Airstream Caravans (1 Viewer)

[Blue Knight]

Evening All,

Nicky and I have been intrigued for some time by the whole Airstream-thing so today we visited one of the four UK dealers to see the three main vans in the flesh.

We were really impressed by their unique looks but the van which caught our eye was the twin axle Colorado which incidentally is the biggest of the international range, (6.81m long, internally, with a total external length of 8.25m).

Unlike the two or three hundred motorhomes and caravans which we saw on the A1 today, Nic and I have only ever seen one Airstream on the road in the past few years so we like the uniqueness which comes with the brand. (The UK dealer network sell about 10 units per year collectively).

May I ask if any fine Funster has knowledge of Airstreams in terms of usability (UK and Europe), quality and any other points, good or bad.

One thing I didn't know is that the Airstream shell is built in the US while the internal bits (electronics, fridge, pipes, gas systems) are all fitted in the UK by Swift.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

All the best,

Andrew

 

[138go]

SWIFT .. Say no more .. The American ones look great but I would not buy anything that had been touched by the Swift Group.

They are very expensive for what they are.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Your loss

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[tacr2man]

£92k seems a bit steep for a caravan ,that is not that high tech and high spec, but then they do seem to hold their price. You are going to need something pretty substantial to pull it . I don't know if they have changed the weight balance for UK models , but generally US trailers are pretty nose heavy , and in Australia I used equalizer hitch set up . In the end its only you who can make the decision , as it depends on what you want from the experience.

 

[Chockswahay]

I love em however I sometimes wonder if they are a bit like a Harley Davidson.........

Wonderful to look at but a pig to actually own and ride .... poor value for money and not really living up to the dream

(Oh, before anyone yelps..... I have owned 2 Harleys)

Still......... Airstreams do Look sexy

 

[Blue Knight]

£92k seems a bit steep for a caravan ,that is not that high tech and high spec, but then they do seem to hold their price. You are going to need something pretty substantial to pull it . I don't know if they have changed the weight balance for UK models , but generally US trailers are pretty nose heavy , and in Australia I used equalizer hitch set up . In the end its only you who can make the decision , as it depends on what you want from the experience.

You're right indeed about the spec being somewhat low but it's the looks and interior design which have grabbed our attention.

The three vans which they sell in the UK (Missouri, Yukon and Colorado) are categorised as the international range and have apparently been adapted for the non US market.

The dealer which we approached today has only been trading in Airstreams for 2018 and is unlikely to be dealing in them next year - enough said but they seem to put the 'n' in niche market.

Pulling power would need to be circa 3.5T to make things smooth but I have a cunning plan for that

Thanks for the info.

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[Blue Knight]

I love em however I sometimes wonder if they are a bit like a Harley Davidson.........

Wonderful to look at but a pig to actually own and ride .... poor value for money and not really living up to the dream

(Oh, before anyone yelps..... I have owned 2 Harleys)

Still......... Airstreams do Look sexy

Some really honest points there and in all honesty Nicky and I are thinking the same.

One of the questions which I asked today was whether the exterior would withstand hailstone damage but the dealer said that it would probably be susceptible to large impacts - now that would certainly detract from the gucci exterior.

Either way it's one sexy bit of kit.

 

[Kevinthecat]

I've mentioned in another thread , abbey wood cmc site have two which you can book for the night if anyone fancies a feel you before you buy experience.
I'm glad swift does the internal work as they , in my opinion have got it right in their products. Plus it's a British company.
(It's coming home don't ya know)

 

[Northernraider]

Nice in America

Too big here

And swift would out me off too

It's like buying a Cadillac with a lada engine

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[Blue Knight]

SWIFT .. Say no more .. The American ones look great but I would not buy anything that had been touched by the Swift Group.

They are very expensive for what they are.

There's a couple of things that I would change in the leccy department but the saving grace is that I wouldn't have to worry about a Fiat engine and running gear.

I did ask the dealer if any part of the external bodywork was built in the UK and he replied by saying it was built and pressure tested in the States before being transported to Blighty.

 

[Blue Knight]

I've mentioned in another thread , abbey wood cmc site have two which you can book for the night if anyone fancies a feel you before you buy experience.
I'm glad swift does the internal work as they , in my opinion have got it right in their products. Plus it's a British company.
(It's coming home don't ya know)

Nice one I'll check out the details.

Many thanks

 

[Chockswahay]

a lada engine

Lada.........LADA! .........only people of a certain age would understand

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[Northernraider]

Lada.........LADA! .........only people of a certain age would understand

Well I'm assuming like most folk on this forum the op is older than me

He's bound to have encountered a lada

 

[PP Bear]

Chatted at length to a guy at a steam fair today. He was happily sitting outside his so I popped over for a chat.

Had his last 10 years and loved it. Let me look around inside and for an old model (20+ years I believed he said), it looked great inside. All the original furniture and in really good condition.

Think one of the appeals is that it's a timeless design. I also think they'd easily fend off hailstones from what I saw.

