Airstream Trailers

Having both a "Box" TT (A good one) and a GMC Motorhome of the same length, I have to say, I will give up sexy for space. The tumblehome (curved walls at the top) on the GMC and the Airstream take away a lot of storage and "space". My FIL's Airstream was stuffy and heavy. The interior walls are structural so if you are a hobbyist, and plan to get an old one and refurb, plan on a lot of work, where TT's (and my Aluminum framed GMC) have no load bearing walls or members so you can do whatcha want.

A quick look in RV Trader reveals the following:

A new 2014 22' Airstream Sport has an MSRP of $50K or so.

A used 2008 is being offered at $35K ($15K less/30% less than new)

I couldn't find any comparable units that were 10 years old, however, a unit that has lost 30% of its value in 6 years doesn't indicate to me that Airstreams have high resale values as indicated by some posters. Sure, you may buy a highly depreciated used Airstream and keep it for 10 years and lose very little money, but the same thing can be said of practically any type of RV or brand.

It depends on what the 2014 was actually sold for, then resold for. MSRP is anything the dealer wants it to be. It is not necessarily what a customer pays.

Check out a Lance, or Arctic Fox, or Shadow Crusier, or Rockwood, or whatever and see what the spread is new/used. Then you will get some comparative data. From what I have seen box trailers depreciate about ten percent a year so at the five year mark they are worth about half of new. Hopefully the owner never paid MSRP or the depreciation hit could be bigger each month that the payments are to the bank. Maintenance and condition also dictate a lot of the used value.

The Avion was the peak of silver trailer quality. Heavier aluminum, better insulation, better wood, etc.

I think Fleetwood made the Avion in it's later years. Too bad Avions are gone as they were very well made, heavy, but well made. That is sometimes what happens when large corporations look at bottom line profits as more important than making a lasting well made product that consumers can enjoy for years.

A quick look in RV Trader reveals the following:

A new 2014 22' Airstream Sport has an MSRP of $50K or so.

A used 2008 is being offered at $35K ($15K less/30% less than new)

I couldn't find any comparable units that were 10 years old, however, a unit that has lost 30% of its value in 6 years doesn't indicate to me that Airstreams have high resale values as indicated by some posters. Sure, you may buy a highly depreciated used Airstream and keep it for 10 years and lose very little money, but the same thing can be said of practically any type of RV or brand.

Actually the Lance was $25,000, and they hold their value better than most.
The AS, since Thor bought them are not what they use to be, and I can't justify paying $60,000 for something that in my opinion, is way over priced, and over hyped.
Also, I can pay cash for a $25,000 trailer, but not a $60,000 one, and if I can't pay cash I don't buy it.
I look at the older AS my friend has and it is built so much better that my other friends new one.
For bigger tanks, way more storage, and living space, I'm willing to loose a little more on the back end.
I see AS added rock guards to both front sides to keep rocks from damaging the sides of the trailer. I wonder if this is because the aluminum their using is thinner?

Arizona Kid,

As I indicated there are other reasons than cost that somebody might not want an Airstream. I can understand that. I also understand the paying cash thing as well. Well built or poorly built they are still the iconic pinnacle that many others measure their TT's against. Lances are not what they used to be, either! At one time they accoiunted for half of all truck campers sold in any year. Complaints were rare. If the forums are to be believed there have been issues with recent Lances that probably were never there in the past. It is more about the times and the manufacturer customer satisfaction quality that is employed in the making of most RV's. Most travel trailers are made in about 140-150 worker hours; Airstreams are almost 400 hours. There is a difference.

And Lances are no different than many other RV's in that customer's want it to be inexpensive, ideal floor plans, light towing weights, slide outs, etc. Rarely is factory quality the number one consideration in consumers minds at purchase time. And probably even less would be a club or an iconic timeless shape.

Enjoy your Lance!

I don't know for a fact if the old ones had thicker aluminum but I doubt it. It was pretty thin. Look at some old ones without gravel guards and they will have lots of dents.

