A couple of frugal Vermonters that were able to retire early and enjoy life.
We bought our 22' Airstream International AS brand new in 2002. As of 2020 we've towed "The Luv Sub" over 81,000 miles in our nineteen seasons of camping. Our channel will take you along on our travels, show you some "How To" videos based upon what we've learned, and highlight the fun and fellowship that comes with attending rallies with the Wally Byam Airstream Club. Occasionally, we'll throw in a random travel video or two as well as our "Cooking with Cindy" playlist.
Beautiful site. The grassy fields and level campsites make for excellent camping. Weather is also a bonus here, crisp mornings with comfortable temperatures for enjoying the rally.
Wait, is it Tuesday?? No, it's Thursday! Hi guys, hope you have a great time. Say hello to everyone for us..... wish we could be there. Thanks for showing us the area and the great tips and tricks! "It's a dirtish road" Love it Cindy. 😍
We are here now. Arrived yesterday. Lucked out with hookups, we back to a fence so all utilities are close. Let’s have a great Rally and welcome to Missouri! 01890
I have a new Trade Wind. I hate the new door latch. It will still lock you out. Also, I have bruised my fingers multiple times from the handle popping back on exit. The screen door latch is also a step backwards. Spontaneously separates all the time.
Thanks for the review! We are not exactly “resorty” people either. I want full hookups and a strong cell signal. Bonus points for nice bathrooms, laundry, and a camp store with good merch. Thats about it. Pool is code word for noise. No thanks. Looking forward to the International video!🦩🩶
I had the pleasure of running into you at the Tampa show and we are SO looking forward to seeing you all again in Missouri ! I’ve learned so much from both of you and I’m very grateful for you passing on your knowledge and experience. See ya soon !!
The Taxa Cricket... WOW. Very cool. Hope you have a great time at international, we are sad we can't be there. We are happy though to be spending time with family and friends celebrating weddings! Hope to see you guys again soon. - Jim & Michelle
We’re on the road from a 5 week excursion of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, heading toward St. Louis for our 2nd night in a row of HH. Then to Ohio for the annual Paul Bunyan Show in Lore City. Eventually back to Alabama. How did you end up @Auburn being from Vermont?
You guys missed the storage under both twin beds. Twin beds give you 8” more of sleeping room than the queen. The fan by the bathroom removes moisture easily via the slot over the door. The Nova Kool fridge stays consistently cold as well as consumes little energy and gets cold in a much shorter time than the older propane…try it you’ll like it. We own the 2024 23FBT International with factory installed 300 watts of solar, 2000 watt inverter & 2 Battle Born lithium-ion 100Ah. Not crazy about the tankless water heaters but hear the 2025’s have recirculation which improves efficiency. Enjoy your videos. Roll Tide! 😉
Thanks for watching! Your points are valid and just represents the fact that "different strokes for different folks". Twin beds could give us 50' of more sleeping room and storage and we still wouldn't want it. The Nova Kool fridge is fine but let's see how long the compressor lasts going down the road versus an absorption fridge which has no moving parts. Ours is still working 22 years later. Will the Nova Kool? Maybe. I know our fridge at home didn't last that long (compressor failure) and it doesn't bounce down the road... And of course, War Eagle!
Thanks for watching! Absolutely! Practically any F-150 can tow our Airstream so the important stuff moves more towards the aesthetics... We know have over 94,000 miles on her and it is the best tow vehicle ever.
The 23 foot Tradewind makes no sense. They’ve added weight and didn’t upgrade the suspension, so you are left with only 700 lbs of cargo capacity. When you fill your fresh water tank (after all, you are going boondocking in this), you are reduced to about 400 lbs of cargo capacity.
New Hampshire!?!? Not many from around here. I recently got the starlink set up. Hopefully I'm able to signal okay with the amount of trees I have around!
Thanks for watching! We've had Starlink for almost two years and love it. We do not mount it on a pole but use the tripod so that we can move it around to find an opening if we have a lot of trees.
Thanks for watching! Yes, if we had thought about it we should have searched out some Class A's or even a Super C Nexus Wraith to show what $343,000 can buy.
