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Does anyone live full time in an Airstream


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People do fulltime in an Airstream.

 

Here is a link to an Airstream forum. This link is specifically to the fulltiming page.

 

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314/

 

Here is the link to interior restoration http://www.airforums.com/forums/f7/

and the link to exterior restoration http://www.airforums.com/forums/f4/

 

The Airforums website is the go to site for information on Airstreams.

 

Dave

Dave

2008 Airstream 34’ Classic Trailer

Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins CTD

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There is probably no type of size of RV that isn't being used as a full-time home by someone. The real issue isn't whether anyone has done this or even if they are doing it. The issue is what can you and yours live in all of the time? An Airstream has very limited storage space, due to the shape of the trailer and they are quite heavy to tow. Be sure that you can live comfortably and happily in a space of 300 square feet or less for the next few years, or however long you think that you will wish to be on the road. Space and storage is the reason that so few fulltimers live in one of them, but some folks do manage.

 

Remember that just because other people enjoy living in any particular RV does not mean that you and your spouse will like it. The reason that so small a percentage of our population live in RVs is mostly that very few of us can accept the limitations that it requires. Perhaps you could find a space of similar size and try living in it for a while, or if you have the trailer now, try spending a couple of weeks in it before you spend any money to update it.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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People do fulltime in an Airstream.

 

Here is a link to an Airstream forum. This link is specifically to the fulltiming page.

 

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314/

 

Here is the link to interior restoration http://www.airforums.com/forums/f7/

and the link to exterior restoration http://www.airforums.com/forums/f4/

 

The Airforums website is the go to site for information on Airstreams.

 

Dave

Thanks for all of the helpful information! We remodeled a house when we lived in it full time, now that we live in an rv full time we are looking to remodel one. It seems like they probably handle the road better. Every time we drive to a new location I feel us getting blown around a lot.

pavlovamericanroadtrip.blogspot.com

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There is probably no type of size of RV that isn't being used as a full-time home by someone. The real issue isn't whether anyone has done this or even if they are doing it. The issue is what can you and yours live in all of the time? An Airstream has very limited storage space, due to the shape of the trailer and they are quite heavy to tow. Be sure that you can live comfortably and happily in a space of 300 square feet or less for the next few years, or however long you think that you will wish to be on the road. Space and storage is the reason that so few fulltimers live in one of them, but some folks do manage.

 

Remember that just because other people enjoy living in any particular RV does not mean that you and your spouse will like it. The reason that so small a percentage of our population live in RVs is mostly that very few of us can accept the limitations that it requires. Perhaps you could find a space of similar size and try living in it for a while, or if you have the trailer now, try spending a couple of weeks in it before you spend any money to update it.

Thanks for the reply. My dad had an airstream that he stayed in on the weekends, and one of the things he said was that they had limited storage space. It's incredible how much space a slideout can open up considering that they don't even go out that far.

pavlovamericanroadtrip.blogspot.com

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....... It seems like they probably handle the road better. Every time we drive to a new location I feel us getting blown around a lot.

I am wondering what you live in and what you tow it with? Handling on the road as far more than just the shape of the RV that you tow and I doubt that you would find an Airstream to be significantly different. They are a bit more aerodynamic than most other trailers, but I think that you need to address the problems that you have now before you consider changing brands. That is not likely to be much of a solution.

 

Tell us more about the make, size, weights, and specifics of the trailer you have and also about the vehicle that you tow it with. Handling is mostly the proper match of tow vehicle and hitch equipment to the size and weight of the trailer you are towing. No RV handles very well in extreme weather conditions, but a well equipped and well matched RV/truck combination is not difficult to drive under most conditions.

 

On the storage space, one of the major limitations of the Airstream line is the shape of them in an effort to make them look aircraft like means that there is very little or no cabinet space in the overhead areas. In addition, no trailer has storage below the floor the way that motorhomes do, or the forward area of a fifth wheel near the hitch. If you tow with a truck, a fifth wheel has many advantages. The vast majority of fulltimers choose to live in either a fifth wheel or a class A and storage space is one of the reasons for that.

EDIT:

I just checked your profile and I see that you are traveling in a Four Winds, class C which is not a highly rated RV. I suspect that there is more to your handling problems than your choice of RV. How much do you know of the weights of your RV and of proper weight distribution? Have you ever weighed the RV with it ready for travel? Are any of your axles loaded above the axle weight ratings? How does your total weight compare to the weight ratings of the RV such as GVWR? What about the weight of one side compared to the other side? Have you considered things like the shock absorbers and springs condition? What about tire loading and inflation pressures? What have you tried in an effort to improve handling?