Someone said the headliner was falling? I have never seen a headliner in an Airstream.

Factoid; Argosys were steel skinned.

jmtandem:

Actually the Lance was $25,000, and they hold their value better than most.
The AS, since Thor bought them are not what they use to be, and I can't justify paying $60,000 for something that in my opinion, is way over priced, and over hyped.
Also, I can pay cash for a $25,000 trailer, but not a $60,000 one, and if I can't pay cash I don't buy it.
I look at the older AS my friend has and it is built so much better that my other friends new one.
For bigger tanks, way more storage, and living space, I'm willing to loose a little more on the back end.
I see AS added rock guards to both front sides to keep rocks from damaging the sides of the trailer. I wonder if this is because the aluminum their using is thinner?

Wally Byam and the WBCCI promoted these trailers and created a cult following.

Wally Byam was a marketing genius. He could have sold anything and done it well. When he began to sell Airstreams because they embody the freedoms that every American wants and then takes his customers with their Airstreams on ships to the pyramids in Egypt, India, Africa, and Europe to use and enjoy their Airstream he developed the cult like following. People loved it. What other TT manufacturer did that or even does that today?

When Wally touted that travel broadens a persons perspective on world issues, their horizons, make them essentially smarter than those that don't travel, and allows for all that to happen on his caravans it is no wonder he had the following that he developed. Airstreams were not just trailers -- they were freedom and travel to exotic places that folks might not have ever done by themselves. Wally was incredibly smart and understood what people wanted.

Unfortunately, the club is now wrestling with how to develop a following among young folks. Young folks that are not retired and do not have the time for extensive travel are less inclined to join the club. And young folks are almost totally not interested in dress codes or spending an hour or so debating and discussing a proposed amendment to the by-laws. The club needs to adapt to reflect the times or it will be losing folks and not picking up new ones. If Wally was still alive I am sure he would have a perfect incentive for the young folks to invest in Airstream and join the club.

I looked hard at a new 19' AS, but at almost twice the price of the 19' Lance, and no 4 Season package, or slide out, I just couldn't justify the price of the AS.

Apparently I don't get the 'Airstream's are too much money' logic. I can understand someone not wanting an Airstream and perhaps for several reasons but not the too costly argument. If you purchase an Airstream for $65,000 and in ten years sell it for $55,000 it has cost (apart from taxes, insurance, loan interest and maintenance costs) $10,000 to own it. And it tows better so the owner might even get a slight but likely very mininal break on fuel mileage.

If the Lance or any other box trailer costs $30,000 and in ten years it is worth $15,000 (highly unlikely as standard box trailers usually lose half their value in about five years), then the real cost to own is $15,000. The Lance cost $5000 more to own than the Airstream over the ten years. How is the Lance less expensive???

I understand about tying up money and the Airstream ties up more money to be sure. But at the end of the day it is less expensive from a purely cost to purchase and then resell basis.

I previously owned an Alaskan cabover pop up camper, based in some ways on the same aluminum shell that is similar to Airstream. In ten years I lost $500 in ownership costs from the purchase price to the selling price. Any other cabover camper including Lance would have likely caused me to suffer significantly more depreciation. Yea, Alaskans are expensive but at the end of the ten years my ownershop costs were far less than probably any other pop up cab over camper on the market. Quality holds value and it does not hurt that there is a constant demand for the pre- owned product based on buyers historical perception of longevity and value retention of the product.

Once up on a time, Airstream was a pretty quality trailer. Thor now owns A/S and it is not the quality of the older ones. They are riding on their past.

Wally Byam and the WBCCI promoted these trailers and created a cult following. And the mystic is still there for the trailers. A/S was the last of the silver trailers to survive, but they were not the best by a long shot.

The trailers that were of a higher quality we the Streamline, Silver Streak and the Avion. The Avion was the peak of silver trailer quality. Heavier aluminum, better insulation, better wood, etc.

My nickels worth folks.

Ken