I'm sorry but NE lobster rolls don't have relish. LOL They are plain w/mayo or butter with a buttered hot dog roll. They are not fancy. They were once considered pauper food - when lobsters were plentiful.
Thanks for watching! True, but there is always room for some culinary experimentation. We still think the roll from the Fisherman's Catch in Raymond, Maine is the best on the planet.
Hi both - good video, as usual. I like your analogy on Engineering Built vs Marketing Built. When the RV industry shifted to 12V in circa 2020 or about, we've started to have the marketeers selling us the virtues of the depth of the fridge, how quickly it cools, how more stable the temperature is (all true statement of course). What they have not told you is the reason why they went that route is that they're cheaper to build and therefore increase profit and margin. I strongly believe that's the only reason why the industry went this route. Because of that decision though, we're now towing an energy thirsty appliance that won't last 24 hours in a boondocking situation and as a result, you see folks massively shifting to Lithium. You're also seeing the industry creating new RVs (the Trade Wind is a perfect example) with massive amount of energy to support energy thirsty appliances. All of that because of the fridge decision. For the record, I'm not an Airstream owner, but I want to be! I own a Winnebago Micro Minie 2108TB. I have 150Ah of Lithium, 200W on the roof, 200W portable, a Bluetti PPS, an absorption fridge and I'm able to boondock for 5 days with no sun (water becomes the issue) and forever when sunny. Simply impossible on a rainy day when you have a 12V fridge drawing up to 130Ah a day on its own. Hence why I'm looking for pre-2020 Flying Cloud 23FBT. For me, that's the ultimate boondocking machine as propane not only heats, but also cools!
WHAT??! "They are going to come off" LOL. Good points Watt Woman!! Very interesting model. Too cool for us too! Thanks for showing us. - Jim & Michelle
Maybe the speakers are to scare the wildlife away when remote camping. I disconnected and removed the big subwoofer under the lounge in our 2013 International and junked it 5 years ago. Now that's were the Airstream bag stays.
Thanks for watching! I do have to admit that in college I had a 1979 Trans Am with the "Screaming Chicken" on the hood ala Smokey and the Bandit. At the time I thought it was pretty cool.
C and I have been discussing this further... The target market is obviously young, cool, hip people with man buns and tattoos that do things like surfing and drinking cold brewed chai mocha latte pumpkin spiced frappuccinos... But how many of these people have $343,000 at that time in their lives? I guess there must be at least 30 dot com CEO's that can work remotely while listening to Mega Death on massive speakers while boondocking at Moab.
Obviously you are NOT the demographic group that Airstream is targeting this van towards. My thoughts are that they are building only 30 for a couple of reasons.....1) EXPENSIVE 2) Airstream ONLY wants 30 people mad at them because it WILL BE IN the SHOP A LOT.
Thanks for watching! You are exactly correct - we are not the demographic Airstream is targeting. If I had a man bun and $343,000 with a desire to listen to Black Sabbath whilst boondocking in Yosemite, I might have their ear...
Thanks for watching! Yup. Not for us either. We've had our Airstream for 22 years. I wonder how that wrap and the rivet stickers will look like in in 2046...
Watt woman!! Haaaaaa… Yessss!!!! 😂 Not sure how I feel about the wrap. Hmmmmm. 🤔 My first thought is it cheapens it. Maybe itll grow on me. Overall Im with you guys. Too “cool” for me, but I prefer the trailers any day. I dont like to marry my camper with a drivetrain. Thats just me. Great review guys!!! ❤ Ughhh such a long wait til next Tuesday………..
Thanks for watching! The aluminum wrap (sans dopey fake rivets) really does look great. The question is - how will it look in 20 years? Watt Women sends her greetings. Next Tuesday will be the coolest trailer (not Airstream) we have ever seen. We'll then dump an extra video as we arrive at the International Airstream Rally in Sedalia...
I am guessing someone will buy them, but there is nothing that appeals to me on this van. The bed is in the wrong position for me. I am too old to climb in and out of bed. Is it a gas burner? $343 is way out of my price range! Safe travels