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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I am wondering what you live in and what you tow it with? Handling on the road as far more than just the shape of the RV that you tow and I doubt that you would find an Airstream to be significantly different. They are a bit more aerodynamic than most other trailers, but I think that you need to address the problems that you have now before you consider changing brands. That is not likely to be much of a solution.

 

Tell us more about the make, size, weights, and specifics of the trailer you have and also about the vehicle that you tow it with. Handling is mostly the proper match of tow vehicle and hitch equipment to the size and weight of the trailer you are towing. No RV handles very well in extreme weather conditions, but a well equipped and well matched RV/truck combination is not difficult to drive under most conditions.

 

On the storage space, one of the major limitations of the Airstream line is the shape of them in an effort to make them look aircraft like means that there is very little or no cabinet space in the overhead areas. In addition, no trailer has storage below the floor the way that motorhomes do, or the forward area of a fifth wheel near the hitch. If you tow with a truck, a fifth wheel has many advantages. The vast majority of fulltimers choose to live in either a fifth wheel or a class A and storage space is one of the reasons for that.

EDIT:

I just checked your profile and I see that you are traveling in a Four Winds, class C which is not a highly rated RV. I suspect that there is more to your handling problems than your choice of RV. How much do you know of the weights of your RV and of proper weight distribution? Have you ever weighed the RV with it ready for travel? Are any of your axles loaded above the axle weight ratings? How does your total weight compare to the weight ratings of the RV such as GVWR? What about the weight of one side compared to the other side? Have you considered things like the shock absorbers and springs condition? What about tire loading and inflation pressures? What have you tried in an effort to improve handling?

We just jumped into everything this fall, and still have a lot to learn. We pretty much decided to go on the road in September, and was ready to go by the end of October. We have never weighed it, or done much to improve the handling. We are towing a Honda fit with a tow dolly, which is something we would probably not do again. There have been some windy days that have made traveling rough, but I also notice that going downhill it feels like it would be easy to lose control. We chose this one because there weren't many options at the time. I was traveling all over the state of Michigan looking at rvs, and it seems the better ones would sell by the time I could get to them. We are going to do 6 more months in it and probably sell it. I will have to weigh it next week when we get back on the road. We checked the tire pressure a couple months back and filled them. We are due to do that again. We are traveling light, and have pretty much used up a good part of our storage space in this, so I can see how it would be an issue in an airstream. I also find it struggles going uphill even though it is a v10. I think a lot of that is due to the car. We are towing a Honda Fit, which is a pretty small car, and we only keep a couple of gallons in the tank on travel days. We are more or less learning as we go. Thanks for the suggestions.

pavlovamericanroadtrip.blogspot.com

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I probably meet more fulltimers and extended travelers in Airstreams than any other individual brand. Probably a little bit hype, but ultimately they are popular for a reason—especially in Austin, where we're from.

YoungFulltimers.com is dedicated to informing non-retired RVers who live on the road. This news-focused online publication should appeal to fulltimers of all ages.

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I probably meet more fulltimers and extended travelers in Airstreams than any other individual brand. Probably a little bit hype, but ultimately they are popular for a reason—especially in Austin, where we're from.

 

That surprises me greatly. Maybe its an Austin thing.

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Very interesting site. Thanks for sharing.

 

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the one that comes to mind at present is http://longlonghoneymoon.com/ and are doing it successfully. Check 'em out.

The one, out of literally hundreds of fulltimers who keep blogs and websites. If you look at the signature lines of those who post here, many of us have live links there which will take you to our sites and you can easily do your own test to see just how many are in an Airstream. There are a few, but of all of the fulltimers that we know or have known in our years participating in the lifestyle, only one has been in an Airstream, while there are several other brands of RV that we do know multiple fulltimers living in. There is no one brand that is best, or worst for everyone.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Perhaps you could find a space of similar size and try living in it for a while

We did this with mixed results. We marked off part of our dining room, moved a couch, card table and two chairs into it, and spent all day every day in that space. We learned that we could spend our days that close to one another just fine. We did not learn that the low ceiling of an RV would be a problem. Nor that having a fourth wall to block our views would be a problem. Nor that a nine gallon black tank would not be large enough. Nor that having to have one person sit before the other could move would be necessary. Or that one could not get to the bathroom if the other was cooking or washing dishes. So we bought the Class B we thought we had proved we could live in then traded it for a Class C with a slide four months later. Mostly what we proved is that you don't know what you don't know. :)

