What happened to Airstream?

[slackercruster]

Looks like their International Rally was at their highs in the 70's and 80's. (3000's to 4000's) Then all downhill from there for last 20 years. (1000's and below.)

https://wbcci.org/past-rally-locations-and-attendance/wbcci-publications/past-wbcci-international-rallies-and-attendance

 

 

Edited April 23, 2019 by slackercruster

[Kirk W]

A lot of it is probably due to the prices they want today. If you look at the list of models, you will quickly see that they are the most expensive travel trailer made in the USA.  It starts with the Basecamp model that sleeps 2 for only $37,400!

[edatlanta]

I saw a 2019 27' at a campground 2 days ago on it's maiden voyage.  Two a/c's, solar, really loaded.  List was $114,000'ish per the new owner.

[Lou Schneider]

5 hours ago, edatlanta said:

I saw a 2019 27' at a campground 2 days ago on it's maiden voyage.  Two a/c's, solar, really loaded.  List was $114,000'ish per the new owner.

And it qualifies for AT&T's Airstream Unlimited Internet access.  Essentially the Mobley plan allowing up to 10 devices using hardware built into the trailer.  $360 a year for unlimited access, or $25 a month for 5GB.

https://www.att.com/plans/connected-car/airstream.html

Edited April 24, 2019 by Lou Schneider

[WanderingStar]

I have a 2006 Airstream Classic LTD. Absolutely love it. It is well built and tows beautifully.  I call it my rolling condo. I have customized it to my liking and with proper maintenance and upkeep it will probably out last me. I always loved the classic cool look of Airstreams and dreamed of owning one . Now I do.

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, WanderingStar said:

I have a 2006 Airstream Classic LTD.

Do you ever attend their national rallies?

[WanderingStar]

I attended the rallies with a AS chapter in Texas. Haven’t attended a national rally as of yet. There has been some controversy over how the officers are elected (the officers nominate one person for each position  and the members get to “vote” for that person) along with other issues. The Texas chapter was all about having fun. Hopefully, the controversies will get resolved and the club will thrive again.

[theeyres]

Actually that decrease in rally attendance is across the board  in all RV groups. FMCA is now recruiting towables to try to increase membership. Escapees is now reaching out to younger people. Just a sign of the times about shifting priorities with younger age groups.

[Kirk W]

7 hours ago, theeyres said:

Actually that decrease in rally attendance is across the board  in all RV groups.............

Escapees is now reaching out to younger people.

Actually, you are wrong about the Escapees as the membership here is reported to be as high as it has ever been but when Travis Carr joined the company Cathy (his mom) gave him the job of finding a way to attract the younger and still working group because the average age of members had been rising for many years and the club had become mostly a group for retired folks. If you were to read the club history you would find that it began as a group of families who followed jobs in the construction trades. Joe Peterson was a construction electrician and all of the original members were employed. As they retired from their jobs, so too did the others in the group and slowly the club changed to a point that there were very few working people and even fewer families. Today that trend is starting to swing back in the other direction with the X-scapers now the fastest growing part of the club. The total number of members had not begun to decline, but the scope of the club was. 

[vermilye]

On 4/23/2019 at 1:07 PM, Kirk W said:

A lot of it is probably due to the prices they want today. If you look at the list of models, you will quickly see that they are the most expensive travel trailer made in the USA.  It starts with the Basecamp model that sleeps 2 for only $37,400!

While I'll agree that the Airstream is a bit overpriced, they are a long way from the most expensive aluminum trailer made in the US.  Check out the Bowlus Road Chief - Their Endless Highways model is 26' with a 4000 gross weight trailer for only $185,000.00! On the other hand, it does sleep 4...

Edited May 7, 2019 by vermilye

[mptjelgin]

1 hour ago, vermilye said:

While I'll agree that the Airstream is a bit overpriced, they are a long way from the most expensive aluminum trailer made in the US.  Check out the Bowlus Road Chief - Their Endless Highways model is 26' with a 4000 gross weight trailer for only $185,000.00! On the other hand, it does sleep 4...

Well, they are: "Epic. Exceptional. The Ultimate."

