Airstream Classic

Slowmover wrote:
A ten year old AS is still new. A conventional TT is ready to scrap. That’s the simple black/white divide.

Umm.. no. not true at all.

An AirStream just like any other trailer design, can AND WILL LEAK.

Whether it is from the outside or from the inside water can destroy even an all aluminum trailer.

This has been discussed before.

The multiple pieces of aluminum shell being riveted with thousands of rivets making thousands of potential entry points for water can make finding an outside leak a daunting and overly expensive task.

How well the outside skin sheds the water is determined by how good the sealant and rivets are applied at the seams.

Fixing a leaking seam is going to require some specialized tooling making it not a DIY repair job..

You are also ignoring that aluminum like any other metal transmits heat as well as cold extremely well. This leads to moisture condensing on the INSIDE of the shell, that moisture has to go somewhere so it eventually wicks into any nearby wood causing well hidden rot.

Aluminum does have an additional enemy, SALT.

I live in the rust belt and my trailer sits about 40ft from the centerline of a busy road..

Salt spray in the winter is extremely hard on not just steel but aluminum.. I have to bring in any aluminum porch furniture from the outside for winter, otherwise I would be replacing it every two years as the salt spray attacks and weakens the furniture.

Internal water leaks form water lines, busted water heaters or overflows, yeah, AirStreams are no better when it comes to that and any wood will rot if left unrepaired like even a cheap $10K conventional trailer.

Believing a $150K trailer is going to last longer is a huge leap of faith..

I have a 30 yr old conventional trailer that I rebuilt and as long as I do some simple maintenance to keep it dry it should go another 30 yrs.. Yeah I bought mine TT cheap, but it also was cheap to repair.

Maintenance is key, I know where I could get a 20 yr old Airstream, it is sitting in a FIELD ROTTING AWAY since the owner IGNORED the water leaks.. It is too far gone to even think about resurrecting with so much damage.. But yet, someone would most likely be willing to pay what the owner wants ($25K) and then proceed to put $25K or more into repairs..

I would rather not blow my retirement funds on an Airstream, but if you want to do so that is fine by me.. I plan to retire and not have to work at all until I die just be able to say I have a Airstream..