New Airstream Rangeline

[rvsomeday]

Finally, a rear bed with huge garage coming from a larger manufacturer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI3w...nnel=Airstream

Yes, the Solis has a similar floorplan but no black tank and microwave. Plus Airstream offers a 3 year warranty vs. Winnebago's ridiculous 1 year.

It has pretty much everything I'm looking for in my next van, and I'm excited about the possibility of buying used in a few years! I prefer a generator as well - hopefully it's the Onan 2800i. Airstream has the Volta system available in their Mercedes vans so I bet they will add that option to the Rangeline in the future if it does well. I have heard that Airstream quality isn't so great these days, so hopefully the Rangeline won't have an Ekko like launch. Fingers crossed!

[mumkin]

It is basically just a tarted up clone of the EGHNA/Roadtrek European style Aktiv. Since Thor owns both Hymer and Airstream now, they have just adopted the floor plan, and from what I have heard from those who have seen it, it is... shall we say... more obviously the low quality Thor than the old reputation of quality from Airstream before Thor bought it.

One Thor gets into the act, quality control goes down the drain. And from what I have heard about Thor from dealer service guys, their warranty care is also lacking.

But it is a choice for those who want the Onan and a black tank. It also has the optional pop-top for families... two seat-belts for kids in the dinette and sleeping space.

[rockymtnb]

Some additional specs for the Airstream Rangeline Class B:

• RAM Promaster 3500 chassis
• Collision avoidance, blind spot, cross-traffic, and drowsy driver monitoring
• Timberline Gasoline Furnace/Water Heater
• Dual zone heating control
• Lizard Skin ceramic spray-on thermal/acoustic insulation
• No Propane (portable Induction cooktop provided)
• Seating for 4 with 3pt seatbelts & child seat anchors
• No TV installed, but prewired for cell booster, OTA or satellite TV
• 270 Ah Battleborn Lithium battery, 2KW inverter, 200W Solar
• Generator auto start with Firefly integrated AC control
• SmartPlug external power receptacle
• RF Light switches
• Rear fold-up flex bed with gear garage and L-Track mounts below
• Aluminum interior trim
• Vitifrigo 3.6 cf fridge
• Thule manual awning
• Optional SCA Pop Top option with Maxxfan ventilator

Particularly notable among those is the continuing trend among Class B OEM manufacturers to select the Timberline integrated furnace/water heater system and a reasonable size (270 Ah) self-heated / self-managed internal Lithium battery system to replace AGM for standard house loads such as lighting, pumps, microwave and induction cooking (but not Air Conditioning).

Also interesting that Airstream chose the relatively simple (and hopefully more reliable) Thule manual awning over the troublesome Carefree automated awnings that have become big headaches for other Thor and Winnebago Class B owners.

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by mumkin

It is basically just a tarted up clone of the EGHNA/Roadtrek European style Aktiv. Since Thor owns both Hymer and Airstream now, they have just adopted the floor plan, and from what I have heard from those who have seen it, it is... shall we say... more obviously the low quality Thor than the old reputation of quality from Airstream before Thor bought it.

One Thor gets into the act, quality control goes down the drain. And from what I have heard about Thor from dealer service guys, their warranty care is also lacking.

But it is a choice for those who want the Onan and a black tank. It also has the optional pop-top for families... two seat-belts for kids in the dinette and sleeping space.

In general, you're not wrong that acquisition by Thor means one should likely expect a decline in quality. I would also never in my wildest dreams even consider buying anything actually branded as a THOR unit.

However, the history of Airstream and Thor is interesting. Thor Industries was specifically founded in 1980 to acquire Airstream from Beatrice Foods. Thus, we can't blame any decline in quality from Airstream on a recent acquisition by Thor - instead, we should blame it on the management team at Airstream.

https://www.airstream.com/blog/the-h...and-airstream/

[avanti]

I don't know who is responsible for Airstream's dodgy quality, but I do know that it has been going on for awhile. The process was well advanced by the time my 2005 Interstate was built.

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by avanti

The process was well advanced by the time my 2005 Interstate was built.

The comment on quality of this new unit was... that it is a giant step down from the Interstate. sigh...

and Yes... we know that Airstream had already been declining rapidly when Thor picked it. But unfortunately, this is not a corporation that will come in and make things better.

[rockymtnb]

Airstream had racked up over 1000 dealer orders for Rangeline prior to the Hershey RV show, so hopefully we'll get some actual owner feedback on finished quality and other issues before too long.

Interestingly Airstream priced this rather competitively at the MSRP level, starting at $131k with 270 Ah lithium versus Winnebago's Travato at $152k using AGM batteries.