'Nuff said...

[Lou Schneider]

Interesting that the original model they based their design on cost $750 new in 1934, adjusted for inflation that's $14,227 today. 

On the other hand, their financing package is only $940 a month for 20 years after a $36k down payment.  And it will fit behind your Tesla in the pull through charging stations.  What's not to like?

Edited May 7, 2019 by Lou Schneider

[Kirk W]

58 minutes ago, Lou Schneider said:

And it will fit behind your Tesla in the pull through charging stations.  What's not to like?

One of those folks from the Finance & Investment forum that make lots of money and promote Tesla should probably jump on this one!  Has anyone actually seen one of the current Bowlus trailers on the road or in a campground? I think that we saw one of the original ones in the RV Hall of Fame. 

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by Kirk W

[vermilye]

I saw one at Henry Horton State Park in TN.

Unfortunately, my photos are a bit larger than allowed - here is a link to a photo of the outside & thru the door:  19 Trip, Day 243

Edited May 7, 2019 by vermilye

[Ray,IN]

On 5/7/2019 at 10:20 AM, vermilye said:

While I'll agree that the Airstream is a bit overpriced, they are a long way from the most expensive aluminum trailer made in the US.  Check out the Bowlus Road Chief - Their Endless Highways model is 26' with a 4000 gross weight trailer for only $185,000.00! On the other hand, it does sleep 4...

Technology is touted, yet you must remove the toilet tissue to take a shower(unless you like to use wet TP) in the wet bath. Forethought seems to be missing. It is an unusual design.

[WanderingStar]

On 4/24/2019 at 5:55 AM, edatlanta said:

I saw a 2019 27' at a campground 2 days ago on it's maiden voyage.  Two a/c's, solar, really loaded.  List was $114,000'ish per the new owner.

What it lists for and what the buyer pays are two very different things. With that said I thought OP was asking about the decline in the club membership and decline in attendance at the rallies. I think the sales are still strong for new models and many buy previously loved units. Let’s not forget the vintage units that are restored/renovated. 

[sandsys]

2 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

Technology is touted, yet you must remove the toilet tissue to take a shower(unless you like to use wet TP) in the wet bath. Forethought seems to be missing. It is an unusual design.

I have no idea what you were looking at. The Endless Highways model being discussed has a separate toilet room from the shower.

My van had a wet bath but the toilet paper hanger was mounted on the inside of the door so it was behind the shower curtain when showering. No need to remove the TP to keep it dry.

Linda

[2gypsies]

Personally, the Bowlus is ugly - in and out though I'm sure some like it.   Choices.

[Ray,IN]

On 5/8/2019 at 11:54 PM, sandsys said:

I have no idea what you were looking at. The Endless Highways model being discussed has a separate toilet room from the shower.

My van had a wet bath but the toilet paper hanger was mounted on the inside of the door so it was behind the shower curtain when showering. No need to remove the TP to keep it dry.

Linda

I was viewing the Road Chief model; https://bowlusroadchief.com/on-the-road/, scroll down to the 360° tour, rotate the view to the closed doors, click on the menu button that takes you to view the wet-bath, rotate to view the commode/shower.

It's elementary anyway, they are out of my price range for a TT.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Ray,IN

[Kirk W]

On 5/10/2019 at 10:11 PM, Ray,IN said:

It's elementary anyway, they are out of my price range

I think that the desire to show the world how much we can afford is a factor in the choice of RV for many buyers and not just those at the very high end of the price structure. 

[Ray,IN]

Kirk, I have a long-time friend who bought a new 31'(I think) Airstream in 1978, they always took excellent care of it and about 1998 they took it back to the factory for a complete updating and polishing the exterior. Today it still looks new as a result. They have refused many offers to buy, for more money than the original purchase price.

