Airstream, Winnebago, or another Travel Trailer?

Good points on the hail damage. Ironic you mention that, I am on the road right now, and yesterday saw an Airstream that had indeed been beat up by hail. It had, shall we say...."character".
I got caught in a hail storm with my camper ( conventional fiberglass laminate sides, rubber roof type ) a couple years ago. The truck suffered hail damage, but the trailer came thru it ok.

Re-read my response... and feel it didn't accurately answer your question.

During Spring through Summer this last year, IIRC, I received around 4-5 notifications alerting us to a cell moving through the area with the potential for damaging hail. Granted, this would be an isolated cell and will not be hugely widespread, but the event still existed. Did we get hit with damaging hail? We did get hail every one of those events along with a lot more storms with hail but No, we did not experience damaging hail during those events.

It's kind of the roll-the-dice situation.

I live in the mountains just west and not too far from Denver. From Spring through summer, it is possible to get hail everyday. Granted, it is mostly non-damaging size hail but the potential for damaging sized hail is always a possibility.

I believe the Denver metro area does not see as much hail but again, the potential is always there. You would be surprised how many cars you will come across in Denver that look like golf ball skin. When I am doing work in Denver or parked at the airport, I park in a parking structure versus parking outside when during that time frame mentioned above.

Yes, I realize what I am saying may seem like an exaggeration but hail does happen here a lot. A majority of the time it is not damaging... but I like to go by the "better safe than sorry" approach to not have to give it a second thought. To each their own. :)

Red,
I'm curious. About how many hail events do you get yearly where you are? In Central MN, we're usually good for about one a year but most of the time it's small stuff. Occasionally, we'll get the golf-ball sized and better. I was about to exit my front door one early morning and glanced one last time out the window. I saw a couple of baseballs bounce off the grass and beat a hasty retreat.

MMcGee wrote:
5) What's the best skin to resist our occasional hail storms?

I see no one has approached this subject. Aluminum sided vehicles (both Airstream styles and aluminum siding) will get dented at some point here in CO if left in that kind of weather. How often do you plan to use the trailer? If kind of the average use, maybe not as much of a concern IF you store your TT in some sort of covered parking when not in use.

Do Airstreams get hail damage? Yes, they do, I have a friend who has one where the entire front end looks like the skin of a golf ball. That is something only you can decide of if something like that happens, will you be OK leaving it that way or do you want to go through insurance to get this major issue repaired to be subject to it happening again.

Airstreams are nice but are not my family's cup of tea. We found them too crowded, too sterile looking and being in an area that sees a lot of hail, not something I would consider having, I store my TT outside, uncovered. If you do not have your own covered storage, here in CO covered storage is very expensive and very limited.

There is a big big difference between RVing and camping. But for shear convenience it is hard to beat a TT.

It all depends on what you expect to do with your TT.

Do not know about your family but the shorter the better.If its a camp TT than all you will do is sleep, eat, and shower.Camping is getting out and enjoying what life has to offer.

I was looking at this site yesterday as one of our members suggested. I liked the build video . Whatever brand you choose , I like the shock idea that this mfg. includes . IMO, if you soften up the ride of any brand you choose, things will not stress as much, including the trailers frame, possibly extending the trailers life .

Choose a usable floor plan that can be comfortably towed with your TV. and go from there .

Do not be under the delusion that one brand is vastly superior to another quality or cost wise. If there were one; it would corner the market. They all have fans and they all make and occasional dud.

Airstreams are unique because of their construction and shape. In general they sit lower, offer a bit less wind resistance, are known for their quality interiors and cost quite a bit more for the amount of usable room. They have a fierce and loyal following. I looked at them when we were buying but my DW (wife) said they were ugly!! End of story.

If you are like the DW and I, we get by well with a 25 ft. with slide. It maneuvers easily through city streets to hunt down quilt shops and gun shops: if you have kids perhaps not.

Before you do anything consider the following.

• The floor plan is perhaps the most issue. You have to live in it and it is very difficult to change because everything is built over or around something else.
• Your tow vehicle can pull more than it can haul. Look at the door sticker and determine the max cargo it can carry. My TT has a tongue weight of 700 lbs and my TV has a max cargo capacity of 1411 lbs. that means the most I can carry is about 700lbs of people and gear. I already have 200 lbs used up in the truck cap and tools.
• Cost, TTs are expensive and depreciate at an alarming rate when you go to trade them in. So it is best if you buy what you want and keep it. There are some good used TTs but it takes a lot of looking.


To help you chose well, I always suggest you decide what you think you want and rent a similar unit for a week or so of travel. Nothing explains the pulling, parking and handling of one of these barns better than doing it.

It is not cheap but it helps prevent a lot of buyer’s remorse when you know what you have gotten yourself into.

I am a fan of the composite side wall, properly done it's structural. There is the rub. Welding thin aluminum takes skill. The RV industry is not high paying. The reason they use aluminum is weight and wood rot.