wall mounted thermostat.
Showers YOU are not going to beable to stand in the shower and sing, you wet down, shut off the shower head ( if you don't have one of those first thing I would change) soap up, rinse and yopu should have just enough hot water. I used the same method even with a standard house tank never have figured out why people want to stand in the shower.
 
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