If you have been following along on social media via Facebook or Instagram, then you know that we recently purchased a 25′ Airstream Safari SS. The story to ownership is truly an adventure in itself. One that involved driving to Santa Rosa, CA after one of Chris trail running races, examining the Airstream in 107 degrees, and driving it home the next day!
Our goal? It will be a bit of an experiment, bridging the gap between the weekend warriors we have always been and the full-time travelers that we aren’t quite ready to be. We are OK with not having all the answers and making it up as we go!
What we do know:
Chris’ job currently allows him to work from home (or on the road) and our homeschooling allows us the flexibility to travel more. If you read my recent post, Embrace the Semicolon, then you know we want to take advantage of what life has currently handed us… we don’t know when or if it will ever change.
We’ve always wanted to travel for longer durations and for the last 3 years we have taken a month away during the summer, AirBnb-ing a house for a month. Our conclusion? We were never quite ready to come home. Traveling is something we want to do more of… but a larger trailer ( vs. renting a place) better serves some of our traveling goals moving forward.
More on all this later – and more on the details of moving our family out of a house and onto the road for months at a time.
But first… THE TOUR!
Welcome to our 2005 Airstream Safari SS!
When it comes to sleeping 5 people who are no longer infants and toddlers, we don’t have many options. Sure we could renovate an Airstream, but since we aren’t quite sure where life is leading us, we’d rather have a trailer that works for us for a while without a major overhaul. This landed us here.
As you enter, the galley and dining is on the left, the living room and office is to the right. And yes, this is the cleanest it will probably ever be!
Living Room
There are quite a few configurations for the front of the trailer. Our most useful aspect is the fold away desk. Chris is working from the trailer full-time when we are on the road and we are also schooling. So… that means we need plenty of desk space.
The couch easily converts to a double bed as well.
Here are the various configurations:
Above the couch is overhead storage, which we currently assigned to the girls. All their bedding and pillows, plus a rather large bin of legos, slides under the couch.
Dining
The dining area is awesome and once again folds down into a double bed. We currently use the overhead storage for food and schooling supplies.
Galley
Opposite the dining table is the kitchen. My favorite feature is the large double bowl sink, with cutting boards that slide in place to cover them and extend our counter space. We have a three-burner stove, oven, microwave, and folding counter top.
Rear Bedroom and Bathroom
A double bed, toilet, shower, and bathroom sink are at the rear of the trailer. Things tend to get a little crowded at bedtime when everyone wants to brush their teeth and use the bathroom, but that is when I am thankful for two sinks!
Large closets separate the back room from the kitchen and dining area.
That is our trailer in a nutshell! We added some personalized decorations with the help of Command Strips and hooks.
In the limited time we’ve spent in the trailer so far, we love the layout. We also know that for our family it would not be large enough to live in full-time, but then that is not our goal. We are hoping the 25′ length is a good balance between being large enough for our needs without severely limiting campgrounds we can stay at. Only time will tell!
Do you have a travel trailer? What tips have been useful to you as you organize and plan trips?
