Waiting a Year for Your Airstream Is a Good Thing

Here’s why.

Congratulations! You have made your down payment on an Airstream.

But now you have been told it will take 6–12 months before you can pick it up and begin traveling.

Typically, this would be pretty disappointing news. However, the extended wait time can be a good thing that works to your advantage.

Start preparing for your Airstream pick-up in the months ahead with these five helpful action items you can do.

Map out your destinations.

What is your bucket list? Where are the places you want to go?

Now is a good time to start planning before your Airstream keys are in hand.

For our family, it’s visiting the national parks. This summer we are seeing Utah’s five national parks and next year maybe Yellowstone.

Questions to start asking yourself are,

How far will you need to travel?

How many vacation days will you need to take off work?

Do you have school and sports schedules to try to workaround?

While waiting on your Airstream to be ready, now is perfect to start looking at calendars and tentatively plan where you want to visit.

Research campgrounds and costs.

Whether it’s for your week-long vacations or 3-day getaways, you want to check out campground costs and understand the availability and fees.

State parks are a great option. The fee costs are typically less, and it still allows you to relocate somewhere new to experience time away from the house.

In the last couple of years with camping becoming more popular, campsite spots fill up fast. Sometimes you need to book your spot 3–9 months in advance depending on the campground. If there are special seasonal events planned, it could even be up to a year in advance.

It’s helpful to have that information already in hand as you get closer to bringing your Airstream home.

Begin making a list of what you need in your Airstream.

Your Airstream will become your second home.

Especially in a smaller space, you want to start looking at the floor plan and figuring out what items you may already have or need to purchase.

From a cost-savings perspective, look around your house. Are there any items you already have and not using that you can start setting aside for your Airstream?

Looking in my kitchen cabinets, I’ve already been able to find plastic plates, cups, and mugs that are taking up space and will be great for the Basecamp.

Try to check out a discount store near you. Sometimes you’ll find great branded items for a couple of dollars or less.

Watching other Airstream owners on Youtube, you’ll discover ideas around a packing list and storage containers to consider for the Airstream model you are purchasing.

Review and continue saving in your budget.

Purchasing an Airstream is a big investment.

If you are also pursuing finance options, there are things to consider leading up to your pick-up.

It’s best if you have 10–20% to put down on your loan. If you have more money to put down that’s even better.

Those with a 720+ beacon score will likely benefit from the best interest rates.

Another helpful tip I’ve come across is to begin saving an additional 10% of the total cost of your Airstream purchase to put aside for unexpected operating expenses.

Costs for the hitch are not cheap. You could be looking at anything from $200-$1200 for the cost. This is on top of what you are already paying for your Airstream.

Then you have propane tanks, potentially a generator (or two) depending on your travel intentions, and don’t forget the cost of gas.

Expenses are going to add up, and starting to save up now and setting that money aside will help ease the spending burden when it’s time to enjoy the adventure.

Connect with other Airstream owners.

Talking to others that already own an Airstream gives you the best insight.

Being able to connect and engage with those already experiencing life in an Airstream starts to give you ideas for what you should and should not be looking for as you prepare for ownership. It’s especially helpful for newbies like me.

Talking to our sales guy today on the phone, he mentioned joining “Airstream Addicts” on Facebook.

There are countless groups on social media to follow and engage with.

Our family is early to these groups, but I’m already finding tips and watch-outs from reading these conversations online.

Airstream also has a very helpful customer service team to reach out to as well.

With more things reopening after the pandemic, you may want to be on the lookout for Airstream tours opening up again at a dealership near you. Our family is hoping we may get a sneak peek at our Airstream build this spring if possible.

The wait time can seem long, but when you start compiling all these to-do’s, you realize it’s helpful to have this planning and organizing time.

Don’t get me wrong, the excitement sometimes has you almost busting at the seems for your Airstream to be complete and ready for pick-up. Our family talks about it weekly.

But if you can try to be patient and take this time to prepare, you will feel more confident and informed driving your silver home off the lot.

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