So we (Claire, 28yrs old, me 37 yrs old and Elton Black Lab 8.5yrs old) took ownership of our 2014 AS International 23D in mid Sep. (previous owners used 4-5x in year 1. Lived in Sacramento). We brought the AS back to San Diego and as of 9/30/14 have spent every night between San Elijo, Coronado, San Onofre, and/or boondocking when reservations were not available.
Here's what we've found:
The Good:
1. everything is better in an AS (life, needs vs. wants, outlook)
2. the bed is very comfortable even with the rounded corner on one side
3. the dinette set up makes more sense than the 2nd bed / lounge area
4. we still cannot believe we can take standing hot showers when on shore power
5. we can go 5+/- days (w/ navy showers) and a Honda 1000 generator boondocked.
6. The fridge/freezer is plenty for our healthy living/eating lifestyle --
7. took some time to figure out our drawers/cabinets organization but i think we're getting close. Dry food goes in pantry door cabinet 1 - cooking supplies in cabinet above that. top cabinet has coffee mugs and plates / glasses. Below silverware rack drawers we have additional cooking utensils and various spices, oils, etc.
8. We get looks at every campground, passerbys that stop to chat and share / ask questions - SOBs dont stand a chance when it comes to 'curb appeal'.
9. Airstream Mike: (our nickname) - for a local guy / mechanic / know-it-all and now friend who's had a fair share of AS experience and wealth of knowledge to pass along. I can't even begin to tell you how critical its been to find someone locally who is a hop-skip-jump away from helping, instructing and advising us.
10. Going from battery to generator to plug in and back around when moving day to day as we have - and NOT having to do anything manually other than plugging in has been one of those we're totally thankful for this feature without probably realizing how nice this feature is.
The Bad
1. Counter top space is tricky. Like - where do you put the removable sink cover/cutting board when not in use?
2. Not AS fault, but having a lab on board, even with sweeping 3x a day, we still get a second pet in swept up hair each time. Crazy. I know this is excessive, but those homes with central vacuum could be really really cool to next edition AS .. for the luxury types.
3. Wardrobe space is def. still getting used to. I ended up sticking a vertical, canvas shoe rack in my closet and using it as clothes divider. In shelf above, i place shoes. I screwed in 5 screws in order to hang belts on inside of door. Works if you roll everything up - Claire just uses a hanger and then shelf above with a plastic bin.
4. Understanding the airflow from fantastic fan. We've pulled the wiring and now instead of On/Off -we have temperature activation meaning that we want the fan to turn on/off automatically when a certain temperature is reached. We are still figuring this out. For now we have had warm days and cool nights and that means I'm getting up and manually overriding. I know in So Cal we have blessed weather - so this will not be a life/death issue but we'd like to automate this.
The Ugly:
1. With just normal wear, we've managed to unscrew the TV antenna handle. PIA to get to stay back on. Any suggestions?
2. We only get the 4 basic channels (FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS) - except for NFL Football and my alma mater The Amazing Race, I could care less, but NBC seems to 'go weak or no signal' A LOT. Suggestions?
3. Backing up onto our orange blocks for leveling sometimes results in the blocks just moving back and the tires cannot ramp on - we've tried the 'ramp' thing too but on concrete, no bueno. Thoughts?
4. The Zip Dee has had MANY MANY issues - missing acorn nuts - a broken claw on one side (one has already been ordered/replaced -- PS went factor direct and these guys were AWESOME) -
5. The space behind dinette chair upon entry - WTF?? what a terrible design idea -- its just totally inefficient and if we had better carpentry skills we would pull this out and build out shelving/storage/cabinetry ..
6. The stove top burners rotate from when they decide to work and not work (using spark .. .they always work w/ match/lighter) but a little frustrating still ...
