Airstream Motorhome vs Airstream Trailer

Hi All,  This is my first blog so if I make some errors please excuse them; I will try to learn from them and make this an excellent blog.

Kate and I just returned from our cross-country trip along Route 66 from Las Vegas to St. Louis, and then up the interstates to London, Ontario.  I picked up a customer's Airstream Motor Home that spent the last 10 years in Vegas.  Because the motorhome hadn't been driven much, even though it was 20 years old, I was very concerned on how it would perform on the long journey home.

I had never used a motorhome for a long trip so this trip proved an excellent education.  I have used just about every kind of trailer except for a hardtop, and have traveled 100s of thousands of kilometers over the years.  So I wondered how our travels in the motorhome would compare?  Well, these next few posts will give you a perspective on the trip and on the pros and cons of motorhomes and trailers.

For the Baron!

Airstream Motorhome vs. Airstream Trailer continued

Difference #1 - Exercise
Kate and I left Las Vegas on November 9th after picking up the motorhome and promptly got lost--which I am told is next to impossible to do in Vegas.  As I bragged to Kate, I like to achieve the impossible!

I was taking it very easy on the motorhome as it hadn't been driven much over the past 10 years, and was trying not to be one of those irritating RVers who held up traffic.  I tried to keep to four-lane roads, and did pull off to let other traffic by when possible.  We drove from Las Vegas to Boulder City - a quick drive once we got going. But once at our destination we couldn't find the RV park.  Kate asked for directions from a cop at variety store. Then we got lost again. Fortunately the owner of the campground answered the phone and, with his help, we finally located it. 

The next day I learnt one big difference is that with a motor home you walk a lot more than you do with a vehicle and trailer!  We spent the morning cleaning the motorhome and threw out about 6 bags of garbage, and a lot of throw mats. Carrying those bags of garbage all the way across the park got to be tiring. (I did clear it with the owners of the park first).

Then we decided to go into town for lunch and tour around.   More walking!  I also wanted to find a GPS.  Kate said, "well we managed for 40 years without one why do we need one now?"  I explained that if you make a wrong turn in your little Corolla its one thing, but if you have to find a place to turn around a 35' motorhome that's quite another!  

I bought the GPS. We name him Tomas, with emphasis on the "O".

We walked a lot that afternoon, but I did manage find a nice place that served some excellent wine on a patio, while Kate did more shopping! Hey I was walking after all so why not? I will try that other Merlot!  Overall it was a nice experience, and we got back to the park and spent the next day cleaning as well.

With the car and trailer I would have loaded the garbage in the trunk, driven into town, bought my GPS and missed out on the exercise.  The drawback was that we wanted a barbecue, but with charcoal it was way to heavy to carry all the way back to the park.  Get a cab you say?  Well we could get one, but it had to come all the way from Henderson, so it would be over a hundred dollar ride.  I even offered the store owner a little extra if he would drop it off on his way home.  :(   As a result we never did get our BBQ, but I did find a George Foreman Grill at a Wal-Mart a few days later, so we got it instead.

Exercise:  Motor Home 1  Trailer 0


Carrying Ability:  Motor Home 1,   Trailer 1

Note: if you tow a vehicle this would be a draw.

This was actually taken in Williams but I thought a picture of the motor home would be appropriate here.