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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We just jumped into everything this fall, and still have a lot to learn. We pretty much decided to go on the road in September, and was ready to go by the end of October. We have never weighed it, or done much to improve the handling. We are towing a Honda fit with a tow dolly, which is something we would probably not do again. There have been some windy days that have made traveling rough, but I also notice that going downhill it feels like it would be easy to lose control. We chose this one because there weren't many options at the time. I was traveling all over the state of Michigan looking at rvs, and it seems the better ones would sell by the time I could get to them. We are going to do 6 more months in it and probably sell it. I will have to weigh it next week when we get back on the road. We checked the tire pressure a couple months back and filled them. We are due to do that again. We are traveling light, and have pretty much used up a good part of our storage space in this, so I can see how it would be an issue in an airstream. I also find it struggles going uphill even though it is a v10. I think a lot of that is due to the car. We are towing a Honda Fit, which is a pretty small car, and we only keep a couple of gallons in the tank on travel days. We are more or less learning as we go. Thanks for the suggestions.

Yep, a 31" Class C is a lot of RV to put on the V10. Also the V10 in a Class C has a little less power than the V10 in a Class A. However since you are fulltiming you shouldn't be in a rush. So taking it slow going up the mountains, and very slow and manually downshifting to lower gears going down the mountains generally isn't a problem.

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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Yep, a 31" Class C is a lot of RV to put on the V10. Also the V10 in a Class C has a little less power than the V10 in a Class A. However since you are fulltiming you shouldn't be in a rush. So taking it slow going up the mountains, and very slow and manually downshifting to lower gears going down the mountains generally isn't a problem.

Yeah, that's what I have been doing. For the most part I am not disappointed with the rv. My wife just really likes the look of airstreams, and so do I, but we would probably live more comfortably in the one we have. Everything has it's pros and cons. The main reason I want to remodel one is that I will have control over all the materials that go in. We went into the rv museum in Amarillo, and the true wood and materials used then didn't have all of the voc's(including formaldehyde) that is in most materials now.

pavlovamericanroadtrip.blogspot.com

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We did this with mixed results. We marked off part of our dining room, moved a couch, card table and two chairs into it, and spent all day every day in that space. We learned that we could spend our days that close to one another just fine. We did not learn that the low ceiling of an RV would be a problem. Nor that having a fourth wall to block our views would be a problem. Nor that a nine gallon black tank would not be large enough. Nor that having to have one person sit before the other could move would be necessary. Or that one could not get to the bathroom if the other was cooking or washing dishes. So we bought the Class B we thought we had proved we could live in then traded it for a Class C with a slide four months later. Mostly what we proved is that you don't know what you don't know. :)

 

Linda Sand

Good suggestion. We probably are just going to use what we have. We live the space in ours, and still have some space to put things. We're halfway into our first year and so far most of it has been pretty smooth. I think anything smaller would just be too much for us. We all have different levels of what we define as comfort.

pavlovamericanroadtrip.blogspot.com

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We went into the rv museum in Amarillo, and the true wood and materials used then didn't have all of the voc's(including formaldehyde) that is in most materials now.

While that is quite true, those materials are also very heavy as compared to those used in RVs today. Adding solid wood products could very easily push your RV to weight that exceeds the designed weight limits of your chassis or mean that you would have difficulty getting your possessions in without exceeding those weight limits. If you aren't familiar with weight limits an ratings, it would be wise to research them before you start to make major changes to any RV. Both total weight and weight distribution is very important to RV safety and handling.

 

I think anything smaller would just be too much for us. We all have different levels of what we define as comfort.

This is the most important thing to remember. What makes me, or some other posting person happy or comfortable is on no importance if your needs and desires are different from ours. More than one person over the years told us that the RV we lived in for nearly 12 years just was not acceptable for fulltime RV living, and some of those folks post on these forums even today. My best advice is that if you are happy with what you have now, that is probably the best choice of RV for you and our opinions just do not matter. :P

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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We lived in a 30' Airstream for about 18 months 22 years ago. They are limited in storage compared to other RVs of similar size, but a 30'er is in no way a "small" RV, at least to me. As mentioned above, putting a cap on the truck bed adds a ton of storage.

 

Why did we choose an Airstream? Because we wanted something quality, that would last. You can't say that about most RVs, especially not back then.

 

That said, this time around we went with a 40' motorhome. Our toad is a full-size pickup - with a cap to allow more storage. :)

1994 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WB40

Full-timers since 2016, domiciled in Crestview, Florida

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