So I think that sums up month 1 (actually day 41) -- we are pulling with a 2011 Toyota Tundra 5.7 V8 4x2 (and just yesterday I installed our Prodigy 3 ) so havent had a chance to see difference when pulling but so far this thing is a beast and can hold our outside chairs, tables, firepit, generator, tools, crossbow, 2 5gall tanks, etc.
Here's what we've found:
The Good:
1. everything is better in an AS (life, needs vs. wants, outlook)
2. the bed is very comfortable even with the rounded corner on one side
3. the dinette set up makes more sense than the 2nd bed / lounge area
4. we still cannot believe we can take standing hot showers when on shore power
5. we can go 5+/- days (w/ navy showers) and a Honda 1000 generator boondocked.
6. The fridge/freezer is plenty for our healthy living/eating lifestyle --
7. took some time to figure out our drawers/cabinets organization but i think we're getting close. Dry food goes in pantry door cabinet 1 - cooking supplies in cabinet above that. top cabinet has coffee mugs and plates / glasses. Below silverware rack drawers we have additional cooking utensils and various spices, oils, etc.
8. We get looks at every campground, passerbys that stop to chat and share / ask questions - SOBs dont stand a chance when it comes to 'curb appeal'.
9. Airstream Mike: (our nickname) - for a local guy / mechanic / know-it-all and now friend who's had a fair share of AS experience and wealth of knowledge to pass along. I can't even begin to tell you how critical its been to find someone locally who is a hop-skip-jump away from helping, instructing and advising us.
10. Going from battery to generator to plug in and back around when moving day to day as we have - and NOT having to do anything manually other than plugging in has been one of those we're totally thankful for this feature without probably realizing how nice this feature is.
The Bad
1. Counter top space is tricky. Like - where do you put the removable sink cover/cutting board when not in use?
2. Not AS fault, but having a lab on board, even with sweeping 3x a day, we still get a second pet in swept up hair each time. Crazy. I know this is excessive, but those homes with central vacuum could be really really cool to next edition AS .. for the luxury types.
3. Wardrobe space is def. still getting used to. I ended up sticking a vertical, canvas shoe rack in my closet and using it as clothes divider. In shelf above, i place shoes. I screwed in 5 screws in order to hang belts on inside of door. Works if you roll everything up - Claire just uses a hanger and then shelf above with a plastic bin.
4. Understanding the airflow from fantastic fan. We've pulled the wiring and now instead of On/Off -we have temperature activation meaning that we want the fan to turn on/off automatically when a certain temperature is reached. We are still figuring this out. For now we have had warm days and cool nights and that means I'm getting up and manually overriding. I know in So Cal we have blessed weather - so this will not be a life/death issue but we'd like to automate this.
The Ugly:
1. With just normal wear, we've managed to unscrew the TV antenna handle. PIA to get to stay back on. Any suggestions?
2. We only get the 4 basic channels (FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS) - except for NFL Football and my alma mater The Amazing Race, I could care less, but NBC seems to 'go weak or no signal' A LOT. Suggestions?
3. Backing up onto our orange blocks for leveling sometimes results in the blocks just moving back and the tires cannot ramp on - we've tried the 'ramp' thing too but on concrete, no bueno. Thoughts?
4. The Zip Dee has had MANY MANY issues - missing acorn nuts - a broken claw on one side (one has already been ordered/replaced -- PS went factor direct and these guys were AWESOME) -
5. The space behind dinette chair upon entry - WTF?? what a terrible design idea -- its just totally inefficient and if we had better carpentry skills we would pull this out and build out shelving/storage/cabinetry ..
6. The stove top burners rotate from when they decide to work and not work (using spark .. .they always work w/ match/lighter) but a little frustrating still ...
So I think that sums up month 1 (actually day 41) -- we are pulling with a 2011 Toyota Tundra 5.7 V8 4x2 (and just yesterday I installed our Prodigy 3 ) so havent had a chance to see difference when pulling but so far this thing is a beast and can hold our outside chairs, tables, firepit, generator, tools, crossbow, 2 5gall tanks, etc.
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