[Kirk W]

9 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

I have a long-time friend who bought a new 31'(I think) Airstream in 1978,

Your friend is a good example of who probably should buy an Airstream. We have owned RVs since 1972 and over those years we have owned 6 different ones. I am pretty sure that we have averaged owning ours for longer periods than most RV buyers, so that would hardly justify a purchase for us. The Airstream nearest to what we now own and have owned for 7 years is the 22' Sport, 22FB which shows an MSRP of only $57,400. If you believe that you can buy an Airstream for 30% below MSRP(which I highly doubt) that still means $40,000, which is roughly 4 times what we paid for our little KZ product in 2012. No doubt about it, if you know that you will keep the same RV for the next 30 or 40 years, you should buy an Airstream. Since we have changed RVs to go from a popup, to bigger popup, to self-contained travel trailer, to class A, to much larger class A, and back to a small travel trailer, that would not have been a smart purchase for us. 

[WanderingStar]

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

Since we have changed RVs to go from a popup, to bigger popup, to self-contained travel trailer, to class A, to much larger class A, and back to a small travel trailer, that would not have been a smart purchase for us. 

That’s the process most people likely go through. As for me, I don’t claim more intelligence, just a different life experience that helped me make a good decision for my situation. Even though I felt I was doing a decent job planning my retirement, I felt for my financial situation it would be best to buy one unit that would be paid for and last me through my retirement years. I think becoming a long haul driver and living in a space smaller than most people’s bathroom with my late spouse gave me great insight. I learned I don’t need as much as I thought I did. Over time I learned how to optimize the usage of space. I see some features in various units that I doubt are a good idea in a vehicle that will be moving. Even with my OTR experience I purchased a 25 ft used travel trailer (not an AS) that was in good shape for less than 5k to live in for a year so I could be certain the reality was as good as the dream. If not we could have always have used the TT for vacations, fishing trips , and the like. I did learn somethings living in that little trailer such as no matter how spiffy the lobster sinks look, I would not be happy without double sinks in the galley.

[Roadtrek 1]

On 5/16/2019 at 4:59 AM, Kirk W said:

Your friend is a good example of who probably should buy an Airstream. We have owned RVs since 1972 and over those years we have owned 6 different ones. I am pretty sure that we have averaged owning ours for longer periods than most RV buyers, so that would hardly justify a purchase for us. The Airstream nearest to what we now own and have owned for 7 years is the 22' Sport, 22FB which shows an MSRP of only $57,400. If you believe that you can buy an Airstream for 30% below MSRP(which I highly doubt) that still means $40,000, which is roughly 4 times what we paid for our little KZ product in 2012. No doubt about it, if you know that you will keep the same RV for the next 30 or 40 years, you should buy an Airstream. Since we have changed RVs to go from a popup, to bigger popup, to self-contained travel trailer, to class A, to much larger class A, and back to a small travel trailer, that would not have been a smart purchase for us. 

There's a price point, style and design for everyone. . We actually saw several on the road from the Base Camp to Flying Clouds and everything in between. 

Just remember; you can't take it with you.....just enjoy your life while you can. 

I don't have 30 to 40 years left….how many of you do..?    Here's the link to their coaches and they are pretty nice. 

https://www.airstream.com/touring-coaches/

I couldn't afford a brand new RV, and wanted a touring model....got exactly what I wanted 5 years old and saved money...

What is the average length of ownership on an RV?  I would think trading in every 5 or even 7 years is not a good idea.   Maybe better to keep your RV for 10 years to get the most value? 

What do you think?  

 

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, Roadtrek 1 said:

What is the average length of ownership on an RV?  I would think trading in every 5 or even 7 years is not a good idea.   Maybe better to keep your RV for 10 years to get the most value? 

What do you think?  

I tend to agree with your view on changing RVs. We bought our first one when it was very used and very cheap to see if we could justify the expense based on use. We had been tenting for about 5 years and the first RV wasn't much more than a tent with wheels. We used it for only 2 seasons then traded up for a  much larger and better-equipped pop-up which we bought new and kept for 9 seasons and sold it for about 60% of what we paid for it. By then our boys were getting older so we changed to a self-contained travel trailer. Over the years we have averaged keeping our RVs for just short of 8 years but if we take out the first one it then averages 9 years, thus far. We have had our current travel trailer since 2012 and have no plans to change. It may quite likely be our last RV. The longest that we ever kept an RV was our fulltime RV home which we kept for 14 years.