Good luck with whatever decision you make

 

[Northernraider]

Chatted at length to a guy at a steam fair today. He was happily sitting outside his so I popped over for a chat.

Had his last 10 years and loved it. Let me look around inside and for an old model (20+ years I believed he said), it looked great inside. All the original furniture and in really good condition.

Think one of the appeals is that it's a timeless design. I also think they'd easily fend off hailstones from what I saw.

Good luck with whatever decision you make

The old classic American ones are lovely

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[2657]

There's a couple of things that I would change in the leccy department but the saving grace is that I wouldn't have to worry about a Fiat engine and running gear.

I did ask the dealer if any part of the external bodywork was built in the UK and he replied by saying it was built and pressure tested in the States before being transported to Blighty.

Pressure tested!!........do they fly as well

 

[GWAYGWAY]

Might as well buy a scrap Dakota DC3 fuselage and rivet on a front and back putting it on a chassis. That is after all how they started.

 

[Blue Knight]

Lada.........LADA! .........only people of a certain age would understand

Wow, a Lada 65 with the bodykit and the optional front electric window package. Does it get much better............

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[Blue Knight]

Well I'm assuming like most folk on this forum the op is older than me

He's bound to have encountered a lada

I've read about them in the history books Tam - I'm just a young'un.

 

[DL42846]

At 92K I would look at buying one in the US and shipping it over.

 

[Blue Knight]

Chatted at length to a guy at a steam fair today. He was happily sitting outside his so I popped over for a chat.

Had his last 10 years and loved it. Let me look around inside and for an old model (20+ years I believed he said), it looked great inside. All the original furniture and in really good condition.

Think one of the appeals is that it's a timeless design. I also think they'd easily fend off hailstones from what I saw.

Good luck with whatever decision you make

Cheers for posting-up @PP Bear , that's nice to know.

Thanks good mate

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[tacr2man]

The

Lada.........LADA! .........only people of a certain age would understand

irony is the lada Cossack engine was a Fiat made under licence .
They were rattly from new but lasted well

 

[Northernraider]

At 92K I would look at buying one in the US and shipping it over.

Me too after I'd toured the states a bit first

 

[Blue Knight]

Pressure tested!!........do they fly as well

Apparently that and it's not just the dealer trying to sell his wares. Here's a pic from my shiny new brochure

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[Terry]

My mate Howard specialises in changing single wheeled vans (illegal here ) to twin wheeled braked vans and in doing so usually does all the insides outTells me when polishing the outer skin you have to be very careful not just to buff untill it shines because the outer layer of alloy has a few microns of hardened skin that once it's polished through cannot be undone (sure you can buff and make it shine but once wore through it's knackered) as it's lost the hardest bit allowing the bare alloy to rot with the weather...the hardened bit protect s it from weather damage
I do know that they are far from equil down each side/front end,I made a seating board for one and I foolishly thought I could simply reverse it for the opposite side which turned out to be over 2ins different

 

[Northernraider]

The

irony is the lada Cossack engine was a Fiat made under licence .
They were rattly from new but lasted well

Well the old lada Riva was originally going to be the fiat 132 but fiat shelved it and lada bought the plans

They were shit though my best mates dad bought a brand new one in 1986 for £3333 from archers

He used to take us fishing in it ....hknestly we spent more time pushing the bloody thing and it was only a year or so old at that time

 

[jockaneezer]

Importing a van would have it's own issues. Van electrics and appliances would probably be 110 volt and the tow hitch would likely be a 2" job and not 50mm.

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[Blue Knight]

My mate Howard specialises in changing single wheeled vans (illegal here ) to twin wheeled braked vans and in doing so usually does all the insides outTells me when polishing the outer skin you have to be very careful not just to buff untill it shines because the outer layer of alloy has a few microns of hardened skin that once it's polished through cannot be undone (sure you can buff and make it shine but once wore through it's knackered) as it's lost the hardest bit allowing the bare alloy to rot with the weather...the hardened bit protect s it from weather damage
I do know that they are far from equil down each side/front end,I made a seating board for one and I foolishly thought I could simply reverse it for the opposite side which turned out to be over 2ins different

That's the type of info which will help me make an informed decision.

Thanks Terry, much appreciated

 

[Northernraider]

That's the type of info which will help me make an informed decision.

Thanks Terry, much appreciated

That Andrew ditton guy that does the blogs on YouTube has one too


I like his dog dougal ....hes a bit long winded but his blogs are quite good

 

[Blue Knight]

Importing a van would have it's own issues. Van electrics and appliances would probably be 110 volt and the tow hitch would likely be a 2" job and not 50mm.

I can see it being more challenging for the reasons you mention.

I also have to consider the point that these vans are supposedly built in a way that better reflects our Uk/Euro roads. The van which we like is 2.5m wide and the other two are 2.29m so about the same as our MoHo with its lugs folded in. I'm not sure if the US-specced vans would be as small.

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